"New York Times bestselling author Cory Doctorow returns to the
world of Red Team Blues to bring us the origin story of Martin
Hench and the most powerful new tool for crime ever invented:
the personal computer.

"The year is 1986. The city is San Francisco. Here, Martin Hench will invent the forensic accountant--what a bounty hunter is to people, he is to money--but for now he's an MIT dropout odd-jobbing his way around a city still reeling from the invention of a revolutionary new technology that will change everything about crime forever, one we now take completely for granted.

"When Marty finds himself hired by Silicon Valley PC startup Fidelity Computing to investigate a group of disgruntled ex-employees who've founded a competitor startup, he quickly realizes he's on the wrong side. Marty ditches the greasy old guys running Fidelity Computing without a second thought, utterly infatuated with the electric atmosphere of Computing Freedom. Located in the heart of the Mission, this group of brilliant young women found themselves exhausted by the predatory business practices of Fidelity Computing and set out to beat them at their own game, making better computers and driving Fidelity Computing out of business. But this optimistic startup, fueled by young love and California-style burritos, has no idea the depth of the evil they're seeking to unroot or the risks they run.

"In this company-eat-company city, Martin and his friends will be lucky to escape with their lives.


Picks and Shovels: A Martin Hench Novel | Hardcover

Cory Doctorow

Martin Hench Novels (series)

Tor/Forge | Tor Books

Fiction / Science Fiction - Hard Science Fiction / Thrillers - Technological / Science Fiction - Crime & Mystery

Published Feb 18, 2025


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"New York Times bestselling author Cory Doctorow returns to the
world of Red Team Blues to bring us the origin story of Martin
Hench and the most powerful new tool for crime ever invented:
the personal computer.

Nice!! "Red Team Blues" was a great cybercrime thriller. Doctorow knows
his tech, and I loved the mystery surrounding a lost cryptowallet,
organized crime set in the Bay Area. Martin Hench, the main character,
was in his 60's in the novel, so cool to see him back in the wild days of
SV, doing his thing.

The author is a net activist as well, who coined the term
"enshitification" to describe what Big Tech is doing to us now. I'm
pretty sure the game(s) Watchdogs 2 was influenced by another Doctorow
novle, "Little Brother" - another fantastic, realistic tech romp.

|07|02/|10\|03/ |11j0hnny a1pha |03\|10/|02\|07


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j0hnny a1pha wrote to Ogg <=-

Nice!! "Red Team Blues" was a great cybercrime thriller. Doctorow knows his tech, and I loved the mystery surrounding a lost cryptowallet, organized crime set in the Bay Area. Martin Hench, the main character,
was in his 60's in the novel, so cool to see him back in the wild days
of SV, doing his thing.

I've loved his portrayals of "20 minutes into the future" Sci-fi, like
Eastern Standard Tribe and Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. I should
play catch-up on my reading list and visit his new works.


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On 26 Mar 2025 at 06:55a, j0hnny a1pha pondered and said...

"New York Times bestselling author Cory Doctorow returns to the
world of Red Team Blues to bring us the origin story of Martin
Hench and the most powerful new tool for crime ever invented:
the personal computer.

Nice!! "Red Team Blues" was a great cybercrime thriller. Doctorow knows his tech, and I loved the mystery surrounding a lost cryptowallet, organized crime set in the Bay Area. Martin Hench, the main character,
was in his 60's in the novel, so cool to see him back in the wild days of SV, doing his thing.

I'll have to check this out. I'm a big SF fan and I'm from SV so it should be interesting to read. Maybe I'll get some fan service out of it if he names off some local landmarks.

The author is a net activist as well, who coined the term "enshitification" to describe what Big Tech is doing to us now. I'm
pretty sure the game(s) Watchdogs 2 was influenced by another Doctorow novle, "Little Brother" - another fantastic, realistic tech romp.

I've heard of Doctorow but I have never read him. I've recently been listening to some short story anthology books and many author names have been included. Maybe I read one of his and hadn't noticed.

"Amy Pond, there's something you better understand about me 'cause it's
important, and one day your life may depend upon it. I am definitely a Mad
Man with a Blue Box."
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