Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom
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| Author | Cory Doctorow |
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| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Publisher | TOR |
| Released | 1 February 2003 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover & paperback) & ebook |
| Pages | 208 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-7653-0436-8 (hardcover) ISBN 0-7653-0953-X (paperback) |
| Followed by | Truncat |
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom is a 2003 science fiction book, the first novel by Canadian author and digital-rights activist Cory Doctorow. Probably its most notable feature is the fact that, concurrent with its publication by Tor Books, Doctorow released the entire text of the novel under a Creative Commons license on his website, allowing the whole text of the book to be read for free and distributed without needing any further permission from him or his publisher.
The novel was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 2004.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
This future history book takes place in the 22nd century, mostly in Walt Disney World. Earth now lives under the "Bitchun Society", in which rejuvenation and body-enhancement have made death obsolete, material goods are no longer scarce, and everyone is granted basic rights that in our present age are mostly considered luxuries. This abundance has brought about the end of labor and money, and the only thing that makes one person worth more than anyone else is "Whuffie", a constantly updated rating that measures how much esteem and respect other people have for you. This rating system determines who gets the few scarce items, like the best housing, a table in a crowded restaurant, or a good place in a queue for a theme park attraction.
The narrator of the book, Jules, has fulfilled his childhood dream of living at Disney World, which, since corporations no longer exist, is now run by rival ad-hoc committees, each dedicated to providing the best experience to the park's visitors and competing for the Whuffie the guests offer. Jules has a girlfriend a century younger than himself (but outwardly the same age), and both of them work for the committee that oversees the Magic Kingdom's Liberty Square. When Jules is killed — a minor annoyance, as he is revived in a new body within a few days with his memories intact — he discovers that another ad-hoc group with a notoriously aggressive, high-Whuffie leader has taken control of the Hall of Presidents, and is going to replace its old-fashioned animatronic robots with high-tech, direct-neural imprinting. Jules believes that this rival committee had him killed to get him out of the way for a while and seize the Hall in the interim. Fearing that they will next try to revamp his favorite ride, The Haunted Mansion, he resolves to take a stand against the dehumanization of the park, endangering his relationship with his lover as he drags her into his schemes, along with his best friend, a former missionary for the Bitchun utopia who has lost the will to live now that there are no technophobes left to convert.
[edit] Trivia
- Chapter five includes a description of a "Snow Crash Spectacular parade" based on Neal Stephenson's book Snow Crash.
- The book contains references to the Beatles song "Rocky Raccoon". Jules' girlfriend Lil leaves him for his friend Dan, just as Lil leaves Rocky Raccoon for a man named Dan in the song. At the beginning of the book, Jules and Lil sing some lyrics from the song.
- Doctorow's short story "Truncat" is also set in the Bitchun Society, sometime after the events of Down and Out.
[edit] Licensing
On February 8, 2004, Doctorow re-licensed his book. Under the new Creative Commons license, one can now make derivative works from the book without permission, provided the license and attribution is retained with each new work and the derivatives are not used commercially. Already, fans of the book have begun Russian and Spanish translations, an audio book version, and several amusing re-arrangements of the text. Doctorow has noted that he is pleased that people are building on his work, and that he hopes that further innovations will follow.
[edit] Release details
- 2003, USA, Tor Books (ISBN 0-7653-0436-8), Pub date 1 February 2003, Hardcover
- 2003, USA, Tor Books (ISBN ?), Pub date ? February 2003, e-Book
- 2003, USA, Tor Books (ISBN 0-7653-0953-X), Pub date 5 December 2003, Paperback
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The official site for the book on Cory Doctorow's homepage. Includes the full, free text of the book in many downloadable formats.
- 'The Bitchun Society', a prototype internet gift economy that follows the Whuffie system mentioned in the book.
