Paperback, 240 pages
Published Jan. 30, 2024 by Tor Books.
A grabby next-Tuesday thriller about cryptocurrency shenanigans that will awaken you to how the world really works.
Martin Hench is 67 years old, single, and successful in a career stretching back to the beginnings of Silicon Valley. He lives and roams California in a very comfortable fully-furnished touring bus, The Unsalted Hash, that he bought years ago from a fading rock star. He knows his way around good food and fine drink. He likes intelligent women, and they like him back often enough.
Martin is a―contain your excitement―self-employed forensic accountant, a veteran of the long guerilla war between people who want to hide money, and people who want to find it. He knows computer hardware and software alike, including the ins and outs of high-end databases and the kinds of spreadsheets that are designed to conceal rather than reveal. He’s as comfortable with social media as people a quarter his …
A grabby next-Tuesday thriller about cryptocurrency shenanigans that will awaken you to how the world really works.
Martin Hench is 67 years old, single, and successful in a career stretching back to the beginnings of Silicon Valley. He lives and roams California in a very comfortable fully-furnished touring bus, The Unsalted Hash, that he bought years ago from a fading rock star. He knows his way around good food and fine drink. He likes intelligent women, and they like him back often enough.
Martin is a―contain your excitement―self-employed forensic accountant, a veteran of the long guerilla war between people who want to hide money, and people who want to find it. He knows computer hardware and software alike, including the ins and outs of high-end databases and the kinds of spreadsheets that are designed to conceal rather than reveal. He’s as comfortable with social media as people a quarter his age, and he’s a world-level expert on the kind of international money-laundering and shell-company chicanery used by Fortune 500 companies, mid-divorce billionaires, and international drug gangs alike. He also knows the Valley like the back of his hand, all the secret histories of charismatic company founders and Sand Hill Road VCs. Because he was there at all the beginnings. He’s not famous, except to the people who matter. He’s made some pretty powerful people happy in his time, and he’s been paid pretty well. It’s been a good life.
Now he’s been roped into a job that’s more dangerous than anything he’s ever agreed to before―and it will take every ounce of his skill to get out alive.
This was an amusing and quick read. I guess it works best for the of us who are able to follow the tech jargon or even work in IT Sec, even though it is not necessary to follow the plot. I think you might find the book a bit lacking otherwise, because there are no big "what ifs" in this book like for example in Walkaway or Lost Cause. Still, for me it's five stars.
Just finished reading the new Cory Doctorow book, "Red Team Blues." It is a gripping story about cryptography and the world of dark finance. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it.
This was entertaining, and grabbed me more than I expected it to. I liked the story, the noir style and tone, and the tech landscape it’s set in. Sure, it’s obvious that the protagonist is a bit of an author surrogate/fantasy and that made some moments kinda … cringe… but I was hooked firmly enough that they were only minor road-bumps.
Punchy, captivating neo-noir set in the midst of crytobro and billionair folly. Read it.
Martin Hench is forensic accountant who plays by his own rules and lives out of his own recreational vehicle. I found this book to be an easy and thrilling read. Looking forward to seeing what happens next!
