Fiction’s Newest Hero is a Forensic Accountant

Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, technology activist, and journalist. He has written many books, most recently The Bezzle, a follow-up to Red Team Blues, which are the two books we’ll discuss in this episode. These titles begin a series featuring the fictional forensic accountant Martin Hench. Hench is self-employed, loves being on the red team, and rakes in 25% of the assets he can recover. While entertaining, Cory’s books are deeply thought-provoking.

Interview Highlights

Cory’s writing background and origin story
The secret sauce to writing fiction
Martin Hench, the 67-year-old forensic accountant, and what makes him tick
The $800k tour bus and a 25% finders fee
Mark’s question on the crypto ‘key’
Blue Team vs. Red Team
Cryptocurrencies and organized crime
There’s no crime in Avalon
The Bezzle defined and why victims wish to stay there
The unintended consequences of for-profit prisons
Is the series continuing?

“Oh,” Antonio said. “So this bezzle thing, you said, it’s the time between the crime being committed and the crime being discovered?” “Exactly. You know it’s a crime. I know it. Junior sure as hell knows it. But none of your friends have figured it out. They’re living the bezzle. They don’t know they’re broke. They think they’re rich. If you go out and tell them they’re broke, they’ll get pissed off at you. They don’t know their money is gone yet. They think it’s in their bank accounts. They’re in the bezzle. No one will thank you for getting them out of the bezzle.”
The Bezzle: A Martin Hench Novel, Cory Doctorow

Forensic accounting never had a better friend than crypto, with its mix of public ledgers, deluded masters of the universe, and suckers pumping billions into the system. It was full employment for me and my competitors until cryptocurrency’s carbon footprint rendered the earth uninhabitable.
Red Team Blues: A Martin Hench Novel, Cory Doctorow

	The Bezzle: A Martin Hench Novel (The Martin Hench Novels) 3.5 $14.99	Browse Book
	Red Team Blues: A Martin Hench Novel (The Martin Hench Novels) 3.5 $11.99	Browse Book