MAKERS

Doctorow examines the same types of intellectual property and technology issues that he explores in his popular blog, BoingBoing. This downbeat novel recounts the odyssey of two entrepreneurs who simply want to make cool stuff who are brought down by a stagnant corporate culture that sees their innovations as threats. Bernadette Dunne narrates with vigor, focus, and compassion. But she makes a bobble at the outset that geeks will find jarring, incorrectly pronouncing the word "Linux.” Despite Doctorow's emotionally involving characters and apt extrapolations of contemporary trends, one can never fully overlook the book’s tone of didacticism, which is a bit tough to take for 18+ hours. A.B.G. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2010]