Immigration. Police brutality. Healthcare. Societal Collapse. In a series of novellas, Cory Doctorow isn’t afraid to get political to address these themes in Radicalized. His stories force readers to confront these issues and the frightening familiarity of how these events play out. The main characters in these stories face corporate greed against the most vulnerable, a biased justice system, the corrupt bureaucracy of health insurance, and the end of the world. While our protagonists prevail (for the most part), their successes come at almost-unexpected costs.

The first story, “Unauthorized Bread,” follows Salima in her attempt to navigate a system that seems to actively punish her for being a refugee. She and her fellow-refugee neighbors in their high-rise building have no choice but to use the appliances provided in the low-cost apartment. Unfortunately, these networked appliances will only function for specific products – for example, their toasters will only toast specific (i.e. “approved”) kinds of bread, the dishwasher will only wash specific kinds of dishes, and so on. Even elevator access is determined by how much rent the tenants can afford to pay.

Then one day, Salima’s toaster stops working altogether, due to the company going bankrupt. So she finds a solution to the problem by hacking her broken toaster, and shares this trick with others in the building. Eventually the company is bought out and the network is up and running again – which means that Salima’s efforts could have disastrous consequences for her and everyone she helped to hack into the system and “illegally” use their appliances.

The second story is “Model Minority,” in which readers will recognize the identity of a popular superhero in our modern world. Going by the name of “American Eagle,” our main character witnesses and intervenes in an incident in which police officers are beating an unarmed black man, after allegedly seeing marijuana in the vehicle he is driving. The American Eagle pursues the case and the officer in charge, attempting to ensure that the the justice system works fairly to hold the police accountable. Some readers may be able to guess where the story goes from here.

The American Eagle has spent centuries upholding the law. For decades he thought that police officers worked to do the same. Throw in a well-known journalist/love-interest and billionaire colleague (both recognizable to comic book fans), and he begins to realize the failings of the system and becomes increasingly frustrated that his actions have adverse effects on the victim. The story literally asks the question, “Why did it take you so long?” Why did the American Eagle decide to intervene in police brutality and racial injustice now, when these issues have been around for decades? Would it even make a difference if some sort of supreme being or powerful alien started saying the words “Black Lives Matter,” or would Americans begin to see him as a threat once he confronts the police?

The third novella in the collection, “Radicalized,” will hit home with any reader who has had to deal with the corruption of the American healthcare system. Our main character, Joe, is a father and husband whose wife has cancer. While an experimental treatment can possibly save her life, their insurance company refuses to cover the cost. While fundraising for his wife’s treatment, Joe finds himself diving deep into the dark web and finds a forum/community full of those with similar experiences – people who have lost spouses and children who could have been saved, if not for the insurance policies in place.

In this story, the community members take matters into their own hands by attacking the insurance companies’ headquarters and unleashing their frustration in deadly ways. Eventually the bodies pile up and government officials finally use the word “terrorism” to describe the predominantly armed white male suspects carrying out these attacks. While Joe attempts to help these depressed and angry people and prevent more attacks, he finds himself potentially guilty by association. The question is, how many people have to die for those in power to take action?

The final story, “Masque of the Red Death,” explores how the 1% might handle the end of the world. Our protagonist Martin has spared no expense on his “very cool” bunker (AKA Fort Doom) and survival plan, and seems excited to use them. He invites 30 specific people to join him and spells out explicit instructions to follow, and turns away those who don’t follow them. Not everyone shows up to ride out the collapse of society. Those who do, however, slowly realize taking shelter with Martin may not have been the best course of action, as things begin to go horribly wrong.

Doctorow somehow manages to develop fleshed-out characters in the short time readers spend with them. Each story in Radicalized digs deep into the realities that Americans face today, and gives us new perspectives from the lives directly (and indirectly) impacted. If Doctorow’s goal was to entertain, educate, and make readers realize their potential to fix these problems, then he has succeeded.