3.5 stars. I round up because I think this novel presents in an entertaining way a lot of important concepts of which more people should be aware. My favorite Doctorow I’ve read yet. I always have a problem with his rhythm, with the most exciting and dramatic bits often feeling a bit perfunctory. He’s a chase/spycraft sort of thriller writer rather than big dramatic explosion adventure writer. But really he does a very good job keeping things exciting while still conveying a lot of technobabble in a digestible form for the layman. Also, there’s few living writers I respect so much for living his philosophy and the sheer amount of stuff he produces and contributes to beyond novels. I highly recommend his daily blog, Pluralistic. ( )

3.5 stars. I round up because I think this novel presents in an entertaining way a lot of important concepts of which more people should be aware. My favorite Doctorow I’ve read yet. I always have a problem with his rhythm, with the most exciting and dramatic bits often feeling a bit perfunctory. He’s a chase/spycraft sort of thriller writer rather than big dramatic explosion adventure writer. But really he does a very good job keeping things exciting while still conveying a lot of technobabble in a digestible form for the layman. Also, there’s few living writers I respect so much for living his philosophy and the sheer amount of stuff he produces and contributes to beyond novels. I highly recommend his daily blog, Pluralistic. ( )

I read Cory Doctorow's Little Brother several years ago and had enjoyed it tremendously. It had a brilliant plot, some fantastic characters and nonstop action that kept the pages turning, all the while educating the readers about the technical and ethical aspects of IT security. Attack Surface happens about ten years after Little Brother, with Masha Maximow, the hacking wizard who had lent her considerable talents to the government intelligence agency out of patriotism in Little Brother, in focus. She has been working for private surveillance contractors who, for gigantic fees, help government agencies of all varieties spy on whoever they consider their enemies – sometimes their own innocent citizens. She seemingly has no qualms being on this side of the surveillance apparatus and, whenever her conscience wakes up, does just a little something to coax it back to sleep. Her assignment as the book begins is to help an authoritarian regime somewhere in the east of Europe spy on, and suppress, those protesting against it. True to form, Masha educates the protesters about how to evade the systems she herself has put in place during her off-work hours. When she is kicked out of the company once her extracurricular activities come to light, she goes back home to San Francisco, where her childhood friend is at the forefront of a movement against the racial profiling and persecution of non-white people. Now, with the issue too close for comfort, she has to finally choose between staying on the side of the persecutors and moving over to the other side, where the people she cares about are, amidst deadly persuasion by powerful organizations.

Attack Surface is presented as a first-person narrative by Masha who, in addition to relating the present happenings, also tells the story of her rise from being a talented immigrant without a father to earning uncountable amount of money by helping powers that be in their quest to spy and control anti-establishment activities at various places across the world. She explains the circumstances and the thought processes through which she has convinced herself that she was on the right side while many things point in the other direction.

Doctorow has turned up the malicious usage of technology by oppressive regimes by several notches and makes the reader look at all electronics with a scared, suspicious eye. In addition to being a technological thriller, Attack Surface is also the story of Masha’s inner conflict, having to choose between a comfortable life aiding the authorities persecute unsuspecting masses and a fugitive life helping those spied on. The overload of technological details, though for the most part flying over my head, does not deter the reader; it rather pulls one deeper into the plot. Doctorow does the voice of the impudent female tech wizard so well that it is very easy to visualise Masha, and the people and situations she describes.

The major difference between Attack Surface and Little Brother is that there is less of action and more of discourse, about the usefulness of surveillance in fighting terrorism and its harmfulness to individual freedom, that drags down the novel’s pace at times. Apart from that, I had a fantastic time reading this thought provoking novel and would rate it 4 out of 5 stars.

My immense gratitude to the author and the publisher of this book, and netgalley.com, for the ARC in exchange for my unbiased review. ( )

Starts off like a high level IT security handbook, but it's actually a really good story that does also open your eyes about surveillance, etc... ( )

Loved it. I love all of Doctorow's novels. Masha is great. ( )