Overclocked : Stories of the Future Present
By Cory Doctorow
Read by various narrators
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Have you ever wondered what it’s like to live through a bioweapon attack or to have every aspect of your life governed byinvisible ants? In Cory Doctorow’s collection of novellas, he wields hisformidable experience in technology and computing to give us mind-bendingsci-fi tales that explore the possibilities of information technology—and itsvarious uses—run amok. “Anda’s Game” is a spin on the bizarre new phenomenon of “cybersweatshops,” in which people are paid very low wages to play online gamesall day in order to generate in-game wealth, which can be converted into actualmoney. Another tale tells of the heroic exploits of “sysadmins”—systemsadministrators—as they defend the cyberworld, and hence the world at large,from worms and bioweapons. And yes, there is a story about zombies too.
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Summary
Summary
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to live through a bioweapon attack or to have every aspect of your life governed byinvisible ants? In Cory Doctorow’s collection of novellas, he wields hisformidable experience in technology and computing to give us mind-bendingsci-fi tales that explore the possibilities of information technology—and itsvarious uses—run amok.
“Anda’s Game” is a spin on the bizarre new phenomenon of “cybersweatshops,” in which people are paid very low wages to play online gamesall day in order to generate in-game wealth, which can be converted into actualmoney. Another tale tells of the heroic exploits of “sysadmins”—systemsadministrators—as they defend the cyberworld, and hence the world at large,from worms and bioweapons. And yes, there is a story about zombies too.
Editorial Reviews
Editorial Reviews
Reviews
Reviews
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This is a decidedly high-tech group of stories.
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Overclocked is composed of five Novellas (or long short stories). All are future tales based on high technology affecting society in a catastrophic way. The general feeling of the stories is something like the classic SciFi of the 50s and 60s (Bradbury, Asimov, Dick, etc.), but with distinctly 21st Century themes: alienation, poor vs. rich nations, availability of high tech, terrorism, and post human technology.
Short stories are intriguing for their ability to drop us headlong into the characters and action without the slow development of a book. Doctorow is quite good at this. Within minutes of starting one of the stories, you are immersed in one of his carefully crafted worlds. The characters are unusual and believable.
In After the Siege, the main character is a teenage girl caught in the horrors of prolonged war, all of it tragic because it is so unnecessary and avoidable.
I Row-Boat is a playful twist on Asimov’s famous novel, I Robot. Robbie the Row-Boat has gained consciousness, as have many high-tech devices. He contemplates the meaning of life as he rows tourist human divers around the Australian coral reefs. Too bad for all of them when the billions of processors imbedded into the reef cause it to gain consciousness itself, and it is angry. It is outrageous, inventive and pure fun.
When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth is a terrific story of geeks trapped inside clean rooms as the world disintegrates around them. They, and others like them around the world, survive because they are trapped in the filtered air of the computers they protect and keep running. The Internet limps along as billions die. Of course, email spam lives on. It is a story written with a lot of technical jargon and geekspeak. Don’t let that throw you, this is a good story with a lot of real human themes.
Each story is narrated by a different performer. All are excellent and bring the stories to life without flaw.
This is a decidedly high-tech group of stories. Hard SciFi at its best. If you are intrigued by technology, do not hesitate to listen to this book. If on the other hand, high-tech jargon and technological themes don’t interest you, try the audio sample first. You may still find something to enjoy, but know that these stories appeal to a specific audience and do it well. If you find yourself in the former category, you will likely enjoy these stories immensely and listen to them more than once.
Author
Author Bio: Cory Doctorow
Cory Doctorow is a blogger, journalist, and author science fiction and nonfiction. His writing has won numerous awards, including three Locus Awards, two John W. Campbell Awards, three Prometheus Awards, two Sunburst Awards, the White Pine Award, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award, among others. He has served as Canadian regional director of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He is coeditor of the blog Boing Boing, and he was named one of the web’s twenty-five “influencers” by Forbes and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He is a contributing author to Wired magazine, and his writing has been published in the New York Times Sunday Magazine, the Globe and Mail, the Boston Globe, Popular Science, and others.
Details
Details
| Available Formats : | Digital Download, CD, MP3 CD |
| Category: | Fiction/Science Fiction |
| Runtime: | 8.00 |
| Audience: | Adult |
| Language: | English |
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