Radicalized by Cory Doctorow
CBC Books | | Posted: January 21, 2019 10:17 PM | Last Updated: July 23, 2020
Defended by Akil Augustine
About Radicalized
Told through one of the most on-pulse genre voices of our generation, Radicalized is a timely novel comprised of four science fiction novellas connected by social, technological, and economic visions of today and what America could be in the near, near future.
Unauthorized Bread is a tale of immigration, the toxicity of economic and technological stratification, and the young and downtrodden fighting against all odds to survive and prosper.
In Model Minority, a Superman-like figure attempts to rectifiy the corruption of the police forces he long erroneously thought protected the defenseless... only to find his efforts adversely affecting their victims.
Radicalized is a story of a darkweb-enforced violent uprising against insurance companies told from the perspective of a man desperate to secure funding for an experimental drug that could cure his wife's terminal cancer.
The fourth story, Masque of the Red Death, harkens back to Doctorow's Walkaway, taking on issues of survivalism versus community. (From Tor Books)
About Akil Augustine
Akil Augustine has worked with the National Basketball Association, Toronto Raptors, National Hockey League, Toronto Maple Leafs and Major League Soccer, as well as brands like Chapters Indigo and Nike as a content creator and producer. He's an avid public speaker and works with educators facilitating storytelling workshops to high school and post-secondary students.
Akil Augustine on Radicalized
About Cory Doctorow
Cory Doctorow is a blogger, journalist and author who serves as co-editor of the blog Boing Boing. His past books include Little Brother and Walkaway. The themes of his books involve the role of technology in society, security and government surveillance. Doctorow was born in Toronto and currently lives in Los Angeles.
- Cory Doctorow on auctioning off character names for charity
- Cory Doctorow on Radicalized, the problem with superheroes and writing speculative fiction in a jaded world
- Donald Trump made Cory Doctorow so anxious he wrote a book to feel better — now Radicalized is on Canada Reads
Why Cory Doctorow wrote Radicalized
"I decided a few years ago to reorient the way I see the world — but not around pessimism or optimism. Instead, I like to think human beings have agency in the world and that the future changes based on what we do.
I like to think human beings have agency in the world and that the future changes based on what we do. - Cory Doctorow
"There are stories in this book that have unhappy endings. But there are also stories of people who, when confronted with impossible circumstances, without being able to see a clear path from A to Z, can nevertheless see a path from A to B. They take it on faith that if can get as high as B, that one might be able to see a way to get up to C and D — and so on and so forth. It's a very 21st century way of thinking: a networked, fluid and improvisational way of trying to... climb up that gradient towards a better world — and not to follow a set course."
Interviews with Cory Doctorow
Other books by Cory Doctorow
The Canada Reads 2020 contenders
- Alayna Fender defending Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club by Megan Gail Coles
- Akil Augustine defending Radicalized by Cory Doctorow
- Amanda Brugel defending We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib
- Kaniehtiio Horn defending Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson
- George Canyon defending From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle