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2 Burnside Science Fiction and Fantasy- A to Z

Makers

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Makers Cover

ISBN13: 9780765312792
ISBN10: 0765312794
Condition: Standard
Dustjacket: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Little Brother, a major novel of the booms, busts, and further booms in store for America

Perry and Lester invent things—seashell robots that make toast, Boogie Woogie Elmo dolls that drive cars. They also invent entirely new economic systems, like the “New Work,” a New Deal for the technological era. Barefoot bankers cross the nation, microinvesting in high-tech communal mini-startups like Perry and Lesters. Together, they transform the country, and Andrea Fleeks, a journo-turned-blogger, is there to document it.

Then it slides into collapse. The New Work bust puts the dot.combomb to shame. Perry and Lester build a network of interactive rides in abandoned Wal-Marts across the land. As their rides, which commemorate the New Works glory days, gain in popularity, a rogue Disney executive grows jealous, and convinces the police that Perry and Lesters 3D printers are being used to run off AK-47s.

Hordes of goths descend on the shantytown built by the New Workers, joining the cult. Lawsuits multiply as venture capitalists take on a new investment strategy: backing litigation against companies like Disney. Lester and Perrys friendship falls to pieces when Lester gets the ‘fatkins treatment, turning him into a sybaritic gigolo.

Then things get really interesting.

Review:

"In this tour de force, Doctorow (Little Brother) uses the contradictions of two overused SF themes — the decline and fall of America and the boundless optimism of open source/hacker culture — to draw one of the most brilliant reimaginings of the near future since cyberpunk wore out its mirror shades. Perry Gibbons and Lester Banks, typical brilliant geeks in a garage, are trash-hackers who find inspiration in the growing pile of technical junk. Attracting the attention of suits and smart reporter Suzanne Church, the duo soon get involved with cheap and easy 3D printing, a cure for obesity and crowd-sourced theme parks. The result is bitingly realistic and miraculously avoids clich or predictability. While dates and details occasionally contradict one another, Doctorow's combination of business strategy, brilliant product ideas and laugh-out-loud moments of insight will keep readers powering through this quick-moving tale." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Synopsis:

Perry and Lester invent things: seashell robots that make toast, Boogie Woogie Elmo dolls that drive cars. They also invent entirely new economic systems. When Kodak and Duracell are broken up for parts by sharp venture capitalists, Perry and Lester help to invent the “New Work,” a New Deal for the technological era. Barefoot bankers cross the nation, microinvesting in high-tech communal mini-startups. Together, they transform the nation and blogger Andrea Fleeks is there to document it.

Then it slides into collapse. The New Work bust puts the dot-bomb to shame. Perry and Lester build a network of interactive rides in abandoned Walmarts across the land. As their rides gain in popularity, a rogue Disney executive engineers a savage attack on the rides by convincing the police that their 3D printers are being used to make AK-47s.

Lawsuits multiply as venture capitalists take on a new investment strategy: backing litigation against companies like Disney. Lester and Perrys friendship falls to pieces when Lester gets the fatkins treatment, which turns him into a sybaritic gigolo.

Then things get really interesting.

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About the Author

Canadian-born Cory Doctorow is the author of the science fiction novels Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Eastern Standard Tribe, and Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, as well as two short story collections. He is also the author of young adult novels including the New York Times bestselling Little Brother and For the Win. His novels and short stories have won him three Locus Awards and the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. He is co-editor of the popular blog BoingBoing, and has been named one of the Webs twenty-five “influencers” by Forbes Magazine and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
FNORDinc, March 21, 2010 (view all comments by FNORDinc)
Doctorow, co-editor of Boing Boing and Copyright activist, released The Makers back in 2009, and i have been itching to read it. I never had the 25 bucks to go buy the hardback book though. i mean, i HAD the money, but getting 3 books for 25 bucks is always a hard thing to beat, so it just never came to fruition.

I had never read a Doctorow novel before this, and am glad that i made this my first.

When i finally got my Kindle2 (yes, i broke down and bought one) i was searching out some free (non-pirated) books to put on the device and came across The Makers. The novel was published simultaneously through Tor Books as well as Creative Commons for e-distribution. Cory’s only request is that if you enjoy the book, dont send him cash, buy a copy of the book and donate it to an organization or library in need.

Prior to sale, Doctorow also published a Serialized version directly on the Tor Blog, with thrice weekly updates. Unfortunately, i dont really care much for reading expansive text on computer screens.

Doctorow quotes a friend of his, Tim OReilly in the foreword of the ebook, “[his] problem isn’t piracy, it’s obscurity”. Well, keep writing books like this and harnessing off-norm publishing and you have zero change of that.

~~

The Makers is chronicled by ex-San Jose reporter Suzanne Church, watching and describing the story of the “new Work” movement. New Work being a generation of people (1 out of 5 americans) who decide to up and participate in a way of thinking that revolutionizes then destroys the world as we know it. Read as consumerism eats and recreates consumerism with a new form of the same old same old. rebirth via duplication. its the fall of the roman empire all over again, but with technology that would make xerox pee their pants a little bit.

newly bought out and merged KodaCell (Kodak and Duracell). Taking two companies that are basically dinosaurs of the pre-digital age and reallocating their resources, KodaCell hires ingenuous people and gives them the start up money needed to make forward progress, Lester and Perry are two such people.

The Makers covers the lives of Perry and Lester, avant-garde tech artists in florida. They are hanging out in a Florida junk yard creating art out reclaimed garbage. Whether it be synchronized dancing elmo dolls voice controlled and driving junk electric cars in a never ending race, or giant toasters covered in mechanized seashells, they are pleasantly ensconced in tech joy. (i never would have guessed how much advanced tech was inside a simple garbage elmo doll)

Perry and Lester are picked up by the

Side note: I have never been a fan of the Disney Corporation, and this book did not help. It did however help me reinstate ol’ Walt as the engineer and visionary that all of us big-corp haters often forget.

I recommend this book to anyone who reads the below quote (by rapper/poet Aesop Rock) and has any portion resonate with their core. I assume this will be greater than 90% of you.

I tend to underestimate my average
Just another bastard savage
Someday you’ll all eat out of my cold hand
Cuz every dog has its day
At which point, I’ll pull it away

Now we the American working population
Hate the fact that eight hours a day
Is wasted on chasing the dream of someone that isn’t us
And we may not hate our jobs
But we hate jobs in general
That don’t have to do with fighting our own causes

We the American working population
Hate the nine-to-five day-in day-out
When we’d rather be supporting ourselves
By being paid to perfect the pasttimes
That we have harbored based solely on the fact
That it makes us smile if it sounds dope

–Aesop Rock, 9 to 5er’s Anthem

this novel epitomizes succulence for the word and idea starved.

-- FNORDinc.com
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780765312792
Author:
Doctorow, Cory
Publisher:
Tor Books
Subject:
Science Fiction - General
Subject:
Science fiction
Subject:
Inventors
Subject:
Science / General
Subject:
Science Fiction and Fantasy-A to Z
Copyright:
2009
Edition Description:
Trade Cloth
Publication Date:
20091027
Binding:
Electronic book text in proprietary or open standard format
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
416
Dimensions:
9.25 x 6.13 in
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Related Subjects

Fiction and Poetry » Science Fiction and Fantasy » A to Z

Makers Used Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$17.50 In Stock
Product details 416 pages Tor Books - English 9780765312792 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "In this tour de force, Doctorow (Little Brother) uses the contradictions of two overused SF themes — the decline and fall of America and the boundless optimism of open source/hacker culture — to draw one of the most brilliant reimaginings of the near future since cyberpunk wore out its mirror shades. Perry Gibbons and Lester Banks, typical brilliant geeks in a garage, are trash-hackers who find inspiration in the growing pile of technical junk. Attracting the attention of suits and smart reporter Suzanne Church, the duo soon get involved with cheap and easy 3D printing, a cure for obesity and crowd-sourced theme parks. The result is bitingly realistic and miraculously avoids clich or predictability. While dates and details occasionally contradict one another, Doctorow's combination of business strategy, brilliant product ideas and laugh-out-loud moments of insight will keep readers powering through this quick-moving tale." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Synopsis" by ,
Perry and Lester invent things: seashell robots that make toast, Boogie Woogie Elmo dolls that drive cars. They also invent entirely new economic systems. When Kodak and Duracell are broken up for parts by sharp venture capitalists, Perry and Lester help to invent the “New Work,” a New Deal for the technological era. Barefoot bankers cross the nation, microinvesting in high-tech communal mini-startups. Together, they transform the nation and blogger Andrea Fleeks is there to document it.

Then it slides into collapse. The New Work bust puts the dot-bomb to shame. Perry and Lester build a network of interactive rides in abandoned Walmarts across the land. As their rides gain in popularity, a rogue Disney executive engineers a savage attack on the rides by convincing the police that their 3D printers are being used to make AK-47s.

Lawsuits multiply as venture capitalists take on a new investment strategy: backing litigation against companies like Disney. Lester and Perrys friendship falls to pieces when Lester gets the fatkins treatment, which turns him into a sybaritic gigolo.

Then things get really interesting.
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