(First actual non-intro post to stacker -- apologies if I'm doing anything that breaks etiquette here.)
Hi, folks!
I was talking with a friend last night about mystery and crime novels (in another life, I reviewed them professionally), and realized that for something that's very much in the news and a great source of plot material (I mean, a passphrase on a sheet of paper torn into thirds and kept in separate locations is just the sort of thing that works as a great MacGuffin), there don't seem to be many crypto-focused crime books.
I do see it used occasionally as a method to pay off kidnappers or blackmailers, but it's about as detailed within the plots as Swiss bank accounts used to be, and never feels like the author knew anything about BTC (or, to be fair, needed to know anything about BTC for purposes of the plot) to write it.
The only book I can recall mentioning Bitcoin other than in passing is Daniel Nieh's "Take No Names," which is a fun (and often brutal) sequel to his "Beijing Payback," but while BTC matters (the protagonist is living off grid and throwing his money into a Bitcoin ATM, which later allows him to ensure that a relative can access the funds when he gives her the keys), it's still not the core focus of the plot.
Cory Doctorow's "Red Team Blues" from last year is a solid crime novel about crypto that shows an understanding of the tech to a greater degree than most books, but it's definitely not about Bitcoin, but a fictional private coin like Z-Cash.
Otherwise, I can't think of any books (in either crime or SF, the two areas I'd expect it) that deal with Bitcoin or crypto as a significant plot point.
So, does anyone have any recs?
I tend to be a bit of a snob when it comes to self-published books (they can be fine, but I tend to only seek them out when someone can vouch for them), but would definitely be willing to check some out. I also know that some folks are serializing novels here, and have sent the first few chapters of those to my Kindle.