EASTERN STANDARD TRIBE, BY CORY DOCTOROW

This book was written by Cory Doctorow, one of the writers at BoingBoing.net, so it might not surprise you that you that it’s under the Creative Commons license and you can read it for free at his site. Being, however, a chump, I paid real Earth dollars for it in meatspace. Meatspace! I am a hip cyberpunk! From the future!

The book is near-future science fiction with just about one cool new idea: in a pervasively connected homogenized world, the most meaningful form of of group identity isn’t geography or interest so much as when you’re awake. Thus, the book features net-based conglomerates of people who all live in a single time zone, regardless of where they live on Earth. Actually, the way Docotorow describes the idea, certain places have a particular set of tastes and mannerisms, and the net allows people anywhere on Earth to participate in that culture, provided they are willing to synchronize themselves to that location’s timezone. The resulting Tribes are never defined satisfactorily. Are they backscratching networks? Pseudo-states? Cancerous IRC channels run amok? It’s a fun idea that isn’t carried far enough.

Once this idea peters out, you’re left with writing that is merely acceptable and a plot whose most winning quality is brevity. Doctorow’s prose is breezy and irrelevant, with little to no redeeming humor. I think my only mid-book vocalizations were two non-sequential snorts, which, as my sister can tell you, is damning testimony from a Ueda. Apart from the Tribes idea, it’s just your standard near future megacoroporations, non-lethal police weaponry, and phenomenally capable all-in-wonder cell phones. I don’t want to live in a future with IRC. In conclusion, not my favorite book ever.