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Surveillance, privacy and feedom

Little Brother, billed as young adult fiction, features high-school-aged main characters and deals with youth culture, but can be enjoyed by adult readers as well. He takes on some broader themes here, as San Francisco is hit with a large-scale terrorist attack. Marcus and his friends are swept up as suspected terrorists after the attack, and upon release become sworn enemies of the Department of Homeland Security, who has become an occupying force in their city. Using his electronic genius, fueled by his passion for justice, Marcus puts together an underground of rebels, linked together by Xboxes. Together they thwart many of DHS's surveillance and control efforts, making themselves targets in the meantime.

Set in the all-too-near future, Little Brother presents a viable picture of government security gone too far. In a sense, I objected, of course our government wouldn't behave in such a way! But Docotorow forces the reader to think about the incremental way the federal government has chiseled away at our freedoms since 9-11, and the vigor with which agencies from the FBI and DHS down to local law enforcement have embraced their expanded authority. I'm not sure how well I relate to the late-teen, early twenties gamer set who dominate Doctorow's story, but I sure hope I end up on their side when this future happens.

"A novel you can't put down"

"An excellent book, very timely setting, scary as heck, because most of it could happen, and some probably has. Anyone interested in the manipulation of computers, the inner workings of bureaucracy, and the "secret life of teenagers"."

"1984... updated!"

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Enjoy!