- Paperback: 448 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (12 Jan 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140295917
- ISBN-13: 978-0140295917
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 11 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
502,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #60 in Books > Computers & Internet > Digital Lifestyle > Investing Online
- #61 in Books > Computers & Internet > New to Computing > Family & Lifestyle > Investing Online
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The year is 1999 and Internet companies are springing up everywhere. Anything seems possible for those who think big. So when David Lane - a cautious banker - is invited to help start up a dotcom he decides that for onece he will do something dangerous. If only he'd realised quite how dangerous.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Fatal Error" is a thriller built up in a rather special way.
Part 1 (chapters 1 and 2) takes place in London in Sept. 1999. An unknown assailant kills the chairman of the dot-com startup company featured in the story.
Part 2 (chapters 3 - 23) takes place in France (July 1987), Scotland (June 1992) and London (April - Aug. 1999). In other words, this part of the book consists of flashbacks that provide background information for what happened in Part 1. But the 1987 and 1992 flashbacks are interwoven with the 1999 flashbacks, so you are kept on your toes all the time. As expected (this is a thriller), a dead body turned up in both 1987 and 1992, and in neither case was the killer identified, let alone apprehended.
Part 3 and Part 4 (chapters 24 - 40) take up the story where Part 1 ended, i.e., London, Sept. 1999. Is the new killing related to the killings in 1987 and 1992? Who is sending the anonymous threatening e-mails? Will there be more killings?
The fact that almost half of the book consists of flashbacks and that the flashbacks are not presented chronologically actually heightens the excitement. However, I did find myself compelled to go back and reread Part 1 after finishing Part 2 in order to reestablish the flow of recent events in my mind.
The story is based in the heady dot-com entrepreneurial days in the late 1990's. New companies are going from zero to a stock market valuation of billions of pounds in the space of a year or so. The youthful employees are becoming millionaires and the bosses are willing to do whatever it takes to crush the competition and get a successful IPO (Initial Public Offering, i.e., getting on the stock market).
Note, however, that although "Fatal Error" is a story based on the building up of an Internet company, that the technology aspects are not the most important. Similarly, even though the financial implications of starting a company and getting venture capital financing and going to the stock market are important sides of the story, they are not the most important factors.
Instead, "Fatal Error" is basically a traditional thriller about a psychopath who has killed and is willing to kill again, and the danger this person represents to the people around him/her.
I found the book quite intriguing and enjoyable, especially due to my own background in the IT business. Surprisingly, I did not find any errors in the author's descriptions of how IT companies function and how web sites are built up. The discussions of the financial aspects also sounded correct to me, and they should be since the author has a background at an international bank in the City of London. This added to the overall credibility of the whole story.
In addition, the characters in the book seemed quite believable, with perhaps one exception. Incidentally, the story is told in the first person, but it is very well done so you hardly notice this normally problematic style.
My only major complaint is that the ending seemed too contrived. Were it not for that I'd be giving five stars to "Fatal Error".
A highly recommended thriller, especially if you're interested in the IT business and/or the financial markets.
Rennie Petersen
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A good book set against the backdrop of the Internet boom. There's quite a few flashbacks which are crucial to the plot, at first this was annoying as they are interjected at crucial points in the story and I wanted to find out what was going to happen next.
This book was a real page-turner and as the Internet boom is recent it's entirely believable.
If you enjoy thrillers I'd totally recommend this book.
Format:Paperback
Ridpath back to his best, fast paced ,gripping and absorbing.I could not put this book down till i was finished! A fantastic thriller all set about the rise and fall of the internet companys. Boring guy gets to together with a del boy and his bro to make millions setting up the company and then selling it, things start to go a bit wrong and the fun starts.Has all the right ingriedents plot twists, murder, love interest and of corse greed being the motive.Debating buying this book? DONT! This is his best book so far and i look forward to the next fix.
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