The Bezzle

 The Bezzle by Cory Doctorow (2024 Tor Books eBook 249p)

 

In the last few years Cory Doctorow has become a new favourite author of mine. Of the same age as me he combines a similar political sensibility with razor-sharp descriptive prose and a style that mixes what we used to get in future-focussed cyberpunk fiction with issues that are very present day.

His recently created character (this is his second outing after 2023’s “Red Team Blues”) forensic accountant Marty Hench seems to be a conduit for the author to rail against the ills of modern technology, the financial system. government and society in general. Instead of just venting into the void, Hench offers direct action solutions.

“The Bezzle” actually set prior to “Red Team Blues” (which was billed as the character’s last case) begins with our hero being invited by a friend to a series of exclusive parties on the island of Santa Catalina off the California coast near Los Angeles. Along with meeting beautiful fascinating women, Hench also uncovers a local Ponzi scheme involving local workers dealing hamburgers like they were drugs – fast food chains being banned on the island. In the process he draws the ire of one “Junior” a man with fingers in many dodgy financial pies.

Some time later, perhaps years, Marty’s friend Scott is imprisoned for possessing cocaine and is sentenced to what seems like an unreasonable sentence in prison. This leads to an unusually interesting info-dump as, along with the character, we discover exactly who or what actually runs the Californian prison system in these days of privatisation and austerity.

As Scott’s treatment inside gets worse Marty gets to work subverting the system and bringing to justice those responsible. Soon it appears a familiar spider from the beginning of the book is at heart of the web. Hench risks his own life and limb to bring about change and many times it seems all is lost.

Even though it is paced like a thriller and has thriller elements not a huge amount of action actually happens in this book. Much of it is Marty’s thought processes and his interactions with the technology and bureaucracy in his way.

Like its predecessor, this book may age badly as things change rapidly but I think this is the superior of the two, Hench is much more of the everyman hero rather than the all-conquering womaniser of “Red Team Blues”. The story entertained me greatly and I was disappointed when it came quickly to the end.

I understand Doctorow wrote several of these Marty Hench books in one massive exegesis, I hope they just keep getting better like this example.