Trading Reality [Mass Market Paperback]

Michael Ridpath (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 7, 1998

Mark Fairfax is a young, gifted London bond trader with a high-paying job, a stellar track record, and a beautiful girlfriend. His older brother, Richard, owns FairSystems, a small company poised to do for the virtual reality world what Bill Gates did for personal computers. Then one dark night Richard is brutally murdered in his workshop. And everything changes as Mark steps into Richard's shoes--and his life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

High tech and high finance make a natural pair, in real life and now in fiction thanks to Ridpath (Free to Trade), whose second novel features desperate characters trading in reality of the virtual kind. Narrator Mark Fairfax, a London bond trader, discovers that his brother Richard has been murdered in Scotland just as Richard's firm, FairSystems, was on the verge of a fundamental breakthrough in virtual reality (VR) technology. As Mark takes charge of FairSystems and tries to fulfill his brother's dreams, it becomes increasingly obvious that the murder has something to do with the breakthrough?and that Richard was not the only victim. Mark has his hands full trying to learn his way around VR while fending off hostile takeovers, cash-flow crises, terrorists and attempts on his life. He also has to deal with being dumped by one lover and finding a new one. Ridpath's pacing is brisk, and his use of largely Scottish settings is a welcome change from the usual American suspense backdrop. His characters are painted in broad strokes but, then, the thrills here lie as much in carefully thought out financial and digital tools as in the humans who wield them. Drawing on classic thriller elements, Ridpath has written a clever, if not very original, story with a trendy spin and a satisfying conclusion that should have readers buying up copies as fast as you can say "Bill Gates." $50,000 ad/promo; UK, translation, first serial, dramatic rights: Writer's House.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

With this exciting, suspenseful novel about skullduggery in the stock market, Ridpath should exceed the success of his first novel, the best-selling Free To Trade (LJ 11/1/94). Mark Fairfax is a bond trader turned entrepreneur when his brother is murdered, and he has to take over his brother's company. He finds that it has a virtual reality product that could make it the next Microsoft, worth billions, and that many people want to steal it out from under him. Its stock is being manipulated, and it is being forced toward sale or bankruptcy. In finding out who is doing this, Mark also learns who murdered his brother. Ranking with the best of Paul Erdman's financial thrillers, this is an essential purchase for popular fiction collections.
-?Marylaine Block, St. Ambrose Univ. Lib., Davenport, Iowa
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: HarperTorch (January 7, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061096369
• ISBN-13: 978-0061096365
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,461,233 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good read, August 16, 2000

By 

Thomas Rønne Jakobsen (Charlottenlund Denmark) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trading Reality (Mass Market Paperback)

I found Trading Reality to be very exciting and entertaining - from beginning to end. The plot is great and it's difficult to guess what's going to happen next. You constantly think you've worked it out only to realise that you've been had once again. I found the detailed descriptions of life in The City combined with the interesting world of high technology to be an excellent cocktail. Well written and definitely worth a try...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as Good as Free To Trade, June 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Trading Reality (Mass Market Paperback)

I like his writing very much, easy to read, and keeps you wanting to turn the pages, However, I did find this book a bit predictable. All the leads are laid into the book in a far to obvious way.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Whodunit-type Thriller, March 5, 2008

By 

Ian Kruger "Author of Strike of the Black Mamba" (South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trading Reality (Mass Market Paperback)

This book can be described as a modern whodunit murder mystery with thriller and technological elements thrown into the plot line. The brother of a bond trader in London is murdered and the bond trader turns into CEO and entrepreneur when he takes over his brother's company. The company was on the verge of a technological breakthrough in Virtual Reality and this technology plays a major role as the story unfolds. Suspense mounts towards the end as the protagonist has to deal with managing the company, keeping it afloat and learning about the technology, while he also tries to discover who murdered his brother at the same time. His life is not made any easier by attempts at hostile take-overs, attempts on his life and terrorism. To top it all, he also falls in love with one of his new employees! The author brings the book to a masterful conclusion when all the suspects are gathered in one location, as in true classical whodunit fashion, and the technology is employed to force the murderer to expose him/herself. The story flows well and the book is very difficult to put down.