Welcome to KIWIreviews - product reviews
•  click here to return to the homepage  •
Welcome visitor.Join us or log in

Product reviews on kiwireviews.nz : Tuesday 3rd December 2024 - 17:55:40

QuickSearch for:    What is QuickSearch?
QuickJump to:    What is QuickJump?
logon name: p/w:  

I want to:

You Are Here...

Home > Categories > Books > Fiction > Makers review

« The Magic School Bus - Discovering Bugs reviewThe Magic School Bus - Discovering BugsHostage reviewHostage »

Score: 9.5/10  [1 review]
5 out of 5
ProdID: 2404 - Makers
Written by Cory Doctorow

Makers
Price:
$36.99
Sample/s Supplied by:
Click to search for all products supplied by HarperCollins

Disclosure StatementFULL DISCLOSURE: A number of units of this product have, at some time, been provided to KIWIreviews by HarperCollins or their agents for the sole purposes of unbiased, independent reviews. No fee was requested, offered nor accepted by KIWIreviews or the reviewers themselves - these are genuine, unpaid consumer reviews.
Available:
January 2010

Makers product reviews

Perry and Lester invent things. All sorts of things. Seashell robots that make toast, Boogie Woogie Elmo dolls that drive cars. They also invent an entirely new economic system.

'New Work' is a New Deal for the technological era. Soon barefoot bankers are criss-crossing the nation, microinvesting in high-tech communal start-ups like Perry and Lester's. Together they transform a country, and journalist Suzanne Church is there to document it. But a new economic system requires a whole new belief system -- and there are plenty of non-believers out there. The New Work bust puts the dot.com-bomb to shame and soon Perry and Lester are out of funds and out of business. Down but not out, they go back to what they do best - making stuff.

But when a rogue Disney executive grows jealous of their once more soaring popularity and convinces the police that their amazing 3-D printers are being used to run off AK-47s, things get very dark very quickly!

This brilliantly entertaining and original novel fizzes with bold ideas about the future and how our lives will look as part of it. But at its heart are three characters, Perry, Lester and Suzanne, on an unforgettable journey that will bring them together only to break them apart as they each try to discover how to live meaningfully in an ever-changing world filled with both beauty and horror - where some things really are immutable!

Check out HarperCollins onlineClick here to see all the listings for HarperCollins Visit their website Follow them on Twitter Check them out on Facebook They do not have a YouTube Channel They do not have a Pinterest board They do not have an Instagram channel They do not have a TikTok channel



Tags:
business   communal   commune   cory doctorow   disney   future   homeless   microfabrication   rapid prototyping   stockmarket   von newmann
Other listings you may be interested in:
Gravity's ChainGravity's Chain
Rating: 7.8
Cartoon StudioCartoon Studio
Rating: 6.5
The Tide Lords #1 - The Immortal PrinceThe Tide Lords #1 - The Immortal Prince
Rating: 10.0
Trackers - 2 - ShantorianTrackers - 2 - Shantorian
Rating: 9.0
Wolven 3 - Bad Wolf RisingWolven 3 - Bad Wolf Rising
Rating: 8.8
The ExplorerThe Explorer
Rating: 6.8
Farrah's Kitchen - Creative Ideas with WrapsFarrah's Kitchen - Creative Ideas with Wraps
Rating: 9.6
The DrowningThe Drowning
Rating: 8.1
Grandpa's SlippersGrandpa's Slippers
Rating: 9.6
Tom Gates: Absolutely Brilliant Big Book of StuffTom Gates: Absolutely Brilliant Big Book of Stuff
Rating: 10.0
Freak Street: Meet the MummysonsFreak Street: Meet the Mummysons
Rating: 7.0
Torty And The SoldierTorty And The Soldier
Rating: 9.4
The Promise of Puanga: A Story for MatarikiThe Promise of Puanga: A Story for Matariki
Rating: 10.0

Product reviews...

Everyone is welcome to post a review. You will need to Join up or log in to post yours.

Click here to read the profile of tucker

Review by: tucker (Karl)
Dated: 16th of December, 2009

Link to this review Report this review

 

This Review: 9.5/10
Value for Money:
Score 8 out of 10
Level of Realism:
Score 10 out of 10
Rereadability:
Score 10 out of 10
Lose Track of Time:
Score 10 out of 10

I have always loved stories that explore the limits of new technologies, but this is the first one I have really enjoyed where it explores new limits of old technology. The ultimate in e-waste recycling really.

Though the story is set some indeterminate time in the future, I get the feeling it's 40-50 years from now... or maybe 10 and the American society crashes faster than expected. Either way, the economy is utterly shot, the rich are filthy rich, the poor are legion... even highly-silled technical and middle-management are now homeless, living in shanty towns, squatting on empty lits who's owners are either absentee, unknown, or so far in the... trouble... themselves that the ownership paperwork is lost in land court. Even the simplest toy has more *potential* computing power than laptops from 2-3 years ago, and the techno-hackers are a new breed unto themselves, living a lifestyle part "free spirit hippy" part "crazy baglady".

The story unforlds around the main charatcers of Suzanne, a reporter who just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and tough enough to ask the right questions... Landon Kettlewell, entrepreneur millionaire and new owner of Duracell and Kodak, now merged, and dubbed Kodacell by the ever-obnoxious Freddy, a rat-faced, foul-smelling reporter who is determined to tear down everyone he thinks sits above him on the food chain... which is basically everyone doing anything remotely successful in these tough times.

By far the two main characters though are Lester and Perry, visionary 'makers' who can take almost anything ordinary and make it into something extraordinary. Lester is the creative genius, while Perry is the visionary and eventual prime mover of the story. Everything eventually revolves around Perry, so it's worth paying special attention to him in the early chapters, to better understand why he does what he does in the later stages, when things are getting rougher.

Personally, I found the book utterly enthralling, and once it comes out in standard paperback at a slightly more affordable price, I think it'll be a winner with the sci-fi crowd who want something a little more down-to-earth and grittier. There is no 'smooth' in this story... characters come and go, swap teams, backstab, counter-backstab, disappear and reappear almost at random, but always at a time and place the furthers the plot significantly... this is one very masterful piece of fiction that could turn out to be as prophetic as any of Arthur C. Clarke's early works.

Overall, an excellent book to investigate if you want something 'different' to read over the summer months. The characters are very well developed, the plot holds true to 'real life' far more than some projected ideal (ie. Sh*t happens, in the best examples of Murphy's Law) and that gives it far more credibility than I would have thought at first. A rollicking rollercoaster of hope and ambition, betrayal and doublecross, with a surprisingly satisfying twist at the end. Great reading.

Random listing from 'Books'...

Score: - pending -
Product reviews for listing 2889: Melting Stones
Written by: Tamora Pierce

Product image for Melting StonesFour years have passed since Evvy left Chammur to begin her training as a stone mage. At fourteen, she's unhappy to be on a new journey with her mentor, Rosethorn, who has been called to the Battle Islands to determine why the plants and animals there are dying.

Evvy's job is to listen and learn, but she can't just keep quiet and do nothing. With the help of Luvo, the living stone heart of a mountain, Evy uncovers an important ... more...

Go to the listing

General Disclaimer...

Protected by Copyscape Plagiarism Checker - Do not copy content from this page. Creative Commons Licence All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.

"Proof that God doesn't exist: If God created the earth for mankind, why is it that we can only live on a less than a quarter of it?"
anonymous