Eastern Standard Tribe

#464
Title: Eastern Standard Tribe
Author: Cory Doctorow
Publisher: Tor
Year: 2004
224 pages

Another lightweight but enjoyable early novel from Doctorow. The main conceit, that there is tribal affiliation among people in the same time zone (and hence, same circadian rhythm), is interesting but not given the role or exploration it deserves. The plt, which some reviewers have called "complex," seems not complex but slightly convoluted. Though the secondary characters are depicted with enough personality cues that they can be told apart, the narrator's tone is that of the previous novel. The ideas are interesting, but the story isn't as interesting as it could be. Don't get me wrong--I liked this, but it's another short story on steroids, lacking the depth and complexity Doctorow brings to later novels.