He uses creativity and invention as plot points, thus keeping our minds and hearts in sync as we race through the novel. In ‘Makers’ he manages to keep the readers’ jaws dropped, as one mind-boggling scheme is supplanted by another, each new plan in equal parts wacky, intelligent, and plausible. Even the suits, marketing people and lawyers, are interesting.ĭoctorow is also a master of one-upping himself, which should come as no surprise given his interest in the Singularity. The characters are simultaneously completely geeky and suave, lovable and flawed. His prognostications are unnervingly plausible and completely bizarre, obviously developed from careful observation of what’s going on at the bleeding edge of technology and culture. Doctorow’s talent for imagining the near future is astonishing, and his novels keep getting better. Lester and Perry build an interactive ride in an abandoned Wal-Mart, a nostalgia trip through their glory days, that catches the eye of a vicious Disney exec-and the old corporate giants fight their last battle against the new economic order. But suddenly, it crashes, and things get really interesting. The New Work (i.e., the network) takes off, with a mini-startup in every abandoned strip mall in America. Enthusiastically recommended.Ĭovering the transformation of Kodacell (formerly Kodak and Duracell) into a network of tiny teams, journalist Suzanne Church goes to Florida and the inventors behind it all, Lester and Perry, who have more ideas than they know what to do with. Doctorow’s novel features a good, modest story, appealing characters, and extremely interesting ideas that will appeal to his fans and sf aficionados as well as readers interested in cogitating on the social consequences of cybertechnology’s near-exponential growth. VERDICT In speculative fiction, too often the ideas outrun the writing, but not here. The ending of this well-written, well-conceived novel is bittersweet. Doctorow isn’t Pollyannesque about the effects of rapid technological change: change of such scope and force is often devastating-boom followed by bust, then boom again, then bust. His latest involves a corporate executive who funds high-tech microprojects-they cost thousands of dollars instead of millions-a pair of inventors who can make anything out of anything, and a blogger who chronicles their careers. After winning acclaim and awards for his YA novel Little Brother, Locus Award winner Doctorow (Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom) returns to adult sf.
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