Little Brother
Little Brother by Cory Doctorowby Cory Doctorow
Shares rank 108 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
People recommend it as an engaging, prescient novel about surveillance and privacy, and it is free to read online.
People recommend it as an engaging, prescient novel about surveillance and privacy, and it is free to read online.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Engaging, prescient take on surveillance
“it was engaging and if I had kids I'd gift it to them when they were the right age”
Comment from 14 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What are young technically minded people reading?” “laid this all out in plain english”
Comment from 27 Jan 2026 in “Heathrow Drops the Liquids Rule” “That book was prescient. And free.”
Comment from 13 Feb 2026 in “CBP Signs Clearview AI Deal to Use Face Recognition for 'Tactical Targeting'” Recommended for young, technical readers
“it was engaging and if I had kids I'd gift it to them when they were the right age”
Comment from 14 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What are young technically minded people reading?” “read Cory Doctorow's Little Brother from some suggestions”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “Canada's Bill C-22 Mandates Mass Metadata Surveillance of Canadians”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Little Brotherby Cory DoctorowThis page | 4 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
All 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I felt the same way after reading "Little Brother".”
“read Cory Doctorow's Little Brother from some suggestions”
“That book was prescient. And free.”
“laid this all out in plain english”
“it was engaging and if I had kids I'd gift it to them when they were the right age”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.