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Title: Paranoia by Joseph Finder, Scott Brick ISBN: 1-55927-982-6 Publisher: Audio Renaissance Pub. Date: 14 January, 2004 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 8 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.11 (94 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: (4 1/2) Has the Potential to be a Fabulous Film
Comment: This is an incredibly fast moving, well researched, well plotted thriller by an author whose potential has already clearly been recognized, as evidenced by the fact that his novel HIGH CRIMES became a successful film starring Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd. The book is a very fast and engaging read, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I will indicate my reasons for not rounding up my rating to five stars later in this review, after first providing a summary of the plot.
Adam Cassidy, a bored twenty-six year old employee of Wyatt Telecom, decides to hack into the company's database in order to get the necessary authorization to throw an executive level retirement party for Jonesie on the loading dock. When discovered and threatened with criminal prosecution and a possible prison term by Arnold Meacham, Corporate Director of Security, Adam's impromptu excuse so impresses both Meacham and CEO Nick Wyatt that they offer him an alternative, become a Wyatt spy by obtaining a position with their chief competitor, Trion Systems. Soon, Adam is driving a Porsche, has a gorgeous girlfriend, a wonderful apartment and is special assistant to Trion CEO Jock Goddard. Adam is surprised by how talented he has become and the insight which he has developed based on the coaching from Wyatt operatives and the inside information which they can feed him.
Eventually, however, Adam comes to respect Goddard and his honesty and business acumen and develops complete disdain for Nick Wyatt and his cutthroat and often unethical competitive tactics. In fact, Adam realizes that Goddard has come to view Adam as a replacement for the son who Goddard tragically lost. But when Adam threatens to stop spying on Trion and providing information to Wyatt, he finds that he is sinking further into the quicksand and is forced to engage in extremely risky actions in order to extricate himself. And the sands are continually shifting beneath his feet, as each layer of reality is gradually peeled away to reveal another problem for Adam to confront. And then, BOOM, without providing a spoiler the ending turns everything on its head once again as almost all the loose ends are wrapped up except for the most important one, the future direction of Adam's life and career.
Joseph Finder is a tremendously talented author who obviously did a lot of research with regard to the current state of technological innovation, corporate governance and the financing and acquisition policies of high tech firms. Furthermore, he throws in some informative tidbits, such as Goddard's choice of the name "the ship of Theseus" for his "perfectly restored 1949 Buick Roadmaster". Then the applicability of that phrase to the car is suddenly transformed into a discussion of the reference and its symbolism with regard to the possibility of achieving corporate success while retaining personal integrity. Thus, I enjoyed not only the action in the story, but much of the philosophy inherent in it as well. And I kept trying to figure out if any of the characters were modeled on some of the larger than life corporate personalities who inhabit Silicon Valley.
So why not five stars? Three reasons, the first two minor but the last meaningful to my enjoyment of the book. First, in some cases, the book reads too much like a movie script; action sequences and risks that seem logical in a movie don't always hold up well to the scrutiny of a careful reader. Second, while the details of the ending were clever and consistent with the story, the conclusion was far from a total surprise by the time the book ended. Third and most importantly, the totally cynical portrait of most businessmen and their method of operation disappointed me somewhat. The White Hats were few and far between in this story; it is about business as all out war with little regard for truth and ethics. So, it is very obvious why Adam needs to be paranoid in the corporate world in which he lives.
In elaboration, compare the reasons for Adam's PARANOIA with the thoughts expressed by one of the most successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs of all time, Andy Grove of INTEL, in his masterful book ONLY THE PARANOID SURVIVE. That book wonderfully outlines Grove's reasons for continual PARANOIA in the battle for corporate survival and dominance, but they relate to the difficulty of recognizing the necessity of taking the huge business risks required in order to meet competitive threats from new technologies that potentially represent transformational paradigms. Thus, Grove is paranoid that he will delay crucial decisions because of risk aversion or lack of insight and let others gain competitive advantage, not that he has to recruit capable corporate spies in order to outflank his competition. I believe that this is the kind of PARANOIA which actually drives the best corporate managements, rather than the kind described in this book. But Joe Finder can write and PARANOIA is still a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READ!
Disclaimer: While I have not read any of the author's previous books, I have seen the movie HIGH CRIMES and enjoyed it immensely. Thus, I was pleased when I was contacted by the author and furnished an advance review copy of this book based upon my interest in this genre as evidenced by my previous reviews of similar books. I have no relationship and have never met either the author or anyone employed by the publisher, and furnished no guarantee that I would even submit a review. If anything, in order to prove my objectivity I perhaps presented my criticisms in more detail than they deserve. Nevertheless, people in my business have belatedly learned too much disclosure is preferable to not enough, so this disclaimer is offered in that spirit - especially since this book encourages PARANOIA with regard to the real motives of the individuals involved.
Tucker Andersen
Rating: 5
Summary: The Real Deal
Comment: If you have a life planned for the next seven hours of so, DO NOT pick up Joseph Finder's "Paranoia". This is truly a page-turner on caliber with Grisham's "The Firm" - a high adrenalin corporate thriller that is credible as much as it is pure entertainment. "Paranoia" is the story of Adam Cassidy, a 20-something slacker working in the fictional Wyatt Telecom. After impersonating a company officer and hacking the corporate network to stage a lavish retirement party for a loading dock worker, Cassidy is caught and is given a choice: criminal prosecution which will certainly lead to a long prison term, or work for Wyatt founder/CEO Nick Wyatt - loosely modeled, it seems, after Oracle's Larry Ellison - as a spy inside Wyatt arch rival Trion Systems. As a Trion employee, Cassidy for the first time is productive and flourishes in his new surroundings. He also begins to develop loyalties to the new company and to Trion's immensely popular folk-hero CEO, "Jock" Goddard. Inevitably, he is torn between the forced servitude/espionage of the arrogant and evil Wyatt and allegiance to father figure Goddard (sharing some characteristics with Intel's Andy Grove).
The result is a well-paced thriller, with crisp dialog and a tight, unencumbered plot. Finder has researched his topic well, capturing the politics of corporate America and getting it right on the technological details as well. Expect some twists along the way, which Finder sets up with subtle hints leading to a clever and satisfying climax. I found Reed Arvin's recently released and critically acclaimed "The Last Goodbye" muddled and sloppy in comparison to "Paranoia". Not since "DaVinci Code" have I had such a nard time putting down a novel - "Paranoia" is worth your investment!
Rating: 3
Summary: Grippingly Light
Comment: Just finished reading this book. Many of the higher rated reviews claim it gripping and hard to put down, which is true. It was very entertaining and not at all difficult on the brain. And many of the lower rated reviews claim that it's characters are unrealistic and stereotypical, and it's plot formulaic and cliche-ridden. I agree with that assessment as well.
I can't say that the book gave me a wealth of insight, nor can I say that I believed in or am giving a 2nd thought for the characters now that I've put down the book. Can I tell you that in a couple of months I'll remember that I even read it? Not sure. But for about a week, when I had the time to pick up Paranoia, I enjoyed it in the same way I dig the very occasional brainless contemporary Hollywood film.
It was entertainingly ridiculous- a moderate recommendation.
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