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Walkaway #1.5
Party Discipline
From Boing Boing cofounder and the bestselling author of Little Brother and its sequel Homeland comes Cory Doctorow's "Party Discipline," a Tor.com Original
In a cyberpunk world where most of us are just surplus population, certain temptations are acute indeed.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
In a cyberpunk world where most of us are just surplus population, certain temptations are acute indeed.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
55 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 30, 2017
27 people are currently reading
251 people want to read
About the author
Cory Doctorow
106 books6,193 followersCory 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
September 17, 2017
I don’t remember how we decided exactly to throw a Communist party. It had been a running joke all through senior year, whenever the obvious divisions between the semi-zottas and the rest of us came too close to the surface at Burbank High: “Have fun at Stanford, come drink with us at the Communist parties when you’re back on break.”
The semi-zottas were mostly white, with some Asians—not the brown kind—for spice. The non-zottas were brown and black, and we were on our way out. Out of Burbank High, out of Burbank, too. Our parents had lucked into lottery tickets, buying houses in Burbank back when they were only ridiculously expensive. Now they were crazy .
Not bad, started out good and kept my attention but kept going in and out for me near the end.
2.5 stars
Read the story here
The semi-zottas were mostly white, with some Asians—not the brown kind—for spice. The non-zottas were brown and black, and we were on our way out. Out of Burbank High, out of Burbank, too. Our parents had lucked into lottery tickets, buying houses in Burbank back when they were only ridiculously expensive. Now they were crazy .
Not bad, started out good and kept my attention but kept going in and out for me near the end.
2.5 stars
Read the story here
August 31, 2017
I made the mistake of reading this excellent novella of a near future Los Angeles, or more correctly, Burbank and the San Fernando Valley, while I was also reading Pumpkin Spice Secrets. The jarring contrast between the world of the pumpkin spice kids, who have money to burn, play soccer, have no worries, and live the life of the upper-middle class that white people often do, oblivious to those around them, and the world that Cory has painted, that is so close to the present, that it rubs shoulders it, as we follow the two "brown-skinned" friends, going to Burbank High School, wondering if their future is to work, or to be one of the discarded, the homeless that roam the cities, invisible, and not thought of much at all.
If this sounds to dark for you, by all means read the cute and peppy girls of Pumpkin Spice.
For me, the girls, Shirelle and Lenae are far more realistic, living in the near future of the world that was my town, back when I lived in L.A., back when I was a teenager as well. Cory captures the world where students pay student loans the rest of their lives. (Hmm, sound familiar), and companies go out of business as part of their strategy, on a regular basis, to not pay their workers.
When Shirelle learns her cousin has met such a fate, where the factory has closed, and is about to be sold off, the girls hitch a plan, a plan that is against the law, a plan to have a party just before the equipment goes, to make something for the people, and give it away, a Communist Party.
Well written, gripping, and very realistic. A fun ride. I was even ok with the ending, which I often am not. There is no one who writes near-future stories quite the way that Cory does. He has done his research, and knows wherein he speaks.
Go now, you can read this for free at Tor.com. And while you are there, check out their other free fiction. It is a great place for picking up a good read, for free, and finding out about upcoming books.
If this sounds to dark for you, by all means read the cute and peppy girls of Pumpkin Spice.
For me, the girls, Shirelle and Lenae are far more realistic, living in the near future of the world that was my town, back when I lived in L.A., back when I was a teenager as well. Cory captures the world where students pay student loans the rest of their lives. (Hmm, sound familiar), and companies go out of business as part of their strategy, on a regular basis, to not pay their workers.
When Shirelle learns her cousin has met such a fate, where the factory has closed, and is about to be sold off, the girls hitch a plan, a plan that is against the law, a plan to have a party just before the equipment goes, to make something for the people, and give it away, a Communist Party.
Well written, gripping, and very realistic. A fun ride. I was even ok with the ending, which I often am not. There is no one who writes near-future stories quite the way that Cory does. He has done his research, and knows wherein he speaks.
Go now, you can read this for free at Tor.com. And while you are there, check out their other free fiction. It is a great place for picking up a good read, for free, and finding out about upcoming books.
August 31, 2017
One of the longer Tor freebies I've read, this short from Cory Doctorow lives in the same universe (I assume) as his recent novel, Walkaway.
This time we get a better look at the world the walkaways are leaving behind them, as well as the way the default sees those who decide to leave it all behind. I loved the novel, and this short lived up to every bit of my expectations.
Read it free here: https://www.tor.com/2017/08/30/party-...
This time we get a better look at the world the walkaways are leaving behind them, as well as the way the default sees those who decide to leave it all behind. I loved the novel, and this short lived up to every bit of my expectations.
Read it free here: https://www.tor.com/2017/08/30/party-...
October 22, 2020
Eu tenho uma relação complicado com o Cory Doctorow. Pequeno Irmão, considerado um de seus clássicos, é um livro que eu detestei com todas as minhas forças. Mas, há uns dois anos atrás li um conto dele chamado Scroogled que eu achei genial. Então teoricamente essa novella seria a prova dos nove para saber se eu ia curtir ou não o autor. E eu continuo sem saber. Porque se por um lado eu não gostei muito da escrita do Doctorow que me incomoda em alguns pontos, por outro algumas de suas discussões são muito atuais. Esta novella se passa no universo do livro Walkaway, que vai tratar mais a fundo sobre esses personagens fugitivos (os walkaways), mas a novella pode ser lida de forma totalmente independente.
A narrativa se passa em um mundo cyberpunk onde a Terra atingiu um nível de superpopulação inacreditável. Poder desfrutar de uma vida confortável ou ascender socialmente é basicamente impossível. O racionamento de energia e telefone divide espaço com um mundo digital onde pessoas podem ter digitais smart ou produzir mercadorias usando matéria-prima barata. Lenae e Shirelle estão no último ano do colegial e a escolha do que fazer de suas vidas se aproxima no horizonte. Mas, elas querem sair no auge; por isso querem aprontar a festa comunista de suas vidas. Para isso vão contar com a ajuda de um grupo de operários insatisfeitos de uma fábrica que irão ajudá-las com a ideia maluca dessas garotas. E o resultado... bem, vocês vão ter que ler para conferir.
Para começar, Doctorow faz uma piadinha com communist party. Em inglês, isso significa partido comunista, mas o autor brincou com as palavras e traduziu literalmente como festinha comunista. Como se fosse uma farra de escola. A ideia das garotas é distribuir mercadorias para pessoas pobres, algo que nesse mundo superpopuloso e cercado de regras sobre racionamento é terminantemente proibido. Doctorow nos mostra um mundo onde superpopulação é igual à desigualdade social ainda maior. Isso porque o capitalismo não comporta uma quantidade tão grande de pessoas consumindo. Não há lugar (postos de trabalho) para tanta gente. O que acontece é que vamos ter o que ele chama de surplus people, ou seja, população excedente. Essa população não tem oportunidades, por melhores que elas sejam. Lenae é uma das melhores alunas de Burbank, com notas extremamente elevadas, mas neste universo distópico que ele criou, ela vai acabar ficando à margem da sociedade.
Ao mesmo tempo, o autor faz uma crítica bem clara ao sistema de financiamento estudantil dos EUA. Muitos alunos das classes média e baixa precisam fazer empréstimos (como se fosse o FIES aqui no Brasil) para pagar a sua entrada em boas universidades como Yale, Harvard ou Penn State. Só que as mensalidades desses empréstimos são bem elevadas e se um aluno deixa de pagar uma, os juros que são colocados em cima também são. Como boa parte destes alunos ainda estão cursando a universidade quando precisam pagar as mensalidades ou não conseguem um emprego quando saem dela, estes empréstimos acabam acumulando. O índice de inadimplência é elevado.
O que me incomoda na escrita do Doctorow é o quanto ela consegue ser datada. Não levem pelo lado negativo da coisa: o autor sabe do que ele está falando. Mas, muitas vezes ele parece um colunista de jornal que pegou uma notícia da semana e escreveu um conto sobre ela. Daqui a alguns anos ninguém vai se lembrar daquilo. Para entender alguns romances do Doctorow o leitor acaba precisando situá-lo em um contexto espaço-temporal. Isso age contra o autor. Por isso Pequeno Irmão não funcionou para mim. Os problemas vividos pelos personagens não ressoaram para mim. Aqui acontece o mesmo. Se eu não soubesse desse contexto acerca dos problemas advindos do financiamento estudantil nos EUA, metade da graça do conto iria para o espaço. Fora o abuso que ele faz de elementos tecnológicos que em nada acrescentam à trama. Vários gadgets presentes ali só estão para criar um clima cyberpunk. Só que, como ele não explica para que eles servem, se tornam jargões que fazem o leitor ficar confuso.
Party Discipline é um excelente exercício de análise e especulação social da parte do Doctorow. Mesmo o autor sendo inclinado para uma direção ideológica (e aí eu sei que virão os defensores do conservadorismo criticarem que em literatura um autor não deve demonstrar suas inclinações políticas.... o que eu discordo), ele consegue ser equilibrado no sentido de que ele não é panfletário. Ele te mostra um contexto e te apresenta os problemas. A protagonista precisa tomar uma decisão ao final da história. Acho legal que Doctorow não te dá as respostas, mas te mostra todo o caminho. A gente sabe aonde vai dar. Pelo menos eu sei.
A narrativa se passa em um mundo cyberpunk onde a Terra atingiu um nível de superpopulação inacreditável. Poder desfrutar de uma vida confortável ou ascender socialmente é basicamente impossível. O racionamento de energia e telefone divide espaço com um mundo digital onde pessoas podem ter digitais smart ou produzir mercadorias usando matéria-prima barata. Lenae e Shirelle estão no último ano do colegial e a escolha do que fazer de suas vidas se aproxima no horizonte. Mas, elas querem sair no auge; por isso querem aprontar a festa comunista de suas vidas. Para isso vão contar com a ajuda de um grupo de operários insatisfeitos de uma fábrica que irão ajudá-las com a ideia maluca dessas garotas. E o resultado... bem, vocês vão ter que ler para conferir.
Para começar, Doctorow faz uma piadinha com communist party. Em inglês, isso significa partido comunista, mas o autor brincou com as palavras e traduziu literalmente como festinha comunista. Como se fosse uma farra de escola. A ideia das garotas é distribuir mercadorias para pessoas pobres, algo que nesse mundo superpopuloso e cercado de regras sobre racionamento é terminantemente proibido. Doctorow nos mostra um mundo onde superpopulação é igual à desigualdade social ainda maior. Isso porque o capitalismo não comporta uma quantidade tão grande de pessoas consumindo. Não há lugar (postos de trabalho) para tanta gente. O que acontece é que vamos ter o que ele chama de surplus people, ou seja, população excedente. Essa população não tem oportunidades, por melhores que elas sejam. Lenae é uma das melhores alunas de Burbank, com notas extremamente elevadas, mas neste universo distópico que ele criou, ela vai acabar ficando à margem da sociedade.
Ao mesmo tempo, o autor faz uma crítica bem clara ao sistema de financiamento estudantil dos EUA. Muitos alunos das classes média e baixa precisam fazer empréstimos (como se fosse o FIES aqui no Brasil) para pagar a sua entrada em boas universidades como Yale, Harvard ou Penn State. Só que as mensalidades desses empréstimos são bem elevadas e se um aluno deixa de pagar uma, os juros que são colocados em cima também são. Como boa parte destes alunos ainda estão cursando a universidade quando precisam pagar as mensalidades ou não conseguem um emprego quando saem dela, estes empréstimos acabam acumulando. O índice de inadimplência é elevado.
O que me incomoda na escrita do Doctorow é o quanto ela consegue ser datada. Não levem pelo lado negativo da coisa: o autor sabe do que ele está falando. Mas, muitas vezes ele parece um colunista de jornal que pegou uma notícia da semana e escreveu um conto sobre ela. Daqui a alguns anos ninguém vai se lembrar daquilo. Para entender alguns romances do Doctorow o leitor acaba precisando situá-lo em um contexto espaço-temporal. Isso age contra o autor. Por isso Pequeno Irmão não funcionou para mim. Os problemas vividos pelos personagens não ressoaram para mim. Aqui acontece o mesmo. Se eu não soubesse desse contexto acerca dos problemas advindos do financiamento estudantil nos EUA, metade da graça do conto iria para o espaço. Fora o abuso que ele faz de elementos tecnológicos que em nada acrescentam à trama. Vários gadgets presentes ali só estão para criar um clima cyberpunk. Só que, como ele não explica para que eles servem, se tornam jargões que fazem o leitor ficar confuso.
Party Discipline é um excelente exercício de análise e especulação social da parte do Doctorow. Mesmo o autor sendo inclinado para uma direção ideológica (e aí eu sei que virão os defensores do conservadorismo criticarem que em literatura um autor não deve demonstrar suas inclinações políticas.... o que eu discordo), ele consegue ser equilibrado no sentido de que ele não é panfletário. Ele te mostra um contexto e te apresenta os problemas. A protagonista precisa tomar uma decisão ao final da história. Acho legal que Doctorow não te dá as respostas, mas te mostra todo o caminho. A gente sabe aonde vai dar. Pelo menos eu sei.
December 3, 2025
Party Discipline est une nouvelle ou une novella qui sert en quelque sorte de compagnon au roman Walkaway que je viens tout juste de lire.
Le texte fonctionne parfaitement et se concentre sur des personnages qui, contrairement à ceux du roman, sont encore dans le monde capitaliste. Les deux personnages principaux sont deux lycéennes, à un mois de leur remise de diplômes, qui rêvent d'organiser à une "Communist Party", comme celle qui servait de point de départ au roman Walkaway.
C'est plutôt réussi, plaisant à lire et assez émouvant de suivre ces personnages qui vont bientôt tourner une page de leur vie et au seuil d'une vie adulte qui s'annonce angoissante.
Le texte fonctionne parfaitement et se concentre sur des personnages qui, contrairement à ceux du roman, sont encore dans le monde capitaliste. Les deux personnages principaux sont deux lycéennes, à un mois de leur remise de diplômes, qui rêvent d'organiser à une "Communist Party", comme celle qui servait de point de départ au roman Walkaway.
C'est plutôt réussi, plaisant à lire et assez émouvant de suivre ces personnages qui vont bientôt tourner une page de leur vie et au seuil d'une vie adulte qui s'annonce angoissante.
January 22, 2025
I really enjoyed this 2017 novella, which feels oddly prescient in the wake of ongoing events in the USA. I think Doctorow does a good job here of highlighting a sci-fi/dystopian USA that feels real—one in which AI police algorithms mistakingly trigger school shooting lockdowns and increasing numbers of young people, burdened by student debt and dead-end gig jobs, find themselves at a crossroads. This was a thought provoking and enjoyable story that had me asking whether going “default” was right, or should walking away be a real consideration when a society no longer seems to work in the interest of its citizens.
This novella is related to his full novel Walkaway, which definitely goes on the TBR after reading this one!
This novella is related to his full novel Walkaway, which definitely goes on the TBR after reading this one!
September 27, 2017
It was hard to get into this story at the beginning. I wasn't very sure where it was going and the background information was a little confusing. but it got interesting about halfway through and I really liked the end.
I thought the relationship between the girls was really interesting and real; you could tell the they've been friends all their lives. Also, the idea of the story was great: who doesn't want to rebel before finishing high-school and getting into tons of debt? And what they did with the metal was really ingenious, helpful but against the system nonetheless.
I liked it well enough in the end. I recommend it to anyone with a girl best friend and secret rebellious streak
I thought the relationship between the girls was really interesting and real; you could tell the they've been friends all their lives. Also, the idea of the story was great: who doesn't want to rebel before finishing high-school and getting into tons of debt? And what they did with the metal was really ingenious, helpful but against the system nonetheless.
I liked it well enough in the end. I recommend it to anyone with a girl best friend and secret rebellious streak
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 5, 2017
i LOVE this story. the writing is perfect. the tone is at once downcast and uplifting. the dialogue and characters are real.
i will read everything by cory if it's anything like this. you can be sure the next time i'm at the book store i'm getting his novel set in the same world- Walkaway.
you can read is for free here on tor.com. I highly recommend it to anyone who's ever questioned their participation in default society.
i will read everything by cory if it's anything like this. you can be sure the next time i'm at the book store i'm getting his novel set in the same world- Walkaway.
you can read is for free here on tor.com. I highly recommend it to anyone who's ever questioned their participation in default society.
January 14, 2018
not sure "sci-fi" is the category I want to put this in, though it sort of is (the year-from-today speculative fiction that Doctorow's sometime co-author Charles Stross also sometimes writes in the -otherwise very different -novel Halting State, for example)- and maybe not exactly satire either (maybe cyberpunk? No, not really.) Anyhow, that's a classifying quibble. Have still not read much by Doctorow ("Rapture of the Nerds" - with Stross - is at best almost the only other exception so far?...) but will at least borrow some of his books at the library now. This was fun - and biting and pointed.
December 2, 2024
More near future cyber punk from Doctorow, probably in the same universe as "Walkaways". Two girls that society has no place and no use for are getting ready to graduate high school and want to make a mark in the world before they're ground into dust by life for the underprivileged. A Communist Party involves taking over a factory for one night, making a bunch of useful stuff and giving it away. That sounds like a great way to do it! But of course things are a little more complicated than that. It's a short story, short enough you might have missed out on some of the message when you hit the ending.
January 25, 2021
Very Cory Doctorow in its commentary on class, economic duress and economic structures (i.e. capitalism) in general.
Grokkin’ the near-future tech here: “Shirelle’s smart fingernails were infected with ransomware again”
A touch of my favorite genres/thmese of sci-fi writing… future food! “It tasted like caramelized heme proteins, which is to say, cooked blood—in a good way, like a burger—thanks to the transgenic yeast that it was cultured with.”
Not sure I believe this line, but I like it: “Everything is like that, Shir. Everything. If it’s good, it’s scary. That’s why we do it.”
Grokkin’ the near-future tech here: “Shirelle’s smart fingernails were infected with ransomware again”
A touch of my favorite genres/thmese of sci-fi writing… future food! “It tasted like caramelized heme proteins, which is to say, cooked blood—in a good way, like a burger—thanks to the transgenic yeast that it was cultured with.”
Not sure I believe this line, but I like it: “Everything is like that, Shir. Everything. If it’s good, it’s scary. That’s why we do it.”
July 1, 2024
This was great!! Listened to this short story (also available for free online) through the Cool Zone Media book club — brilliant to hear it read out loud! Will definitely be checking out Walkaways at some point too
Such a strong voice, and a powerful vision of a plausible near future. The way Cory captures how it feels to be a graduate in a world that feels hopeless was so well done.
Honourable mention to the rice pudding shop which is especially amusing following the seemingly infamous one in New York
Such a strong voice, and a powerful vision of a plausible near future. The way Cory captures how it feels to be a graduate in a world that feels hopeless was so well done.
Honourable mention to the rice pudding shop which is especially amusing following the seemingly infamous one in New York
January 6, 2018
This was my introduction to the Walkaways universe, and I must read more. This was tight, well-written and realistic enough to be both believable and terrifying. Doctorow writes some of the best modern short fiction I have ever read (parts of Overclocked, for instance), and this one is no exception. A brutal and depressing commentary on late capitalism from the perspective of college seniors about to graduate. Read it online here: https://www.tor.com/2017/08/30/party-...
January 24, 2019
I didn't know it was a book for teenagers when I started to read it.
Like many of Cory Doctorow's books it is written with a clear agenda that is heavy-handedly pushed by making the characters hold speeches all the time instead of letting the readers figure it out for themselves. The ideas in the book are good and this could have been a really great book without the speeches. Would have loved to see a larger novel based on the same, near future USA with some older characters.
Like many of Cory Doctorow's books it is written with a clear agenda that is heavy-handedly pushed by making the characters hold speeches all the time instead of letting the readers figure it out for themselves. The ideas in the book are good and this could have been a really great book without the speeches. Would have loved to see a larger novel based on the same, near future USA with some older characters.
September 5, 2017
Gosh, it's quite a long story, isn't it? This is symptomatic of Cory Doctorow - his ideas are expansive in nature and in description, which tends towards verbosity. A good concept, delivered a bit combersomely.
July 10, 2018
I was intrigued by the world; the story made me marginally more interested in reading Walkaway, which I had previously been not-at-all interested in. But at the same time it never quite grabbed me all the way.
November 30, 2025
Two girls plan a final blowout party before finishing High School, drawing the attention of the police.
A cyberpunk thriller with a social conscience. Doctorow has painted a near future world that is depressingly familiar.
A cyberpunk thriller with a social conscience. Doctorow has painted a near future world that is depressingly familiar.
August 31, 2017
Read on the Tor.com blog. A well-done near-future dystopia. Love the cover art!
September 2, 2017
So this is only the second thing I've read by this author, the other being a novella titled "Craphound" that was in an old sci-fi story collection paperback.
May 30, 2019
Super short, and I hadn't realised until quite late where it ties into a future I'd seen from this author before -- but I liked it when I did.
September 17, 2019
I hate how plausible Doctorow's vision of the near future is, but I love the detail in how he shows them.
December 24, 2019
A fun, quick addition to Cory Doctorow's wonderful 'Walkaway' universe.
January 3, 2020
Cory Doctorow is my favorite Commie.
June 30, 2024
Well written and thoughtful
July 2, 2024
Snatching up WalkAway immediately. As read to me by Margaret Killjoy on the CZM Book Club.
November 12, 2024
Dystopia. Los Angeles. Communists. CyberPunk.
October 2, 2017
This is like a full-on YA dystopia rolled into one little story. In terms of world-building, it had a similar vibe to Pretties. So go for it if that's your thing. It's very short. You can read it here: https://www.tor.com/2017/08/30/party-...
June 16, 2024
Maybe it was the jolt of new, immediate fear that I got when her fury welled up that got me past my future, theoretical fear of jail and let me get back to my thoughts, because now I could access them. “Because we’re all so sure there’s no way to escape, that we’re all going to be done to, not doing. Shirelle, I’m graduating high school this year and as far as anyone can tell, there’s no reason for me to even exist once I finish. My mom would miss me and so would Teesha, but Shirelle, no one needs them to exist, either. We are spare humans. Don’t you remember economics class? The lower the pay is, the worse the work, the more unemployed people they need to make the people with those terrible jobs feel like they can’t afford to quit them. The most use the zottas have for either of us is to be miserable and downpressed so bad that everyone else works double-hard so they don’t have to join us!”
Fantastic stuff. It’s my first time delving into Cory Doctorow’s work and it certainly won’t be the last. There’s so much weaved into this short piece, yet it fits perfectly while beautifully depicting the joy of resistance by proletarians. Truthfully, I can see our own world becoming this one within a scant few years. Capitalism will kill us all and there’s no way out unless we come together and fight back.
September 23, 2017
This is the first time I read a story by this author, despite having heard a lot of positive things about him. He has definitely an interesting and original voice, and I can see why he defines himself as a writer and activist: as the title suggests, this story has definitely a political bent.
The story is set in a world where most of us are just surplus population, disposable, a resource to exploit and use to get richer. It's a scary word, where a capitalist society has morphed into something monstrous where profit comes first, and a huge part of the population has no hope for a better future.
The story is set in a world where most of us are just surplus population, disposable, a resource to exploit and use to get richer. It's a scary word, where a capitalist society has morphed into something monstrous where profit comes first, and a huge part of the population has no hope for a better future.
January 30, 2020
An excellent all t00 near-future novella, set in the Walkaway universe. This is a world of peak capitalism, with an endless burden of debt, crappy food, and an endless surveillance state. There are ways to escape, because there always are, but there are also ways to fight the system.
You usually either like Doctorow's work or you don't, and this is an excellent novelette by him.
You usually either like Doctorow's work or you don't, and this is an excellent novelette by him.
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