Cory Doctorow – Little Brother

Cover of Little Brother

I don’t normally write book reviews (mainly because I’m not very good at it). However, one book I read recently I think is worthy of note – Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. Some blurb from amazon:

‘I’d recommend ‘Little Brother’ over pretty much any book I’ve read this year. Because I think it’ll change lives. It’s a wonderful, important book’ Neil Gaiman ‘Cory Doctorow’s novel could hardly be more relevant, scary and eye-opening ! seriously entertaining.’ The Times ‘An entertaining thriller and a thoughful polemic on Internet-era civil rights ! a terrific read’ New York Times ‘A tale of struggle familiar to any teenager, about those moments when you choose what your life is going to mean.’ Steven Gould, author of ‘Jumper’

I won’t go into too much detail about plot, but in short a 9/11 type event in San Francisco results in the Department of Homeland security stepping up security at the expense of civil liberties. The book is part story and part education, and aimed at aimed at young adults/teenagers. Some critics have claimed that the characterisation in the book is fairly one dimension and weak, but I feel the real value this book has to offer is the educational aspect. This book serves as a great introduction to the security versus liberty debate, and should also make a younger generation aware of many of the issues surrounding there privacy (especially on the internet). Not to mention there are some great introductions to cryptography.

No excuse not to read the book – there is a credit crunch (i.e. totally free) edition available for download here.