Bruce's Reviews > Homeland

Audiobook review (not available on Audible, must download from Doctorow's web site). Will Wheaton does a great job reading this.

This book isn't just AWESOME, it's IMPORTANT.

Doctorow can do all the great writer tricks-- plot, character, dialogue. He's also not just a guy that plays someone on TV who does X, he really is a real activist working against draconian copyright and unreasonable monopolist business practices, as the preamble to the audiobook where he discusses Audible's business practices and his unwillingness to place his books with them shows.

Set just one step away from the reality we live in, Homeland details the further adventures of Marcus, the hero from Little Brother. This book stands just fine on its own as an independent novel as well.

It starts at Burning Man and Doctorow knows the San Francisco the action moves to well.

As well the text is crammed with heaps of information regarding open source software, piracy, darknets, cool maker stuff, fascinating weird math things, and hacks to make the perfect easiest cup of coffee. None of this gets in the way of the story if you aren't interested in the tech. This is all real, as is the menace our heroes face, a world of militarizing police forces, corrupt politicians, revolving doors between the Army, government, and private contractors, torture...

Which is why the book is not just a great read, but an important one. A bibliography at the end provides sources for further information on these topics.