Rating: 
Summary: Seems Like A billion Words!
Review: "I knew you'd be happy. Listen, Jett, everything's copacetic over here."Everything's copacetic-a code phrase between friends and warriors that signals danger as it did during the Gulf War. John "Jett" Gavallan is the CEO and driving force behind his company named Black Jet Securities. Named after the Stealth Bomber he flew during the war, his company stands at the brink of incredible success. He has hedged everything he owns and gambled his company's future on a bid to become an international player in the world of Initial Public Offerings (IPO). In six days, he is supposed to bring Mercury Broadband, Russia's leading internet multi-media company to market on the New York Stock Exchange. The IPO is expected to raise around two billion dollars, with a chunk of that going to Black Jet Securities for fees and services. However, on the Internet, an anonymous webmaster who runs a very well known IPO news website states that Mercury is a sham and that soon Gavallan will be explaining why he defrauded the world from behind bars. He also seems to have digital proof in the form of pictures of Mercury equipment. As some of the big investment houses begin to question the deal, Gavallan sends fellow Gulf War pilot and friend Grafton Byrnes to Russia to check out the situation. While the Swiss financiers that claim to have checked things out assure Gavallan that everything is fine, Gavallan wants to make absolutely sure with everything riding on the deal being legit. Soon, as he is held hostage by Konstantin Kirov, head of Mercury Broadband, Byrnes makes the call that for listeners should have reassured Gavallan. Warned, Gavallan begins to dig and discovers that everything he has believed the last few years has all been a lie. A lie that is poised not only to wipe out his company but could easily cost him his life as the offering will go through-one way or another. This is really a novel of two parts. The first 300 pages is an incredibly slow read as the players are moved into positions and the intricacies of IPO finance are explained. Much as he did in his previous book "Numbered Account" the author relies heavily on his own financial experience to detail numerous pages of market information, which does little to move the novel or the story forward. In addition, this section also consists of an extraordinary number of long flashback sections including ones that relate to the Gulf War. The resulting back-story is not handled well and further slows the pacing of the entire novel. However, once the tale actually gets going as Gavallan chases around the world via Lears and even a MIG in an effort to save himself and his friend, the novel becomes enjoyable. The problem is that it is a long way to get to the good stuff and the journey is for the most part, mind numbingly boring. That is precisely the problem with this entire novel. The characters are flat, the writing virtually unemotional and distant even in scenes that are supposed to convey intense emotion to the reader and the entire novel moves incredibly slowly. This novel quickly became very hard work to read and should have received some judicious editing.
Rating: 
Summary: Back On Track
Review: A very compelling novel, a page turner. Reich
has gotten back on track after a disappointng
second novel, "The Runner." This novel is very
timely, in regards to the current greed by a
few headline making CEOs. If you haven't read
his first novel, "Numbered Account," order it
along with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great International Intrigue
Review: As a nice touch on the side, the author's German name "Reich" means "Rich" in English and it is very appropriate for the title of this book "The First Billion." Reich's book is an excellent novel with a great cast of characters in a fictitious world of corporate intrigue and the big game of Wall Street. Not only is it an interesting read, but it's an adventure. I would also recommend another powerful suspense thriller which I greatly enjoyed and is along the same lines to some degree, which is Alec Donzi's THE CONSULTANT.
Rating: 
Summary: Tried to cover too much
Review: As finance professional, I like reading novels based around my business. This book qualifies and has the added appeal of the popular 90s theme of IPOs on Internet assets. But then the author tried to throw in every other novel cliché. Let's make the successful business owner a former pilot. Don't forget the love interest with plenty of twists. And remember when you make a novel, Clancy's spy thrillers sell well so let's revisit a Russian theme as the bad guys. And make sure you kill plenty of people as that sells well also. Eventually I realized I wasn't reading a novel based around a finance theme but a "novel cliché". Too much of anything eventually becomes boring. With this many subjects to cover, nothing can be developed fully. It's a fairly long, disjointed book that tries to do too much. I'd take a pass unless all of the subjects I mentioned above are really attractive to you.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly avoidable
Review: Avoid this book... try a puzzle instead thats better
Rating: 
Summary: Three for Three
Review: Christopher Reich has produced his third novel, "The First Billion", and it is a worthy addition to the first two books he offered readers. New authors always seem to be more harshly judged than their more veteran peers which I find quite unfair. The author who is arguably the most successful writer in the whole techno-thriller spy genre has just released his newest book, and while I am in the minority in that I enjoyed the novel, it has been overwhelmingly thrashed. No author is going to produce the perfect book each time out, and no author is going to have an easy time when his or her first book was as successful as Mr. Reich's first work, "Numbered Account". His first book remains my favorite of the three, and I would place his newest at number two, with, "The Runner", third. And even though placed third the book was well above the average of much of the production line derivative nonsense that fill bookshelves be they real or in cyberspace. This book is weak in two areas from my standpoint. The author became a bit cliché when he decided to have a former pilot head a securities firm, and then names it Black Jet Securities. Tying a series of names or forced events to the character's former profession become tiresome when overused. Having the same character purchase a military attack jet on his American Express card also was hard to read without wincing. The other part I had difficulty with was a side story that didn't really seem to be necessary. It served more as a distraction than as a key element to an otherwise good tale. While dealing with what has emerged from the former USSR is fine, dredging up behavior that harkens to the cold war is becoming a bit overused. Mr. Reich is very good when sticking with his expertise in finance, and staying close to that theme made, "Numbered Account", so very good. And in this book, when focusing on the enormous risks and difficulties of bringing a Russian based technology company public on the NYSE, the book is at its best. He is a talented author, and I hope he gets back to what he is best at. He has shown he does not need to travel the paths that others have already beaten to a pulp. "The First Billion" will not likely be your favorite book by Mr. Reich; it is still a worthwhile read that is well above the majority of the competition.
Rating:
Summary: Another entertaining thriller from Christopher Reich
Review: Having thoroughly enjoyed "Numbered Account," I was ambivalent about reading another book from the same author because I doubted he would maintain the standard. However, I was thoroughly entertained by "The First Billion" & in some ways thought it superior to "Numbered Account."
If a tad more formulaic, "Billion" is smoother, more polished, with fewer rough edges than "Account." The story is indeed carefully plotted, & I liked the side plot that some readers here do not. I enjoyed the false start aspect of it.
Both Jett Gavallan & Grafton Byrnes are decent characters, & Konstantin Kirov is a decent villain with some complexity. Gavallan's ex is less well developed but still an OK character.
The background of a Russian IPO is a great choice. Reich explains the financial world he uses as a setting very well. The reader does not feel patronized & understands what is going on.
Another book I got to read for free because I am a deployed Soldier. If your church or community group collects paperbacks for this cause, donate some--it's a very worthwhile scheme.
Rating:
Summary: BET THIS WILL BE A MOVIE SOON
Review: High tech, high finance, and international high crime. The First Billion is a nailbiting thriller, no questions asked. Characters alone should be enough to get this book in your hands at the first possible opportunity -- a Russian ISP seeking Western financing; an ambitious investment banker from San Francisco risking his entire company on this Russian firm's IPO; a sharpshooting DrudgeReport type online muckraker posting some skinny about why this Russian firm is a scam; an FBI agent in somewhat over his head in the shifting sands of international finance; Swiss bankers violating a number of banking laws and selling customers' secrets... Plus, an intriguing love story between two protagonists where one conceals an important secret. Fabulous story here, the stuff that John Grisham novels are made of. If one were to have a minor gripe, it would be that Reich gets a little carried away with a lot of unnecessary description of the environment, background etc...which really doesnt amount to much in terms of the plot. Yet, if you are a good skimmer, this should hardly be a problem. Highly recommended action + spy thriller with a liberal dose of financial and tech trivia thrown in, which also makes for an intriguingly real look into the dark side of both the industries.
Rating:
Summary: Very poor
Review: I bought this book at the beginning of Sept 2003. Normally I read such a book within 3 week. Now it's december 2003 and I am still reading. Having 100 pages left slowly some tension develops and it becomes more interesting. The fact that this book has nothing else worthful p.ex. irony it's very boring to read. I hope I will sonn finish. My advice: Don't buy it!
Rating:
Summary: Reich delivers - again!!
Review: I found this to be a real page turner. It has an interesting and topical basis in the crime and corruption that can surround the taking of a private company public in the days of greed that we have been and are stil living through, to some extent. Add to the mix that the company is Russian and that the owner is as amoral as he is ambitious and then add to that mix those that are trying to prevent it from happening and the pages are starting to turn. The focus of the book, Jett Gavallon, a former F-16 jockey and now a high tech entrepreneur is suspected of some very serious crimes in his association with Konstantin Kirov, the owner of Mercury Broadband. How that all meshes together is what makes this book such a good read. I was fortunate to have a weekend during which I could really sit with this book and let the story just run. I throughly enjoyed it and I suspect you will too.
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