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More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editionseBook editionsFor the Winby Cory Doctorow
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:In the virtual future, you must organize to survive At any hour of the day or night, millions of people around the globe are engrossed in multiplayer online games, questing and battling to win virtual “gold,” jewels, and precious artifacts. Meanwhile, others seek to exploit this vast shadow economy, running electronic sweatshops in the worlds poorest countries, where countless “gold farmers,” bound to their work by abusive contracts and physical threats, harvest virtual treasure for their employers to sell to First World gamers who are willing to spend real money to skip straight to higher-level gameplay. Mala is a brilliant 15-year-old from rural India whose leadership skills in virtual combat have earned her the title of “General Robotwalla.” In Shenzen, heart of China's industrial boom, Matthew is defying his former bosses to build his own successful gold-farming team. Leonard, who calls himself Wei-Dong, lives in Southern California, but spends his nights fighting virtual battles alongside his buddies in Asia, a world away. All of these young people, and more, will become entangled with the mysterious young woman called Big Sister Nor, who will use her experience, her knowledge of history, and her connections with real-world organizers to build them into a movement that can challenge the status quo. The ruthless forces arrayed against them are willing to use any means to protect their power — including blackmail, extortion, infiltration, violence, and even murder. To survive, Big Sister's people must out-think the system. This will lead them to devise a plan to crash the economy of every virtual world at once — a Ponzi scheme combined with a brilliant hack that ends up being the biggest, funnest game of all. Imbued with the same lively, subversive spirit and thrilling storytelling that made Little Brother an international sensation, For the Win is a prophetic and inspiring call-to-arms for a new generation. Review:"Doctorow uses video games to get teenage readers to think more about globalization, economics, and fair labor practices in this expansive but ponderous story. Set, like his earlier Little Brother, in a near-future world, it centers on attempts to unionize teenagers who work within massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) as gold farmers, employed to raise game gold and find magic items to be resold, or as Turks, who help police the virtual environments. Employed for minimal wages under horrible working conditions — sometimes in near slavery — these children, led by a global group of fierce and talented gamers, band together, subverting the MMORPGs to take on their corrupt local bosses and the corporations that own the games. As usual, Doctorow writes with authority and a knack for authentic details and lexicon, moving between impoverished villages in China and India and inventive video game worlds. But the story founders under the volume of information he's trying to share — the action is interrupted by lectures on economic principles, sometimes disguised as conversations — and an unwieldy cast of characters. It's undeniably smart and timely, but would have benefited from tighter editing. Ages 12 — up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"Award-winner Doctorow spins a mammoth tale that, when in gear, is as engaging and fascinating as any MMORPG.... UFans, future bankers and future gametechs will be in heaven." Kirkus Reviews Review:"Doctorow is indispensable....Once again Doctorow has taken denigrated youth behavior (this time, gaming) and recast it into something heroic. (Starred Review)" Booklist Synopsis:Imbued with the same lively, subversive spirit and thrilling storytelling that made Little Brother an international sensation, For the Win is a prophetic and inspiring call-to-arms for a new generation. Synopsis:Now in paperback, the novel of youthful fightback against the global game bosses—from the author of Little Brother Synopsis:Its the twenty-first century, and all over the world, MMORPGs are big business. Hidden away in China and elsewhere, young players are pressed into working as “gold-farmers,” amassing game-wealth thats sold to Western players at a profitable markup. Some of these pieceworkers rebel, trying to go into business for themselves—but theres little to stop their bosses from dragging them back into servitude. Some of them, like young Mala in the slums of Bombay—nicknamed “General Robotwallah” for her self-taught military skill—become enforcers for the bosses, but that only buys them so much. All the way over in L.A., young Wei-Dong, obsessed with Asian youth culture and MMORPGs, knows the system is rigged, knows that kids everywhere are being exploited. Finally, he and his Asian counterparts begin to work together to claim their rights. Under the noses of the ruling elites, they fight the bosses, the game owners and the rich speculators, outsmarting them with their street-gaming skills. But soon the battle will spill over from the virtual world to the real one, leaving the young rebels fighting not just for their rights, but for their lives…. About the AuthorCanadian-born Cory Doctorow has held policy positions with Creative Commons and the Electronic Frontier Foundation and been a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Southern California. He is a co-editor of the popular weblog BoingBoing (boingboing.net), which receives over three million visitors a month. His science fiction has won numerous awards, and his YA novel Little Brother spent seven weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!Average customer rating based on 4 comments:
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