Little Brother by Cory Doctorow is... today's version of Orwell's 1984. You have crazy government that tries to control and check on everybody, rebels, riots, secret prisons, prisoner torture and all kinds of plausible craziness. Technically Little Brother is about the citizen's battle against the oppressive government, it is a book about fighting to preserve the most basic of rights: freedom.
We live in a world where technology is at hand's reach and sometimes the lines between virtual and real become blurred. Who can decide that a group of hackers is good or bad? Are they just computer geeks or terrorists? A government might say they are terrorists for hacking sensitive servers and showing the world the skeletons from their closet. The little guy, just gets his eyes open and revolts to the injustice done by the people he had chosen as his leaders. Journalists are simply whores, puppets to the higher power, if not an actual operative branch for disinformation. Let's face it, Cory Doctorow got it right.
I found it cute, but also annoying that every chapter had a dedication. Luckily it was written in italics, so I could jump over it after the first few times. The book was too engaging to get a break from the action in order to read dedications. Come on... What were you thinking? It starts slow and it seems a bit like a drag at first, trust me: it gets better. Another thing I liked was how the author tried to explain each technology they involved. Since the book is a bit old, I can safely say that some things have evolved in both privacy and surveillance techniques. They did have Xboxes, so rest assured it isn't that old and it does mention the 9-11 incident.
This book is one of those rare gems that do not pull you into their world, but they do wake you up from complacency. This kind of book wakes up a dormant part of you that was anesthetized by crappy TV shows, manipulatory marketing and comfortable lifestyle. It stirs feelings of rebellion and discontent to abusive laws and regulations. Read this book and wake up your inner rebel, you won't be disappointed, maybe just by the world you live in.
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