Unauthorized Bread: A Radicalized Graphic Novel

by Cory Doctorow, J.R. Doyle (Illustrator), Blue Delliquanti (Illustrator)

New York Times bestselling author of Enshittification Cory Doctorow presents Unauthorized Bread—a near-future dystopian graphic novel about how we use our technology…and how it uses us.

Salima’s new high-tech apartment building seems ideal, until she and her neighbors discover it’s designed to enforce inequality. Elevators discriminate by income, appliances extract revenue. The fridge won't chill unauthorized groceries. The toaster won't toast unauthorized bread.

When the company that makes these electronic "conveniences" goes under, they stop working altogether. Salima must lead a dangerous jailbreaking effort, training a child army who liberate the building's appliances, even those hated elevators. But this group of disenfranchised young immigrants will have to risk everything.

Cory Doctorow is one of our most incisive and imaginative thinkers about technology, and Unauthorized Bread is both propulsive dystopian adventure and a chilling warning about the cost of surrendering control to technology.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Graphic Novels

240 pages, Paperback

Expected publication April 20, 2027

About the author

Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger — the co-editor of Boing Boing and the author of the YA graphic novel In Real Life, the nonfiction business book Information Doesn’t Want To Be Free, and young adult novels like Homeland, Pirate Cinema, and Little Brother and novels for adults like Rapture Of The Nerds and Makers. He is a Fellow for the Electronic Frontier Foundation and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group. Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Aliyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

ominous in the startlingly familiar way that comes with hearing news reports of cars including subscription services to use the heated seats. at no point did I imagine the techno-fuedalist future to include putting my carbs behind a paywall.

There’s something about visualizing the way we constantly think of money in a world that restricts our access to it that feels so bleak. A muted color palette imbues the story with an appropriate amount of dread, and the illustrative style does the heavy lifting of getting me to keep turning the page, despite moments of heavy dialogue that feels a bit like a tech certification course instead of a work of fiction. It’s not a too-frequent occurrence though, so I powered through.


2/5

Thanks to NetGalley and FirstSecond books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

[Sarah S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read an eArc. I've always admired the way that Doctorow is able to balance enough informative content to be a nonfiction book with an engaging plot and likeable characters. This adaption of his novella works quite well. I'm a fan of Blue Delliquanti's art, and it's as emotive and lively as I hoped it would be. I'm not familiar with the second artist so can't be certain how they contributed. There were a few moments where I had trouble following a change in scene or time, but suspect those were issues with my reading a pre-print review copy.

[Kelsey Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

A brutal, sadly realistic look at both the commodification of everyday life as well as a realistic look at racism, discrimination, and immigrant life in the modern world. Although this takes place in an alternate future, likely around the 2040's, this felt very plausible and scary, with a bittersweet, semi-hopeful ending. I look forward to reading the novella, but this is a great adaptation that I hope people check out.

[Emily Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was wonderful. The book illustrates the power of the law and what happens to everyone when the law is unfair. I'd always heard about the novella Unauthorized Bread, but never got around to reading it. This graphic novel version is more pages than the original, 240 vs. 112, but can be read in a single sitting. I also really love the idea that this will teach children about the problem and get them interested in possibly fixing it someday?

[Sarah Szeszol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. I'm going to purchase it as a resource as well.

[Rebecca Plaza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will reach the interested reader might open some eyes and change minds. Didn't realize it was an older novella. Not the headline issue of the moment tho'.