Radicalized
2019
- fiction, short stories (single author)
- collection:canada reads
- collection:canada reads 2020
The story
Told through one of the most on-pulse genre voices of our generation--New York Times bestselling author Cory Doctorow--Radicalized is a timely novel comprised of four science fiction 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.
What it’s like
Brisk, chatty prose that reads like a clever friend talking fast over a laptop, full of forum threads, group chats, and sharp asides about money and software. The four novellas are set in a near-future America of glossy apps, gig-economy precarity, and grimy apartment blocks, and the book keeps returning to the textures of screens, cheap food, crowded transit, and late-night dread. Pace is quick and propulsive, with short chapters and dialogue doing much of the work, though the stories slow for moments of tender domestic worry. The vibe is urgent, wry, and angry, a warm-hearted techno-thriller with a political pulse. Violence is present and sometimes brutal: police brutality, a violent uprising against insurers, and a few shocking deaths, all rendered plainly rather than lingered on for gore. Sexual content is minimal, and the strongest emotional weight comes from illness, poverty, and loyalty between people under pressure. It suits a restless weekend, a long flight, or readers who want fiction that argues about surveillance, inequality, and who gets to decide what community means. Best for readers of near-future political SF who can handle grim events delivered with momentum and dark humour.
More books like Radicalized
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved Radicalizedand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
