Taken under the wing of a scientifically minded tramp named Jem, Trent is able to rebuild his laptop, squat in an abandoned pub, make new friends, and discover an underground London society of artists and copyfighters. We’re all just as guilty as Trent, we just haven’t been caught yet. Ever recaptioned a photo or submitted something to Lolcats? Ever shared a deviantart image on Facebook simply because you liked it? ever taken a photo you found online and photoshopped it into something you liked better, if only to show off your photoshop skills? If you’ve ever done any of those things, you’re in the same boat as Trent – you’ve shared someone else’s intellectual property, changed it, made it into something new, and claimed that new thing as your own unique creation. This may sound like it’s a story for an about people who remix videos and remix music, and if you’re not one of those folks it’s easy to think this politically charged story doesn’t apply to you. Full of shame, Trent runs away to London. Trent’s family is ostracized by their being kicked off internet access. His mother can’t get her prescriptions refilled online. His little sister can’t do her homework at home anymore and her grades plummet. Thanks to a new draconian law regarding copyright infringement, Trent’s family loses their internet access for one year due to his constant downloading of films and clips. The story follows Trent McCauley, a British teen who does all the normal teen things, like hating school, being awkward around girls, and downloading tons and tons of video clips of his favorite actor, and mashing them up into new and funny videos, a la Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, and then uploading his vids for his fans and friends to watch. This isn’t the first time I’ve compared Doctorow’s fiction to that of Ayn Rand, and if you know my history with Rand’s fiction, you know I mean that comparison as the highest compliment.

If China Mieville’s Railsea is a YA retelling of Moby Dick (complete with similar literary mannerisms), then Pirate Cinema is a YA introduction to political manifestos such as Atlas Shrugged (complete with speeches at the end). he likes to hit his readers where it hurts, to show us where our world is going if we’re not careful. Where I got it: borrowed ARC from a friendĬory Doctorow is mean.

Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow