One would think, based on the title, that #TheLostCause would be an inherently bleak outlook of our future in the climate catastrophe - this couldn't be further from the truth!
Upon finishing this novel, I'm left with hope and reinvigorated optimism for what we can achieve in the battle for this planet's future.
Finished reading „The Lost Cause“ by @pluralistic
Excellent read and as usual quite on top of the current problems—climate change in this case.
One bit nagged me at the end though. Spoiler in the next toot… #thelostcause
@root42@pluralistic that's the "You can't prove it was me because IP addresses are dynamically-assigned by the ISP" defense and it's really not a good one.
Reading @pluralistic's #TheLostCause and will say more about the actual book on Bookwyrm later, but I'm weirdly struck by the fact it's the second book I've read in the past couple of months set in new future where Twitter still exists. Like it's fascinating the assumptions we make about what is an immutable part of our world and how quickly those assumptions can be overturned, even for authors whose whole thing is anticipating the future and questioning the present
@skaphle@afewbugs Nope, it's called "baby twitter" (just as there are "baby warners"). These are modeled after the Baby Bells that were created when AT&T was broken up by the DOJ in 1982. The underlying premise is that we're living in an era where a muscular reining in of corporate power has created a lot of things called "twitters" but none are under a single firm's corporate control. Indeed, many are implictly run by co-ops, based on context clues.
Never thought I would want to visit Burbank, CA but now I do.
Cory does a masterful job of grounding what the future, at least as far as the climate emergency looks like, in a feeling of realness. The book doesn't hyperventilate nor does it paint a too rosey tech bro future. What it does is tell a story that feels hopeful and horrifying at the same time with characters who you miss when the last sentence is read.
@jeremygibson@pluralistic There's a few terms from the book that I think I'm going to start using. I love the way that "radical" things like libraries of things, makerspaces and crowd-sourcing are depicted as having become to "part of the fabric of society", but that it shows that there's always some group that wants to slow down or even reverse progress towards a more just society. I so want the Blue Helmets to become a real thing...
The best part of #TheLostCause, @pluralistic 's hopeful look at our inevitably difficult future, is that it portrays a hope that is not based on magical thinking or fantastical technologies, but on choices.
The book is also full of humour, pathos, insight, and thoughtfulness that run along an engaging plot that might have you reading into the wee hours.
I'm reading @pluralistic's new book The Lost Cause, and among the things I'm loving about it is the future slang. For example, we definitely need to start referring to the 1% as plutes (short for plutocrats).
The novel was captivating as I got the #drmfree ebook and #audiobook two nights ago.
I am left very hopeful, in the sense that " #Hope [...] is the belief that what we do matters.", and that's a point that the tale really does drive home.
We need to stand up together and act now for a chance to mitigate its backdrop of a mid-century #ClimateEmergency, but also #solidarity is what might make it bearable.