Rating: 
Summary: Not normally a sci fi reader, really like this book!
Review: Although I am not really into the sci fi genre I found a lot to enjoy. The writing was clever and pithy and the futuristic conventions were extremely interesting. I liked how he didn't go on and on explaining some of the futurist concepts but just let the context clarify what he means. (A society that has no money, just "Whuffie," an instantly readable rating of a person's credibility. Creative and thought provoking). By the way, if you enjoyed the Walt Disney World and humor aspects of this book you might also enjoy Deep Water by SV Date.
Rating: 
Summary: Strange Magic
Review: Doctorow's eccentric cyber-spoof gives us a future where everyone's connected and nobody really has to "die" - a clone will be provided for you, loaded with your last backup. By the end of the 21st Century, this "Bitchun Society" has spread over the face of the planet. In the new world it has created, your standing among others (a.k.a., "Whuffie") is your currency. For Jules, a century of Bitchun life has taught him that what he really wants is to live happily and be liked by others. What better way to gain the respect of your peers than by imagineering the Happiest Place on Earth? Jules takes on the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyworld and starts working on making it better. But all isn't perfect in the park: his own shocking murder brings out a nasty political battle between people who want to preserve the rides *exactly* as they are and those who feel the experience needs to be broadened and Bitchuned, top to bottom. There are a lot of interesting points made about cloning, virtual reality, technology, and tradition, and Doctorow walks us through these as we watch Jules struggle. The tension grows as the further along we go, the more disconnected Jules becomes from the Bitchun Society, ironically in the name of preserving his own corner of it. Down & Out in the Magic Kingdom serves both as a fun exercise in imagination and a smart counterpoint to the darker vision of our future originally expressed by the Cyberpunks of the '80s. An easy read, the only drawback is that the storyline could use a bit more depth - expanding this book to 300 pages would probably help flesh out Jules and the other characters enough that the reader feels more immersed and less like a bemused casual observer. 5-star ideas, 3-star story, but worth the read just the same.
Rating:
Summary: A Rollicking Good Ride!
Review: In an era where money is no longer used (Whuffie is used instead, a novel idea) and death is non-existent for those desiring to live forever (get killed and you are simply installed in a new body, with your latest mind backup serving as your new point of reference) Walt Disney World continues on. The Disney World of this future is ran by groups of 'ad-hocs' who sometimes compete with each other to 'improve' the attractions there. This competition sometimes gets out of control, which is the basic theme of this novel. Jules is the central character, and his trials and tribulations concerning this competition makes for an astounding story. Cory Doctorow has written a short and sweet novel here, one that should interest science fiction fans in general, and Disney World fans in particular. The descriptions of the attractions Cory brings to the reader are almost as good as being there. In addition, I loved the method Jules uses to navigate large crowds, well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: The True Popularity Based Economy
Review: Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom presents a utopian view of the future where money has been abolished and popularity has become the only currency. Their measure of popularity, called Whuffie, is not spent - instead when you go to get something, the person deciding whether to give it to you checks your Whuffie, and if it is high enough, gives you the item or provides the service. There is no need to provide goods or services to those with low Whuffie though, as they cannot add to your Whuffie or influence others to. There are no pour per-se, as Whuffie can also be gained through sympathy, or from the admiration that comes from helping the less fortunate (and it appears that may basic services are guaranteed to all - though the book only touches on this concept once and doesn't completely explore it). The other thing that makes this society unique is that they have succeeded in backing up and restoring people's thoughts and memories - thus eliminating death (technically you die and they restore you into a clone). Because of this, a new form of passing time called deadheading has evolved, where you are stored in a computer (your body is terminated) until a specified date, and then restored into a new clone. Our protagonist, Julius, is a worker at Disney World who has earned a few doctorates and composed a few symphonies in his over-a-century of life. We follow him as he explores (and reflects on) life without fear of death (he is actually killed once - almost twice - during the story). We explore how the dynamics of a popularity-based economy make any sort of planning difficult (because any sort of change in perception can mean that you are no longer in the lead), while Julius tries to preserve the heritage of the Disney World Haunted Mansion (while necessarily improving it to compete). The book raises interesting questions about mortality and economics and is a fast read. If you are interested in seeing where systems such as Amazon's reviewer rankings and eBay's feedback ratings are going, this book is for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Ultimately Unsatisfying.
Review: This was three stories in one. The first was the story of where technology is headed. This part of the book is fascinating and thought provoking, even if some of the philosophical implications are dismissed too quickly. The second story is just a long-winded, fawning tribute to the Magic Kingdom. I like Disney World as much as anybody, but this just went on much too long without any real point. Finally it is a murder-mystery. While there is a bit of a clever twist here, it is extremely contrived and difficult to follow, and ultimately unsatisfying.
Rating:
Summary: enjoyable quick read
Review: Much of what is here is not particularly original--we've seen lots of these concepts before--backing yourself up with clones and "memory dumps" in case of death, putting oneself on ice for awhile to see what the future holds or "deadheading", a fully-integrated, real-time information network one accesses through implants, body modification, and so on. What is original, however, and what makes this rise above a mediocre Gibson/Stephenson derivative is its setting-Disney World and its ending, which I won't go into for obvious reasons but which, suffice to say, makes the reader call into questions somewhat much of the previous action.
This is a slim book, but focused and so while the author sacrifices a lot of the background information one often gets in futuristic novels (how did this society come about, what is happening out in the larger world beyond the characters, what cool things are out there that my characters aren't using personally?), it allows him to have fully developed characters despite the lack of lengthy plot. While some might bemoan not seeing more of the society, I thought the length was just about perfect-any longer and it might have fallen into the trap of taking itself too seriously and robbing itself of much of its humor, which despite much of the dark action remains consistently wry. The first chapter or two is somewhat hard going-a lot is thrown at the reader in terms of jargon, unclear societal and technological references, and time jumps a bit, but past that point the reader settles in for a smooth, fast-paced ride with a lot of laughs and some sharp turns-appropriately enough for a book set where it is.
Rating:
Summary: Great premise
Review: I was hesitant about picking this book up, knowing something about the author and his penchant for geek arcana and the vernacular. Thankfully, it didn't get in the way of the story. Once you've settled into the well established world early on, the rest of the book is a breeze and a most enjoyable romp. Add to that the beauty of setting the story in future DisneyWorld, and you've got quite an original idea. It's a quick, compelling read. You won't be disappointed. And rest assured, "It's a Small World" isn't part of the story!
Rating:
Summary: A Magical Experience
Review: I just read Doctorow's brilliant novel while on vacation in Disney World. As expressed by the other rave reviews here, this is fantastic science fiction combined with romantic comedy, and Doctorow has a truly unique way of integrating a slice-of-life (or lives, in this case) story within a futuristic world that we are only allowed a small glimpse into. I didn't want the book to end...I could have easily read another 500 pages of this stuff. Being that I was reading this while in Disney World, all the rides and attractions were fresh in my head. It's amazing how precise Doctorow is when he describes the rides, the parks, the resort area and all the magic therein. Having just rode the Haunted Mansion the day I started the book, I felt like I took a piece of the park with me...
Rating: 
Summary: Good ideas but too short to develop them properly . . .
Review: Consider a sort of libertarian, sort of syndicalist near-future world in which voluntary combines -- "ad-hocs" -- run everything by internal consensus and personal reputation -- "Whuffie" -- is apparently the only medium of exchange. Moreover, through advanced methods of human cloning and the ability to back up one's personality and memory, personal immortality is practically guaranteed -- after a fashion. Jules is part of that world, still a young man at more than a century of age, and a resident and cast member at World Disney World. He's been accepted into the ad-hoc that runs Liberty Square and he has a very satisfying relationship with Lil, born in the Park and an expert in the Hall of Presidents and the Haunted Mansion. But the purity of the rides is threatened by a very high-tech ad-hoc fresh from Disney World Beijing, and Jules tries to lead a fight to defend the status quo -- even though he gets murdered by the opposition, which really makes him angry. All in all, this is a fun read with an appealing style and a lot of intriguing ideas, though the author glosses over far too much to make the establishment of this world believable. For one thing, the Powers That Be of the early 21st century would never allow the revolutionary Bitchun Society to simply take over a university by socio-philosophical pressure, as Doctorow describes; the national guard (or the Canadian equivalent) would be called out and the gutters would run with blood. Neal Stephenson or Bruce Sterling would have done a much better job of this. Perhaps, since the book only runs 200 pages anyway, Doctorow should have worked at it a while longer.
Rating:
Summary: Social commentary or absurdist romp? You decide.
Review: It's both, actually. Usually when good science fiction books are reviewed, the phrase "social commentary disguised as science fiction" is used, but here's the thing -- all good science fiction is social commentary: that's what makes it good, and that's what makes Down and Out good. The primary goal of any scifi writer is not to immerse the reader in the future, extend trends and technologies to their logical conclusions, or even create a realistic landscape. While these are all goals, even necessities, the most important aspiration is to write about today using tomorrow as the setting. And Cory Doctorow, ladies and gentlemen, does that so well I want to scream.
Magic Kingdom's meritocracy, a world which turns on coolness and respect rather than money or religion or whatever else, is incredibly detailed, realistically imaginable, prescient, and relatable to our own society, and THAT is what makes this book a great read.
It's by no means perfect, of course. There are hiccups in the prose, and occasionally incidents and occurences that seem a bit too easy, but Doctorow's debut novel is quirky, engrossing, and well-rounded, and probably the most enticing work to come from the genre in years.
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