Reviews
amazon customer Reviews
For anyone interested in, or even curious about, cryptocurrency, The Block is a marvelous treat - a heady ride of a detective story in a fictional future where cryptocurrency is the only form of money. Remarkably, The Block manages to explain the inevitable digital future of money and assets in a straightforward and understandable way. Yet, it's a rollicking adventure of a captivating crypto “gumshoe” searching for a client’s lost cryptocurrency while hiding from trained killers, working with activist hackers and foiling an attempt at global economic control. If you are ready for the ultimate story of financial greed, lust for power and the prospect of a decentralized monetary system checking the ambitions of wealthy plutocrats and rapacious governments, The Block is the book to read and enjoy!
J. Christopher Giancarlo, Former Chairman, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission & author of CryptoDad
- The Fight for the Future of Money.
- The Fight for the Future of Money.
The Block posits a plausible dystopian future where the world has recently recovered from an economic collapse. Milt Bruckner, the reluctant hero, begins his quest to discover the fate of “script,” cryptocurrency that has vanished from the supposedly unchangeable blockchain that stores the records for all “script.” Along the way, Milt encounters conspiracies, double agents and a trained killer sent to stop his investigation. The Block is filled with plot twists and unexpected revelations that will hook the reader. The Block is a great read and will not disappoint.
Review by Terri Stewart
The Block is a futuristic thought experiment dressed up as an easy read detective story. What if our modern society lost faith in money? The Block takes place in such a future where a new type of cryptocurrency - called script - has replaced government-issued currency. As the book opens, Milt Bruckner, a private investigator who tracks script, takes on the case of a mysterious new client. Joy Hanford asks Milt to investigate the disappearance of her late husband’s script. Milt soon discovers that Joy is not what she appears and he is thrust into an international struggle among the oligarchs who control the blockchains where script is traded. Through twists and turns, The Block delivers surprise after surprise. Fans of detective stories and science fiction alike will enjoy emerging themselves in this new world.
Review by Bill Boger
The Block is an engaging “noir” style detective story set in a world where cryptocurrency reigns supreme. The protagonist Milt Bruckner and his tech wizard partner Judith Salazar work as “script chasers” outside the ruins of Chicago. When they investigate missing cryptocurrency, known as “script,” for a new client, they discover a plot by the men of who run the blockchains (the computers that list and track “script”) Milt and Judith discover a power struggle among these jet-setting tycoons known as Stewards. At times working with Python, a shadowy anarchist organization at war with the Stewards, Milt and Judith escape from by the agents of the U.S. government while dodging an assassin dispatched by the tycoons. The Block is a fun read and will make the fast changing world of cryptocurrencies accessible to every reader. 5 out 5.
Review by Kathryn Smits
In some ways, The Block is a typical fast paced private detective story. The setting for the novel, however, is highly original – a near future where cryptocurrencies reign supreme and traditional currency has disappeared. The book follows the travails of Milt Bruckner as he stumbles into a vast conspiracy by the men who administer the blockchains that sell and list crypto to tighten their grip on power. The highly original backdrop for The Block combines the speculative sensibility of Philip K. Dick with a determined PI reminiscent of classic hardboiled detective stories.
Review by Jeb White