Joe Watson is a brilliant high-tech lawyer employed by a staid and large St. Louis law firm. Watson is a master of using the latest search engines to research the subtleties of copyright law in service of video game companies that steal game themes from one another. When a twang of lawyerly conscience and the lure of a real case with real consequences prevent him from pleading out his pro bono client, Watson's embarrassed firm finds an ostensible reason to release him and his family abandons him. Hate could mean more business for them than crack cocaine. The notion of creating two classes of crime victims falls under the withering and colorful abuse of Judge Whittaker J. Stang, the cigar chomping crotchety federal judge, who is the novel's most memorable character.
Moral culpability presumes self-autonomy.
These two themes are wired together with ubiquitous computer metaphors. You use Windows 2000. I'm an Ultra UNIX person. The computer metaphors are more than just a geeky acquiescence to popular culture. Dooling's book laughs at itself.