# Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

4 Hacker News commenters recommended Little Brother by Cory Doctorow and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as an engaging, prescient novel about surveillance and privacy, and it is free to read online.

## Why people recommend it

- Engaging, prescient take on surveillance (3 comments): "it was engaging and if I had kids I'd gift it to them when they were the right age" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46264092)) "laid this all out in plain english" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46787459)) "That book was prescient. And free." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47008045))
- Recommended for young, technical readers (2 comments): "it was engaging and if I had kids I'd gift it to them when they were the right age" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46264092)) "read Cory Doctorow's Little Brother from some suggestions" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47397373))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir](https://hackerapproved.com/p/project-hail-mary.md): 117 recommend
- [There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm](https://hackerapproved.com/p/there-is-no-antimemetics-division.md): 98 recommend
- [Blindsight by Peter Watts](https://hackerapproved.com/p/blindsight.md): 96 recommend
- [Dune by Frank Herbert](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dune.md): 82 recommend
- [Accelerando by Charles Stross](https://hackerapproved.com/p/accelerando.md): 71 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0765323117?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780765323118) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Little Brother by Cory Doctorow", https://hackerapproved.com/p/little-brother/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).