Customer Reviews

The First Billion

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Christopher Reich has produced his third novel, "The First Billion", and it is a worthy addition to the first two books he offered readers. New authors always seem to be more harshly judged than their more veteran peers which I find quite unfair. The author who is arguably the most successful writer in the whole techno-thriller spy genre has just released his newest book, and while I am in the minority in that I enjoyed the novel, it has been overwhelmingly thrashed. No author is going to produce the perfect book each time out, and no author is going to have an easy time when his or her first book was as successful as Mr. Reich's first work, "Numbered Account". His first book remains my favorite of the three, and I would place his newest at number two, with, "The Runner", third. And even though placed third the book was well above the average of much of the production line derivative nonsense that fill bookshelves be they real or in cyberspace.

This book is weak in two areas from my standpoint. The author became a bit cliché when he decided to have a former pilot head a securities firm, and then names it Black Jet Securities. Tying a series of names or forced events to the character's former profession become tiresome when overused. Having the same character purchase a military attack jet on his American Express card also was hard to read without wincing. The other part I had difficulty with was a side story that didn't really seem to be necessary. It served more as a distraction than as a key element to an otherwise good tale. While dealing with what has emerged from the former USSR is fine, dredging up behavior that harkens to the cold war is becoming a bit overused.

Mr. Reich is very good when sticking with his expertise in finance, and staying close to that theme made, "Numbered Account", so very good. And in this book, when focusing on the enormous risks and difficulties of bringing a Russian based technology company public on the NYSE, the book is at its best. He is a talented author, and I hope he gets back to what he is best at. He has shown he does not need to travel the paths that others have already beaten to a pulp. "The First Billion" will not likely be your favorite book by Mr. Reich; it is still a worthwhile read that is well above the majority of the competition.

"I knew you'd be happy. Listen, Jett, everything's copacetic over here."

Everything's copacetic-a code phrase between friends and warriors that signals danger as it did during the Gulf War. John "Jett" Gavallan is the CEO and driving force behind his company named Black Jet Securities. Named after the Stealth Bomber he flew during the war, his company stands at the brink of incredible success. He has hedged everything he owns and gambled his company's future on a bid to become an international player in the world of Initial Public Offerings (IPO). In six days, he is supposed to bring Mercury Broadband, Russia's leading internet multi-media company to market on the New York Stock Exchange. The IPO is expected to raise around two billion dollars, with a chunk of that going to Black Jet Securities for fees and services.

However, on the Internet, an anonymous webmaster who runs a very well known IPO news website states that Mercury is a sham and that soon Gavallan will be explaining why he defrauded the world from behind bars. He also seems to have digital proof in the form of pictures of Mercury equipment. As some of the big investment houses begin to question the deal, Gavallan sends fellow Gulf War pilot and friend Grafton Byrnes to Russia to check out the situation. While the Swiss financiers that claim to have checked things out assure Gavallan that everything is fine, Gavallan wants to make absolutely sure with everything riding on the deal being legit.

Soon, as he is held hostage by Konstantin Kirov, head of Mercury Broadband, Byrnes makes the call that for listeners should have reassured Gavallan. Warned, Gavallan begins to dig and discovers that everything he has believed the last few years has all been a lie. A lie that is poised not only to wipe out his company but could easily cost him his life as the offering will go through-one way or another.

This is really a novel of two parts. The first 300 pages is an incredibly slow read as the players are moved into positions and the intricacies of IPO finance are explained. Much as he did in his previous book "Numbered Account" the author relies heavily on his own financial experience to detail numerous pages of market information, which does little to move the novel or the story forward. In addition, this section also consists of an extraordinary number of long flashback sections including ones that relate to the Gulf War. The resulting back-story is not handled well and further slows the pacing of the entire novel.

However, once the tale actually gets going as Gavallan chases around the world via Lears and even a MIG in an effort to save himself and his friend, the novel becomes enjoyable. The problem is that it is a long way to get to the good stuff and the journey is for the most part, mind numbingly boring.

That is precisely the problem with this entire novel. The characters are flat, the writing virtually unemotional and distant even in scenes that are supposed to convey intense emotion to the reader and the entire novel moves incredibly slowly. This novel quickly became very hard work to read and should have received some judicious editing.

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

High tech, high finance, and international high crime. The First Billion is a nailbiting thriller, no questions asked.

Characters alone should be enough to get this book in your hands at the first possible opportunity -- a Russian ISP seeking Western financing; an ambitious investment banker from San Francisco risking his entire company on this Russian firm's IPO; a sharpshooting DrudgeReport type online muckraker posting some skinny about why this Russian firm is a scam; an FBI agent in somewhat over his head in the shifting sands of international finance; Swiss bankers violating a number of banking laws and selling customers' secrets...

Plus, an intriguing love story between two protagonists where one conceals an important secret.

Fabulous story here, the stuff that John Grisham novels are made of. If one were to have a minor gripe, it would be that Reich gets a little carried away with a lot of unnecessary description of the environment, background etc...which really doesnt amount to much in terms of the plot. Yet, if you are a good skimmer, this should hardly be a problem.

Highly recommended action + spy thriller with a liberal dose of financial and tech trivia thrown in, which also makes for an intriguingly real look into the dark side of both the industries.

As finance professional, I like reading novels based around my business. This book qualifies and has the added appeal of the popular 90s theme of IPOs on Internet assets. But then the author tried to throw in every other novel cliché. Let's make the successful business owner a former pilot. Don't forget the love interest with plenty of twists. And remember when you make a novel, Clancy's spy thrillers sell well so let's revisit a Russian theme as the bad guys. And make sure you kill plenty of people as that sells well also.

Eventually I realized I wasn't reading a novel based around a finance theme but a "novel cliché". Too much of anything eventually becomes boring. With this many subjects to cover, nothing can be developed fully. It's a fairly long, disjointed book that tries to do too much. I'd take a pass unless all of the subjects I mentioned above are really attractive to you.

You understand finance. You really do. It's a little more than the influx (seemingly limited) and outflow (seemingly continuous) into and out of your wallet and bank account, but not much more. Really. Here is what finance boils down to. Look outside at a birdfeeder. What do you see? You see birds of all sorts pecking away at the food and at each other. The birds are the brokers, the high rollers, and the day traders. Two of them won't share the same perch. There's probably food around elsewhere, but a full or even half-full bird feeder is easy pickings. The more aggressive birds will try to chase the others away. Then there is the neighborhood stray cat. That's the government. It has sharp claws, treads quietly and tries to keep things orderly, but has no wings. It makes an inept appearance once in a while and occasionally grabs a laggard sparrow too slow or stupid to get away, but for the most part it is useless. You're the investor, feeding the maw. The bird feeder becomes empty and all the birds go away. You lug the 35-pound bag of seed out, fill up the feeder, and start the whole cycle again. If you got something back, like gratitude, it would be nice, but the most you'll probably get are some stains on your deck to clean up. And so it continues.

That's pretty much all you need to know. If you want to get more deeply into it, however, pick up a novel by Christopher Reich. Reich's specialty is in the area of financial market thrillers. That term may seem like a contradiction in terms --- along the lines of "jumbo shrimp" or, alas, "legal ethics" --- but that's what he does, and does it quite well. His books are giant "for examples" of how the financial world works. I'm not talking about walking into Best Buy and trying to haggle the 16-year-old clerk into letting you finance that plasma screen TV you've had your eye on. I'm talking 67th floor, gnomes of Zurich stuff, the stuff that makes you feel helpless, inept, poor and really, really angry.

THE FIRST BILLION is Reich's third novel, and while Reich at times attempts to do a little too much with it, the title remains a good solid read. The story centers on John "Jett" Gavallan and his company, Black Jet Securities, as they prepare to take Mercury, Russia's top media company, public on the New York Stock Exchange. Gavallan is taking major risks to do this, including the use of Black Jet's own capital to float the offering. When rumors of fraud start to swirl in the financial waters surrounding the offering, Gavallan dispatches Grafton Byrnes, his business partner and best friend, to Russia to personally investigate whether or not Mercury is everything it is supposed to be. When Byrnes disappears, Gavallan starts an investigation of his own, attempting to salvage the future of his company as well as rescue Byrnes.

His search takes him on a dangerous trail across the United States, from San Francisco to West Palm Beach, and then around the world from Zurich to Moscow, where he discovers the truth about Mercury, Black Jet, and the enigmatic Cate Magnus, who mysteriously and abruptly left Gavallan's life as he was about to reach the pinnacle of his success. Gavallan discovers that Black Jet is being used by an entity far larger than Mercury for a purpose far more diabolical than a stock fraud. In Russia, almost alone, with only his wits to carry him through, Gavallan finds that he must put a stop to what is about to occur, for the stakes are much larger than his company.

Reich does an incredible job of explaining to his audience the complexities of higher finance and the way money works --- he makes it not only understandable but also exciting. Speaking only for myself, making such a topic understandable is akin to explaining the concept of rocket propulsion to a six-week-old beagle and seeing the light of comprehension spring into its eyes. There are many parts to the game Reich sets up, and while it may seem to take him a while to get the board operational, you'll be glad that things move slowly before he really picks up speed and starts moving things along.

If there's a problem at all with THE FIRST BILLION, it's that many of the characters are a touch too complex. Gavallan would have made an interesting character without his Gulf War baggage, which for some reason wasn't entirely convincing. Ditto for Magnus, whose background slowly became somewhat improbable. And I probably could have done without the pairing of Boris and Tatiana; I kept waiting for one of them to say "Look! There go Moose and Squirrel!" Additionally, THE FIRST BILLION might have been a more streamlined read if Reich had been able to resist stopping the action intermittently to fill in the backstory, a process that eventually becomes tedious.

These shortcomings, however, are minor compared to what Reich has done, which is to rip back the veil to reveal what really, and ultimately, goes on behind the scenes, and to make you want to know as well. Recommended.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

This is the second book by Reich that I have read, and again this book is very slow. The plot is easy to figure out, Reich can be very very long winded at times. This book reads more like a screen play than a novel. Worth reading I like I did only on a long plane trip.

Jett Gavallan is a corporate warrior on a very dangerous mission: he must save his best friend from the grasp of a Russian mobster while somehow salvaging a huge business deal that might just keep his business afloat. Careening from San Francisco to Moscow to Florida and New York, "The First Billion" is one of the most suspenseful and satisfying books I've read this year, at once a nail biting page turner and an instructive meditation on the risks of international business. I'd place the style somewhere between Ludlum and LeCarre, but Reich has a snappy panache that is all his own. Highly recommended.

I found this to be a real page turner. It has an interesting and topical basis in the crime and corruption that can surround the taking of a private company public in the days of greed that we have been and are stil living through, to some extent. Add to the mix that the company is Russian and that the owner is as amoral as he is ambitious and then add to that mix those that are trying to prevent it from happening and the pages are starting to turn. The focus of the book, Jett Gavallon, a former F-16 jockey and now a high tech entrepreneur is suspected of some very serious crimes in his association with Konstantin Kirov, the owner of Mercury Broadband. How that all meshes together is what makes this book such a good read. I was fortunate to have a weekend during which I could really sit with this book and let the story just run. I throughly enjoyed it and I suspect you will too.

I had nothing else around to read while I had this in my hand, so I kept coming back to it and finished its pages. After a time it became a matter of testing my will power or seeing if I could triumph and prevail by plodding through this disaster to its end with out doing myself bodily harm.

I finish many books that I am not overly fond of, but this has got to be one of the worst. From the very beginnings of this story we are confronted with a righteous protagonist with everything in the world. In fact, he is a dashingly handsome, brilliant young personable CEO of a company on its way to the top. Only he has made a mistake and gotten into bed with the evilest of flawed characters on a recent IPO. What unfolds is a dummingly stifling plot that wanders across the globe as our hero saves the day. What's really painful is the way his characters fall into the most obvious stereotypes.

I think that Reich should give up writing novels and go work for DC comics. QUICK, go look for another book on your list and be thankful you did not buy this one.