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Attack Surface (Little Brother Book 3) Kindle Edition

by Cory Doctorow (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 772 ratings
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Cory Doctorow's Attack Surface is a standalone novel set in the world of New York Times bestsellers Little Brother and Homeland.

Most days, Masha Maximow was sure she'd chosen the winning side.

In her day job as a counterterrorism wizard for an transnational cybersecurity firm, she made the hacks that allowed repressive regimes to spy on dissidents, and manipulate their every move. The perks were fantastic, and the pay was obscene.

Just for fun, and to piss off her masters, Masha sometimes used her mad skills to help those same troublemakers evade detection, if their cause was just. It was a dangerous game and a hell of a rush. But seriously self-destructive. And unsustainable.

When her targets were strangers in faraway police states, it was easy to compartmentalize, to ignore the collateral damage of murder, rape, and torture. But when it hits close to home, and the hacks and exploits she’s devised are directed at her friends and family--including boy wonder Marcus Yallow, her old crush and archrival, and his entourage of naïve idealists--Masha realizes she has to choose.

And whatever choice she makes, someone is going to get hurt.

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

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  1. Book 3 of 3
    Little Brother
  2. Print length
    376 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    Tor Books
  6. Publication date
    October 13, 2020
  7. File size
    2364 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
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  10. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist, and journalist. His latest book is THE LOST CAUSE, a solarpunk science fiction novel of hope amidst the climate emergency. His most recent nonfiction book is THE INTERNET CON: HOW TO SEIZE THE MEANS OF COMPUTATION, a Big Tech disassembly manual. Last April, he published RED TEAM BLUES, a technothriller about finance crime. He is the author of the international young adult LITTLE BROTHER series. He is also the author of CHOKEPOINT CAPITALISM (with Rebecca Giblin), about creative labor markets and monopoly; HOW TO DESTROY SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM, nonfiction about conspiracies and monopolies; and of RADICALIZED and WALKAWAY, science fiction for adults, a YA graphic novel called IN REAL LIFE; and other young adult novels like PIRATE CINEMA. His first picture book was POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER (Aug 2020). His next novel is THE BEZZLE (February 2024). He maintains a daily blog at Pluralistic.net. He works for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is a MIT Media Lab Research Affiliate, is a Visiting Professor of Computer Science at Open University, a Visiting Professor of Practice at the University of North Carolina’s School of Library and Information Science and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group. Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in Los Angeles. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. In 2022, he earned the Sir Arthur Clarke Imagination in Service to Society Awardee for lifetime achievement. York University (Canada) made him an Honourary Doctor of Laws; and the Open University (UK) made him an Honourary Doctor of Computer Science.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B082RS7N3X
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tor Books (October 13, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 13, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2364 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 376 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1250757533
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 772 ratings

About the author

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Cory Doctorow

Cory Doctorow

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Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of many books, most recently RADICALIZED and WALKAWAY, science fiction for adults; CHOKEPOINT CAPITALISM, nonfiction about monopoly and creative labor markets; IN REAL LIFE, a graphic novel; and the picture book POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER. His latest novel is ATTACK SURFACE, a standalone adult sequel to LITTLE BROTHER. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
772 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Bill Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth Reading
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2023
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All three of the Little Brother books are worth reading. I am not technical enough to recognize a path forward for this, but am technical enough to recognize the problems exposed and see that these issues demand attention.
One person found this helpful
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John Miller
4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting narrator
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2024
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I started out this book by putting it down. Teenage Masha sells her tech services to the Department of Homeland Security, helping them put innocent people in jail--without being charged. The job morphs into doing the same thing for government military contractors, turning a blind eye to the atrocities they commit. Then another security company, helping a strong-arm Eastern European dictator stay in power. She has a Swiss bank account.
But Masha changes. It's the sort of gradual change that only happens after living in a racist, macho world, working for people who try to justify their evil actions and assuage their consciences with money.
Masha changes. She gets in touch with friends who haven't lost their hope in humanity, who help her to say no to the mercenaries who've signed the paychecks sent to her Swiss bank accounts. And in the end, she kicks ass--literally.
This book, while a little hyperbolic in parts, is not very much so: it's spot-on about how technology is easily abused by those with money. It's spot-on about what can happen when the interests of the private sector clash with freedom of speech. It's highly critical of the Internet of Things that we surround ourselves with. Technology is not an end in itself: when it gets used against us, it's time to take a long look at how we use it.
And it's probably time to reflash my phone.
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Charlie Behrens
5.0 out of 5 stars Shoe on the other foot
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2024
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What would you do if you had the ability to conduct surveillance on everyone all the time, but actually had a conscience? This book lays out that moral dilemma beautifully and painfully realistically. The truly hard part is that it's a thinly veiled fiction of what the United States is actually experiencing.
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Ray
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read!
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2020
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I usually pass on cory doctorow (because of the tendency to the idolatry of his fans :) but picked this one up. Great Halloween gift. For anybody who is concerned about the present surveillance state. Even for somebody who casually keeps track, this is a sobering read :) ; and, in fact, it is very well written. Good writing (which means I actually finished it), characterization, and plot. I do wish it was fiction :)
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CMOT TMPV
3.0 out of 5 stars I wanted to love this book....
Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2024
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But it's weak, way weaker than the previous two books. Weak by Doctorow's standards is still good. I liked the use of tech just as in the others but parts of it just seemed really forced and I couldn't get into it. (And keep in mind I think Little Brother was one of the best books in its genre of all time. So I am a fan.)
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K. Mcculloch
4.0 out of 5 stars Hope you like tech descriptions
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2020
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If you have read any of Doctorow’s novels, especially from the “Little Brother” series (this is basically book three), you know the author loves talking tech. Perhaps half the book is devoted to descriptions of hacking, cyber security, and things of this nature. This is interesting, but it shouldn’t be the star of the show.

For example- something happens early on in the story involving taxi cabs. It is a horrific event, and unlike anything the protagonist nor reader has ever experienced. Imagine machines in a city rising up to battle humans - sounds interesting, right?Approximately two paragraphs are devoted to describing the event and the protagonist’s reaction to it. Following these two paragraphs are perhaps 5 pages of the protagonist explaining “binary transparency” and the minutiae of cryptographic keypairs as it relates to cyber security. This section is completely unrelated to the taxi event, and occurs immediately after. Keep in mind this is a subject that the protagonist deals with every single day. It would be like an accountant witnessing an alien invasion on tv, switching off the tv after a few minutes, and then sitting and pondering Excel formulas and balance sheets for an hour. It is hard to believe anyone could be so blaśe about such a crazy event, and I certainly wouln’t want to spend any time in the head of someone like this.

That said, this is how Doctorow writes. You either deal with it or move on. As far as Doctorow goes, this is a good one!
14 people found this helpful
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Some Guy
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent continuation of Little Brother series
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2020
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Another stellar entry in the series, continuing the themes and issues from the previous books with a VERY different point-of-view. Scary, enraging, but surprisingly hopeful(cut with a heaping dose of skepticism and pragmatism) this is a must-read for Doctorow fans.

I gather it's supposed to be a stand-alone story for those who haven't read the previous entries...but I can't help but wonder what those readers would make of it.(Why does this Marcus fellow and his wife keep popping up?) Still, I think there's plenty for new readers to sink their teeth into. Plenty of food for thought.
One person found this helpful
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Luke Chadwick
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Read
Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2020
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This is a brilliantly reflective novel, and important update to the Little Brother series (much has advanced in the 12 years since the original book was published).

If you follow Cory Doctorow then a lot of the themes in this book will be familiar. Regardless, it follows a very different arc to that of Marcus Yallow. Exploring the other side of the fence when it comes to surveillance.

While Cory Doctorow's novel Walkaway is still my favourite, this is a close second. Even better is the audio book version, narrated by Amber Benson. Note: it's not available on Audible because, for some unknown reason, they won't allow books without DRM (even if the Author and Publisher is okay with it).
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Top reviews from other countries

keirfamily
5.0 out of 5 stars Cory Doctorow at his best - 1984 for 2024, but winnable !
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 11, 2024
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Doctorow digs beneath the electronic skin of the 3rd Millennium with his usual style, as everyday people (and some smart ones!) learn to deal with the pressures - covert and obvious - of the 21st century and its surveillance capitalism. If you have your banking app on your phone (without two-factor verification), if you've been within 100 m of a protest - ever - , or if you believe that big companies are there to protect and to serve you, you need this book; it's a maintenance and repair guide for your democracy.
If you have one.
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ZaL
5.0 out of 5 stars Another inspirational epic
Reviewed in Canada on December 9, 2020
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I never know what to think, after reading Cory’s books, about the world I am in. He is a master of showing both sides of the issues of today and the near future while making the story pull you in and never let go. This is no exception. You will love it if you love great writing AND care about where we are headed.
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Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars Angry girl to wise woman
Reviewed in Australia on August 30, 2023
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Third book of the trilogy, and I'd recommend it as a stand-alone read. Quite the redemption arc and a hope for tomorrow.
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R G T
5.0 out of 5 stars Surprising sequel
Reviewed in Canada on August 7, 2021
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I was impressed by Little Brother and Homeland, both terrific books usually classed as Young Adult fiction. I can't imagine Attack Surface sharing that category. It feels a great deal more like Walkaway, more adult in topic and temper. Cannot wait to see where Doctorow takes us next
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Kevin, The Wonder Horse
4.0 out of 5 stars Epic Finale
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 10, 2020
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The first two books in this series, Little Brother and Homeland set things up for this third book to knock the things out of the stadium.

Little Brother read like it was aimed at a younger audience, this book seems to be a much more mature, and considerably darker, story. It's all the better for that.

The enigmatic Masha, the heroine, or at least the principal character in this book, has made fleeting appearances in the previous books. Now we meet her several years on from Homeland, working for a private security agency in a nameless ex Soviet republic.

Masha kind of personifies the debate around the use of the technology Cory is interested in. Alternating between roles glorying in the power the tools give her over others and cowering in abject fear at the power they hold over her and her friends, she is conflicted.

Society generally is obviously also conflicted, yes we want to have tools that enable us to silence Nazis, criminals, groomers of children but do we want that when those same tools can be used to silence protesters fighting to rectify injustices, shut down whistle blowers spilling the beans on immoral activities in the boardroom ?

The sensible answer to this, as I think Masha realises is - No.

Cory explores these themes far more thoroughly and incisively in this book, than I have in this poor review and he did in the previous two books.

As ever, everything described in the book is almost certainly already in existence, already being used or on someones drawing board ready to go. That is where this book tips over the edge from being a fast paced, exciting thriller to being genuinely terrifying.

I enjoyed this, I think you probably will too ( because I know exactly who you are, and everything about you ) - read it !
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