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Flash Crash
In 2020, Europe is a dangerous place. The oil shock of 2013 has relegated most citizens in the Hub to a marginal existence, surviving on food handouts. In the ruins of a Costa Blanca seaside resort, day trader Eli supplements his earnings by buying and selling anything he can get his hands on. Meanwhile in London, Meera, the ambitious CEO of an Indian software company, has arrived to pitch for a mysterious contract offered by a consortium of Europe's wealthiest banks. Staying at the same hotel is Fern, an Australian visiting Europe for the last time before she makes a fresh start. Meera's missed date with her ex-boyfriend, a hit-and-run in North London and a massive explosion in the Spanish mountains set off a series of events that will change the world for ever, triggered by a meltdown in the world financial system unless Eli, Meera and Fern can race against the clock to reveal the truth.
If you have been watching the recent news about the world's financial system and wondered 'What if...?", then this book is for you.
On he went, with the blue of the Mediterranean sea now visible beyond the lakes, between the abandoned tower blocks along the sea front.
At least, he thought they were abandoned. The population of the city was now thought to be no more than 20,000 or so, compared with more than 100,000 who had once made their home there, but no one bothered to keep records any more.
He had never particularly wanted to find out who lived in the tower blocks. Most of those who remained tended to live somewhere they could eke out some kind of subsistence from the soil, and there was little of that in the high-rise former holiday home complexes. He gave them a wide berth, figuring that if there were indeed inhabitants who had moved in, that he did not want to meet them and especially did not want to find out the details of how they were able to survive.
He bypassed the heart of the town, with its grimy streets and shuttered shops and rode further up the coast where the buildings began to run out. He pulled off the road and wheeled his bike across the white sand to a wooden shack, ingeniously nailed together from packing cases and driftwood.
The barking from inside started when he was a good hundred yards up the road.
'Hola!'
He hammered on the side of the building and called out a greeting.
'Buenos!' Sergio opened the door a fraction, making sure Eli was on his own and then gave the bottom of the solid oak door, liberated from a luxury holiday villa a mile or so down the coast, a kick to free it from the makeshift frame. Eli guessed it was the salt water in the air that was making it stick.
The dogs kept up a threatening cacophony of growls and barks, until Sergio silenced them with a sharp word.
Sergio looked more like Robinson Crusoe every time Eli saw him. His black hair, lightly silvered, hung in dreadlocks to waist length and merged with his similarly matted beard. He was bare to his waist, and wore only a pair of army-issue khaki shorts, frayed at the bottom. He could have been any age from thirty to fifty-five.
He flashed a gold-toothed smile and gestured with his hunting rifle for Eli to sit down on the tattered sun lounger.
The gun had bothered Eli when he first met Sergio, but now he was glad it was there.
If he lived somewhere as prominent as Sergio's shack, he would have had more than a single rifle and a few hounds to keep off trouble, but then he guessed he just wasn't the swashbuckling type. Keeping a low profile on the urbs was more his scene, though Sergio swore it was safer to be somewhere you could watch the horizon at all times.
If you have been watching the recent news about the world's financial system and wondered 'What if...?", then this book is for you.
On he went, with the blue of the Mediterranean sea now visible beyond the lakes, between the abandoned tower blocks along the sea front.
At least, he thought they were abandoned. The population of the city was now thought to be no more than 20,000 or so, compared with more than 100,000 who had once made their home there, but no one bothered to keep records any more.
He had never particularly wanted to find out who lived in the tower blocks. Most of those who remained tended to live somewhere they could eke out some kind of subsistence from the soil, and there was little of that in the high-rise former holiday home complexes. He gave them a wide berth, figuring that if there were indeed inhabitants who had moved in, that he did not want to meet them and especially did not want to find out the details of how they were able to survive.
He bypassed the heart of the town, with its grimy streets and shuttered shops and rode further up the coast where the buildings began to run out. He pulled off the road and wheeled his bike across the white sand to a wooden shack, ingeniously nailed together from packing cases and driftwood.
The barking from inside started when he was a good hundred yards up the road.
'Hola!'
He hammered on the side of the building and called out a greeting.
'Buenos!' Sergio opened the door a fraction, making sure Eli was on his own and then gave the bottom of the solid oak door, liberated from a luxury holiday villa a mile or so down the coast, a kick to free it from the makeshift frame. Eli guessed it was the salt water in the air that was making it stick.
The dogs kept up a threatening cacophony of growls and barks, until Sergio silenced them with a sharp word.
Sergio looked more like Robinson Crusoe every time Eli saw him. His black hair, lightly silvered, hung in dreadlocks to waist length and merged with his similarly matted beard. He was bare to his waist, and wore only a pair of army-issue khaki shorts, frayed at the bottom. He could have been any age from thirty to fifty-five.
He flashed a gold-toothed smile and gestured with his hunting rifle for Eli to sit down on the tattered sun lounger.
The gun had bothered Eli when he first met Sergio, but now he was glad it was there.
If he lived somewhere as prominent as Sergio's shack, he would have had more than a single rifle and a few hounds to keep off trouble, but then he guessed he just wasn't the swashbuckling type. Keeping a low profile on the urbs was more his scene, though Sergio swore it was safer to be somewhere you could watch the horizon at all times.
245 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 15, 2011
3 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 17, 2011
Well written, engaging novel. The plot and style was right up my street! If I had to make a minor criticism, it would be that it was slightly too short; the end was sudden and a little rushed. After the build up, I would have liked to have seen what happened to the protagonists afterwards.
December 22, 2017
Overall, I liked the book, though I can't say I loved it.
The general setting of a dystopian future only a few years ahead was certainly intriguing, though a little thin on gritty detail. I also kept wondering quite how, if such a high number of Europeans were no longer working/ earning, the government was able to raise sufficient taxes to provide the soup kitchens etc.
Still, the premise was OK and I was willing to go along with it.
The Hives were good, I could see such a thing happening, as a natural development from gated communities. A reaction to reduced resources, better technology and a widening gap between rich and poor.
Character development was a little weak and simplistic and somewhat cliched, though I think Meera was the most interesting. We got to see more of her inner thinking and conflicts, which made her more real than the others.
Where it also tripped up for me was the idea that the baddies were so desperate to take into the fully sealed Hives a financial system and wealth derived from the society outside. My thought was that wealth would have a different currency, a different meaning once permanently sealed within the hives and bringing it in from outside just didn't sit well with me. I felt a whole new society with new values would develop within these sealed Hives, if they were to happen.
The end also fizzled out rather than wrapped up with a satisfying "aaaah!"
I am grateful to the author for providing it for free. Thank you.
The general setting of a dystopian future only a few years ahead was certainly intriguing, though a little thin on gritty detail. I also kept wondering quite how, if such a high number of Europeans were no longer working/ earning, the government was able to raise sufficient taxes to provide the soup kitchens etc.
Still, the premise was OK and I was willing to go along with it.
The Hives were good, I could see such a thing happening, as a natural development from gated communities. A reaction to reduced resources, better technology and a widening gap between rich and poor.
Character development was a little weak and simplistic and somewhat cliched, though I think Meera was the most interesting. We got to see more of her inner thinking and conflicts, which made her more real than the others.
Where it also tripped up for me was the idea that the baddies were so desperate to take into the fully sealed Hives a financial system and wealth derived from the society outside. My thought was that wealth would have a different currency, a different meaning once permanently sealed within the hives and bringing it in from outside just didn't sit well with me. I felt a whole new society with new values would develop within these sealed Hives, if they were to happen.
The end also fizzled out rather than wrapped up with a satisfying "aaaah!"
I am grateful to the author for providing it for free. Thank you.
August 26, 2011
Flash Crash alternates between three main characters Eli, Fern, and Meera as they try to survive in a world of depleted resources, unemployment, and catastrophic oil prices. While I found the book's premise interesting, and enjoyed how it was anchored in our current day economic system, it lacked much needed plot and character development. Ultimately, I rated it 2.5 stars.
Read the in-depth review at Sift: http://www.siftreviews.com/2011/08/fl...
Review by: Erica of Sift Book Reviews
Sift Book Reviews received a free copy for review from the author. This has, in no way, affected the reviewer's opinion.
Read the in-depth review at Sift: http://www.siftreviews.com/2011/08/fl...
Review by: Erica of Sift Book Reviews
Sift Book Reviews received a free copy for review from the author. This has, in no way, affected the reviewer's opinion.
December 18, 2011
Interesting and realistic near-future story that held my interest throughout. The plot was credible and relatively complex, the writing style showed occasional brilliance and the general spelling/kindle-isation was pretty faultless. As one other reviewer says, it was slightly too short and I too would've liked an epilogue to explain what happened to the characters perhaps 6 months on (unless there is a sequel in the pipeline?). Recommended.
February 6, 2015
The premise was interesting, but the flow was weak and broken in places. The book needs a good editor's attention. The author needs to learn how to not tense-shift and fix the myriad run-on sentences.
I give it two stars because it's not really a bad story, but in the current edition's state, it's a bit of a nightmare to trudge through.
I give it two stars because it's not really a bad story, but in the current edition's state, it's a bit of a nightmare to trudge through.
April 7, 2012
Wow!! A brilliant scary novel set in the very near future. This was partly set where I live in Torrevieja and it seemed to make it even more believable, I couldn't put it down and it gave me some very disconcerting dreams. Made you think a lot about the future and what might happen.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews