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Le Cryptographe
Anna Moore, 36 ans, vit seule à Londres, capitale de l'argent. Inspectrice des Impôts de Sa Majesté, elle a reçu mission d'enquêter sur les comptes de John Law, l'inventeur de la monnaie électronique virtuelle Soft Gold qui a remplacé les dollars, les yens et les euros. Nous sommes en 2021. Anna rencontre cet homme on ne peut plus troublant et clôt le dossier. Mais quelques mois plus tard, en un instant, le monde bascule. Soft Gold s'effondre victime d'un virus. Anna est chargée de retrouver le milliardaire en fuite.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
January 28, 2010
I always doubted that poetry and crime fiction fit well together. Hill proves they don’t. I like mystery, but don’t like it if the plot remains a mystery to me. I admire myself for having reached the last page (when I immediately threw the book away lest my daughter finds it and commits suicide).
Anna, a neurotic tax-inspector staggering through an investigation, falling in love with her “client” and in the end eats breakfast with her ex-lover/ex-colleague. Meanwhile she admires an expensive building encounters some crazy children and has cryptic conversation with Anneli, a Finnish lunatic. Some lines from classic poems without connection to the story and at least 50 dialogues with erratic and elusive allusions, sounding like this: “I knew I wouldn’t know. Would I?” “I knew you would not, even…” “Just what I thought, though.” Or something like that (mostly worse). I would have liked to write a spoiler review but couldn’t since I still don’t know what it was all about.
Anna, a neurotic tax-inspector staggering through an investigation, falling in love with her “client” and in the end eats breakfast with her ex-lover/ex-colleague. Meanwhile she admires an expensive building encounters some crazy children and has cryptic conversation with Anneli, a Finnish lunatic. Some lines from classic poems without connection to the story and at least 50 dialogues with erratic and elusive allusions, sounding like this: “I knew I wouldn’t know. Would I?” “I knew you would not, even…” “Just what I thought, though.” Or something like that (mostly worse). I would have liked to write a spoiler review but couldn’t since I still don’t know what it was all about.
March 7, 2013
Originally published on my blog here in January 2008.
In all the history of literature, the number of central characters in novels who are tax inspectors can probably be counted on the fingers of one hand. And of these, four will be satirical, leaving The Cryptographer unique as a thriller with a tax inspector heroine. Anna Moore is good at her job, and when the UK Inland Revenue discovers discrepancies in the accounting of John Law, the richest man on the planet, she is chosen to investigate. The novel is set a little in the future, and John Law became rich beyond even Bill Gates' wildest dreams after inventing the electronic money software that caught on. So why has he set up a clumsy accounting scam for what is by his scale peanuts, a few million dollars? Her investigation seems to be successful, the money owed to the Revenue paid, butt with the question about motive unanswered Anna herself is left unsatisfied, and she becomes as fascinated by Law as he seems to be by her.
Billed as a thriller, The Cryptographer is far more gentle than that suggests. While the plot is basically that of a science fiction thriller, it is not really what the novel is about; Hill is much more interested in the characters. This interest is shared by Anna herself. She wants to understand Law to the extent that she loses satisfaction in her work. It is clear from the way the novel is written that the author was an established poet as well as - and indeed before - a novelist. However, The Cryptographer is not as self consciously literary as the work of another author where this is also apparent, Lawrence Durrell; it is actually reminiscent of recent work by William Gibson, Pattern Recognition and Spook Country.
The title most clearly refers to the way in which Law made his fortune. The architecture for his software currency is, to someone who works with computers, not particularly convincing, on either the security or usability fronts. There is no provision mentioned, for example, for a portable equivalent to cash, just software that is installed on each user's computer. The software is supposedly kept secure by periodic updates which change the security, distributed from a central server which updates the security without human intervention. This immediately suggests attacking the central server, and finding a way to subvert the update process as a means of breaking the security. Alternatively, work on persuading your own local client software to accept a spurious update, because then you have another way to subvert the updating mechanism. It is unlikely that such a system, when at the centre of something as high profile and valuable as a widely used currency, would stand up to large scale hacking for long.
This literal interpretation of the title is not the only possibility nor the most important. The Cryptographer is not a book about technology, but about the connections between people, like an Iris Murdoch novel. Language is itself a kind of code, a representation of what we mean to say that is decoded by our interlocutor, and this is especially the case when the discussion is not really about what we want to talk about. In this case, both Anna and Law have professional lives intimately connected with money, even more so than is usual, and yet neither is particularly interested in money itself. Their initial contact is entirely professional, yet each is drawn to the other. And they quickly understand each other well, even though there are important aspects of their lives that the other does not know: when Law goes missing, Anna is able to find him even though she doesn't know that he is divorced from the wife he was still living with.
Overall, I found this an impressive novel, though I am at something of a loss to explain why. Gentle, with hidden depths and attractive central characters, it is not a demanding read but still a genuine work of literary art.
In all the history of literature, the number of central characters in novels who are tax inspectors can probably be counted on the fingers of one hand. And of these, four will be satirical, leaving The Cryptographer unique as a thriller with a tax inspector heroine. Anna Moore is good at her job, and when the UK Inland Revenue discovers discrepancies in the accounting of John Law, the richest man on the planet, she is chosen to investigate. The novel is set a little in the future, and John Law became rich beyond even Bill Gates' wildest dreams after inventing the electronic money software that caught on. So why has he set up a clumsy accounting scam for what is by his scale peanuts, a few million dollars? Her investigation seems to be successful, the money owed to the Revenue paid, butt with the question about motive unanswered Anna herself is left unsatisfied, and she becomes as fascinated by Law as he seems to be by her.
Billed as a thriller, The Cryptographer is far more gentle than that suggests. While the plot is basically that of a science fiction thriller, it is not really what the novel is about; Hill is much more interested in the characters. This interest is shared by Anna herself. She wants to understand Law to the extent that she loses satisfaction in her work. It is clear from the way the novel is written that the author was an established poet as well as - and indeed before - a novelist. However, The Cryptographer is not as self consciously literary as the work of another author where this is also apparent, Lawrence Durrell; it is actually reminiscent of recent work by William Gibson, Pattern Recognition and Spook Country.
The title most clearly refers to the way in which Law made his fortune. The architecture for his software currency is, to someone who works with computers, not particularly convincing, on either the security or usability fronts. There is no provision mentioned, for example, for a portable equivalent to cash, just software that is installed on each user's computer. The software is supposedly kept secure by periodic updates which change the security, distributed from a central server which updates the security without human intervention. This immediately suggests attacking the central server, and finding a way to subvert the update process as a means of breaking the security. Alternatively, work on persuading your own local client software to accept a spurious update, because then you have another way to subvert the updating mechanism. It is unlikely that such a system, when at the centre of something as high profile and valuable as a widely used currency, would stand up to large scale hacking for long.
This literal interpretation of the title is not the only possibility nor the most important. The Cryptographer is not a book about technology, but about the connections between people, like an Iris Murdoch novel. Language is itself a kind of code, a representation of what we mean to say that is decoded by our interlocutor, and this is especially the case when the discussion is not really about what we want to talk about. In this case, both Anna and Law have professional lives intimately connected with money, even more so than is usual, and yet neither is particularly interested in money itself. Their initial contact is entirely professional, yet each is drawn to the other. And they quickly understand each other well, even though there are important aspects of their lives that the other does not know: when Law goes missing, Anna is able to find him even though she doesn't know that he is divorced from the wife he was still living with.
Overall, I found this an impressive novel, though I am at something of a loss to explain why. Gentle, with hidden depths and attractive central characters, it is not a demanding read but still a genuine work of literary art.
September 7, 2014
What a strange little book (and I only mean little in the sense that at 260 pages its small compared to most I read these days).
It seems to be a book of opposites; substantial - the detail is meticulous but easy to read but somehow I am feeling as if I've missed something whilst reading it. Its not dissatisfaction as such- more perhaps a sense of when I finished it I wanted to say "what a strange story", almost as if I can't quite put my finger on why I liked it, or disliked it.
As for the characters, you become addicted to them. I also wonder whether E.L James (of fifty shades notoriety) gained inspiration for her main characters from this novel's Anna and John Law. Don't misunderstand me though, its far from a romance, but its just the way these two characters interact. But that could just be me (and bear in mind I wasn't a huge fan of fifty shades).
Essentially I guess this is a book about relationships set in a Distopian (as in opposite of Utopian) world not too far in our future, where paper money has ceased to exist but taxes must still be paid. The complex nature of relationships however would seem never to change.
Not for the fainthearted reader but definitely worth a read.
It seems to be a book of opposites; substantial - the detail is meticulous but easy to read but somehow I am feeling as if I've missed something whilst reading it. Its not dissatisfaction as such- more perhaps a sense of when I finished it I wanted to say "what a strange story", almost as if I can't quite put my finger on why I liked it, or disliked it.
As for the characters, you become addicted to them. I also wonder whether E.L James (of fifty shades notoriety) gained inspiration for her main characters from this novel's Anna and John Law. Don't misunderstand me though, its far from a romance, but its just the way these two characters interact. But that could just be me (and bear in mind I wasn't a huge fan of fifty shades).
Essentially I guess this is a book about relationships set in a Distopian (as in opposite of Utopian) world not too far in our future, where paper money has ceased to exist but taxes must still be paid. The complex nature of relationships however would seem never to change.
Not for the fainthearted reader but definitely worth a read.
Read
June 20, 2023dnf
August 23, 2019
When I started this book a really struggled to like it, whilst the plot was interesting the writing style really didn’t agree with me at all so it was painful going. About halfway through the style suddenly changed and it became a pleasure to read but unfortunately that’s when I found the plot got worse.
For a book which is meant to be a thriller it starts very well and paints the picture of an interesting alternate history where all money has become digital, however you quickly realise that this book almost ends up being about the failed love life of the main character with very little actual thrilling and not much exploration of this world without physical money.
It’s a real shame because I would have read the well written book about Anna Moore’s failed love life and the poorly written book about her investigation of the worlds richest man more happily than i would have read this mashup of the two.
For a book which is meant to be a thriller it starts very well and paints the picture of an interesting alternate history where all money has become digital, however you quickly realise that this book almost ends up being about the failed love life of the main character with very little actual thrilling and not much exploration of this world without physical money.
It’s a real shame because I would have read the well written book about Anna Moore’s failed love life and the poorly written book about her investigation of the worlds richest man more happily than i would have read this mashup of the two.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 6, 2019
I am unsure how to describe this strange book. Set in the near future it is about John Law who created an electronic currency and Anna a tax inspector. Is it science or greed? Can happiness and money exist? Well written prose but the characters could be stronger. This is not a thriller as sometimes billed.
July 30, 2020
Fantastic - amazing to think that this was written in the early 2000s. I am giving nothing away to say that the story runs through to 2021 and given the events we are living through in 2020 it doesn't seem so far fetched.
Took a bit of getting used to the style - but once I was up and running I found it hard to put down.
A book written ahead of its time.
Took a bit of getting used to the style - but once I was up and running I found it hard to put down.
A book written ahead of its time.
Read
March 11, 2021Atmospheric and beautifully written. I kept reading it waiting for the story to start, but found myself suddenly at the end of the book (I hide all the progress indicators in Kindle). I can confidently say this is not a thriller. Maybe a slow burn romance with some interesting ideas (especially considering when this was published), which were barely touched.
August 3, 2025
I guess you either revel in the semi-poetic style and just go with the flow of this rather self-indulgent book, or like me get rather irritated and frankly bored by the principal character’s self reflections, and the confusion between the rather obvious plot and outcome, and slight interest in the detail of the futuristic money world and its impact on individuals. Not for me.
.
.
October 17, 2023
Il ne se passe vraiment rien dans ce livre. Pas d’action, pas de personnages interessants, pas de descriptions….rien. Le vide absolu. Une vraie déception. L’idée était géniale mais malheureusement le résultat, c’est 400 pages de néant.
September 8, 2018
Elegant. Prescient. Poetic. Compelling. Frustrating.
February 13, 2025
Intelligent, beguiling.loved it
March 21, 2025
A weird one. Not really sure what to make of the ending.
September 1, 2023
Fascinating near-future story that's really a relationship drama more than science fiction. Some of the romance writing was unconvincing to me, but I was still very motivated to read on to find out what happened between the characters.
There's a lot of musing about the nature of money.
"To understand the rich, Anna believes, you should know who they are rich for. Sometimes it is only themselves. More often it is the children they mean to have, or meant to. Anna has investigated clients who talk of nothing but the people who wouldn't believe in them, the ones who said they would fail. For them wealth collects in sweet, cold drops. Then again it can be a stranger they imagine. A woman seen once, on a bright street, in a bright dress, smiling. Someone they want to have or to be. And it can also be the dead. The dead can be a reason. But Anna has found there is always someone" (7).
"People like to think that money and love are opposites. Anna has come to be less sure. After all, both love and money tend towards others. And money arises out of greed and generosity. And greed and generosity are evidence of love" (8).
There's a lot of musing about the nature of money.
"To understand the rich, Anna believes, you should know who they are rich for. Sometimes it is only themselves. More often it is the children they mean to have, or meant to. Anna has investigated clients who talk of nothing but the people who wouldn't believe in them, the ones who said they would fail. For them wealth collects in sweet, cold drops. Then again it can be a stranger they imagine. A woman seen once, on a bright street, in a bright dress, smiling. Someone they want to have or to be. And it can also be the dead. The dead can be a reason. But Anna has found there is always someone" (7).
"People like to think that money and love are opposites. Anna has come to be less sure. After all, both love and money tend towards others. And money arises out of greed and generosity. And greed and generosity are evidence of love" (8).
July 19, 2012
No sé si ponerle 1 o 2 estrellas a este libro. Todos mis instintos me incitan a ponerle solo una, más que nada porqué nunca sufrí tanto al leer un libro. Si bien la premisa es, a mi parecer, bastante original (por lo menos en lo que a mi concierne nunca antes leí un libro cuya protagonista fuese una inspectora de impuestos) y Tobias Hill tiene un manejo del lenguaje envidiable, eso no basto para hacer de este libro uno que pudiese disfrutarse.
Los personajes (protagonista incluida) me parecieron vacíos y sin personalidad, se me hizo imposible conectar con ellos y llegados a un punto ya no me interesaba como terminase cada uno de ellos. Si hubo siquiera algo parecido al "romance" en la historia, nunca me enteré. No es que el elemento romántico me parezca esencial (es más, me parece perfecto que se omita) pero tuve la sensación de que el autor realmente intentó (sin éxito) mostrar esa suerte de "tensión sexual", si se quiere, entre los protagonistas.
Más allá de eso, el principal problema de "The Cryptographer" es que se lo define como a un thriller, cuando la verdad es que no causa ni suspenso, ni expectación ni ninguna de las sensaciones que los libros del género habrían de suscitar, y de eso culpo a la narración. Otra vez, si algo tiene Tobias Hill es una forma hermosa de expresarse, pero en ningún momento vi que su estilo fuese de la mano con el tipo de libro que escribió. Si para algo contribuyó fue para hacer la lectura más tediosa.
Y mejor ni me pongo a hablar de esas constantes comparaciones entre el dinero y el amor que estoy segura que intentaban sonar ingeniosas y profundas, pero para mi no lo fueron ni un poco.
1.5 estrellas, por que por más que no me haya gustado no esta bajo ningún punto de vista "mal escrito". Es más, si el final no hubiese sido tan nefasto (no por lo que pasa realmente, sino por como el autor decide terminar la novela) quizás le hubiese puesto 2.
Los personajes (protagonista incluida) me parecieron vacíos y sin personalidad, se me hizo imposible conectar con ellos y llegados a un punto ya no me interesaba como terminase cada uno de ellos. Si hubo siquiera algo parecido al "romance" en la historia, nunca me enteré. No es que el elemento romántico me parezca esencial (es más, me parece perfecto que se omita) pero tuve la sensación de que el autor realmente intentó (sin éxito) mostrar esa suerte de "tensión sexual", si se quiere, entre los protagonistas.
Más allá de eso, el principal problema de "The Cryptographer" es que se lo define como a un thriller, cuando la verdad es que no causa ni suspenso, ni expectación ni ninguna de las sensaciones que los libros del género habrían de suscitar, y de eso culpo a la narración. Otra vez, si algo tiene Tobias Hill es una forma hermosa de expresarse, pero en ningún momento vi que su estilo fuese de la mano con el tipo de libro que escribió. Si para algo contribuyó fue para hacer la lectura más tediosa.
Y mejor ni me pongo a hablar de esas constantes comparaciones entre el dinero y el amor que estoy segura que intentaban sonar ingeniosas y profundas, pero para mi no lo fueron ni un poco.
1.5 estrellas, por que por más que no me haya gustado no esta bajo ningún punto de vista "mal escrito". Es más, si el final no hubiese sido tan nefasto (no por lo que pasa realmente, sino por como el autor decide terminar la novela) quizás le hubiese puesto 2.
February 17, 2025
Written in 2004, this book is surprisingly prescient of a cryptocurrency devised by a reclusive tech bro. The main character (in the unlikely form of a tax inspector with issues) is sent to investigate him. The murk surrounding the goings on makes it difficult to get interested in either of them.
November 11, 2013
i enjoyed this, the story of a tax inspector(anna) sent on a routine investigation of business man john law. john is a cryptographer, making his millions from writing a programme for paperless worldwide currency. the problem is the code he has writen is unhackable which means that should anything go wrong with it it can't be hacked into to put right...or is it? there is also a subplot involving retired tax inspector lawrence, anna and john....oh and theres a little twist at the end.
very articulate and beautifully written as one would expect from a poet, although i have to confess it gave me brain itch at times. there is a feeling of northern european literature about this ,which means that it flows in a very quiet sombre way there is no drama, suspense or cliff hanger. and whilst there is lots of description there is also very little ...such a conundrum of book in more ways than one.
very articulate and beautifully written as one would expect from a poet, although i have to confess it gave me brain itch at times. there is a feeling of northern european literature about this ,which means that it flows in a very quiet sombre way there is no drama, suspense or cliff hanger. and whilst there is lots of description there is also very little ...such a conundrum of book in more ways than one.
July 1, 2012
My 2006 bookcrossing review:
This is a curious book and to be honest I think I need to read it a few more times to really get to grips with all that was going on. Who knows when I'll get to that, considering the TBR book mountain I have waiting!
But I liked this book. It's about love and about money and the question of whether the two are seperate, two opposite ends of human experience or not. There's quite a cool, almost brooding atmosphere throughout the whole book.Also makes you think about what money actually is as well.
As for the plot, without giving too much away. The book follows Tax Inspector Anna Moore, whose assignment it is to investigate the world's first quadrillionaire, who created this virtual money called softgold.
This is a curious book and to be honest I think I need to read it a few more times to really get to grips with all that was going on. Who knows when I'll get to that, considering the TBR book mountain I have waiting!
But I liked this book. It's about love and about money and the question of whether the two are seperate, two opposite ends of human experience or not. There's quite a cool, almost brooding atmosphere throughout the whole book.Also makes you think about what money actually is as well.
As for the plot, without giving too much away. The book follows Tax Inspector Anna Moore, whose assignment it is to investigate the world's first quadrillionaire, who created this virtual money called softgold.
June 3, 2011
A slow waltz of romance and longing set in the very near future of a tax inspector. Not normally what I'd read - a little too emo, a little too much navel gazing. It's a romance - enough said.
But the relationship is so doomed and so tragic that I want to read on...
I don't think I can read another of his works, but the long drawn out courtship, the insecurity and uncertainty, and the final doomed ending is just bitterly endearing.
I think the quote at the back of the book is perfect - "Nothing in this oddly futuristic and beautiful book is as beguiling as its romance." Ruth Scurr, The Times
But the relationship is so doomed and so tragic that I want to read on...
I don't think I can read another of his works, but the long drawn out courtship, the insecurity and uncertainty, and the final doomed ending is just bitterly endearing.
I think the quote at the back of the book is perfect - "Nothing in this oddly futuristic and beautiful book is as beguiling as its romance." Ruth Scurr, The Times
February 19, 2015
I liked this book, but felt that although it was a romance hung around a science-fiction premise, the ideas of that premise (a electronic currency, and the failure of) would have been better explored by a science fiction writer (I'd love to see what Charlie Stross could have done with the story).
One example: would an electronic currency replace all other currencies by the year 2021. Even in 3rd world countries where not everyone has access to a computer? Really? And this is where the book falls down in my eyes, sweeping background statements for atmosphere and mood that don't stand up to a moment's inspection.
One example: would an electronic currency replace all other currencies by the year 2021. Even in 3rd world countries where not everyone has access to a computer? Really? And this is where the book falls down in my eyes, sweeping background statements for atmosphere and mood that don't stand up to a moment's inspection.
November 1, 2012
Pointless piece of prose that classifies itself as a thriller. It is just a soporific piece of fiction that promises more than it delivers.
No thrilling aspect at all. Pieces of futuristic technology mix oddly with bits of retro, which doesn't help the credibility. The plot is infantile. The love story is so flimsy, it is laughable, and Anna is such a boring person. I think she is well-suited to her job as tax inspector.
The only saving grace of this book is its decent writing. Pity for failed storyline and weak plot.
No thrilling aspect at all. Pieces of futuristic technology mix oddly with bits of retro, which doesn't help the credibility. The plot is infantile. The love story is so flimsy, it is laughable, and Anna is such a boring person. I think she is well-suited to her job as tax inspector.
The only saving grace of this book is its decent writing. Pity for failed storyline and weak plot.
February 5, 2017
While I liked the setting of this near-future science fiction, especially the more mundane aspects, and also the reserved protagonist, this was a thriller with no tension and an almost absent plot. Hill writes beautifully but it's not enough to sustain the weak narrative.
December 7, 2010
In the beginning I liked the style of this book and the fact that I was finding a story that revolves around an Inland Revenue tax inspector interesting amused me too. As the book went on though I didn't find the plot to be gripping enough and the elegance I found in the writing was really just because it's written in the present tense. Not a bad book but not enough to make me look the author out again.
May 4, 2010
This book couldn't figure out if it wanted to be a semi-serious romance novel, a light thriller, or a near-future SF novel. I had trouble with the latter, as it kept reading like William Gibson's later work, or Ian Banks's thrillers, or even something by Ballard, but was never as dark or cynical as any of those, even as it was clearly convinced it was.
May 26, 2012
I was expecting something more like a Dan Brown when I started this book but it turned out that Tobias Hill has a much different style. It is not a thriller as such and the action and mystery the reader might expect, never arrives. I read this book in Greek and I believe that the translation does not do it justice, it brakes the flow of Hill's writing. I should have read it in English.
May 5, 2009
This is my favorite kind of fiction. Tobias has created one of those rare and wonderful worlds, where you have never been before, it feels very alien yet very much like home. Elegant, simple and beckoning.
November 19, 2010
Very intrigued by this as the plot is somewhat out of the norm. It does take some deciphering on the part of the reader and I continually wondered where everything was going but ultimately I found the effort well rewarded.
March 15, 2011
I'm only half-way through this and already tempted to give it five stars. Such delicious language.
Hm. Finished now. Delicious language, yes, but such a weak plot, and a weaker ending. Shame, that, it began so promisingly.
Hm. Finished now. Delicious language, yes, but such a weak plot, and a weaker ending. Shame, that, it began so promisingly.
April 20, 2013
Estamos en el Reino Unido de 2020. El dinero físico ha dejado paso a una forma de dinero electrónico imposible de falsificar. Su inventor, al estilo de Bill Gates, es el hombre más rico de la tierra. Pero esto cambiará con una investigación fiscal.
May 5, 2013
An immersive, almost submersive, near future journey that scratches the shiny surface of electronically transmitted power. The attraction of the book lies in the rubbing together of tectonic plates of traditional form and futureworld content. Are these characters well drawn or heavily pixilated?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews