blog blog blog
Clearly I'm no longer busy because I am now on my 3rd (?) blog of the day.
Just finished a book called Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by one Cory Doctorow.
It's a science fiction novel set in a very interesting sounding future about a guy living in Disney World. First off, any writer who can reference Snow Crash by putting a parade for Hiro Protagonist in the Magic Kingdom is golden in my book. Second, the best part about science fiction novels for me is getting dumped into an awesome future world where everything feels so real and yet so alien that its imminent reality is almost palpable. Now, normally science fiction novels aren't all that palatable to everyone but I would say everyone would be able to relate to this book. Science fiction world jargon aside, it's a winner. Also, if you have a special love of Disney World, this is the sci-fi novel for you (wow I almost spelled "novel" as "knovel"). Also, it's available for free online I believe so no one has any excuse to not read it.
It's been a while since I've read in general. Read The Five People You Meet in Heaven on the plane to Puerto Rico but aside from that... So this was a really nice treat. My friend at work recommended it to me and then gave me his copy. It's pretty short so it was a quick read.
As I said before, some of my favorite things about sci-fi novels is the world it creates. The same goes for fantasy novels really. I guess my problem is, the real world is way too freakin' boring for me. It's like movies. I LIVE in the real world. I don't freakin' need to engage in fiction only to get MORE of it. I want aliens, crazy technology, fantasy creatures, new and exciting places, explosions, SOMETHING. But back to the book.
My favorite concepts in this future world were the curing of death and the whuffie. What do you do in a post-scarcity economy where people can't die and if anything goes wrong you can just upload all your memories, personality, etc... into a brand new spanking clone? You create a currency that, as the book describes, pretty much takes the essence of what money is now and makes it its very nature. Instead of money to garner respect, the money is the respect. Composing symphonies, getting doctorates, being a well respected member of your community, that's whuffie. And when you kill someone, piss people off, act like a brat, your whuffie goes down. Instead of having money you are your own money and the amount of yourself you can spend depends on how much you contribute to society. It is REALLY COOL. And now if you're wondering, what do you do if you're just a total loser who can have nothing to contribute and to add to it, you're a complete dick so no one could possibly ever like or respect you? What do we do with the Glen Becks of the world in this future dystopian society? Because it's a post-scarcity economy, even without any whuffie you can still live better than most of the people in this world. Because you can still find places to live, eat, and have fun for free. But if you want the nice stuff, to eat at restaurants, to own a home of your own, you have to make whuffie.
What a great idea.
The other thing was the curing of death. Of course lots of people have explored this idea. But what does that really mean? Do we as humans really want to live forever? It kind of fascinates me to think about a world where no one dies. Plus the whole overpopulation thing didn't get explained as thoroughly as I would have liked in the book. With all the people in the world now, what the shit do we do if no one dies? Though I guess global warming would become more of an issue. If no one dies then we can't keep thinking that it's a problem for the next generation. Because we freakin' ARE the next generation. Then we'd HAVE to deal with it.
Man it really would fix this crippling deficit in foresight so many human beings tend to have.
Then there's the whole theme of Disney World. This book made me want to go to Disney World. And it really reinforced what I'd always known. That the Haunted Mansion is one of the best rides in the place. Plus one of the cool things about this book is that it doesn't get bogged down by the science fiction. Some books feel less accessible because the point IS the science fiction and not the story or the characters. Which is another reason why I think this book will be a good read for everyone.
Just finished a book called Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by one Cory Doctorow.
It's a science fiction novel set in a very interesting sounding future about a guy living in Disney World. First off, any writer who can reference Snow Crash by putting a parade for Hiro Protagonist in the Magic Kingdom is golden in my book. Second, the best part about science fiction novels for me is getting dumped into an awesome future world where everything feels so real and yet so alien that its imminent reality is almost palpable. Now, normally science fiction novels aren't all that palatable to everyone but I would say everyone would be able to relate to this book. Science fiction world jargon aside, it's a winner. Also, if you have a special love of Disney World, this is the sci-fi novel for you (wow I almost spelled "novel" as "knovel"). Also, it's available for free online I believe so no one has any excuse to not read it.
It's been a while since I've read in general. Read The Five People You Meet in Heaven on the plane to Puerto Rico but aside from that... So this was a really nice treat. My friend at work recommended it to me and then gave me his copy. It's pretty short so it was a quick read.
As I said before, some of my favorite things about sci-fi novels is the world it creates. The same goes for fantasy novels really. I guess my problem is, the real world is way too freakin' boring for me. It's like movies. I LIVE in the real world. I don't freakin' need to engage in fiction only to get MORE of it. I want aliens, crazy technology, fantasy creatures, new and exciting places, explosions, SOMETHING. But back to the book.
My favorite concepts in this future world were the curing of death and the whuffie. What do you do in a post-scarcity economy where people can't die and if anything goes wrong you can just upload all your memories, personality, etc... into a brand new spanking clone? You create a currency that, as the book describes, pretty much takes the essence of what money is now and makes it its very nature. Instead of money to garner respect, the money is the respect. Composing symphonies, getting doctorates, being a well respected member of your community, that's whuffie. And when you kill someone, piss people off, act like a brat, your whuffie goes down. Instead of having money you are your own money and the amount of yourself you can spend depends on how much you contribute to society. It is REALLY COOL. And now if you're wondering, what do you do if you're just a total loser who can have nothing to contribute and to add to it, you're a complete dick so no one could possibly ever like or respect you? What do we do with the Glen Becks of the world in this future dystopian society? Because it's a post-scarcity economy, even without any whuffie you can still live better than most of the people in this world. Because you can still find places to live, eat, and have fun for free. But if you want the nice stuff, to eat at restaurants, to own a home of your own, you have to make whuffie.
What a great idea.
The other thing was the curing of death. Of course lots of people have explored this idea. But what does that really mean? Do we as humans really want to live forever? It kind of fascinates me to think about a world where no one dies. Plus the whole overpopulation thing didn't get explained as thoroughly as I would have liked in the book. With all the people in the world now, what the shit do we do if no one dies? Though I guess global warming would become more of an issue. If no one dies then we can't keep thinking that it's a problem for the next generation. Because we freakin' ARE the next generation. Then we'd HAVE to deal with it.
Man it really would fix this crippling deficit in foresight so many human beings tend to have.
Then there's the whole theme of Disney World. This book made me want to go to Disney World. And it really reinforced what I'd always known. That the Haunted Mansion is one of the best rides in the place. Plus one of the cool things about this book is that it doesn't get bogged down by the science fiction. Some books feel less accessible because the point IS the science fiction and not the story or the characters. Which is another reason why I think this book will be a good read for everyone.