User Profile

Mark Crocker

mcrocker@books.mxhdr.net

Joined 2 years, 4 months ago

Fan of DRM-Free Hard Sci-Fi novels

Also @mcrocker@indieweb.social on Mastodon

This link opens in a pop-up window

Mark Crocker's books

To Read

Currently Reading

Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone: This Is How You Lose the Time War (Hardcover, 2019, Simon and Schuster) 5 stars

Two time-traveling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange …

Most imaginative over the top, and wildly fun

5 stars

This is one or the most imaginative stories I've ever read in a genre known for imagination. It's also over the top and a wild ride. There's nothing formulaic here and it will keep you guessing.

As a big fan of hard science fiction, this doesn't explain any of the time travel, or technology, which is somewhat disappointing.

On the other hand it has a very different style and a frantic energy. I'm not a fan of romance, but it has a sincerity that makes me really root for them.

Cory Doctorow: Eastern standard tribe (2005, Tor) 2 stars

Art is a member of the Eastern Standard Tribe, a secret society bound together by …

Eastern standard tribe, interesting concept, convoluted plot

2 stars

It's an interesting concept, but as a speculative story on the side effects of social media, it was a miss.

The implementation of the concept was also not one of Corry Doctorow's better efforts. The plot was overly convoluted, and it was really difficult to relate to the protagonist.

Down and out in the Magic Kingdom books.mxhdr.net/book/10582/s/down-and-out-in-the-magic-kingdom may also have missed it's target, but it a much better effort of prognostification on the consequences of social media.

Cory Doctorow: Picks and Shovels (EBook, 2025, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., Tor Books) No rating

New York Times bestselling author Cory Doctorow returns to the world of Red Team Blues …

I've highlighted several things in @pluralistic@mamot.fr 's Picks and Shovels, but one short sentence fragment I especially like is:

using a ream of his virginal fanfold printer paper

which alludes to the protagonist's earlier dumpster diving activity to find discarded tractor feed paper that had only been used on one side.

Although I never actually dived a dumpster for half used printer paper, I do remember scavenging long sections of such paper from computer room garbage cans, back in the day.