Little Brother

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

30142

Title

Little Brother

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

A high-stakes techno-thriller about a seventeen-year-old hacker whose life is shattered after a terrorist attack on San Francisco. As the protagonist faces detention and interrogation by a surveillance state, he must use his technical skills to fight back against government overreach, protect his privacy, and organize a resistance against a society where technology is weaponized for control.

Summary up to 500 words

Cory Doctorow's *Little Brother* is a gripping techno-thriller and digital freedom manifesto written in the wake of a fictional terrorist attack on San Francisco. The story follows Marcus Yallow, a seventeen-year-old hacker and activist whose life is upended when he is detained by the U.S. government as a potential enemy combatant. Following the attack, Marcus is arrested, stripped of his phone and memory sticks, and transported to a secret offshore detention facility. There, he faces a government that demands total transparency under the guise of national security, threatening to vanish anyone who cannot prove their innocence. Initially terrified and isolated, Marcus is forced to confront the erosion of civil liberties in a post-9/11 surveillance state. The narrative explores the collision of teenage idealism with a dystopian reality where data collection, secret no-fly lists, and aggressive policing threaten fundamental freedoms. Despite his detention, Marcus refuses to submit, realizing that the government's methods are indistinguishable from the tyranny he fights against. He is eventually released but remains a target, leading him to organize a digital resistance movement alongside his friends, including the brilliant hacker Joli Hoare. The novel argues that the answer to censorship and control is not submission but rather more speech, encryption, and community organization. Through a mix of personal drama and technical exposition, Doctorow critiques the post-9/11 security state, highlighting how the tools meant to protect society are instead used to spy on and control its citizens. The story serves as both a thrilling narrative and a call to action, urging readers to defend privacy, embrace open-source technology, and resist the authoritarian impulses that seek to regiment human life. It stands as a powerful reminder that in an information society, liberty depends on the courage to speak out and the wisdom to protect one's digital rights.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30142.epub.noimages

Local file path

data/epubs/pg30142.epub

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Downloaded at

2026-07-07 11:42 UTC

Categories

• Science Fiction
• Politics
• Social Issues