Fortunately, the walkaways possess a weapon that might trump all others - immortality.ĭoctorow has given a lot of thought to the practical and political underpinnings of his fictional world, and he mostly assumes his readers will be able to keep up with him.Ĭharacter say things like, “A pod of mercs and an infotech goon pwned everything using some zeroday they’d bought from scumbag default infowar researchers. As the movement grows, the elites become more desperate, hiring mercenaries to kidnap family members they regard as dangerous revolutionaries. The pioneering walkaways must navigate cities ruined by industrial flight and landscapes wrecked by climate change. Removing oneself from the clutches of global capitalism is easier said than done. John Mandel and Claire Vaye Watkins craft literary thrillers that detail the devastation of climate change and global pandemics.īut what about utopian visions? Who dares suggest that people, the poor as well as the ultra-rich, might thrive in the future?Ĭory Doctorow, author of “Little Brother” and “Homeland,” presents a disturbing, if still hopeful, vision of the future in “Walkaway.” Set in the mid-21st century, when anyone can 3-D print pretty much whatever they need in terms of food, shelter and clothes, the novel follows a trio in their 20s - Hubert, Seth and Natalie - as they abandon the world of corrupt plutocrats and leave behind their possessions, debts, jobs and dysfunctional families. Newer authors such as Paolo Bacigalupi, Emily St. George Orwell’s “1984” and Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” are enjoying renewed popularity.
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