the lost cause (cory doctorow)
i always have to take the cory doctorow with a grain of salt. this was a DSA fever dream, and i say this as someone who leans heavily in that direction. the main character is a pretty flat charicature of a liberal kid that grew up in a MAGA household. gramps was a MAGA who died; leaving him the owner of a house that he opts to turn into a four-story walkup to house climate refugees. strong YIMBY vibes with this one. (yay?)
there’s a flotilla of billionaires stoking the discontent of the central casting MAGAs and the MAGAs are armed with super-soakers (tm) full of acid, since the gubbermint took der gunz. (well, almost all der gunz) the flotilla folks preach the gospel of californi-secession and sound disturbingly like a mix of techbros and jehovah’s witnesses.
there are wildfires, specialized clothing and “screens” that everyone is fixated on and the culture wars are “battled” online in a world where apparently the LLMs aren’t just talking to each other and algorithmically boosting the drivel.
it was an amusing read, but i don’t think i can go back for more.