It would have been difficult to miss this book announcement as Cory Doctorow is being interviewed in what feels like half the podcasts I listen to. I also bought his previous non-fiction book (Chokepoint capitalism) but still haven’t opened it (that’s how bad my tsundoku situation is). So I didn’t really know what to expect.

And I second what most readers have already said: it’s a real page turner. The pitch: a 67-yo forensic accountant about to retire is asked to help a friend to recover some lost cryptographic keys unless dire consequences.

It is extremely interesting to read realist fiction, especially in that domain and set in Los Angeles. Doctorow knows the area very well and it’s interesting to see it through the eyes of a character with a long-term view of the valley products and company, the people dynamic and so on. Through his activities at the EFF, he has a critic view of the companies and approaches.

Final word

Really good book. Don’t know if I’ll read the other 2 prequels scheduled for publication later this year and in 2024 but still had a great time reading it.

Useless trivia: there are a few recipes in the book I now want to try.