Attack Surface

Jumping between Iraq, Eastern Europe, and the US west coast, Doctorow's narrative guides the reader through a whirlwind of technology, power, and espionage. Marsha's journey was illuminating and exhilarating. As her character arc bends towards justice it tensions your heart strings. Lessons abound in the this thought provoking and essential 21st century work.

I'll read anything Doctorow puts out. Enjoyed this techno-thriller, though the pacing felt vaguely off at times. Had a bit of Heinlein-esque unsubtle author monologuing through the mouths of charismatic and hypercompetent characters on the nature of technology as at best a tool for connecting and enabling humans to participate in person-to-person organizing and democracy, rather than as a magic wand that makes the world better -- you can clearly feel the period and mood he was writing this in.

The first Doctorow's book I consumed, by listening this time. Felt a bit like a road movie. Somehow not so urgent like many of his essays. I guess I also enjoy his twists and reserved poetics more when related with reality than with fiction.

But listening time was really enjoyable and the book is easy to recommend. Non the less because it is generously stuffed with technicalities of surveillance and resistance methods (even if sometimes exaggerated), which aren't often heard of and seem to be very worth noticing.

Thanks @pluralistic@mamot.fr

This is the third book in the "Little Brother" series, which started with "Little Brother" and "Homeland". Although this novel can be read on its own, it does make reference to several of the events and people from the previous novels so having read those first might add a little more depth.

Although these are nominally YA books, their themes are very serious and tech-heavy; the first book happens as a terrorist attach on San Francisco leads to the Department of Homeland Security using terrorism as an excuse to increase surveillance of its citizens, and follows the efforts of teen Marcus Yallow and his friends to create peer to peer un-monitorable networks through which to resist this. Homeland follows up to the previous book with more examination of state surveillance, political resistance, and Marcus's former acquaintance Masha Maximow surfacing as a whistleblower for Xyz, a corporate surveillance contractor working closely with various governments around the world to enable government surveillance.

Attack Surface switches the protagonist over to Masha, who in contrast to Marcus, reacted to the attacks on San Francisco by getting hired for the very same companies enabling the surveillance and developing new technologies. Based initially in the thinly disguised European country of "Slovstakia", Masha is extremely good at what she does, first for Xyz and then for Xoth, a similar but if possible even more morally corrupt surveillance company. However, she eventually becomes unable to ignore the fact that a large majority of the "suspects" she is helping to surveil are in fact no terrorists or terrible people, just regular citizens who want nothing more than privacy. And when her former friends back in San Francisco start experiencing similar problems due to their participation in the BLM movement, she's forced to make a choice.

It's quite a technology heavy read, and maybe overdoes the detail a little, although it's detail that really more people should know and pay attention to. As a technology writer and activist Doctorow is ideally place to write clearly and accurately about what can or soon will be possible, and it's pretty scary stuff. But, he also has a strong message that technology itself is not going to save us (or doom us); technology doesn't grant freedom, it just gives us the tools to fight for our own freedom.

One of these stars is because this is an important book. It’s one that is painful and stupid in the same way 2020 has been a painful and stupid year. It’s also an optimistic book in some ways. This book has a happy-ish ending. Protests seem to actually lead to some positive change in the book.

The afterwards were interesting (there were two of them) and tied some of the technological and political issues in this book to reality in a way that was both necessary and frightening.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t ever like the protagonist / main character in this book. I’m not entirely sure we’re supposed to like her, but I think my dislike went beyond the obvious character flaws (and poor decisions), and got into some other, unspecified territory. So while it “worked” for me as a story, if it weren’t such an important book for bringing attention and distrust to the surveillance state, it would probably get a much lower rating.