What do you get when people take online social networking to its logical extreme? Eastern Standard Tribe. In it, people organize by the circadian rhythm of their online groups, or tribes, like the group of the title, or Greenwich 0.

The book opens with the protagonist, Art Berry, being committed to a mental hospital as the result of an elaborate intrigue between time zone tribes - all over an idea he has about peer to peer file swapping between cars. From there we flash back to how he landed in this mess.

Its a great little book and a quick read.

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Interesting. Kind of Pynchonesque.

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Doctorow is a must read for anyone into SciFi

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Doctorow is an excellent young SF writer. I first read this book online as he provides all his texts free of charge in electronic formats (at his site, craphound.com). I liked what I read so much that I picked up a hardcopy and enjoyed it even more the second time. I've seen Cory compared to Philip K Dick in the past, but I really don't see that. Cory has a much more practical take on the future, and generally he takes a fairly upbeat attitude.

He's an author that understands the importance of the decisions currently made about technology and much of his work is very topical in regards to copyright law, digital rights management, etc. His work is not technical, however. In fact much of what he writes is barely recognizable as SF. EST is a good example of this, being set in a very recognizable world not too far in the future. Eastern Standard Tribe focuses on the shift in social behavior across regions, and specifically time zones, with the growth of the internet. He uses this device to shape a fast paced little drama of money and betrayal that anyone can relate to.

I believe this was his second novel. I definitely look forward to reading more of Mr. Doctorow's work! If I have a compaint about Eastern Standard Tribe, it's that I was left wanting more, as the book is a very fast reading 224 pages.

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A quick tale about mental institutions and business partners who cheat, all set in a tomorrow where online communities cluster around time zone more than anything else.

Doctorow basically starts in the middle and then uses a "now" timeline and a "flashback" timeline to keep the tension high. It's a good trick, and works well. This was a fun book, and very fast to read.

4 out of 5.

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