The shareable novel has arrived: Today, geek demigod Cory Doctorow releases his new book, Makers, as a " free, Creative Commons download, under a NonCommercial-ShareAlike license that allows you to remix it to your heart's content and share the book and your mixes noncommercially." (Note: Shareable.net content is similarly licensed.) Here's the Publishers Weekly starred review:
In this tour de force, Doctorow (Little Brother) uses the contradictions of two overused SF themes–the decline and fall of America and the boundless optimism of open source/hacker culture–to draw one of the most brilliant reimaginings of the near future since cyberpunk wore out its mirror shades. Perry Gibbons and Lester Banks, typical brilliant geeks in a garage, are trash-hackers who find inspiration in the growing pile of technical junk. Attracting the attention of suits and smart reporter Suzanne Church, the duo soon get involved with cheap and easy 3D printing, a cure for obesity and crowd-sourced theme parks. The result is bitingly realistic and miraculously avoids cliché or predictability. While dates and details occasionally contradict one another, Doctorow's combination of business strategy, brilliant product ideas and laugh-out-loud moments of insight will keep readers powering through this quick-moving tale.
For those who live in London: Cory will be speaking at London's Battle of Ideas this Saturday, Oct 31, on a panel called "Rethinking Privacy in an age of Disclosure and Sharing." (For those who don't live in London, it's worth it to follow that link.)
