down and out in the magic kingdom
If you ever were a fan of Disneyland as a child, especially the Haunted Mansion, which I and a handful of cousins were (it was a favorite must-visit despite the countless times we went to Disneyland, still is), then this story is bound to pull at your childhood heartstrings. Clearly funny and out there as humans defy mortality, time and money, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom builds a world around the most globally famous of amusement parks. As sci-fi reading goes, I'm hard-pressed to suspend disbelief for other worlds and creations of an entirely plausible future - I find difficulty buying into it unless it is tightly constructed with no immediately visible holes in the continuum. I don't want to have to map it out or refer to companion or guide books. Just give it to me straight and simple, and most of all make it believable which is what Cory Doctorow does. Nevermind his terminologies, you'll get the gist of the lingo and the acronymns without too much head scratching as Doctorow creates a world of tomorrow at once ridiculous yet paralleling the present. This is not a book of pretty prose, but of observation, wit and humor. It tells us there is something more to be found beyond plugging into electronic systems and receiving virtual experiences without actually experiencing them, no matter how orgasmic the episode. Tradition, culture, history and a sense of humanity still has weight centuries from now, and murder, even in the face of being able to reboot from your last brain backup, is still wrong.
4:30 AM | |
