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For The Win by Cory Doctorow
Jul. 16th, 2013 11:34 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
Not far in the future …
In Industrial South China Matthew and his friends labour day and night as gold-farmers, amassing virtual wealth that’s sold on to rich Western players, while in the slums of Mumbai ‘General Robotwallah’ Mala marshalls her team of online thugs on behalf of the local gang-boss, who in turn works for the game-owners. They’re all being exploited, as their friend Wei-Dong, all the way over in LA, knows, but can do little about it.
Until they begin to realise that their similarities outweigh their differences, and agree to work together to claim their rights to fair working conditions. Under the noses of the ruling elites, the owners in China and the rest of Asia, they fight their bosses, the owners of the games and rich speculators, outsmarting them all with their gaming skills.
But soon the battle will spill over from the virtual world to the real one, leaving Mala, Matthew and even Wei-Dong fighting not just for their rights, but for their lives …
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Cory Doctorow’s YA economic thriller is a plodding, dull polemic with two-dimensional characters weighed down by economic and financial theory. Although I admire the attempt to get teens engaged with politics, ultimately the story’s smothered by the message and moralising.
In Industrial South China Matthew and his friends labour day and night as gold-farmers, amassing virtual wealth that’s sold on to rich Western players, while in the slums of Mumbai ‘General Robotwallah’ Mala marshalls her team of online thugs on behalf of the local gang-boss, who in turn works for the game-owners. They’re all being exploited, as their friend Wei-Dong, all the way over in LA, knows, but can do little about it.
Until they begin to realise that their similarities outweigh their differences, and agree to work together to claim their rights to fair working conditions. Under the noses of the ruling elites, the owners in China and the rest of Asia, they fight their bosses, the owners of the games and rich speculators, outsmarting them all with their gaming skills.
But soon the battle will spill over from the virtual world to the real one, leaving Mala, Matthew and even Wei-Dong fighting not just for their rights, but for their lives …
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Cory Doctorow’s YA economic thriller is a plodding, dull polemic with two-dimensional characters weighed down by economic and financial theory. Although I admire the attempt to get teens engaged with politics, ultimately the story’s smothered by the message and moralising.
