Just Finished Reading: Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow (FP: 2003) [201pp] 

It was more than a dream, much more. It was something that was part of his very DNA, part of his core personality – Disney World. So, being part of the ad-hoc that had dedicated itself to running and, more importantly, preserving the rides for this and future generations wasn’t just a dream come true, it was where he belonged. Unfortunately, all is not well in the Magic Kingdom. Others, less in love with what is and what was, think that they can ‘improve’ things, give people a better ride, a better experience. They are forward looking not backward and if they get their way then everything will change. Jules has decided that they will not desecrate his memories, the site, the rides he grew up on. It’s going to be the fight of his life – no matter how many times they kill him. 

I’ve heard a great deal about this author so thought it was about time I tried him out. I have to say, I was NOT exactly impressed. The ‘story’ such as it was, came across like two sets of High School students fighting over the design for the end of year Prom. To say that I was disengaged almost from the start is no exaggeration. I had zero investment in the final outcome and each ‘twist’ and turn just left me cold and disinterested. Quite honestly, I did not care if either side triumphed or failed spectacularly. Likewise, I had no investment in the characters none of whom were particularly well drawn – I would’ve thought that 100+ year olds with life experience to match would behave somewhat less than spoilt teenagers to be honest – and none of them were particularly likable.  

The book did contain a few interesting ideas – the post-scarcity society (not explained) where everyone had the basics (just about) but could gain ‘wealth’ by essentially being ‘popular’ and gaining “Whuffie” (kind of ‘likes’ or ‘upvotes’ like in the episode of The Orville or Black Mirror). All sounds VERY teen... Then there were ‘influencers’ - which we are all unfortunately familiar with today. The fear of death had become a thing of the past as people had the ability to ‘back-up’ their lives (care of, I think, some sort of electronic device in their head) which could then be downloaded into a new cloned body on demand. Seemingly this wasn’t 100% fool-proof (presumably unless you’re RICH) and a few issues with the technology was used (badly I thought) as a plot device to add ‘tension’ – which it singularly failed to do.      

Overall, I was not exactly impressed with this one. I’m giving the author a slight pass because it's his first book (and its over 20 years old so SF has moved on quite a bit since then) but I’m hoping that he gained his reputation as an innovator from his much better later works. I'm not 100% sure that this is my worst read of the year (so far), but it's definitely in the running. Not recommended.