Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

There are some good concepts in this book, but the plot was so flimsy in comparison I ended up not caring. It would have been a much better book with something grander than a power struggle over who manages the Haunted Mansion in Disneyworld.

Fun, quirky, characters are complex enough to be interesting. I've read a LOT of science fiction (probably well over 1,000 books) and I enjoyed this. Was it earth-shatteringly meaningful and thought-provoking? No. But it was fun to read.

This is a great introduction to Cory Doctorow's work and you will be taken aback at what he has to say. Every generation produces a couple of writers who matter and he's clearly one of those for our time. In the internet age it's hard to be brilliant enough to stand out but he does ... enjoy!

Nothing like reading a book that feels like the middle chapter of something. Too many out there concepts that were never explained so it was hard to care about what was happening to the characters or their choices.

...after I had read it. Twice. Which is possible because Cory Doctorow lets us download the book plain text (or in what format have you) as a teaser from his site [...]
Which is a good thing, because otherwise I would have missed all the fun. The story is a classic tragedy, in a not so unbelievable future world where everything has gone P2P. Much future gizmo speak, but you get around that nicely. Also much word play, which helps to relate with the cast, and in particular the protagonist. Read it! And buy it, too.

I simply couldn't have enjoyed this book more (unless it ran for another 300 pages). The mix of "behind the scenes" at Disney World, a world where death is an inconvenience and reputation (literally) is the coin of the realm, nanotech & human/computer integration, ooo, gives me the goosebumpbs. And Cory carries all of this off with humor and truly interesting characters. Enjoy!

Cory weaves a thoughtful story about the impact of a reputation system on an immortal society.

A thought provoking story about how capitalism can be supplemented with a gift/attention economy.

The protagonist is buffeted by the forces of the "whuffie" reputation system as he tries to compete against other "ad-hocs" in Disneyland. Various ad-hocs took over Disneyland (as well as the rest of the world) after the powers-that-be were ousted due to their inability to keep up with the creativity of self-selected enthusiasts.

Not an Earth-shattering original plot or literary technique or anything like that. But highly amusing and at a few points thought-provoking. Does pretty well at taking a look at ownership ideas and identity-hacking. A quick read that everyone should do at least once.

As a recovering Disney Employee (16 years removed) I did immensely enjoy the concept of Future Disney. Cory Doctorow's writing is different and anti-mainstream and for that he gets 3 stars. Character development is good and the reader is rewarded with a great deal of insight into the main leads.

Did I mention that I am an avid Mansion fan? So, of course making the Mansion a part of the secondary conflict was, in my opinion, cool.

I strongly believe that Doctorow's future work will only get better.

All in all, a pretty interesting book.

Like the other reviewer noted, it isn't up to par with Snow Crash, but then it is free, isn't it?

Think twice about buying the book, as the author has posted it for download on his website.

The writing is imaginative, but incredibly childish and immature, and stretches out like a laundry list of the desires of an unpopular teenage boy. The conversations take place between what we're expected to believe are ultra-hip, super-cool people, but the dialog is so weak and strained it sounds like desperate teenage male ultra-nerd banter. The "romance" comes off as if the author has never had a serious relationship with a normal human female. Overall, although the world is large and unique, the characters and dialog are stereotypical of an immature, limited world view. I cannot recommend this book.

I purchased this book based on other reviews and I am a big disney fan. I was not impressed. I found it hard to follow and although the background on disney was great I couldn't make heads or tails of half the "features" in the future that were discussed.

It was released under a creative commons non-comercial license, no DRM, as per the author, and it's available in every format under the sun. So, if you're looking for a Kindle version --- don't spend $9.99 because you can EASILY GET IT FOR FREE!!! Legally. Great book.