The Oracle: A Novel

by Ari Juels

Fears of a weaponized blockchain become reality when a software developer races to deactivate the rogue smart contract targeting him for assassination.

Life is comfortable for a prominent, if schlubby, developer at a New York City blockchain company. That is, until FBI Special Agent Diane Duménil seeks his help against a bewildering The Delphians, worshippers of the god Apollo, have launched a rogue program on a blockchain. It’s offering a crypto bounty to assassinate a European archaeology professor. 

The developer brushes off the danger until he learns the next Himself. 

Mythical antiquity collides with a near-future cyberworld as The Oracle ’s unassuming hero and his FBI partner race against time to dismantle the Delphians’ murderous blockchain software. Theirs is a whirlwind tale of oracles ancient and modern, vanished antiquities and conjured crypto billions, cybercriminals and digital idealists—narrated by a cynical hero normally more concerned with dark chocolate than the consequences of the technologies he’s pioneering. What happens when the crypto ideals of privacy and truth might cost human lives—especially your own?
 

Genres: Fiction

288 pages, Hardcover

Published February 20, 2024

Reviews

[Claire Mutch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping that this would be a Dan Brown-esque conspiracy adventure and instead it was a several hundred pages of explaining cryptocurrency and blockchain with a light plot sprinkler in. and while I’m not mad about this (the author made the material more digestible than other sources I’ve read) I’m not exactly happy either and if I’m being honest I still don’t really understand crypto 😅

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read, a bit silly in the actual story and with an obvious outcome BUT, an interesting concept.

Clearly Dr. Juels really understands blockchain, oracles, smart contracts and rogue contracts; me, not so much! And here's the rub. Although they are explained as they arise in the story, if you are a totally newbie, as I am, you need 100% focus to really get this - or you might need a google explanation.

That aside, I wish the Delphi/Apollo aspect had been more exploited -- maybe a bit more of the story in that timeline? All up though, unique and interesting and of course -- go BIG RED!!

[Erik Molnar · Rating 3 out of 5]

My latest obsession is chainlink, so of course when I saw a book written by one of its lead engineers/architects/scientist whatever title they gave him published this, I had to read it. I may have gone in the with my expectations too high on the technical side. Good tech is always abused by bad actors, so smart contracts won’t be any different. This book shows you how smart contracts can be abused, mixed in with a little greek history. I assume he intentionally stayed away from the tech as much as possible in order to appeal to a wider audience, but I am disappointed that the tech wasn’t as front and center to the story as I had hoped. What was mentioned was also pretty dumbed down. Oh well, it was still creative and a good first novel. Worth a read if you are new to smart contracts and curious how they work at a very high level.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on cyber doings blended with ancient myth. Sometimes the coding descriptions get a little too far into the weeds, but mostly add to the story.
Not sure why the author felt it necessary to mock Christianity and conservatives here and there. This does not add to the story at all, it just makes it feel like the author doesn't want people he doesn't agree with on everything to be his readers/customers. Fortunately the snarky asides were limited, so I could mostly enjoy the story.

[M. Langlinais · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought at first this would be a solid four stars but… I ended up skimming big chunks of it just to figure out what happened. The MC is so dry, and since everything is told from his first-person POV, the story feels oddly detached. Like, a kidnapping and an earthquake should be more interesting than what this character describes. He’s technical but doesn’t covey feelings well, so as I reader I was not actually very invested in him. Which, this story being about him trying to save his life, requires the reader to care. Only a shallow level of curiosity kept me skimming to the end. https://youtu.be/Iax8tk16hpY?si=IRgWj...

[Bera Demirbilek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the introductions to blockchain and crypto concepts within the book. It’s not overdone— but I can see how it could be confusing still to someone who is completely new to the space. I also enjoyed the storytelling— anonymity combined with crime and money creates a new spin on a crime novel. I also enjoyed the questions that I thought of while reading. One thing I feel like could be improved is the ending— I felt like more could have been done.

[Davidius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Invocations to Apollo
reverberate anew
through blockchain oracles,

as its shadow stretches
through New York, Geneva
into Delphic omphalos.

[Devjani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Waiting anxiously for the sequel! The evil despot who uses crypto to dominate the world must be stopped!

[Vibeke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sikkert interessant for folk inden for området. Jeg var selv fan af beskrivelser af IT, men plottet var knap nok interessant og hovedkarakteren flad