Down and out in the Magic Kingdom

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow was the 15th official Sword and Laser Book Club selection.

Reading period: Jan 14, 2010 - Feb 17, 2010

How/Why was this book chosen: 

S&L Book Club Members Voted on a poll of IO9's 20 Best Science Fiction Books of the Decade

This book was leading the poll when it was picked.

Sword & Laser Podcasts: Kick Off: S&L 27 Wrap Up: S&L 28

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
Jules is a young man barely a century old. He's lived long enough to see the cure for death and the end of scarcity, to learn ten languages and compose three symphonies...and to realize his boyhood dream of taking up residence in Disney World.

Disney World! The greatest artistic achievement of the long-ago twentieth century. Now in the keeping of a network of "ad-hocs" who keep the classic attractions running as they always have, enhanced with only the smallest high-tech touches.

Now, though, the "ad hocs" are under attack. A new group has taken over the Hall of the Presidents, and is replacing its venerable audioanimatronics with new, immersive direct-to-brain interfaces that give guests the illusion of being Washington, Lincoln, and all the others. For Jules, this is an attack on the artistic purity of Disney World itself.

Worse: it appears this new group has had Jules killed. This upsets him. (It's only his fourth death and revival, after all.) Now it's war....