Walkaway (Doctorow novel)

In a world of non-work, ruined by human-created climate change and pollution, and where people are under surveillance and ruled over by a mega-rich elite, Hubert, Etc, his friend Seth, and Natalie, decide that they have nothing to lose by turning their backs and walking away from the everyday world or "default reality".[3]

With the advent of 3D printing – and especially the ability to use these to fabricate even better fabricators – and with machines that can search for and reprocess waste or discarded materials, they no longer have need of Default for the basic essentials of life, such as food, clothing and shelter.[3]

As more and more people choose to "walkaway", the ruling elite do not take these social changes sitting down. They use the military, police and mercenaries to attack and disrupt the walkaways' new settlements.[3]

One thing that the elite are especially interested in is scientific research that the walkaways are carrying out which could finally put an end to death – and all this leads to revolution and eventual war.[3]

• Hubert Espinoza, better known as "Hubert, Etc" because of his nineteen middle names. Aged 27.
• Seth: A friend of Hubert, Etc, who was "terrified of aging out of the beautiful children demographic and entering the world of non-work."
• Natalie Redwater: Born into an elite family, she convinces Hubert, Etc, and Seth to walk away from the everyday world of "Default".

Writing on NPR online, Jason Sheehan is of the opinion that Doctorow's writing is "super weird in the best possible way."[1]

The reviewer says that Walkaway is a remarkable "story of a utopia in progress, as messy as every new thing ever is, told in the form of people talking to each other, arguing with each other and working together to solve problems. It's all about the deep, disturbing, recognizable weirdness of the future that must come from the present we have already made for ourselves, trying to figure out what went wrong and what comes next."[1]

In The Verge, Adi Robertson writes: "Walkaway imagines a future shaped by the same problems and possibilities Doctorow's been playing with for years: the threat of ubiquitous surveillance and artificial scarcity, and the promise that almost any technology can be repurposed and turned against its creator".[2]

Robertson goes on to say that "one of Doctorow's core themes in Walkaway is subverting what he described as the popular 'man against man against nature' pulp plot."[2]

In Ars Technica, Sean Gallagher writes that "the future is open source in this optimistic sci-fi disaster epic full of big ideas."[3] He and Doctorow see Walkaway as a prequel to the author's debut novel Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.[3]

Gallagher concludes that Walkaway "shows us a world trying to make things right after having made all the wrong decisions about how to use technology. But Walkaway executes that move beautifully. And like all great performances, it's worth witnessing over and over again."[3]

• Official website
• "Technology is making the world more unequal. Only technology can fix this", Cory Doctorow, The Guardian, 31 May 2017