Radicalized: Four Tales of Our Present Moment

by Cory Doctorow

Overview

From New York Times bestselling author Cory Doctorow, Radicalized is four urgent SF novellas of America's present and future within one book

Told through one of the most on-pulse genre voices of our generation, Radicalized is a timely collection consisting of four SF novellas connected by social, technological, and economic visions of today and what America could be in the near, near future.

Unauthorized Bread is a tale of immigration, the toxicity of economic and technological stratification, and the young and downtrodden fighting against all odds to survive and prosper.

In Model Minority, a Superman-like figure attempts to rectifiy the corruption of the police forces he long erroneously thought protected the defenseless...only to find his efforts adversely affecting their victims.

Radicalized is a story of a darkweb-enforced violent uprising against insurance companies told from the perspective of a man desperate to secure funding for an experimental drug that could cure his wife's terminal cancer.

The fourth story, Masque of the Red Death, harkens back to Doctorow's Walkaway, taking on issues of survivalism versus community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250229250
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/03/2020
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	323,035
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of many books, including THE LOST CAUSE, a solarpunk science fiction novel of hope amidst the climate emergency. His recent nonfiction THE INTERNET CON: HOW TO SEIZE THE MEANS OF COMPUTATION is a Big Tech disassembly manual. Other recent books include RED TEAM BLUES, a science fiction crime thriller; CHOKEPOINT CAPITALISM, nonfiction about monopoly and creative labor markets; the LITTLE BROTHER series for young adults; IN REAL LIFE, a graphic novel; and the picture book POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

Editorial Reviews

03/11/2019

Author and blogger Doctorow’s thought-provoking latest story collection considers several possibilities of a future America. All of the tales are linked together by desperation borne out of trying times. “Unauthorized Bread” chronicles the attempts of refugee families to circumvent the restrictions of their apartment building, where elevators only stop for the rich and appliances are controlled by third-party software. In “Model Minority,” superhero American Eagle tries to assist victims of racial violence by challenging the system, but the effort hurts more than it helps. The title story follows a man who becomes involved in an online support forum after his wife is diagnosed with cancer. When members of the forum begin to attack insurance companies and hospitals, the man’s life, livelihood, and marriage are put on the line. Rounding out the collection is “The Masque of the Red Death,” in which a lucky few hold against the encroaching apocalypse in a makeshift camp, even as the odds are stacked against them. Doctorow (Walkaway) captures the mix of hope, fear, and uncertainty felt by those in precarious situations, set against the backdrop of intriguing futuristic landscapes. The characters are well wrought and complex, and the worldbuilding is careful. This is a fine introduction to Doctorow’s work, and his many fans will enjoy its exploration of favorite themes. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"Doctorow's combination of cutting edge speculation and deep interest in the social and political possibilities of the future make this collection a must-read."—Booklist (starred review)

"Doctorow captures the mix of hope, fear, and uncertainty felt by those in precarious situations, set against the backdrop of intriguing futuristic landscapes."—Publishers Weekly

Praise for Walkaway

“Is Doctorow’s fictional utopia bravely idealistic or bitterly ironic? The answer is in our own hands. A dystopian future is in no way inevitable; Walkaway reminds us that the world we choose to build is the one we’ll inhabit. Technology empowers both the powerful and the powerless, and if we want a world with more liberty and less control, we’re going to have to fight for it.”—Edward Snowden

“The darker the hour, the better the moment for a rigorously-imagined utopian fiction. Walkaway is now the best contemporary example I know of, its utopia glimpsed after fascinatingly-extrapolated revolutionary struggle. A wonderful novel: everything we’ve come to expect from Cory Doctorow and more.”—William Gibson

“The Bhagavad Gita of hacker/maker/burner/open source/git/gnu/wiki/99%/adjunctfaculty/Anonymous/shareware/thingiverse/cypherpunk/LGTBQIA*/squatter/upcycling culture...zipped it down into a pretty damned tight techno-thriller with a lot of sex in it.”—Neal Stephenson

“Cory Doctorow is one of our most important science fiction writers, because he’s also a public intellectual in the old style: he brings the news and explains it, making clearer the confusions of our wild current moment. His fiction is always the heart of his work, and this is his best book yet, describing vividly the revolutionary beginnings of a new way of being. In a world full of easy dystopias, he writes the hard utopia, and what do you know, his utopia is both more thought-provoking and more fun.”—Kim Stanley Robinson

"Thrilling and unexpected....A truly visionary techno-thriller that not only depicts how we might live tomorrow, but asks why we don’t already." Kirkus (starred review)

"Doctorow has envisioned a fascinating world...This intriguing take on a future that might be right around the corner is bound to please." —Library Journal

"Memorable and engaging. ...Ultimately suffused with hope." —Booklist

From the Publisher

Cory Doctorow’s four futuristic novellas are aided by four well-chosen narrators who each capture the essence of their given story. The works reflect today’s issues and come to life through Doctorow’s usual insightful and critical lens. Each novella offers something interesting— from Poe’s classic story reimagined as a tale of a modern apocalypse (“Masque of the Red Death”) to a story of homegrown terrorism as a result of inadequate health insurance (“Radicalized”), a story of the racial politics of a superhuman alien on earth (“Model Minority”), and another on corporate exploitation of the poor through automation and product placement (“Unauthorized Bread”). Stefan Rudnicki, Wil Wheaton, and Mirron Willis give their usual stellar performances, but Lameece Issaq’s performance of “Unauthorized Bread” is the standout because of how she balances its mixture of characters and draws out its tension. L.E. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

MAY 2019 - AudioFile

Cory Doctorow’s four futuristic novellas are aided by four well-chosen narrators who each capture the essence of their given story. The works reflect today’s issues and come to life through Doctorow’s usual insightful and critical lens. Each novella offers something interesting— from Poe’s classic story reimagined as a tale of a modern apocalypse (“Masque of the Red Death”) to a story of homegrown terrorism as a result of inadequate health insurance (“Radicalized”), a story of the racial politics of a superhuman alien on earth (“Model Minority”), and another on corporate exploitation of the poor through automation and product placement (“Unauthorized Bread”). Stefan Rudnicki, Wil Wheaton, and Mirron Willis give their usual stellar performances, but Lameece Issaq’s performance of “Unauthorized Bread” is the standout because of how she balances its mixture of characters and draws out its tension. L.E. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

MAY 2019 - AudioFile