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"Cory Doctorow is just far enough ahead of the game to give you the authentic chill of the future.... Funny as hell and sharp as steel." -- Warren Ellis
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Have you ever wondered what it's like to get bitten by a zombie? To live through a bioweapon attack? To have every aspect of your life governed by invisible ants? In Cory Doctorow's collection of novellas, he wields his formidable experience in technology and computing to give us mindbending sci-fi tales that explore the possibilities of information technology and its various uses run amok. "Anda's Game" is a spin on the bizarre new phenomenon of "cyber sweatshops," in which people are paid very low wages to play online games all day in order to generate in-game wealth, which can be converted into actual money. Another tale tells of the heroic exploits of "sysadmins" systems administrators as they defend the cyber-world, and hence the world at large, from worms and bioweapons. And yes, there is a story about zombies, too.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.9 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
When the old is new again, 24 Feb 2007
By Heath Row "h3athrow" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Overclocked: Stories of the Future Present (Paperback)
For the last few days, I've been reading Cory Doctorow's new collection of short fiction, Overclocked (Thunder's Mouth Press). It's been one of the first things I've looked forward to in the morning -- reading it while waiting for and riding the subway to work -- and one of the last things I've done each day -- reading it before sleep.
Because the six stories in the book have all been published elsewhere, chances are good that at least one or two will be familiar. Apparently, that's OK, because even though I'd previously read "I, Robot," I caught myself rereading it with glee despite the fact that I knew exactly what was going to happen. It might be the case that -- in Cory's writing, as well as in the future itself -- it's not just what happens... but how it happens. His stuff holds up under the pressure of memory.
But it was one of the stories I haven't previously read that I found the most enjoyable, effective, and affecting. "After the Siege," in part inspired by his grandmother's survival of Hitler's invasion of Stalingrad, is the kind of short story that holds your attention, your imagination, and your affection all at the same time. At times, I'm irritated by how preachy Cory can be in his infopolitics, but in this story, he shows us that his heart is as big as his brain and his hopes for society.
Congratulations, Cory. Each of these stories was an accomplishment in their own right when they were first published, and in book form, they become an accomplishment in the aggregate. And the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Thanks for the good reads -- and rereads.
[..]
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Underwhelming, 21 Nov 2007
By R. D. Webber - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Overclocked: Stories of the Future Present (Paperback)
Not a bad collection, but sometimes Doctorow's desire to use his fiction to promote his socio-political beliefs gets in the way of his genuine story-telling talent.
This collection included some good material: "After the Siege," the final story in the book, particularly impressed me. But "I, Robot," for example, seemed kind of clunky to me, a kind of "copyright opera."
I think these stories are available for free download under Creative Commons licensing. If you haven't liked some of Doctorow's work in the past, check out the free versions first.
If you are just starting to read Doctorow's work, try "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom" or "Eastern Standard Tribe" or "Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town" first.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
On average - average, 9 Jun 2007
By Questor - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Overclocked: Stories of the Future Present (Paperback)
I'm not normally a reader of short story collections but I thought I'd give "Over Clocked" a try. On finishing it, I realized why I don't read short story collections.
The problem is, short story collections inevitably end up being like CD's. Sure, there's one, maybe two great tracks on it, a few mediocre tracks and then some that are positively awful. Over Clocked suffers the same malady.
One of the strongest stories is "When Sysadmins ruled the world." An interesting tale that describes how a technologically dependent world gets brought to its knees by rampant worms and viruses and how the system administrators (Sysadmins of the title) may be the only people skilled and tech-savvy enough to fight humanity's corner.
Equally enjoyable is "I robot." Winner of the 2005 Locus award and a finalist for the Hugo and British Science Fiction award in the same year. You'd expect for it to be a good read with those credentials.
Holding the middle ground for the book is "Anda's game" - which will no doubt be a favorite with the gaming readers - and provides a virtual backdrop for the rich minority vs depressed minority scenario to literally be played out once more.
"After the Siege," where the horrors of future war are exploited for entertainment value, also provides food for thought. Whilst Doctorow preface's the story by suggesting it's a commentary on developed nations using strong arm tactics on underdeveloped counterparts, one can't help but think that this story might not also be a poke in the eye to today's news media, given the current state of world affairs.
I enjoyed all of these stories but then that's where I ran into trouble. Perhaps in no other genre than speculative fiction does the phrase "Suspension of belief," come into its own. Every author asks you to suspend your belief and go along for the ride, and for the majority of Over Clocked I was prepared to do that. Rampant computer viruses I can do. Robots I can do. Future war and gang warfare on the net I'm prepared to go along with. With "I Row-Boat," Doctorow lost me.
Over Clocked's subtitle is "Stories of future present." Most of the stories seemed to be a reasonable extrapolation of science and technology today with a dark, dystopian slant, but I found sentient rowing boats conversing with coral reefs a little beyond what I was prepared to accept. As a result, I just couldn't get past the first five pages of "I Row-Boat."
Similarly, I found the very short, short story (2 pages) "Printcrime," equally hard to swallow.
Overall, I gave Over Clocked a 3 out of 5 rating. Of the six stories contained within, there are a couple of gems, a couple of easy reads and a couple that I would skip if I had a "Next Chapter" button.
Maybe that's a future present.
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