A book with many strengths and many weaknesses. Walkaway is jam-packed with big ideas about technology, capitalism, communism, communalism, politics, anti-politics, sex, gender, life, death, work, wealth, etc. The use of computer technology to run a non-capitalistic economy reminded me of the Soviet economists in Red Plenty, who hoped to create an economy run by computers, independent of the political leaders . The hypercapitalistic dystopian elements and the internet elements also reminded me of Snow Crash. The social experimentation and artificial intelligence (and life extension) elements reminded me of the Rama Sequels (Arthur C Clarke & Gentry Lee) and Red Mars (Kim Stanley Robinson). Similar to Clarke and Robinson, I felt the dialogue and characters are a little weak. Without the emotional investment that strong characters give me, I found it hard to get to into their world, and I started finding fault with his premises (e.g. the idea of wilderness-like wastelands both lacking in state/capitalist control and containing resources for walkaways to build their own independent communities; the question of where they are getting the energy for all their computing power). I was, however, intrigued enough by where Doctorow's ideas were leading to be riveted to the very end.