Review of Makers by Cory Doctorow

Makers by Cory Doctorow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The books that really impress me are those where the author has created something unique - a totally new reality, idea or technology that I haven't read or seen before, but that is still based in reality enough to be believable. (I'm not much for the Fantasy/Magic genre) This story accomplished exactly that, many times over.

In fact, there was not just one totally radical idea but many throughout the book, and they just kept coming. The inventions, the new type of business organization, the new ways to live in a community, the "fatkins" treatments (you have to read it to understand that one), the future Disney incarnation - all of it. Really captivating, never boring.

The idea of the future in this book is just plausible enough that I could go along for the ride without much belief suspension needed. And all this uniqueness did not distract from the depth of the main characters, who were so well described that I really felt like I knew them each personally, knew what they would say and feel in a situation.

The business aspect of the story reminds me of the "dot-com" bubble where everything moved so fast and had so many positive features, but like all bubbles, it had to burst - and as a reader, you knew it inside, but yet did not want it to be so.

The only part I had an issue with was the end, but I think I was just hoping for a different ending in the characters' lives. In any case, I recommend this book!

View all my reviews