Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

Hardcover - USA - 1st edition.

Author Cory Doctorow Published 2003-02-01 Type Fiction Genre Drama Themes Human Stasis, Political Fiction, Science Fiction, Utopia Age Group Adult

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom is a novel by Cory Doctorow published on 2003-02-01. It's about a futuristic society where death and poverty have been eliminated and money has been replaced with a reputation-based currency (think Facebook likes), and corporations have been replaced by adhocracies, smaller groups that succeed on the quality of their works and how enjoyable they are to work for. The story revolves around Julius who works in an adhoc at Disney World who has recently been murdered (or, at least, temporarily killed for a day while a backup was made) and his investigation that causes him to lose his girlfriend, his best friend, and all his reputation.

Personal

Own?	Audiobook read by Cory Doctorow.
Read?	Audiobook read by Cory Doctorow.
Finished	December 2015

I got the book as part of an audio book Humble Bundle, and, having heard it was good, I gave it a listen, but thought it was pretty bad.

Review

Overall:

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• I like how the author gave a fairly detailed explanation of what it would be like to have a cybernetic implants in your brain and be able to use it for all sorts of different tasks.
• A currency based on reputation (a meritocracy) is a fun idea, and shows how easy it is to become bankrupt if you're an asshole.
• I enjoyed the Snow Crash reference.

Bad

• A lot of the word usage seemed rather forced.
• If you're familiar with the song Rocky Raccoon, you already know the plot, including the "mysterious" killer.
• The audiobook is poorly made. It's read by the author who occasionally stumbles over his words and inadvertently records the sound of himself turning pages of the printout.

Ugly

• A large portion of the book is just the main character bitching about everything. It gets annoying quick and stays annoying.

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