'Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom' by Cory Doctorow is a futuristic novel set in a world where death has been conquered, and people can back up their consciousness. The story revolves around a society where wealth is measured by respect, and Disney World is a central location. The plot involves a murder mystery and a battle for ownership of different rides in the theme park, all set in a unique milieu where the internet and subculture play significant roles. Doctorow's writing style is described as futuristic, exploring a world where want has been eradicated, and people interact based on a reputation system called 'Whuffie.'
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Has Romance?
There is a moderate level of romance, primarily focused on the protagonist's relationship with his girlfriend.
From The Publisher:
Cory Doctorow's debut cyberpunk science fiction that explores the scarcity of morality in a world that has conquered death and material insufficiency-now repackaged with a new cover!
Jules is a young man barely a century old. He's lived long enough to see the cure for death and the end of scarcity, to learn ten languages and compose three symphonies...and to realize his boyhood dream of taking up residence in Disney World.
Disney World! The greatest artistic achievement of the long-ago twentieth century. Now in the care of a network of volunteer "ad-hocs" who keep the classic attractions running as they always have, enhanced with only the smallest high-tech touches.
Now, though, it seems the "ad hocs" are under attack. A new group has taken over the Hall of the Presidents and is replacing its venerable audioanimatronics with new, immersive direct-to-brain interfaces that give guests the illusion of being Washington, Lincoln, and all the others. For Jules, this is an attack on the artistic purity of Disney World itself.
Worse: it appears this new group has had Jules killed. This upsets him. (It's only his fourth death and revival, after all.) Now it's war: war for the soul of the Magic Kingdom, a war of ever-shifting reputations, technical wizardry, and entirely unpredictable outcomes.
Bursting with cutting-edge speculation and human insight, Cory Doctorow's Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom is a coming-of-age romantic comedy and a kick-butt cybernetic tour de force.
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Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom?
About the Author:
CORY DOCTOROW is a coeditor of Boing Boing, a special consultant to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an MIT Media Lab Research Associate and a visiting professor of Computer Science at the Open University. His award-winning novel Little Brother and its sequel Homeland were a New York Times bestsellers. Born and raised in Canada, he lives in Los Angeles.
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