Reviewed by JD Jung)
#CommissionsEarned
“Be fair to the rapists; don’t feed the trolls; investigate the victims; don’t spook the advertisers; if in doubt, stay quiet…”
These were the Bay Area Herald’s rules for investigating powerful tech companies, and Raum was no exception. Raum’s servers were able to extract more information about users’ day-to-day lives than any other government or corporate entity. The company was also able to manipulate politicians, journalists, shareholders, and regulators.
But Louise “Lou” McCarthy, journalist for the Herald refused to let these culprits off the hook. Their apps contributed to teenage suicides, murders, voter suppression and more. She had written hundreds of stories about the depravity of Silicon Valley and how big tech ruined people’s lives for personal profit. But when two Raum executives she exposed for rape and sexual misconduct were found dead on the same night from apparent suicides, Lou is thrown into a whirlwind of events where not only her life and that of her mother’s is in danger, but also so many others. However, there appears to be one common denominator, “Fate”.
1414º will keep you on on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. As the story unfolds, you wonder whether the various characters are who they appear to be. In any event, it will keep you guessing at every turn.
There are so many layers to this story. They spread from how powerful men in Silicon Valley treat women personally and professionally, to gentrification of the S.F. Bay area, to manipulation of the public and the stock market to privacy issues.
According to author Paul Bradley Carr who spent twenty years covering Silicon Valley for various publications, this novel is based on a true story that affected him personally. One of the most powerful companies in the Bay area sought to spend a million dollars to target the families of certain journalists, including his own.
This is Carr’s first novel and with public concerns regarding social media issues that exploded into the news recently, 1414º is timely. Additionally, it is fast-paced and unpredictable.
So, what does the title “1414º” mean? You’ll just have to read the book.
