Radicalized was published by Tor Books in 2019. The book contains four novellas, each exploring a different form of radicalization in a near-future America that is recognizably, uncomfortably close to the present.
“Unauthorized Bread” follows Salima, a refugee living in a smart building where the appliances — toaster, dishwasher, washing machine — are locked to approved brands and will not function with unauthorized products. When the company that controls the building’s DRM goes bankrupt, Salima hacks the appliances to work with generic products, and the act of jailbreaking a toaster becomes a story about immigrant survival and corporate control over the most basic domestic activities.
“Model Minority” reimagines Superman as a real person — an alien with godlike powers living in America — who discovers that using his abilities to fight street crime is meaningless when the real violence is systemic. The novella is a devastating critique of the superhero genre’s assumption that justice can be achieved through individual action.
“Radicalized” is the title novella: a group of men whose loved ones have been denied health insurance coverage for life-saving treatments meet online and gradually convince each other that violence against insurance company executives is justified. Doctorow treats the radicalization process with uncomfortable empathy.
“Masque of the Red Death” follows a prepper billionaire who has built an elaborate bunker for the collapse of civilization, only to discover that the people he hired to build and maintain the bunker have their own ideas about who should survive.
Collecting Radicalized
First edition (Tor Books, New York, 2019): Cloth binding, dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition, fine/fine: $10–$25
- Very good/very good: $5–$12