========================================================== DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU ARE GOING TO READ THE BOOK ==== Notes to myself as I read the book ==========================================================Chairman of Everest Capital - Christian GilletteExec.Asst. - DebbieManaging partners:--Nigel Faraday -2nd in command--Allison Wallace -added quid pro quo, non-paid--Quentin Stiles -Portfolio Companies:--Laurel Energy, Canadian Oil & Gas--Dice NFL expansion franchise in Las Vegas--Dice Casino in Las Vegas--Aero SystemsOther Players:--Faith Cassidy -Christian's rock star girlfriend-Kurt Landry -NFL commissioner--Ray Lancaster -Head coach & GM of Dice, new NFL team--Jesse Wood -senator, could be 1st black president--Elijah Forte -one of the wealthiest men in U.S.--Heath Johnson -executive VP under Elijah ForteThe 29th Order of the Ivy (est. 1839):---Samuel Prescott Hewitt -Texas mogul, master of the Order, Chairman of U.S. Oil---Mace Kohler -CEO of Networks Systems International, in collusion w/McDonnell---Franklin Laird -ex-chairman of the Federal Reserve, killed in a hit-and-run---Richard Dahl -5-star army general, Joint Chiefs---Trenton Fleming -Chairman of Black Brothers Allen---Blanton McDonnell -CEO of Jamison & Jamison Pharmaceutical, in collusion w/ Kohler---Stewart Massey -ex-senator from Texas, ex-prosecutor, was drowned in a lake---James Benson -oldest member, ex-director of Defense Intelligence Agency, shot himself. --Bob Galloway -CFO of Central States Telecom & Satellite--Vivian Davis -SEC investigator--Carmine Torino -takes care of dealings w/the mob, hung in his hideout--Alan Agee -Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, threatened to not talk to Christian--Don Roth -he & his wife caretake the Order's bldg on the island--Patty Roth -husband, Don, had taken the fall for someone else, killed in the lodge's secret room.--Cal Segal -owns NFL team that's trading a QB to The Dice. Somebody convinced him to settle on a deal.--Todd Harrison -reporter--George Bishop -snooping for Harrison--Frank -got $1M from Christian--Frank's real photographer--Carl -decoy photographer for Frank--Jefferson Roundtree -activist minister from Philly
*1.5 starsFinally, it's over! That sounds overly harsh, but this was a bit of a trial to get through, still I wanted to know what the end would be, so...It's just too much of everything. There are SOOO many characters, it's hard to keep up. Also, there are several plot lines, not one of which appealed to me. There are secret societies, corporate espionage, romantic squabbles, business deals, political planning, etc. It's just too much. Further, Christian Gillette, the main character, has gotten to the point where he is only a caricature, and a bad one at that. By this I mean he is the perfect 'hero' still he falls completely flat, with no softness, no weakness, nothing to make him remotely appealing or even human. He is extremely handsome, so handsome every woman fawns over him(except his lesbian receptionist- who he made sure was a lesbian, so there would be no chance he or she would be interested in the other- talk about EGO?!?). He went to Princeton, then made zillions on Wall Street and he's only forty, oh my! He is presented as this shiny example of a man, yet what I perceived was a dull, waxy figure with no personality and rather little in the way of common sense.The plot...I can't even go there. It's just absurd. Constant killing, gun-fighting rubbish that seems utterly contrived (at least I rather hope it is...)Be that as it may, I did finish, so I will give it 1.5, instead of 1 star. I hate writing bad reviews, because writing a book is hard work. But this book really disappointed me and I have to be honest. Perhaps I am not the right audience, because other people clearly enjoyed it, still I think this will be it for my and Christian Gillette.
What do You think about The Power Broker (2006)?
The Power Broker by Stephen Frey (pp. 416)Frey is definitely a hit-or-miss writer. This was a definite miss. Christian Gillette, a New York investment banker, is again embroiled in some dangerous intrigue. A group called The Order made up of a committee of moneyed men who have influenced the direction of American politics and markets for the last 200 years have Gillette and an up-and-coming black presidential candidate in their cross hairs. The main character remains likeable, but the number of new characters and wacky layers of in-the-shadows conspiracies feels like drinking from the idea firehose. No editing of concepts. Too many rough cuts between scenes. Characterizations depends very much on current news event stereotypes for shorthand.When most of your characters are unethicial, rich white guys, the story lacks for a lot of character development. Motivations are thin. The only real thing carrying the reader through the story is the desire to stop the confusion and figure out what the hell is happening. It’s not suspenseful. It’s irksome. Frey is a working writer. His lack of distance from the world he bases his books on may be part of the downfall of this offering. In the past, that’s done him well. But here he seems too enamored with his main character who we’ve seen in three previous offerings. And unlike legal or military fiction there’s only so much the head of a private equity firm can do for a dramatic offering. The premise for guns, death, and blackmail become overworked. Give the author points for imagination, but call this a bad investment of his time and the readers.
—Elizabeth
