Comment on Cory Doctorow New Book: Enshitification
ModernRisk@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
Anyone read other books of his and if so, do you recommend them?
I find the non-fiction stuff he writes good (e.g. The Internet Con, Chokepoint Capitalism). I believe this book is like that?
I found his fiction, based on the one book (The Lost Cause) I read, to be a bit juvenile in style (as in feels like a young adults kind of book) to the point I didn’t quite enjoy it, although the topics are interesting enough.
personally i read “Down and Out in the magic Kingdom” as well as the german translation “Backup”, which - while not masterpieces - were quite enjoyable.
I highly recommend the recent episode of the QAA podcast with doctriw, it’s an amazing listen!
Machinist@lemmy.world 1 month ago
His ideas are fantastic. Execution and characterization are spotty. Been a while since I read anything of his, but IIRC, he has a tendency to dip into surrealism or absurdity that feels cringey instead of his artistic target.
In some ways, it’s similar to a lot of Golden Era SF. You read it for the ideas, not the story.
I do have a favorable opinion of him and his work. I’d really enjoy Doctorow being paired with a traditional fiction author and both being rode herd by a hardass SF editor.