I’ve been a big fan of BoingBoing for a while, and I’ve put off reading Cory Doctorow’s “Little Brother” for no good reason. The other day I found a great ebook reader (aldiko) for my android phone, and decided to download Little Brother to try it out (for free, completely legally, because that’s how Cory Doctorow rolls).

Little Brother is set in the not-too-distant future, and focuses on a teenage hacker kid who sets out to stop the government from being draconian after a terrorist attack in San Francisco leaves the masses yearning for security. (Aim low, right?). He encounters various aspects of the security-conscious state – “random” security checkpoints, illegal wiretaps, rfid-tracking, and the reasons of those who fight back when their rights are infringed upon.

The book is definitely a young adult novel – but the thing I liked about it was that it explained complex technical concepts very clearly. Encryption techniques play a key role in the book – and the way encryption and the use of public/private keys are explained in the book is wonderful. Definitely a good book to give to a kid who is interested in hacking or a budding free thinker.

Also, I really liked reading books on my phone using aldiko. So much so, that I am looking into getting an e-reader for my upcoming long-ass flight to Japan. Right now the Barnes&Noble Nook is looking pretty good – it is based on the android platform, and allows book lending. (And – most importantly – the battery life lasts for days – unlike my phone).

380 pages
4.5/5