marinarawr's review against another edition
2.0
Had I read this book by myself and not in class, it would have been abandoned before I got half-way done. Did nothing for me.
elbowglitter's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely an eye opening look at surveillance and protection. I'm not an alarmist, but this was a great story and very eye opening.
benrogerswpg's review against another edition
4.0
Hack The System
This was a great and fun hacking book.
A lot of this book reminded me of myself. Similar things I have done like creating batch scripts and cyber defence and cybersecurity - and such.
But, this book did have some questionable values in it which I wouldn't recommend for everyone.
Finally, it was pretty simplistic at times. Hacking isn't always this easy, although make it a lot easier now a days!
A great book for teaching youth to question..
Still a fun book!
4.0/5
This was a great and fun hacking book.
A lot of this book reminded me of myself. Similar things I have done like creating batch scripts and cyber defence and cybersecurity - and such.
But, this book did have some questionable values in it which I wouldn't recommend for everyone.
Finally, it was pretty simplistic at times. Hacking isn't always this easy, although
Spoiler
tools like Kali LinuxA great book for teaching youth to question..
Still a fun book!
4.0/5
marisamoo's review against another edition
2.0
2.5
I feel like I'm one of the only people who DIDN'T like this book. Everyone as far as I can tell liked it.
Idk I guess it's just not my type of book/genre. It started off really interesting and cool but then just got really confusing and honestly kinda boring and tech-y. I don't really like tech-y political books so it was just hard to read.
Still, well written, had some very strong messages that I don't really have an opinion about (again not a politics person).
It was just a bit....confusing and while I liked the character I find it VERY hard to relate to first POV guy characters for some reason I don't even know. Marcus was fun to read and had a strong voice but wasn't the best that I've read.
Other than that it really was well written and I know lots of people would love it.... it's just not my type of book.
I feel like I'm one of the only people who DIDN'T like this book. Everyone as far as I can tell liked it.
Idk I guess it's just not my type of book/genre. It started off really interesting and cool but then just got really confusing and honestly kinda boring and tech-y. I don't really like tech-y political books so it was just hard to read.
Still, well written, had some very strong messages that I don't really have an opinion about (again not a politics person).
It was just a bit....confusing and while I liked the character I find it VERY hard to relate to first POV guy characters for some reason I don't even know. Marcus was fun to read and had a strong voice but wasn't the best that I've read.
Other than that it really was well written and I know lots of people would love it.... it's just not my type of book.
hadleyroberts's review against another edition
4.0
This is very important book. It is subversive lit for today's youth.
raquelzc's review against another edition
3.0
Yeah yeah, technology is bad. The government is spying on us. We're all neing tracked by every step we take. It was bound to happen. Paranoia is a bitch. Liked it overall but it felt too slow, too many terms not many readers would understand despite the explanations. I mean, I'm a computer science major major and I had some trouble.
rarwriter's review against another edition
4.0
This entertaining YA cautionary parable will be celebrated as the Plugged-in Generation's equivalent to 1994.
jennifervu's review against another edition
2.0
Very impressive but not my type. I had a hard time understanding him. Yeah... I'm dumb.
nicolaspratt's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely written for young-adults, but even older readers will enjoy and learn from the technology explanations that Doctorow gives. The prevalence of government surveillance only becomes more pervasive, and Doctorow brings these concerns into a fictional but educational book.
justiceofkalr's review against another edition
3.0
I had a lot of trouble deciding whether to give this book two or three stars. I ended up settling on three because I liked the concept and the plot, but the execution seemed pretty lacking at times.
Right off the bat one of my biggest issues is with the dialogue. So much of it is either a huge cliche or amazingly stupid. As I noted in one of my status updates: "The main character has the revelation that "Terrorists don't hate airplanes or bridges. They love terror." Did he really think the terrorists had some vendetta against architecture or transportation? And after he contemplates that his room may be bugged he says out loud "I'll find a way to get them." Way to not act suspiciously." There were plenty more lines like this scattered throughout the story, all just as ridiculous. As for the cliche dialogue, Marcus, the main character, seems to swear his revenge every chapter and the baddies spew your typical sinister lines every time they appear. Stuff like: "You are a marked man", "You belong to us", "We can watch you closely all the time", "We know where you live, we know who your friends are" etc.
Speaking of the bad guys, most of them are pretty ridiculous straw men. Any time an argument/discussion happens on the subject of security vs. freedom, the bad guys just seem to give some version of "But the terrorists!" while Marcus tears them down with textbook-like answers and quotes from the constitution. Not to mention they're portrayed as pretty stupid in general. The main student we see defending the Department of Homeland Security is portrayed as a bully who's all brawn and no brain. The vice-principal who supports the DHS and school security is portrayed as a technological idiot with a vendetta against the Marcus.The father is shown as supporting the DHS only out of rage and fear. The book is definitely not subtle in it's message of freedom over all and it quite often feels like you're being beat over the head with it while reading. I definitely fall on the freedom side of this argument, but at times it felt like I was reading a piece of propaganda instead of a story.
Doctorow also seems to like to infodump a lot. Which is useful for the most part, but I really wish he could have blended it into the story even a little better. I'll give him definite credit though for making the technology and math used in the story really easy to understand, which I think is particularly great for a young adult book. So kudos for clarity, I just wish it could have been more integrated.
Lastly, Marcus really annoyed me. He throws in occasional net speak in his inner thoughts and outer dialogues that seem like a weird attempt to make him hip and young. It feels particularly out of place because he doesn't use it constantly, so it really stands out when he does. It's also really juxtaposed to his pro-freedom rants he goes on that seem so textbook. Early on he refers to something as "teh suck" and he spends the rest of the story referring to every female his age in the book as "h4wt", which particularly annoyed me. His personality also drove me crazy. When he first gets snatched up by the DHS he's all snark and attitude, but all it takes is him pissing his pants later to turn him into a blubbering mess ready to confess to anything. He's portrayed as pretty much a genius when working with tech and security systems, but at the same time he acts like a complete idiot in other areas (like the comment on terrorists he makes that I quoted earlier). He also seems like a pretty self-centered person. He messes with the DHS systems and as a result ends up getting pretty much everybody in the city detained multiple times and really doesn't give a second thought to what he's doing to people's lives because he's so busy trying to stick it to the man. I get that he's trying to jam the system, but he's also messing up everybody else's lives. And it seems like most of his supporters are just in it for the practical joke aspect. He also seems to chuck friends by the wayside the second they stop fully supporting his plans. Which one could argue that he does for their own safety, but nothing he does or thinks seems to indicate that, only that he's bitter.
Now that I've ranted about my dislikes, the plot was definitely interesting enough to hold my attention. It was a pretty interesting game of cat and mouse between the government and Marcus and his merry band. A technological chess game. I'm pretty good with the messages behind the book as well. Though it gets a little pro-anarchy/anti-government at points for me. Reading Boing Boing I definitely see where Cory is coming from though. The issue of security vs. freedom is a current and relevant issue and the message to vote at the end is always a good one.
Right off the bat one of my biggest issues is with the dialogue. So much of it is either a huge cliche or amazingly stupid. As I noted in one of my status updates: "The main character has the revelation that "Terrorists don't hate airplanes or bridges. They love terror." Did he really think the terrorists had some vendetta against architecture or transportation? And after he contemplates that his room may be bugged he says out loud "I'll find a way to get them." Way to not act suspiciously." There were plenty more lines like this scattered throughout the story, all just as ridiculous. As for the cliche dialogue, Marcus, the main character, seems to swear his revenge every chapter and the baddies spew your typical sinister lines every time they appear. Stuff like: "You are a marked man", "You belong to us", "We can watch you closely all the time", "We know where you live, we know who your friends are" etc.
Speaking of the bad guys, most of them are pretty ridiculous straw men. Any time an argument/discussion happens on the subject of security vs. freedom, the bad guys just seem to give some version of "But the terrorists!" while Marcus tears them down with textbook-like answers and quotes from the constitution. Not to mention they're portrayed as pretty stupid in general. The main student we see defending the Department of Homeland Security is portrayed as a bully who's all brawn and no brain. The vice-principal who supports the DHS and school security is portrayed as a technological idiot with a vendetta against the Marcus.The father is shown as supporting the DHS only out of rage and fear. The book is definitely not subtle in it's message of freedom over all and it quite often feels like you're being beat over the head with it while reading. I definitely fall on the freedom side of this argument, but at times it felt like I was reading a piece of propaganda instead of a story.
Doctorow also seems to like to infodump a lot. Which is useful for the most part, but I really wish he could have blended it into the story even a little better. I'll give him definite credit though for making the technology and math used in the story really easy to understand, which I think is particularly great for a young adult book. So kudos for clarity, I just wish it could have been more integrated.
Lastly, Marcus really annoyed me. He throws in occasional net speak in his inner thoughts and outer dialogues that seem like a weird attempt to make him hip and young. It feels particularly out of place because he doesn't use it constantly, so it really stands out when he does. It's also really juxtaposed to his pro-freedom rants he goes on that seem so textbook. Early on he refers to something as "teh suck" and he spends the rest of the story referring to every female his age in the book as "h4wt", which particularly annoyed me. His personality also drove me crazy. When he first gets snatched up by the DHS he's all snark and attitude, but all it takes is him pissing his pants later to turn him into a blubbering mess ready to confess to anything. He's portrayed as pretty much a genius when working with tech and security systems, but at the same time he acts like a complete idiot in other areas (like the comment on terrorists he makes that I quoted earlier). He also seems like a pretty self-centered person. He messes with the DHS systems and as a result ends up getting pretty much everybody in the city detained multiple times and really doesn't give a second thought to what he's doing to people's lives because he's so busy trying to stick it to the man. I get that he's trying to jam the system, but he's also messing up everybody else's lives. And it seems like most of his supporters are just in it for the practical joke aspect. He also seems to chuck friends by the wayside the second they stop fully supporting his plans. Which one could argue that he does for their own safety, but nothing he does or thinks seems to indicate that, only that he's bitter.
Now that I've ranted about my dislikes, the plot was definitely interesting enough to hold my attention. It was a pretty interesting game of cat and mouse between the government and Marcus and his merry band. A technological chess game. I'm pretty good with the messages behind the book as well. Though it gets a little pro-anarchy/anti-government at points for me. Reading Boing Boing I definitely see where Cory is coming from though. The issue of security vs. freedom is a current and relevant issue and the message to vote at the end is always a good one.