[Book Review] Pirate Cinema

Pirate Cinema / Cory Doctorow (Powell's Books)

"Trent McCauley is sixteen, brilliant, and obsessed with one thing: making movies on his computer by reassembling footage from popular films he downloads from the net. In the dystopian near-future Britain where Trent is growing up, this is more illegal than ever; the punishment for being caught three times is that your entire household’s access to the internet is cut off for a year, with no appeal."

 Leave it to Cory Doctorow to write an smashingly brilliant, action filled, novel about copyright.  Written about an uncomfortably possible eminent future Pirate Cinema provokes thought while it entertains.  On top of spinning a story from a subject many of us remain ignorant or at least thoroughly confused by, he stands out by writing a solidly believable teenage narrator and experiences.  If you've ever wondered why I, or anyone else, may pay attention to copyright law and argue against many anti-piracy measures while also maintaining that intellectual property does have value, give this book a read.  Cory Doctorow has even made it, along with his other titles, available for free download.