The Power Broker: A Novel (Hardcover)

~ Stephen Frey (Author)
Key Phrases: three sticks, casino license, Jesse Wood, Laurel Energy, Samuel Hewitt (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Murder, global conspiracy, treason, blackmail, sexual infidelity and perversity propel bestseller Frey's entertaining, if highly implausible, third financial thriller starring Christian Gillette (after 2005's The Protégé). Christian, the CEO of Everest Capital, a hugely successful Manhattan-based investment firm, faces a host of adversaries, chief among them the Order, a secret society made up of nine white American businessmen and government leaders whose predecessors have been manipulating financial and historical events since the society's inception in 1839. Led by Jackson Prescott Hewitt, chairman of U.S. Oil, the Order fears that America is falling under the control of minorities whose agendas include statehood for Puerto Rico and Mexico and the election of the nation's first African-American president. Christian comes to the attention of this cabal and, aided by series regulars Allison Wallace and Quentin Stiles, is soon fighting for his very life. The action roars along like a small tsunami, sweeping logic aside and carrying aloft those readers willing to suspend a substantial amount of disbelief. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Christian Gillette, chairman of the largest private equity fund in the country, is poised for even greater things when he becomes the running mate for the Democratic presidential candidate. Although his late father was a Republican senator, Gillette shirked politics in favor of adventure, but being part of a history-making ticket (the presidential candidate is African American) qualifies as adventure. But someone is out to get him. Could it be his managing partner? Or is there really a conservative secret society determined to discredit the Democrats? Although veteran thriller author Frey gives in to some over-the-top plot elements, he still manages to generate enough tension to please action-oriented thriller fans. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (July 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345480600
• ISBN-13: 978-0345480606
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #648,927 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bland and Boring, January 11, 2007

By	a.reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Power Broker: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I bought this to read on a flight hoping that it would be better than "The Chairman" by the same author, but it was more of the same bland boring drivel that could very well have been written by an average high school student. The dialog is not believable, the characters have no depth, and by not very far through I just didn't care what happened to any of them. When you eventually slog through to the end there's no real conclusion, and the last few chapters could really just be replaced with "Suddenly everything magically and boringly worked out, and the good guys lived happily ever after".

If you liked "The Chairman" then this may be just what you're looking for, but I can't give this a low enough rating.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too many characters and settings, July 14, 2007

By	L. Michalek "zard92" (Rochester, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Power Broker: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

Deceit, trust and honesty are themes that are repeatedly surfacing in Frey's novel "The Power Broker." All relationships are questioned and tested in this action and crime packed story.

The novel encompasses several original story lines that did not seem to mesh together until the second half of the book. The two powerful, secret orders one of white and the other of black men entailed a large amount of detail on both sides that left the reader confused as to which characters belonged to which orders. Each of the orders had separate goals for a presidential hopeful.

I had great difficulty keeping track of the dozen or more characters in this novel, even though many were killed off during the course of the novel.

I did quickly become attached to the true main characters of the book Christian, Quentin, Nigel and Allison. I found that my favorite part of the novel was the dialogue between these individuals. The story that was told with these characters through their business practices was easy to follow and believable.

In all honesty, I had to force myself to read past the first few complicated and intricate chapters. There were too many characters and settings introduced in the first few chapters. I especially found myself very perplexed as to how the prologue fit in with the beginning of the novel. As the story progressed, the amount of story lines seemed to increase and did not converge until the final few chapters.

This novel could have used a character chart or map to prevent the reader being lost with too many characters and settings.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars OK, But ....., May 29, 2007

By	coalpuss (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Power Broker: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I was pretty disappointed with this effort by Stephen Frey. After awhile mentioning billions as if it has any meaning to the average reader, makes my eyes glaze over. The supposed good guy, Christian, is set up and fooled on a regular basis. If he is this gullible how did he become such a financial wizard? Too many unexplained happenings. He swims in icy Maine waters and his shoes don't squish? Is he wearing shoes? Don't his clothes drip all over the place. No, no and no. The author fills up a lot of pages and has a secret club a power club that has been written about many times before. It is an old plot idea and one can only hope this type of organization does not actually exist. If it does, expect your brain to be pulled out through your nose; the fate of one hapless character. Don't waste your time. I suffered so that you would not!