Samuel Spendlove has given up his cosy career in academia to work undercover for William Barton, owner of a massive media empire. He finds that he gets a thrill out of working for the legendary market trader Khan and his Ropner’s Bank, a power institution whose dealings have been known to bring nations to their knees. Barton wants information about Khan so that he can find revenge over a man who once bested him. Spendlove enjoys both sides of this game until it all unravels and he finds himself simultaneously accused of almost bringing down the global economy and of the murder of Kaz Day, a glamorous colleague on the trading floor. He goes into hiding in the surreal and dangerous world of underground Paris. As he is chased by the police, Khan, the bank , and William Barton, he must quickly determine who framed him and why.
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Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
‘He could feel the surge of excitement, the thrill of power shooting through his veins. Now he was really trading. He was the lightning conductor for all the rich, concentrated vitality of the market, and he could direct it where he liked. He was harnessing all the might of the bank’s assets and he was about to muscle a gigantic global market his way. It was as though he could wrap up every floor, every screen, every trader in the world into one huge football and then volley it out into space, booted there by the leverage of his billion-dollar book.
Out in the street, the hurly-burly was just the same – pedestrian bustle, traffic noise, the same, tired old urban pantomime. Yet, the world was about to change radically. Billions of people would be affected. Most would become poorer, but he would make some – a few, a very select few – immensely richer.’
About the Author
Martin Baker contributes regularly to the Daily Telegraph and the Observer and was the first investment editor of the International Herald Tribune in Paris from 1990 to 1997.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A cracking thriller, and an intriguing insight into the world of high finance,
By A. K. Johnston "(www.andrewj.com/books)" (LEATHERHEAD United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Meltdown (Paperback)
This is a cracking thriller, which will draw you in quickly and keep you turning the pages through to the final resolution. At its heart, it's an "innocent accused of great wrongdoing on the run" tale, reminiscent of The 39 Steps, but set solidly in the noughties against the background of international high finance. This background is what makes it so intriguing, as the author intelligently and clearly explains how we have created markets in which a few men, motivated mainly by greed, can harm currencies, whole economies, or even conceivably the whole banking system itself.
I greatly enjoyed this book, but I do have a few reservations. Firstly I spotted a number of silly errors. If your central character's party piece is to quote pi to many digits, you need to make sure that the first nine you quote in the text are correct, but they weren't. There were also minor characters whose names changed inexplicably, and segments of repeated text in which key figures were different. I was working from a pre-publication proof, and these errors may be corrected before publication, but it's not an encouraging sign. More critically, this story follows the current fashion where the heroes and villains are not just men but supermen and women. There are too many "stunning" characters who add model-like looks to top academic credentials and great athleticism. It's also slightly hard to believe when the hero suddenly reveals hacking skills beyond the abilities of his well-funded pursuers. The story would work equally well with characters who excel in individual fields, and would be more believable as a result. The main denoument is fine, with most issues resolved well, but I found the actual end of the book slightly disappointing and a bit of a non-sequiteur. It's not a big problem, and I understand what the author was trying to do stylistically, but it doesn't quite work. That said, it doesn't detract significantly from the main body of the book, which is well-written with a steady pace and enough twists and turns to keep the most avid reader alert. This is a very contemporary book, and it does run the risk of becoming dated or overtaken by events. As a simple example the quoted oil prices have been significantly exceeded before the book's publication, and the current credit crunch is taking international markets in a rather different direction to the story. It may not work in ten years' time, but for now it's a very good read.
3.0 out of 5 stars
"Money and success don't always bring you happiness or friends, but you do get a much better class of enemy.",
By Nolene-Patricia Dougan "Dougs" (Ravara, Ireland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Meltdown (Hardcover)
William Barton, a top media mogul, has made many enemies in his lifetime, the greatest of which happens to be Khan, a top- flight financier. Both men will stop at nothing to bring the other one down. Enter Samuel Spendlove, an Oxford graduate, who finds himself thrust into this high-stakes, financial world. Spendlove has been asked by Barton to spy on Khan. Barton wants to know all of Khan's weak points. In particular, he wants to know about any shady dealings in which Khan may be involved. Spendlove's world begins to fall apart, as he realises that he is just a pawn, trapped in a dangerous game between two powerful enemies.
I was predisposed not to like this book. The reason for this is as follows. I received a prepublication copy to review. Inside the cover, the publishers droned on about how they were going to spend a six-figure sum to make Martin Baker the next "big thing" in literature. I always find this slightly distasteful, as it begs the question, "Are six-figure sums necessary, if the book is any good?" However, I bit my lip and decided to at least reserve judgment until I finished reading it. The plot itself is fairly rudimentary. A young man, Spendlove, gets caught up in the glamorous world of finance, and before he knows it, he is in over his head. He is accused of a murder he did not commit and then finds himself on the run from the Police. While fleeing from the police, he vows to find the real killer. And, of course, Spendlove finds enough time to fall in love along the way. This is not a particularly bad premise. It may be an unoriginal plot, but many exciting books have used this same premise. Despite this, Baker does not capitalise on the numerous opportunities for intriguing adventure that this theme conjures up. He does try hard at times, as is demonstrated by the "whodunit" angle being a bit more elaborate than your standard mystery novel. The problem is, however, you don't really care "whodunit," as Baker's characters are not all that likable. Spendlove is about as wooden and clichéd as a character can be. And, you don't even find yourself rooting for the bad guy, as even he seems dull and lacking in charisma. Baker's writing style is fluid and gives you the impression that the story is quite fast-paced. Unfortunately, there are too many irrelevant tangents throughout the novel, which prevent it from becoming anything close to a page-turner. Meltdown does have enough in it to keep you reading through to the end, but it lacks heart and humour. And, an abrupt end to all the elaborate plotting will leave most readers wondering why they bothered in the first place. My conclusion is that this novel isn't awful, but it's also not that great, either. However, Meltdown certainly would not induce me to spend a six-figure sum to publicise it!
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