Little Brother

I read this book in two sittings--and would have read it in one if I didn't need to get up and go somewhere the next morning. There isn't a dull moment, and there is hardly a moment that doesn't make me boiling mad at what our country is being turned into by unchecked government power. Little Brother starts with a terrorist attack in San Francisco, in which a group of teenagers is caught up. Swept up by the Department of Homeland Security as suspicious characters, they are whisked away to the middle of San Francisco Bay and treated like terrorists, forced to hand over their cellphone passwords and stripped of their dignity and their rights as American citizens. After Marcus Yallow is released, he watches in horror as San Francisco is show more rapidly turned into a police state. Citizens movements are tracked through their Fast Passes, their transit cards, and by surveillance cameras everywhere. Marcus has a weapon, however--he is a hacker. And soon he has a band of followers who are successfully throwing monkey wrench after monkey wrench into the DHS's assault on the privacy and freedom of San Franciscans. Can a teenager succeed in his quixotic quest to make people put away their fear of terrorists and realize that the greatest danger to our freedom comes from within? Can he make anyone understand and appreciate the meaning of the Bill of Rights or of the words of the Declaration of Independence? You'll just have to read the book to find out.

Doctorow compares the current security insanity with an autoimmune disease: "Right now, America is going into anaphylactic shock over its own freedoms, and we need to inoculate ourselves against this."

If you have any interest in technology, you will be riveted. Of course, things change quickly, and the recent horrifying revelations of the NSA's illegal spying and their ability to perhaps compromise encryption techniques thought to be secure, makes this book a little dated. Although Doctorow exaggerates a bit to induce in the reader the necessary state of paranoia to understand and embrace the book's message, these recent revelations show that he was definitely on the right track. Every American should read this book and follow in the footsteps of Marcus Yallow. Our freedom is at stake. show less

Wow. For a book about a lot of computer technicalities, this one has heart, humour and even the littlest bit of sex (safe, of course). The topic is completely appropriate for today- there is a terrorist attack on San Francisco and the government uses it as an excuse to move in and remove civil rights. Everyone gets followed, everywhere, through the little electronic tags we are in actuality already carrying around. Menacing "Homeland Security" people move in; people start vanishing. But what is really going on? Who is behind the government aggression? How can anyone stop it?
A seventeen year old computer whiz kid who has memorized the Declaration of Independence has some ideas that he puts into action...
Excellent. I'm not a fan of show more fiction where all the techniques are explained (exhausting) but Cory Doctorow makes it interesting and easy to understand. Everyone in the US should read this book now, while you still can. show less

4 / 5 ⭐️‘s

"Little Brother" by Cory Doctorow

“Internet Explorer, Microsoft’s crashware turd that no one under the age of forty used voluntarily.”

I picked this read because it was another recommended read in my reading planner by The American Library Association.

The story follows Marcus, a tech-savvy teenager who finds himself caught up in a post-9/11 world where civil liberties are being eroded in the name of national security. After a terrorist attack on San Francisco, Marcus and his friends are detained and interrogated by government agents, who suspect them of being involved. Marcus is determined to prove their innocence and fights back against the oppressive government surveillance system using his computer skills and show more knowledge of cryptography.

One of the things I liked most about it was how it explored the tension between security and freedom in a digital age. Doctorow does an excellent job of making complex technical concepts accessible to a lay audience, and the book is filled with tips and tricks for maintaining online privacy and security.

The story is more than just a cautionary tale about government overreach and online privacy. It's also a story about friendship, courage, and standing up for what you believe in, even when it's hard. Marcus is a relatable and likable protagonist, and I found myself rooting for him and his friends until the end.

I have added the next book in this series to my TBR list. show less

This book did what all good dystopias should do. It scared the crap out of me. Everything the author wrote about just sounded so completely plausible and doable with modern day technology. Especially considering the bill that is making it's way through congress right now that would allow companies to basically monitor our internet. Marcus is a smart tech savy kid who knows his way around electronics. A combination of being able to do things with a computer that a lot of adults aren't capable of much less wrap their head around and being in the wrong place at the wrong time gets Marcus and his friends picked up and kept by the Department of Homeland Security the day of a terrorist attack. His experiences make him decide to fight back. show more Sometimes the things Marcus does exacerbate the problem, and you can definitely feel his frustration when things he says, does and sets up are misinterpreted and/or go wrong.

The reason this book is so good and so frightening is that unlike other dystopia's I've read, this doesn't take place in the future, it takes place right now. A lot of the technology that the government uses to turn San Francisco into a police state is similar to tech that we use, available and being used in innocuous ways now. The whole thing just sounds so feasible, like it would be so easy for the government to pull of now. Granted I'm not super tech savy so I could be totally wrong, but still the book makes me think which is really the point. This is one of those books I think everyone should read, even if only to get a different perspective on things and to learn to be more aware of what's going on. show less

This is an absolutely fantastic book. Yes, it's YA (whatever that is), but it doesn't talk down to its audience. Yes, it's sort of science fiction, but more like 10 minutes into the future than 10 centuries. What it mostly is about is fear and civil rights and personal responsibility. But for all of that, it's a very strong, personal story with plenty of action, adventure, and suspense.

The Little Brother of the title is Marcus Yallow, a high-school senior in San Francisco who's more into all of his techno-life and gaming and friends than worrying about girls or his ultimate future. He's already masterminding how to get around the surveillance techniques set up at his school and the city in the wake of 9/11, which are more than we've show more actually seen so far but are really just one step further than that. Then another terrorist attack strikes his city and he's caught up in the heavy-handed search for the perpetrators and winds up on the wrong side of the law. Now he must use all of his tech skills and learn some new ones to remain free while fighting back against what he sees as tyrannical oppression.

There are a few spots where the author, in the voice of first-person narrator Marcus, decides to explain the technology and it went on a bit longer than I found necessary. For others, these passages will be either a welcome clarification or completely skippable. Other than that, I can't recommend this book too highly as a timely commentary on a subject that affects everyone. show less

Because of the age of the main characters, Little Brother by Cory Doctorow could easily be discounted as a “young adult” novel. It is officially classified as both “Science Fiction” and “Juvenile.” However, the content makes it relevant to any American citizen; young or old. In fact, it should be required reading for all.

This is the 1984 for our (and the next) generation. In a post-9/11 world, our level of personal freedom has diminished. This novel is about what can happen when you allow that to go too far.

The story is action-packed and has numerous contemporary references to technology that anyone in the IT word will find hilarious. There are some “geeky” elements like role-playing games and virtual worlds, but the show more underlying political realities of life after a terrorist attack are the focus of the book. It appears that only those on the “fringe” are aware of how our freedom is slowly eroding. When innocent US citizens are imprisoned because they act against how the government is handling the situation, it begins to get scary and the real paranoia takes hold.

The plot of this novel closely reflects today’s world. The book makes some excellent points as to the value of the security measures that have been imposed since 9/11. Most interesting is a part of Chapter 8 that explains the “mathematics of terrorism.” It gives statistical details as to how many innocent people need to be wrongly incarcerated to catch one real terrorist and the results are frightening.

The message of the book, and one everyone needs to evaluate for themselves, is whether giving up our freedom keeps us safer or can be marked as a “win” for the terrorists. After reading this book, I’m leaning towards the later. show less

Few novels I have read recently have made me stop and think, reexamine my world, quite the same way that Cory Doctorow's Little Brother does. Although published five years back when the politics of the Bush Administration and the post-9/11 expansion of government surveillance were still fresh in our minds, I found the novel fresh and relevant.

One part thriller and two parts geek, Little Brother opens on a group of high school kids who play hooky from school to participate in a treasure hunt. They are caught up in the aftermath of a massive terrorist attack that kills thousands, literally caught at the wrong place at the wrong time, and end up in a secret prison as suspects.

Also, did I mention that they happen to be more technically show more inclined than the average student?

Released, they fight back, using hacks and technical resources I didn't know existed, but that Doctorow clearly explains and uses. As an added bonus, Doctorow explains in an addendum where he gets his technical material and what resources a reader could use to replicate what he describes in the book.

It's a fascinating story, for geeks and nongeeks, and the message is still fresh today: how much privacy should we expect, and to what extent are we willing to give up privacy and freedom for security?

The sequel to Little Brother is Homeland and is out now. show less