Cory Doctorow’s thriller series starring forensic accountant Martin Hench began with Red Team Blues (2023). Like its prequel The Bezzle (which I mistakenly read first), it’s a short, fast book, and similarly entertaining.
In this one, sixty-seven-year-old Martin Hench is at the tail end of his career, living out of a luxury tour bus, when he’s approached for a job by tech billionaire Danny Lazer. The case is to recover stolen cryptocurrency keys, a task that involves investigating a datacenter, uncovering an insider, and following the clues to the prize — with no easy guarantee of success. Unfortunately for Hench, the work puts him on a collision course with high danger, embroiling him with ruthless organized crime figures and tax-evading financiers.
As a jumping-off point, Red Team Blues is a successful introduction to Hench, establishing a solid world-building foundation upon which Doctorow can discuss his highly informed passion for technology, economics, and how they intersect. On the downside, Hench’s life may be a little too perfect to be true, with hints of James Bondian superspy wish fulfillment — although, in this case, with a distinctly tech-nerd flavor. By and large, the period charms and overall story structure of The Bezzle were more satisfying for me, but as a vehicle for delivering Doctorow’s unique brand of sociopolitical critique in fictional form, it’s still a bracing, fun read.
