- Paperback: 480 pages
- Publisher: Headline Book Publishing (Aug 5 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 074727262X
- ISBN-13: 978-0747272625
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.5 x 3.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 612 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Money makes the world go round for Jett Gavallon, a high-tech entrepreneur who's on the brink of bringing a Russian telecom startup to market with an IPO worth billions. But when his best friend and second-in-command disappears after Gavallon sends him to Moscow to make sure the new company is on the up and up, Jett begins to have second thoughts, which are exactly what his Russian partners can't afford. Beset by an FBI task force looking into Mercury Broadband's financing by Russian mobsters, rumors of fraud being circulated by a Drudge-like online financial gossip columnist, and the discovery that his former lover is not who he thought she was, Jett puts his fortune on the line in a desperate attempt to save his company--and ultimately, his life. An exciting, fast-paced adventure by an author who puts his experience in international banking to work in the service of this carefully plotted thriller. --Jane Adams
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Reich continues to struggle, trying to recapture his early success. After a rather intriguing setup, this third novel gradually evolves into something more like an unintentional parody than a real thriller. Following the altogether lackluster Allan Folsom-esque Nazi war crimes plot of The Runner, the Swiss banker-turned-thriller writer returns to the more familiar arena of international finance, which provided the intriguing backdrop of his 1998 bestselling debut, Numbered Account. But action and pacing are made to substitute for the authenticity and credibility that distinguished his promising first novel. Borrowing to the hilt in a go-for-broke move, Jett Gavallan, ex-Gulf War fighter pilot turned founding CEO of Frisco-based Black Jet Securities an up-and-coming investment banking firm puts all his chips on the line for the chance to take public Mercury Broadband (Russia's answer to AOL) with shares worth $2 billion. The pot of gold at the end of his rainbow is a cool $70 million, but all is not blue skies. An enigmatic online financial analyst, Private Eye-PO, starts warning investors that the deal is bad, leading Jett to send partner Grafton Byrnes undercover to Moscow to verify the legitimacy of Mercury Broadband. Graf calls in with a coded warning that all is not well, Jett's investigator locates the real Private Eye-PO in Delray Beach, Fla., and bodies begin piling up. Credibility wanes and action spins out of control as Jett and an old flame embark on an intercontinental plane and car chase. Comic-book dialogue ("Kind of you, Mr. Gavallan. It's not often a disloyal, disgraceful slut gets any TLC") makes this thriller read like an old Saturday Night Live skit, which may give it kitsch appeal but undermines its dramatic effect.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
A bundle of joy.,
By Johnny Boy (Brussels) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The First Billion (Mass Market Paperback)
It begins with a plot that you would expect any second-grade LA movie to have. There's you have a knock-out Russian blond with a 9mm. Later there's this FSB with "support of international terrorosm with the goal of distabilizing the country's enemies." What? Do you know something we don't? Ok, the part about a lonely millionaire, with tempter control checks on his mind, being in a tough jam was well phrased and gave off an aura of "being there", so that alone could make it a worthy read if your wish is to gain additional detest for money. Overall, with 200 pages left, reading it feels like pasta with parmesan and no tomato sauce. It may leave parts of you enligtened, but won't quench your thirst.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A RIVETING NARRATION,
By
This review is from: The First Billion (Audio CD)
Actor and Audie Award finalist James Daniels gives a riveting performance of this globe spanning story propelled by rapid fire action and dark intrigue. His voice ably conveys toughness, compassion, and regret. He doesn't over-dramatize, allowing Reich's powerful words to carry listeners along.As many know, Reich has earned an enviable reputation as a master of international intrigue. The First Billion, his third book, again mesmerizes with a tale of frightening possibilities. Jett Gavalian is a former fighter pilot, having served in the Gulf War. What he saw there inspired him to begin Black Jet Securities, an international financial consulting firm. He intends to use his profits to help rather than harm, improve the possibilities for life on this planet. Jett made his first billion in jig time, and now he's working on the next by putting Mercury Broadband, a Russian media company, on the New York Stock Exchange. However, he's soon made aware that the company may not be all he believed. Jeff sends his best friend, Grafton Byrnes, to Moscow to look into the situation, which appears murkier by the minute. There's not much time as Mercury Broadband is due to go up in a mere six days, and the future of Black Jet hinges on it. We hear: "The IPO, or initial public offering, of shares in the company was valued at two billion dollars, and nothing less than his firm's continued existence depended on what he discovered. A green light meant seventy million dollars in fees, a guarantee of fee-related business from Mercury down the road, and a rescue from impending insolvency." What Grafton finds in Moscow is more terrifying than he or Jett could ever have imagined. Just when we think Reich has pulled out all the stops and couldn't possibly have another trick up his author's sleeve, he galvanizes with the unexpected. Enjoy! - Gail Cooke
3.0 out of 5 stars
Slightly disappointed,
By Richard Berry (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The First Billion (Mass Market Paperback)
The first half of the book had promised far more than was delivered. In the latter stages Christopher Reich resorted to stereotypes and it was almost as if he was writing to a publisher's deadline or had lost interest in developing the plot and just made do with a big ending.Towards the end there is so much murder and mayhem that the story loses any suspense, the plot stumbles along a predictable path with no twists or turns. The plan to blow up the Alaskan pipeline is an attempt at a plot twist, but it could have been left out of the plot completely. The MIG escape from Russia and the engine fire and near crash were another totally pointless diversion, so badly written that there was no suspense to it at all. The most believable character is Grafton Byrnes, the hero's sidekick and his escape from custody was one of the climaxes. The hero and heroine, Jett Gavallan and Cate Magnus, are so over the top that one loses empathy with the characters quite quickly. I found myself rooting for the villain, Konstantin Kirov, because he had a more believable character and emotions I could identify with.
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