Back
Cory Doctorow, Cory Doctorow: Walkaway (2017, Tor Books) 4 stars

Walkaway is a 2017 science fiction novel by Cory Doctorow, published by Head of Zeus …

Great ideas, not so great story

4 stars

Started out great, engaging with big ideas. Very relevant topics were raised and weaved into a futuristic world - technology, unemployment, greed, capitalism, meritocricity, abundance, diversity, post-humanism. However, it got harder to read somewhere along the way. The plot was poor and the storytelling disjointed and longwinded, with too much going on. I also couldn't really identify with any of the characters.

replied to Tania's status

@Tania This was his most disappointing book, IMHO. The characters were whatever. The plot was meh. And the jargon ... was awful. Painful. I can't imagine how his publisher thought this was ready for the market. I was so disappointed, especially since I bought it at a book signing and talk by Doctorow, which was fabulous. I dislike this book so much that I gave it away.

replied to Tania's status

@Tania I had the same thoughts on this one. I really love Cory Doctorow's writings, but this one was not his greatest. The ideas in the novel are really outstanding and makes the book well worth reading in their own right (IMO), but the plot and character development leave the reader wishing that perhaps there could have been a second author to collaborate with CD and contribute some additional literary depth.