Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I just finished EST, and I'm still not sure what I read. The storyline seems as if it isn't fully developed, as are the characters, the story ends abruptly, and the whole book feels rushed and too short. As I read, I kept waiting to be 'hooked' by the story (which had potential), but I wasn't. Perhaps the book was oversold to me- I've heard great things about Mr. Doctorow's writing. Several other reviewers here mention that this isn't his best work and that readers who haven't yet read any of his books should start with something else. I have to agree.
Rating: 
Summary: Old and New
Review: I really found this book to be a wonderful mix of old and new. The story telling, to me, smelled very strongly of some very classic literature. I'm not really sure why. Perhaps it was the concise descriptions: they really worked well. Also, one of the main themes of the book is the tribal mentality. These two elements mixed very nicely with the use of modern, and futuristic, language and a futuristic setting that was refreshingly(!) recognisable. All in all, I was very pleased while I was reading this story. And, when I finished, I was very surprized that the story was over when it was-- but not in a bad way. I think I was just expecting more excellent story telling and was disappointed when the tale had been told.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is great!
Review: I really liked this novel. Though it may not be as masterfully written as some other modern day novels, it is still incredibly captivating and the book is hard to put down once you start reading. I found its themes especially interesting and some of them true as I think I sometimes spend too much of my own time online. I'd definitely recommend this book if you're an internet addict.
Rating:
Summary: Sharp writing, good plot, excellent read.
Review: If you read the author's debut novel, "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom," then you already know that he is an immensely talented writer - quirky, humorous, edgy and brimming with the kind of future ideas that are keeping the genre fresh. His sharp writing and creativity have produced another superb novel in "Eastern Standard Tribe." Borrowing a few tricks from Wm. Burroughs, and inventing a few of his own, Doctorow tales a magnificently complex tale of humanity in the deceit-ridden near future, where instantaneous wireless communications and omnipresent computer systems are the warp and weft that make up the fabric of everyday life.Art, the protagonist, is brilliantly portrayed as the interface designer who is on one hand a defacto industrial spy - screwing those he works for in the name of his Tribe. Unfortunately, what goes around, comes around in the karmic way his partner and girlfriend make use of Art's revolutionary ideas. One last comment, the gifted way Cory Doctorow portrays Art as he sits atop the sanatorium, contemplating homebrew lobotomies and the difference between being smart vs. being happy - well, it is some of the most vivid writing I have read this year, bordering on genius, and ringing true to those of us who have also had the hamster wheel spinning in our head. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Too bad it isn't twice as long . . .
Review: It's a horrible thought, but "cyberpunk" is getting a bit long in the tooth, for all that Gibson and Sterling and Stephenson keep writing great books. In his first novel, _Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom,_ Doctorow (who is no relation to E.L. that I know of . . .) showed that he was well on the way to reinvigorating that subgenre. This time, he turns his attention again to the very near future, to a world where the personal computer, the Internet, and the cell phone have all come together in the "comm" -- the ultimate communication, information, and security appliance. The society constructed around the comm, though, is much more difficult to describe. A "tribe" is less than a nation (in the traditional geographic sense) but much more than an affinity group, a societal segment of like-minded people pursuing common ends -- more or less. And because of the inescapable circadian rhythms of our lives, these groups become defined by the time zones in which they primarily reside, even though they're all linked instantaneously by their comms. Art Berry, a loyal member of the tribe based on the U.S. east coast (though it extends all the way to his hometown of Toronto), is a talented user-experience consultant who spends his time and talents in the laborious search "to find the obvious way to do things." But beyond that, he's also a secret agent of the ESTribe working for (and undermining) a conglomerate in the UK. He has a friend and business partner who is also his handler, and he has a semi-flaky girlfriend from L.A. whom he ought not to trust. Actually, I'll stop there since it appears that an adequate description of this very readable, very fun book would require a review longer than the original text. And you can even download it (and all Doctorow's other work) from the author's website!
Rating:
Summary: Too bad it isn't twice as long . . .
Review: It's a horrible thought, but "cyberpunk" is getting a bit long in the tooth, for all that Gibson and Sterling and Stephenson keep writing great books. In his first novel, _Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom,_ Doctorow (who is no relation to E.L. that I know of . . .) showed that he was well on the way to reinvigorating that subgenre. This time, he turns his attention again to the very near future, to a world where the personal computer, the Internet, and the cell phone have all come together in the "comm" -- the ultimate communication, information, and security appliance. The society constructed around the comm, though, is much more difficult to describe. A "tribe" is less than a nation (in the traditional geographic sense) but much more than an affinity group, a societal segment of like-minded people pursuing common ends -- more or less. And because of the inescapable circadian rhythms of our lives, these groups become defined by the time zones in which they primarily reside, even though they're all linked instantaneously by their comms. Art Berry, a loyal member of the tribe based on the U.S. east coast (though it extends all the way to his hometown of Toronto), is a talented user-experience consultant who spends his time and talents in the laborious search "to find the obvious way to do things." But beyond that, he's also a secret agent of the ESTribe working for (and undermining) a conglomerate in the UK. He has a friend and business partner who is also his handler, and he has a semi-flaky girlfriend from L.A. whom he ought not to trust. Actually, I'll stop there since it appears that an adequate description of this very readable, very fun book would require a review longer than the original text. And you can even download it (and all Doctorow's other work) from the author's website!
Rating: 
Summary: Starts so good, but doesn't quite get there
Review: This book starts out so damned strong. The first couple of chapters were the sort of writing that made me stop dead, put the book down, and say 'wow' out loud. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Doctorow is an incredibly talented writer, as well as a truly clever man.
But somehow, the cleverness seems to out-pace the writing. This book is packed with clever ideas, but they never go anywhere. Plot twists don't make a lot of sense, the setup at the beginning never develops into a meaningful plot.
Ultimately this is a frustrating book. So much good up front, so little on the back. As if Doctorow had a beginning and tossed off an ending just to get the book out. This is possible since he's released it under the Creative Commons license; it may be he was in a hurry to make the statement by getting it out there and didn't take time. Or it may be that he's just an idea guy and has trouble with the plots (as I writer, I've been known to suffer this).
This book is worth reading for the first few chapters. Truly, truly worth reading and re-reading. But it's not a satisfying book; my hope is that Doctorow lives up to his potential with the next one. because when he's good, goddamn, he's incredibly good.
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