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This is Rage
This is the story of Investors, Bankers, and Operators in Silicon Valley and the variation on real they’re creating for our consumption.
This is the story of a disgraced shock jock turned Internet radio phenomenon and how he becomes the catalyst he never imagined being.
This is the story of two entrepreneurs-turned kidnappers-turned anti-heroes.
This is business in the Twenty-first Century.
This is the unpredictability of the human element.
This is rage.
This is the story of a disgraced shock jock turned Internet radio phenomenon and how he becomes the catalyst he never imagined being.
This is the story of two entrepreneurs-turned kidnappers-turned anti-heroes.
This is business in the Twenty-first Century.
This is the unpredictability of the human element.
This is rage.
530 pages, Paperback
First published October 8, 2013
3 people are currently reading
149 people want to read
About the author
Ken Goldstein
4 books53 followersKen Goldstein advises start-ups and established corporations in technology, entertainment, media, and e-commerce. He speaks and teaches frequently on the topics of management, leadership, and creative destruction.
His first book, This is Rage:A Novel of Silicon Valley and Other Madness, was published in 2013 by The Story Plant. It was a bestseller and adapated for the stage and podcast. His second book, Endless Encores: Repeating Success Through People, Products, and Profits, was published by The Story Plant in 2015. His third book, From Nothing: A Novel of Technology, Bar Music, and Redemption was published by The Story Plant in 2018.
Ken is currently chairman and chief executive officer at ThriftBooks Global, the world's largest online independent used book seller. He previously served as chairman and CEO of SHOP.COM, a market leader in online consumer commerce acquired by Market America. He also served as executive vice president and managing director of Disney Online, and as vice president of entertainment and education products at Broderbund Software. Earlier in his career, he developed computer games for Philips Interactive Media and Cinemaware Corporation, and also worked as a television executive.
Active in children's welfare issues and local government, Ken has served on the boards of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles, Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services, and Full Circle Programs. He and his wife Shelley, who teaches English as a Second Language, make their home in Southern California. He received his BA in Theater Studies and Philosophy from Yale.
His first book, This is Rage:A Novel of Silicon Valley and Other Madness, was published in 2013 by The Story Plant. It was a bestseller and adapated for the stage and podcast. His second book, Endless Encores: Repeating Success Through People, Products, and Profits, was published by The Story Plant in 2015. His third book, From Nothing: A Novel of Technology, Bar Music, and Redemption was published by The Story Plant in 2018.
Ken is currently chairman and chief executive officer at ThriftBooks Global, the world's largest online independent used book seller. He previously served as chairman and CEO of SHOP.COM, a market leader in online consumer commerce acquired by Market America. He also served as executive vice president and managing director of Disney Online, and as vice president of entertainment and education products at Broderbund Software. Earlier in his career, he developed computer games for Philips Interactive Media and Cinemaware Corporation, and also worked as a television executive.
Active in children's welfare issues and local government, Ken has served on the boards of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles, Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services, and Full Circle Programs. He and his wife Shelley, who teaches English as a Second Language, make their home in Southern California. He received his BA in Theater Studies and Philosophy from Yale.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
January 3, 2014
This is such a profound, evocative, thought-provoking novel, that it is difficult to just dot down a few thoughts on it. Why I wanted to read it? Because if America coughs, the rest of the world gets pneumonia, and I wanted to know how it happens.
What can happen if two disgruntled IT people, two cousins named Dennis Swerlow and Sam Kisinski, decides to kidnap one of the biggest players in Silicon Valley, Daniel Steyer, and hold him for ransom. Not to take the money and run, but to start their own company?
As things work in the modern world, it took seconds for several billionaire egomaniacs, aspiring politicians, and down and out journalists to try and cash in on the situation. What looked like heroics was nothing short of attempts to score like vultures from the situation.
Everything went magnificently wrong. The kidnappers ended up with Stepen J. Finkelman and Calvin Choy, two star CEO's of Envisionlink as hostages, with the banker, Charles McFrank,dead. The FBI agent is unable to do his job. Feisty, street-smart Congresswoman Payne gets in on the action, raining on everyone's parade. The parade being a private Boeing which serves as the hostage hold. Employees walk out when rumors of a merger between Envisionlink and Atom Heart Entertainment start circulating. The Street (Wall Street) starts an avalanche of stones gathering no moss at a unprecedented rate, thundering down into a possible depression, fueling the fires and ripping several hidden agendas open.
The only common factor, trying to keep hold of the strings, is the internet radio freak, Kimo Balthazer.
"He was all mouth, no camera candy, but he could bottle wrath and sell it in a rainbow of flavors. He’s a mud scavenger. He goes where the mud is and makes misery his triumph."
Kimo, with his This is Rage' internet radio show, will throw a cat in a mouse nest, understanding the soul of America, the workers who make it happen. He creates chaos which he will have to solve.
"Management was in it for themselves, job security was as ancient a myth as the protective rule of the Roman Empire, C-level executives bought weekend ranches while employees lost their leveraged homes, and job engagement was limited to a tiny guild of decision-makers invited with invisible whispers to join the inner circle. It may well have been a self-selecting set of participants crying foul, but the malaise was inescapable. Employees were afraid. They felt helpless. They were angry."
All Kimo wants is the US Constitution and its Bill of Rights uniting with his own Merger Bill of Rights.
"When people go to the ice cream shop, they usually pick something reliable like strawberry or chocolate chip, but every now and again a flavor of the day catches their fancy and they just don’t know why they are devouring bubblegum swirl. The problem with Mr. Balthazer’s bubblegum swirl is that it is unexpectedly influential—it is getting under people’s skin like a narcotic and causing them to make poor decisions."
My comments: An exhausting, but absolutely brilliant book. How it will resonate in the American psyche, or the rest of the world's, begs to be seen. The author's background knowledge of Big Boys with Big Money and their counterpart the Small Boys with the Small Voices is masterfully applied to this crime thriller.
In the end, the old cliché is confirmed: the difference between a Communist and a Capitalist is a fat bank account with a noble fiduciary duty all over the ambitious journey where the common man, a few billion of the world's inhabitants, are caught in the cross-fire. "This big challenge needs a big champion."
But the most sober thought for me is: while we all nobly eek out honest reviews for masterfully writing like this, doing it for free, someone else, the High Tech ‘Masters of the Universe, is making money from the algorithms on our computers. After all, everything is for sale, keyword for keyword, in Silicon Valley, and nothing goes by unnoticed or untraceable, with privacy being only the last noble aspiration of a dying brain ...
I recommend this action thriller debut novel to everyone who needs to know the contemporary world we are living in today. I agree, Ken Goldstein's book is smart, insightful and engaging. It enlightens while it entertains. He is one of those authors who really knows what he is talking about. Brilliant writing! Brilliant story. Really a contemporary must-read!
EDIT: This book forms part of a promotional package, organized by The Story Plant on January 3rd, 2014.
More information on
MY BLOG .
April 25, 2013
I was fortunate to receive a pre-release copy of Ken's book, This is Rage. It's a page turner that gives you a look behind the curtain of how corporate business operates in America. As I was pulled through the non-stop action, I received an education on how business, politics, the media, banking and the financial markets are intertwined and impact each other through intentional actions, mishap, and unforeseen twists of fate, genius and hubris. I highly recommend it whether you have a passion for business or just like an intelligent read with a great cast of characters that is hard to put down.
April 13, 2013
This is a great, multi-layered story. It's a fascinating trek across the media, technology, and boardroom landscapes, filled with revealing characters that are all too real. I had the fortunate opportunity to grab an early manuscript. As I was reading, I could not help but think that I have met these characters in my own corporate travels. I recognized their massive egos, intense obsessions, and hair-raising misdeeds. Ken has written not merely an exciting novel, but an insightful treatise on the state of corporate America and the loons that are all too often in charge. A must read.
Gene Del Vecchio
Author of Creating Blockbusters
Adjunct Professor, USC Marshall School of Business
Gene Del Vecchio
Author of Creating Blockbusters
Adjunct Professor, USC Marshall School of Business
April 9, 2013
A real “RAGE-turner”…
I felt fortunate to have gotten an advance look at my friend Ken's newest endeavor and I was immediately hooked. After working alongside Ken for almost 10 years, while reading this fictional story, I found myself having flash backs to times of immense pressure in the corporate world. Those times often inspired an addictive dark humor which left you wanting more and to come back for the next day in the real-life dramedy that can be found in corporations. "This is Rage" takes that feeling to a whole new level.
To make my assessment more tangible, I pose -- have you ever wondered what really happens in the fast-paced, venture capital backed, tech industry? The private, club-like mecca better known as “Silicon Valley”? Had a candid glimpse inside a board room? Understood the drivers of company valuations, the complex world of mergers and acquisitions, and expertly choreographed public relations campaigns? Wondered how executives maintain such wealth while rank and file employees support their efforts in almost zombie-like complicity? Experienced your own frustrations with the corporate world, questionable executive decisions, and corporate strategy missteps? …Do you have pent-up “Rage”?
Anyone who has worked in a corporation, much less the tech industry, will relate to the rage within…
Tech-industry insiders have found a therapist and megaphone in “Rage” – a voice for the masses who channels and expresses the thoughts that many might have had -- or at a minimum, have certainly questioned. Outsiders will be introduced to a candid look behind the scenes of an industry often revered – but, through the balancing act of plausible fiction, leaves the reader wondering, “…is this how the tech industry really operates?!”
Like gummy fiber supplements, “This is RAGE” is good for you, helps release your pent-up toxins, and tastes good while ingesting.
From the first, page, you punch your ticket for a ring-side seat to a fictional battle played out through oddly-familiar characters, personalities, and situations found within the tech industry. A rare, art-imitating-life glimpse inside the closed board room and executive discussions typical of an industry that is invitation-only awaits the reader who has always wondered what happens in those billionaire circles. Edutainment at its finest, “This is Rage” educates the reader about the corporate world and in particular the technology and VC communities before the reader realizes they have gained valuable industry insight and been eating fiber while they were enjoying the cathartic candy! “This is Rage” is an entertaining must-read for anyone curious or thinking about joining the tech industry, VC-backed initiatives, or simply an introduction to the corporate world.
The fast-paced tech world of mergers and acquisitions and venture capital is artfully teased through a fictional lens and the insider-experience of author, Ken Goldstein -- penning a fiction many years in the making through his decades of experience in the technology industry and his creative riffs on plausibility. Goldstein creates an entertaining therapeutic forum through this fictional work which taps into the reader’s inner rage and the lead character turns the inner voice found in all of us into the reluctant conscience and extrovert to which the reader aspires.
“This is Rage” leaves the reader asking – what parts of this are based on reality? Could this really happen? Some might call Goldstein’s many years of work and riff on the technology industry a work of “love”. Others might call it a work of …“Rage”? YOU decide.
…I am still trying to decide. Join me in following Ken’s missives about the corporate world and see if you relate and turn your own “rage” into action. Read the book, find your voice, and “tune in” for inspiration through additional “rage-turners” posted here: Corporate Intelligence Radio
I felt fortunate to have gotten an advance look at my friend Ken's newest endeavor and I was immediately hooked. After working alongside Ken for almost 10 years, while reading this fictional story, I found myself having flash backs to times of immense pressure in the corporate world. Those times often inspired an addictive dark humor which left you wanting more and to come back for the next day in the real-life dramedy that can be found in corporations. "This is Rage" takes that feeling to a whole new level.
To make my assessment more tangible, I pose -- have you ever wondered what really happens in the fast-paced, venture capital backed, tech industry? The private, club-like mecca better known as “Silicon Valley”? Had a candid glimpse inside a board room? Understood the drivers of company valuations, the complex world of mergers and acquisitions, and expertly choreographed public relations campaigns? Wondered how executives maintain such wealth while rank and file employees support their efforts in almost zombie-like complicity? Experienced your own frustrations with the corporate world, questionable executive decisions, and corporate strategy missteps? …Do you have pent-up “Rage”?
Anyone who has worked in a corporation, much less the tech industry, will relate to the rage within…
Tech-industry insiders have found a therapist and megaphone in “Rage” – a voice for the masses who channels and expresses the thoughts that many might have had -- or at a minimum, have certainly questioned. Outsiders will be introduced to a candid look behind the scenes of an industry often revered – but, through the balancing act of plausible fiction, leaves the reader wondering, “…is this how the tech industry really operates?!”
Like gummy fiber supplements, “This is RAGE” is good for you, helps release your pent-up toxins, and tastes good while ingesting.
From the first, page, you punch your ticket for a ring-side seat to a fictional battle played out through oddly-familiar characters, personalities, and situations found within the tech industry. A rare, art-imitating-life glimpse inside the closed board room and executive discussions typical of an industry that is invitation-only awaits the reader who has always wondered what happens in those billionaire circles. Edutainment at its finest, “This is Rage” educates the reader about the corporate world and in particular the technology and VC communities before the reader realizes they have gained valuable industry insight and been eating fiber while they were enjoying the cathartic candy! “This is Rage” is an entertaining must-read for anyone curious or thinking about joining the tech industry, VC-backed initiatives, or simply an introduction to the corporate world.
The fast-paced tech world of mergers and acquisitions and venture capital is artfully teased through a fictional lens and the insider-experience of author, Ken Goldstein -- penning a fiction many years in the making through his decades of experience in the technology industry and his creative riffs on plausibility. Goldstein creates an entertaining therapeutic forum through this fictional work which taps into the reader’s inner rage and the lead character turns the inner voice found in all of us into the reluctant conscience and extrovert to which the reader aspires.
“This is Rage” leaves the reader asking – what parts of this are based on reality? Could this really happen? Some might call Goldstein’s many years of work and riff on the technology industry a work of “love”. Others might call it a work of …“Rage”? YOU decide.
…I am still trying to decide. Join me in following Ken’s missives about the corporate world and see if you relate and turn your own “rage” into action. Read the book, find your voice, and “tune in” for inspiration through additional “rage-turners” posted here: Corporate Intelligence Radio
April 23, 2013
NOTE: I have known Ken for over 10 years, and he allowed me to read a prerelease copy of his book.
WOW – This is the first time a book has made me exhale in shock, laugh out loud and feel true economic fear, all in one chapter.
Prepare yourself for a rollercoaster of a read, page after page. This is Rage unfolds as a tour de force storytelling exploring current day crisis around corporate profit, the death of employment, technology and politics.
This book challenges the status quo as it plunges head first into the economic crisis brought about by the rapid adoption of technology, outsourcing, and the divide between the haves and the have-nots. The story examines old media vs. new media, wall street vs. main street, and politics vs. vox populi without a specific point of view – refreshing in this age of targeted media and allows the reader to determine their own “fair and balance” perspective of the story.
The characters are complex, the story engaging yet familiar, and the narrative allows for a fresh take and delivers challenging insights about the impact of corporations, capitalism, and consumers on the 21st workplace and economy.
WOW – This is the first time a book has made me exhale in shock, laugh out loud and feel true economic fear, all in one chapter.
Prepare yourself for a rollercoaster of a read, page after page. This is Rage unfolds as a tour de force storytelling exploring current day crisis around corporate profit, the death of employment, technology and politics.
This book challenges the status quo as it plunges head first into the economic crisis brought about by the rapid adoption of technology, outsourcing, and the divide between the haves and the have-nots. The story examines old media vs. new media, wall street vs. main street, and politics vs. vox populi without a specific point of view – refreshing in this age of targeted media and allows the reader to determine their own “fair and balance” perspective of the story.
The characters are complex, the story engaging yet familiar, and the narrative allows for a fresh take and delivers challenging insights about the impact of corporations, capitalism, and consumers on the 21st workplace and economy.
October 18, 2013
This is Rage: A Novel of Silicon Valley and Other Madness by Ken Goldstein is a Storyplant publication and was released in October 2013. I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
"You kidnapped two of the most important rising star technology executives in the world, but you never meant to, it just kind of happened. You accidentally shot one in the leg, that would be Stephen J. Finkelman- and by the way, listening audience, that is breaking news, which is how you ended up at this hospital in Salinas, California, which was accurately reported by one of my callers on yesterday's show. Now you are surrounded by FBI agents, backed up by police from five area counties, and you think somehow this ends okay for you."
Dennis Swerlow and Sam Kisinski are two men just wanting to succeed. So far, they haven't had much luck, so they decided to kidnap a wealthy company owner to ransom him for enough money to start their own company. This plan goes awry and the men wind up kidnapping Steven Finkleman and Calvin Choy, two star CEO's of Envisionlink.
Enter Kimo Balthazer, a washed up radio talk show host. He just happens to be at the right place at the right time, and becomes an internet radio sensation thanks to his managing to open communications with the kidnappers.
Meanwhile, an attempted merger between Envisionlink and Atom Heart Entertainment, a merger of old and new money, is put on hold. Employees at Envisionlink worried about layoffs and the direction the company has gone since they obtained an IPO, begin to walk off the job, this causes the stock market to react, causing politicians to get involved, along with the FBI, and Kimo's long time producer and countless other disgruntled employees all over the country.
Everyone begins posturing to make the outcome of this work out in their best interest, while the country, tuning in to Kimo's radio show, are actually rooting for the kidnappers and show no empathy for the two super wealthy CEO's being held at gunpoint.
In fact, this situation is all but forgotten in the wake of walkouts and the stock market issues.
This novel is a wild ride. Many have obviously taken the novel at face value and read it as a crime thriller. That's fine, but I thought this novel screamed SATIRE. Tongue in cheek, parody and a searing look at big business in America.
The author knows his stuff. He sees human nature, the nature of business, and system's major flaws. The major gap between employees and the CEO's, the role the media plays in our lives, the attitude of the average American toward big business and the complete burn out they experience. The ineptness of law enforcement, the Washington politicians that are totally out touch, and the obvious lesson that business has no conscience. When all is said and done, did anything really change? Was a new precedent set?
There were so many things happening at once in this novel. At times it was just a little too busy. Too many events and too many people getting involved. It was also a healthy 500 + pages long.
This was a really unique novel, written by someone obviously attuned to both sides of the coin, and turning it into pure entertainment. No punches were pulled. People were portrayed quite honestly, making the whole thing seem very plausible. I could see something like this really happening.
I could recommend this book at all lovers of fiction, faction, satire, and thrillers.
Overall this one gets an A.
"You kidnapped two of the most important rising star technology executives in the world, but you never meant to, it just kind of happened. You accidentally shot one in the leg, that would be Stephen J. Finkelman- and by the way, listening audience, that is breaking news, which is how you ended up at this hospital in Salinas, California, which was accurately reported by one of my callers on yesterday's show. Now you are surrounded by FBI agents, backed up by police from five area counties, and you think somehow this ends okay for you."
Dennis Swerlow and Sam Kisinski are two men just wanting to succeed. So far, they haven't had much luck, so they decided to kidnap a wealthy company owner to ransom him for enough money to start their own company. This plan goes awry and the men wind up kidnapping Steven Finkleman and Calvin Choy, two star CEO's of Envisionlink.
Enter Kimo Balthazer, a washed up radio talk show host. He just happens to be at the right place at the right time, and becomes an internet radio sensation thanks to his managing to open communications with the kidnappers.
Meanwhile, an attempted merger between Envisionlink and Atom Heart Entertainment, a merger of old and new money, is put on hold. Employees at Envisionlink worried about layoffs and the direction the company has gone since they obtained an IPO, begin to walk off the job, this causes the stock market to react, causing politicians to get involved, along with the FBI, and Kimo's long time producer and countless other disgruntled employees all over the country.
Everyone begins posturing to make the outcome of this work out in their best interest, while the country, tuning in to Kimo's radio show, are actually rooting for the kidnappers and show no empathy for the two super wealthy CEO's being held at gunpoint.
In fact, this situation is all but forgotten in the wake of walkouts and the stock market issues.
This novel is a wild ride. Many have obviously taken the novel at face value and read it as a crime thriller. That's fine, but I thought this novel screamed SATIRE. Tongue in cheek, parody and a searing look at big business in America.
The author knows his stuff. He sees human nature, the nature of business, and system's major flaws. The major gap between employees and the CEO's, the role the media plays in our lives, the attitude of the average American toward big business and the complete burn out they experience. The ineptness of law enforcement, the Washington politicians that are totally out touch, and the obvious lesson that business has no conscience. When all is said and done, did anything really change? Was a new precedent set?
There were so many things happening at once in this novel. At times it was just a little too busy. Too many events and too many people getting involved. It was also a healthy 500 + pages long.
This was a really unique novel, written by someone obviously attuned to both sides of the coin, and turning it into pure entertainment. No punches were pulled. People were portrayed quite honestly, making the whole thing seem very plausible. I could see something like this really happening.
I could recommend this book at all lovers of fiction, faction, satire, and thrillers.
Overall this one gets an A.
May 29, 2013
Having known Ken for well over ten years now and his penchant for storytelling in business I was still surprised that he would attempt to write a novel, much less that he would carry it off so well with his debut work This is Rage!
The novel weaves a tale of corporate intrigue and political action set in the heart of modern corporate America -- Silicon Valley.
If you've ever wondered how Silicon Valley operates, This is Rage will take you on a "behind the scenes" tour and connect the dots with the rest of corporate America.
Masquerading as an action-packed story of intrigue with attention-grabbing plot twists and an avalanche pace, TiR is a parable for the modern age. It delivers a scathing counter argument to the Ayn Rand philosophies that dominate corporate business culture from Silicon Valley to Hollywood and beyond.
The characters are richly developed, conflicted, and driven by their internal beliefs in ways that are manifestly true-to-life.
All in all, a must-read!
The novel weaves a tale of corporate intrigue and political action set in the heart of modern corporate America -- Silicon Valley.
If you've ever wondered how Silicon Valley operates, This is Rage will take you on a "behind the scenes" tour and connect the dots with the rest of corporate America.
Masquerading as an action-packed story of intrigue with attention-grabbing plot twists and an avalanche pace, TiR is a parable for the modern age. It delivers a scathing counter argument to the Ayn Rand philosophies that dominate corporate business culture from Silicon Valley to Hollywood and beyond.
The characters are richly developed, conflicted, and driven by their internal beliefs in ways that are manifestly true-to-life.
All in all, a must-read!
July 24, 2013
Having lived and worked in Silicon Valley for almost 25 years, I was a bit skeptical about how Silicon Valley life would be characterized in This is Rage. In general, I find that novels which accurately portray a culture tend not to be particularly exciting, and those that are exciting are often not true to life.
This is Rage negates my previous experience. The story line kept me riveted and the characters’ personalities and motivations can regularly be found in Silicon Valley. It was a fun and informative read – a classic page turner. Silicon Valley residents will recognize business and personality types, and outsiders will learn how business here operates. Ken Goldstein keeps the story moving at a fast clip, and his characters are engaging and true to life, without being stereotypical. I look forward to his next book!
This is Rage negates my previous experience. The story line kept me riveted and the characters’ personalities and motivations can regularly be found in Silicon Valley. It was a fun and informative read – a classic page turner. Silicon Valley residents will recognize business and personality types, and outsiders will learn how business here operates. Ken Goldstein keeps the story moving at a fast clip, and his characters are engaging and true to life, without being stereotypical. I look forward to his next book!
May 30, 2013
I am honored to have had the opportunity to read a pre-release version of "This Is Rage" from my dear friend and mentor Ken Goldstein - and am so happy to be giving it FIVE STARS all the way!
Ken draws on all his resources - his hard-won knowledge of the Silicon Valley tech scene, his experience navigating the boardroom, and his thorough understanding of economic ecosystems in the US to craft a masterful thriller that will create fans for years to come. It even has some ruthless politics thrown in for good measure - brilliant!
Wonderfully readable, with familiar scenes for SV and Hollywood insiders and a fascinating peek for the curious, you'll find "This Is Rage" an engaging page turner you won't put down. Highly recommend!
Ken draws on all his resources - his hard-won knowledge of the Silicon Valley tech scene, his experience navigating the boardroom, and his thorough understanding of economic ecosystems in the US to craft a masterful thriller that will create fans for years to come. It even has some ruthless politics thrown in for good measure - brilliant!
Wonderfully readable, with familiar scenes for SV and Hollywood insiders and a fascinating peek for the curious, you'll find "This Is Rage" an engaging page turner you won't put down. Highly recommend!
September 28, 2013
When a plan to kidnap and ransom the return of a powerful corporate money maker goes awry, the two bumbling kidnappers find their hands full when they end up with the co-CEOs of one of Silicon Valley’s shining star software companies. Meanwhile, a has been radio talk show host who has insulted and cursed his way out of the last in a long line of opportunities, struggles to redeem himself on the internet, if only for his own sanity. Through an act of fate, or just a case of being in the right place at the right time, Kimo Balthazar finds his ‘on the air’ resurrection for his show, “this is Rage,” when he latches on to the kidnapping and its impact on the economy, the Valley, but mostly for the common man. Whether playing for the crowds or actually having struck a nerve with his followers, Kimo’s voice is heard and he is recruited to communicate with the kidnappers, who have become the working man’s heroes, as they hold the CEOs hostage in a hospital. Will he be able to strike a deal with the kidnappers, who are only looking for a break, looking for a way to create their own legendary tech company. Why hasn’t the Co-CEOs’ corporation stepped forward to pay the ransom? Is there a better deal on the table, one that will make money for the board? What about the kidnap victims? Are they on their own?
This is Rage by Ken Goldstein is a fascinating and dark look into the underbelly of life in the dog-eat-dog world of high-tech loyalties, deceits and the seduction of money and power that permeates the world of those with clout. It also embraces the rebel in us all through Kimo, proving that one voice can be heard, whether we like what its saying or not. Mr. Goldstein’s ability to set the mood of each scene as it played out felt vividly realistic, as did the dialogue and attitude of each of the many characters we meet. Were some clichéd? Possibly, but together, the entertainment value of This is Rage soared for me!
Did I like this? Oh YES! This is fast-paced intrigue, tempered by some comic relief in the form of the two computer geeks turned kidnappers. The star of this novel is Kimo, coarse, brash, crude and opinionated, he was the most believable of all of the characters! Is what happened in This is Rage real corporate back-stabbing and power-playing? Seriously, I don’t know, but it was entertaining, eye-opening and highly probable. I do know I can highly recommend This is Rage as a great read!
An ARC edition was provided by The Story Plant in exchange for my honest review. I do not know the author, I know nothing about high level corporate machinations, but I do know when I've liked what I've read!
Publication Date: October 8, 2013
Publisher: The Story Plant
ISBN: 9781611880717
Page Count: 530 Pages
Genre: Adult Fiction
Available to Purchase From: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
For more reviews check out Tome Tender's Book Blog or find us on Facebook.
This is Rage by Ken Goldstein is a fascinating and dark look into the underbelly of life in the dog-eat-dog world of high-tech loyalties, deceits and the seduction of money and power that permeates the world of those with clout. It also embraces the rebel in us all through Kimo, proving that one voice can be heard, whether we like what its saying or not. Mr. Goldstein’s ability to set the mood of each scene as it played out felt vividly realistic, as did the dialogue and attitude of each of the many characters we meet. Were some clichéd? Possibly, but together, the entertainment value of This is Rage soared for me!
Did I like this? Oh YES! This is fast-paced intrigue, tempered by some comic relief in the form of the two computer geeks turned kidnappers. The star of this novel is Kimo, coarse, brash, crude and opinionated, he was the most believable of all of the characters! Is what happened in This is Rage real corporate back-stabbing and power-playing? Seriously, I don’t know, but it was entertaining, eye-opening and highly probable. I do know I can highly recommend This is Rage as a great read!
An ARC edition was provided by The Story Plant in exchange for my honest review. I do not know the author, I know nothing about high level corporate machinations, but I do know when I've liked what I've read!
Publication Date: October 8, 2013
Publisher: The Story Plant
ISBN: 9781611880717
Page Count: 530 Pages
Genre: Adult Fiction
Available to Purchase From: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
For more reviews check out Tome Tender's Book Blog or find us on Facebook.
June 25, 2013
A gun in the first act always goes off in the third. And this one goes off with a resounding BANG! TIR is layered, thought-provoking, and cleverly written. It unfolds like an origami sculpture, exposing new depth and intricacy with every carefully exposed and deliberate fold.
TIR has a language that is concurrently articulate, witty, smart, and accessible. It takes us into the world of the Silicon Valley board room where the archetypes finance, innovation, entertainment, politics, culture, and self interest carry on as uneasy bedfellows, impacting our lives as individuals and a nation in often unanticipated ways.
"This is Rage" is as much an action-packed page-turner thriller as it is a thoughtful exploration of the culture and business of technology and entertainment in our current national landscape. This is a fun and theatrical read that's sure to keep you on your toes.
Full Disclosure: Ken has been for many years and remains a friend, colleague, and mentor. Being asked to pre-read "This is Rage," the pleasure is all mine.
TIR has a language that is concurrently articulate, witty, smart, and accessible. It takes us into the world of the Silicon Valley board room where the archetypes finance, innovation, entertainment, politics, culture, and self interest carry on as uneasy bedfellows, impacting our lives as individuals and a nation in often unanticipated ways.
"This is Rage" is as much an action-packed page-turner thriller as it is a thoughtful exploration of the culture and business of technology and entertainment in our current national landscape. This is a fun and theatrical read that's sure to keep you on your toes.
Full Disclosure: Ken has been for many years and remains a friend, colleague, and mentor. Being asked to pre-read "This is Rage," the pleasure is all mine.
May 9, 2013
I was afforded the opportunity to read a pre-release of This Is Rage. Through the well developed characters and story lines, this book takes you on an educational insane journey of the inner-workings of Silicon Valley, and intertwines this with real life issues and perspective on the impact of business, finance, capitalism, and government.
The author, Ken Goldstein, has the "Gift of the Pen". He entertains, educates, and raises sobering emotions in a heartfelt journey of introspection in the lives of its characters.
From Venture Capitalists, to government officials, to CEO's, and through the daily workers who are struggling to make ends meet; anyone who reads this treasure can relate in some way to the impact the current state economy, and "the system" have on personal and professional lives.
Hats off to you Ken for the telling the story!
The author, Ken Goldstein, has the "Gift of the Pen". He entertains, educates, and raises sobering emotions in a heartfelt journey of introspection in the lives of its characters.
From Venture Capitalists, to government officials, to CEO's, and through the daily workers who are struggling to make ends meet; anyone who reads this treasure can relate in some way to the impact the current state economy, and "the system" have on personal and professional lives.
Hats off to you Ken for the telling the story!
November 5, 2013
An enjoyable yarn about how people relate to corporations, set in today's Silicon Valley.
The situations and characters are wonderfully exaggerated for effect, and the language is often operatic in its over-the-top-ness. The core conceit might not hold up under the weight Goldstein puts on it (that white-collar employees in Silicon Valley can inspire a national walkout over job security in the face of corporate mergers), but it sort of doesn't matter - Goldstein captures the essence of the modern Silicon Valley venture capital/technology vibe in a way that's fun to read.
This is Rage is an excellent first novel.
The situations and characters are wonderfully exaggerated for effect, and the language is often operatic in its over-the-top-ness. The core conceit might not hold up under the weight Goldstein puts on it (that white-collar employees in Silicon Valley can inspire a national walkout over job security in the face of corporate mergers), but it sort of doesn't matter - Goldstein captures the essence of the modern Silicon Valley venture capital/technology vibe in a way that's fun to read.
This is Rage is an excellent first novel.
May 9, 2013
I read an early, unedited version of This Is Rage, and even in that relatively rough stage it was hard to put down. Yes, we're inside Silicon Valley, and Goldstein knows what he's talking about, but in the end it all comes down to a gripping story and a collection of characters -- complex, ornery, original -- that make a thoroughly compelling read. It's based on all-too-possible realities, and one can only watch in fascination and horror as the tale unfolds. Great storytelling all around.
June 18, 2013
I really enjoyed Ken's first novel. I've worked in Silicon Valley for years, and Ken's ear for dialogue is right on target. In the spirit of Bonfire of the Vanities, Ken has written an action-packed story about a botched kidnapping (not a spoiler; this happens very early on) that ripples through the entire Silicon Valley ecosystem and also catches the eye of a burned-out shock-jock. With national exposure supplied by the newly-energized jock, the battle lines are drawn.
Did Not Finish
September 29, 2013I really wanted to like this book more, but it started out speaking above my head and I was pretty much lost from that point on. Not the fault of the book or the writer, this just wasn't a book written for me. Not star'ing it due to that reason.
ARC courtesy of The Story Plant, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
ARC courtesy of The Story Plant, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 7, 2014
ARC Review: This is Rage by Ken Goldstein It's difficult to classify this book. I guess the closest would be to call this a financial suspense thriller, with social commentary deftly infused into each page.
I have to think a bit about what I want to say before writing up a full review. It was definitely a very interesting read.
TBC.
I have to think a bit about what I want to say before writing up a full review. It was definitely a very interesting read.
TBC.
November 13, 2013
from kalireads.com:
This is Rage: A Novel of Silicon Valley and Other Madness lives up to its subtitle, delivering all the madness of the Valley and then some. This novel is funny, smart, long (a 530 page thriller), and perhaps the polar opposite of that other recent release making a Silicon statement, The Circle. This is Rage’s plot sounds unbelievable but somehow works: at a party where investors, bankers, and engineers mingle (“Conversation as a conduit for data extraction…”) a pair of well-meaning, success-seeking entrepreneurs kidnap leaders of a powerful company, hoping either for ransom money or some start-up capital (are these two things that different, after all?). A washed-up radio host picks up the story, and the sort of mass hysteria that only today’s social media makes possible ensues.
The story here goes where The Circle didn’t: straight to the money. The book starts with a prospectus, and many of the chapters begin with a stock ticker. Although This is Rage takes place in Silicon Valley, Goldstein doesn’t want us to forget that “the Street” makes the Valley tick. As much as any character in the novel is concerned with the safety of those who have been kidnapped, their company’s precious stock price is always sitting heavily on everyone’s shoulders, acting as the ultimate guidance and true leader.
Author and tech insider Ken Goldstein certainly knows his subject material: previously a VP for Disney Online, he currently advises start-ups and businesses through his company Corporate Intelligence Radio. Whereas David Eggers publicly stated he visited no tech campuses while writing his dark-tech speculative fiction work The Circle, Goldstein has been in the tech biz for years. To be honest, I was sort of worried when I read that a former CEO wrote This is Rage. It just doesn’t seem like the business world and the creative world of writing fiction mesh too often. And I do think the story can get drift too far into investment jargon here and there. As a layperson, I had no idea what a few sentences explaining stock prices meant and I’m not sure it was important for me to understand their meaning.
This is a big book, but a fun one. The characters here range from the traditional tech guys (scruffy and ready to save the world by giving their employees free lunches), to a calculating self-made congresswoman, to a bitter radio announcer lost in today’s evolving media world, to an aging and insecure FBI agent. Part thriller and part satire, what really makes this novel a good read are the observations Goldstein has tossed in that are so right on. He’ll throw in a snippet like, “Fools who wanted something responding to fools who claimed it was not theirs to have, rinse and repeat,” or “Attempted definitive action of any kind could always be touted as leadership,” and it reminds you that Goldstein may be writing a clever book, but he may also be sort of wise. While especially in the last few pages this sort of statement-making could creep toward ranting, I didn’t see it that way. I felt that This is Rage managed to beautifully balance sincere frustration with a raucous laughter at the madness of it all.
“Tell me your worst fear,” posited Dadashian, the melodrama unavoidable.
“Nuclear winter, followed by impure drinking water, global starvation, and mass untreated surgical needs, plus permanent damage to the earth’s ability to heal,” said Choy.
“As it pertains to business,” rephrased Dadashian.
–This is Rage, by Ken Goldstein
This is Rage: A Novel of Silicon Valley and Other Madness lives up to its subtitle, delivering all the madness of the Valley and then some. This novel is funny, smart, long (a 530 page thriller), and perhaps the polar opposite of that other recent release making a Silicon statement, The Circle. This is Rage’s plot sounds unbelievable but somehow works: at a party where investors, bankers, and engineers mingle (“Conversation as a conduit for data extraction…”) a pair of well-meaning, success-seeking entrepreneurs kidnap leaders of a powerful company, hoping either for ransom money or some start-up capital (are these two things that different, after all?). A washed-up radio host picks up the story, and the sort of mass hysteria that only today’s social media makes possible ensues.
The story here goes where The Circle didn’t: straight to the money. The book starts with a prospectus, and many of the chapters begin with a stock ticker. Although This is Rage takes place in Silicon Valley, Goldstein doesn’t want us to forget that “the Street” makes the Valley tick. As much as any character in the novel is concerned with the safety of those who have been kidnapped, their company’s precious stock price is always sitting heavily on everyone’s shoulders, acting as the ultimate guidance and true leader.
Author and tech insider Ken Goldstein certainly knows his subject material: previously a VP for Disney Online, he currently advises start-ups and businesses through his company Corporate Intelligence Radio. Whereas David Eggers publicly stated he visited no tech campuses while writing his dark-tech speculative fiction work The Circle, Goldstein has been in the tech biz for years. To be honest, I was sort of worried when I read that a former CEO wrote This is Rage. It just doesn’t seem like the business world and the creative world of writing fiction mesh too often. And I do think the story can get drift too far into investment jargon here and there. As a layperson, I had no idea what a few sentences explaining stock prices meant and I’m not sure it was important for me to understand their meaning.
This is a big book, but a fun one. The characters here range from the traditional tech guys (scruffy and ready to save the world by giving their employees free lunches), to a calculating self-made congresswoman, to a bitter radio announcer lost in today’s evolving media world, to an aging and insecure FBI agent. Part thriller and part satire, what really makes this novel a good read are the observations Goldstein has tossed in that are so right on. He’ll throw in a snippet like, “Fools who wanted something responding to fools who claimed it was not theirs to have, rinse and repeat,” or “Attempted definitive action of any kind could always be touted as leadership,” and it reminds you that Goldstein may be writing a clever book, but he may also be sort of wise. While especially in the last few pages this sort of statement-making could creep toward ranting, I didn’t see it that way. I felt that This is Rage managed to beautifully balance sincere frustration with a raucous laughter at the madness of it all.
October 9, 2013
Once upon a time employers and employees believed they were working as a dedicated team. Each depended on and was loyal to the other in good and bad financial times. But somehow the plot went awry when profits, sales, stock values, mergers, and executive privilege replaced the security of united effort. Now lives are so much dross when the schemes for more money prevail! Sound like a fairy tale, a piece of contemporary fiction? It is and it isn’t – welcome to the world of Silicon Valley, a world of madness gone even more awry than anyone could believe possible!
The real story starts out with an evening’s party attended by Silicon valley owners, investors, and underlings close to the top. The talk is all about profit margins, a potential merger, and more, talks headed by those who think they know it all about how to make companies profit and manipulate publicity so that the stock market follows their lead. But all of that is about to implode as two kidnappers arrive, inadvertently kill one man and kidnap two owners of a smaller company that is on the down side of being productive and therefore financially viable. The ransom is at first money which is totally rejected by the financiers and the FBI, whose one reluctant agent has been assigned the task of freeing the victims. But upon realizing this, the victims contrive a plan to actually benefit the kidnappers financially and free all concerned.
Enter Kimo Balthazar, a renegade talk show host who’s been fired multiple times from multiple stations, a host who can’t find another station to employ him. He now turns into an Internet talk show host and picks up on the kidnapping story and the real dope on how Silicon Valley CEOs operate. Interviews with these higher-ups and even a female Congresswoman follow in which their desperate attempts to manipulate the public as usual fail miserably, resulting in a massive walkout of Silicon Valley employees. These are men and women who are sick and tired of never being able to communicate with the executives, who know they will be let go with future mergers, who know they are expendable and are demanding change – NOW!
While the plot contains ample financial lingo that might be beyond most reader’s intellectual acumen, this information and the descriptions that are provided to educate the reader don’t detract from a tense, intelligent, realistic and frightening series of events that rivet the reader on every page. No, you can’t predict where it’s going initially but it’s worth every page read to see the surprising outcome, a Bill of Rights for the “little man and woman” in the intensifying battle for decent consideration and truth. One might add, the battle, as well as the outcome, are a microcosm for much of what goes on in many different avenues of corporate America!
Ken Goldstein knows his facts and also is a skillful writer who has written a novel that deserves the attention of business, government, workers, employers, CEOs – everyone that keeps the economic wheel of America moving for supposedly the benefit of all! Outstanding business and thriller fiction! Highly recommended!
The real story starts out with an evening’s party attended by Silicon valley owners, investors, and underlings close to the top. The talk is all about profit margins, a potential merger, and more, talks headed by those who think they know it all about how to make companies profit and manipulate publicity so that the stock market follows their lead. But all of that is about to implode as two kidnappers arrive, inadvertently kill one man and kidnap two owners of a smaller company that is on the down side of being productive and therefore financially viable. The ransom is at first money which is totally rejected by the financiers and the FBI, whose one reluctant agent has been assigned the task of freeing the victims. But upon realizing this, the victims contrive a plan to actually benefit the kidnappers financially and free all concerned.
Enter Kimo Balthazar, a renegade talk show host who’s been fired multiple times from multiple stations, a host who can’t find another station to employ him. He now turns into an Internet talk show host and picks up on the kidnapping story and the real dope on how Silicon Valley CEOs operate. Interviews with these higher-ups and even a female Congresswoman follow in which their desperate attempts to manipulate the public as usual fail miserably, resulting in a massive walkout of Silicon Valley employees. These are men and women who are sick and tired of never being able to communicate with the executives, who know they will be let go with future mergers, who know they are expendable and are demanding change – NOW!
While the plot contains ample financial lingo that might be beyond most reader’s intellectual acumen, this information and the descriptions that are provided to educate the reader don’t detract from a tense, intelligent, realistic and frightening series of events that rivet the reader on every page. No, you can’t predict where it’s going initially but it’s worth every page read to see the surprising outcome, a Bill of Rights for the “little man and woman” in the intensifying battle for decent consideration and truth. One might add, the battle, as well as the outcome, are a microcosm for much of what goes on in many different avenues of corporate America!
Ken Goldstein knows his facts and also is a skillful writer who has written a novel that deserves the attention of business, government, workers, employers, CEOs – everyone that keeps the economic wheel of America moving for supposedly the benefit of all! Outstanding business and thriller fiction! Highly recommended!
January 29, 2014
Silicon Valley is a different kind of place, built on brains and money. There are Investors, the guys with mega-millions who make deals and mergers while attending parties and whose lives are consumed with strategies and one-up-manship. There are Bankers, who make the connections, supplying the grease to the wheels of commerce. Finally, there are the Operators, those with the brains and creativity to create new technological ideas that can make millions if they catch on.
All three groups are at a typical Silicon Valley party one afternoon. It is held at the home of Daniel Steyer, one of the biggest Investors. He is on the Board of EnvisionInk, one of the industry's success stories, and is involved in brokering a buyout of the company, with or without the approval of the company's founders, Calvin Choy and Stephen Finkelman. Suddenly, the quiet of the party is interrupted as two guys attempt to kidnap Steyer. They fail in their attempt, but manage to instead capture Choy and Finkelman and kill a bystander.
Concurrently, shock-jock Kimo Balthazer is losing another job. One of the last liberal talk radio hosts, his current emphasis is on how companies mistreat their employees. A good theme, but he goes over the line one day on the air, naming companies that may be sponsors, and then cursing on the air. He is fired and since this is the last stop on a downward journey of several years, there are no new syndicates waiting for his show, This Is Rage.
But, suddenly, Baltazer has an idea. He has a website, and decides to create his own show, one that is on the Internet. Internet radio doesn't have pesky FCC regulations. All he needs is a big story, and the kidnappers have just supplied that. They aren't ordinary criminals, but programmers who agreed to the crime for money to start their own company. Now there are criminals who Baltazer can make sympathetic, investors who are maneuvering behind the scenes for profit without considering what might be best for the company employees, a pair of mythical techies who started a company from nothing and may well lose it or even lose their lives. Baltazer starts his show and before he knows it, it has grown like wildfire and is fueled by the bits and pieces of the story that can leak when thousands of people collaborate on a story in the wild world of the Web.
Satire is one of the most difficult feats to pull off in writing. It can easily tip over into such hostility and mean-spiritedness that it becomes a chore rather than a joy to read. Ken Goldstein deftly walks the line, skewering the industries he knows well while propelling the reader on a roller-coaster ride of intrigue and providing heroes to cheer for. Goldstein lives in this world. He has worked at such industry giants as Disney, SHOP.COM and Broderbund Software. He knows the ins and outs of technology and the money culture that has grown up around it. This book is recommended for those interested in a fascinating look at the industry and for those who enjoy an amazing story with suspense and great pacing.
January 3, 2014
This is Rage: A Novel of Silicon Valley and Other Madness
By Ken Goldstein
This is Rage takes an in-depth approach at explaining a complicated business and the cogs of the wheels that make the clock work behind the curtain appear facile. In a world of technology sometimes the human perspective gets lost in the bits and bytes. It gets lost in the grand scheme of science and what that can do for us as it takes over us. This isn’t exclusive to Silicon Valley; the current business model of all corporate America is affected by the bottom line being more important than the human line of layoffs.
The Madness of This is Rage showcases the frustration of the youth trying to garner attention that their ideas are quality and it highlights the emotional turmoil of the aftermath when a technology becomes obsolete and it features how the best of intentions of a start-up can go terribly wrong once the financial greed of Wall-Street takes control.
Ken Goldstein’s debut novel takes the reader on an action-packed ride into a world that seems just crazy enough, just mad enough, to make you question if it is real. Then realization hits that through madness it is highly probable and more realistic than anyone really wants it to be. It is thought provoking and the many themes of this novel stay with the reader long after the book is put down. After all of that add in the entertainment value as the quirkiness of the characters carry the reader through a rabbit-hole into another land- Silicon Valley, part full of wonder, part full of nightmares.
With this as his start, we can only expect great stories as his journey in his writing career continues.
For more information visit Ken Goldstein’s webpage at http://thisisrage.com
The Story Plant Publishing is having a Friday promotion today, this title and many more for a discounted price today. This is Rage is on sale for $1.99 with Barnes & Noble. Other Story Plant books that are part of the Free Friday promotion are Love Thy Neighbor by Mark Gilleo (free), This is Rage by Ken Goldstein ($1.99), From the Ashes by Jeremy Burns ($1.99), The Eighth Day by Tom Avitabile ($1.99), The Fifth Man by James LePore ($1.99), Back from the Dead by Peter Leonard ($1.99), and The Shepherd by Ethan Cross ($1.99).
By Ken Goldstein
This is Rage takes an in-depth approach at explaining a complicated business and the cogs of the wheels that make the clock work behind the curtain appear facile. In a world of technology sometimes the human perspective gets lost in the bits and bytes. It gets lost in the grand scheme of science and what that can do for us as it takes over us. This isn’t exclusive to Silicon Valley; the current business model of all corporate America is affected by the bottom line being more important than the human line of layoffs.
The Madness of This is Rage showcases the frustration of the youth trying to garner attention that their ideas are quality and it highlights the emotional turmoil of the aftermath when a technology becomes obsolete and it features how the best of intentions of a start-up can go terribly wrong once the financial greed of Wall-Street takes control.
Ken Goldstein’s debut novel takes the reader on an action-packed ride into a world that seems just crazy enough, just mad enough, to make you question if it is real. Then realization hits that through madness it is highly probable and more realistic than anyone really wants it to be. It is thought provoking and the many themes of this novel stay with the reader long after the book is put down. After all of that add in the entertainment value as the quirkiness of the characters carry the reader through a rabbit-hole into another land- Silicon Valley, part full of wonder, part full of nightmares.
With this as his start, we can only expect great stories as his journey in his writing career continues.
For more information visit Ken Goldstein’s webpage at http://thisisrage.com
The Story Plant Publishing is having a Friday promotion today, this title and many more for a discounted price today. This is Rage is on sale for $1.99 with Barnes & Noble. Other Story Plant books that are part of the Free Friday promotion are Love Thy Neighbor by Mark Gilleo (free), This is Rage by Ken Goldstein ($1.99), From the Ashes by Jeremy Burns ($1.99), The Eighth Day by Tom Avitabile ($1.99), The Fifth Man by James LePore ($1.99), Back from the Dead by Peter Leonard ($1.99), and The Shepherd by Ethan Cross ($1.99).
October 4, 2014
"This is Rage" was written by a business friend of mine, a long-time media and technology executive who had always wanted to write a novel. Well, I bought it, I felt I had to, and there it sat on my shelf of unread worthies. I picked it up, thinking I should at least sample it before I ran into Ken again at a conference, and two hours later I had whipped through a hundred pages. Yes, it's a page-turner from the outset, and funny along the way. We begin at one of those awful Silicon Valley cocktail parties (you saw one in the HBO series of the same name earlier this year), the setting for a botched kidnapping that provides the plot engine. Two wannabee startup guys grab the co-founders of the hottest tech startup in the world, which in turn sucks into their orbit their venture capital and banking backers, an over-the-hill Hollywood mogul looking to acquire the tech start-up, a frenzied and slightly out-of-control talk-show host (with the gorgeous name Kimo Balthazar) and his old-school producer, a conflicted FBI agent, and a brighter version of Congresswoman Michelle Bachman, among others. The plot structure gives Goldstein a chance to air his decidedly liberal views of American culture, and especially the proper way to run business (think: employees) without getting too preachy. It takes a tad too long for the hostage saga to find its way to completion and coda, in my humble opinion, but the writing is strong enough to entertain along the way. Ditto the spot-on view of the character types and personalities that inhabit the world he depicts. He knows the Valley, he knows bankers, investors, operators, media, politics - and stirs up quite a stew. Tasty.
February 12, 2015
When I began this novel, I thought it might be too "inside the bubble" to be interesting to those outside Silicon Valley. I have to admit it started a bit slow and the characters seemed a bit too caricature. But as it unfolded, it evolved into a somewhat idealistic and thought-provoking story about the modern tech workforce, power, ego, and the optimism of the valley - and those who exploit that optimism. It also extended the Silicon Valley microcosm to the modern tech workforce at large.
The book is full of insightful and thought-provoking quotes, such as this one on change and Silicon's Valley role is driving it:
"Fast, so fast. Change in Silicon Valley was never slow paced. Velocity was worshiped and rewarded, praised and celebrated. You were there, and then you were not. Timelines kept tunnel vision dead ahead. Rear view mirrors were for poseurs and deadbeats. When decisions were made, when consensus had been reached, everyone moved in lockstep. With buy-in achieved, the only thing left to do was work. Innovation was the mantra around which everyone could rally, the true force of creative destruction that inspired all who could share in its success. Without innovation, there was no value creation. The work itself was what mattered, most of all teamwork. It was not about money. It could never be about money. It was about purpose. It was about changing the world. It was about the privilege to be able to make something, the gift to create."
The book is full of insightful and thought-provoking quotes, such as this one on change and Silicon's Valley role is driving it:
"Fast, so fast. Change in Silicon Valley was never slow paced. Velocity was worshiped and rewarded, praised and celebrated. You were there, and then you were not. Timelines kept tunnel vision dead ahead. Rear view mirrors were for poseurs and deadbeats. When decisions were made, when consensus had been reached, everyone moved in lockstep. With buy-in achieved, the only thing left to do was work. Innovation was the mantra around which everyone could rally, the true force of creative destruction that inspired all who could share in its success. Without innovation, there was no value creation. The work itself was what mattered, most of all teamwork. It was not about money. It could never be about money. It was about purpose. It was about changing the world. It was about the privilege to be able to make something, the gift to create."
November 3, 2016
This is Rage is a corporate thriller that informs as much as it entertains. Comparable to Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities in its broad scope and piercing satire, This is Rage is also a surprisingly deep look at the business world; Goldstein is clearly someone who's "been in the trenches" of American business, specifically in the Silicon Valley. His bankers, operators, and investors talk high finance as colorfully and convincingly as David Mamet's shady real estate salesman talk sales in Glengarry Glen Ross, and with the same gripping, moving, and hilarious effect. The plot dips and soars like the NASDAQ, hinging on boardroom gamesmanship and fine print only a seasoned insider would know.
Goldstein's Rage is also timely. With America's economy on life support and looking to Silicon Valley for answers, this novel should be on everyone's reading list. Don't expect any easy panaceas, though; Goldstein is far too smart to offer simple solutions to America's economic doldrums. But if you read between lines you can find signposts pointing to a way forward.
Goldstein's Rage is also timely. With America's economy on life support and looking to Silicon Valley for answers, this novel should be on everyone's reading list. Don't expect any easy panaceas, though; Goldstein is far too smart to offer simple solutions to America's economic doldrums. But if you read between lines you can find signposts pointing to a way forward.
November 17, 2013
I had great hopes for this book, and I was at first pulled in by an interesting story. I do think think there was some very good character development. However, the increasingly improbable chains of events were first frustrating, then annoying. I think he tapped into some interesting issues around the responsibility of a company to its employees. But I ended being disappointed with neat little package we were handed at the end. I have been through too many "mergers and acquisitions" myself to understand the fixation of the story on never letting people go in a merger. I just don't see that issue as tapping into some kind of national angst. Maybe I missed something...
September 22, 2013
I have known Ken Goldstein for over 15 years, and was honored to receive one of his first prints. WOW! Never knew he was a wonderful writer.
Ken does an exceptional job, bringing all his characters to life.
The book does not disappoint! It takes you on a wild adventure, full of twist and turns, right up to the end. If you ever wondered how Silicon Valley works, This is your book. "I really wouldn't be the least bit surprised, If Hollywood came knocking."
Defiantly one of my top reads of the year."Can't wait for your next book!"
Ken does an exceptional job, bringing all his characters to life.
The book does not disappoint! It takes you on a wild adventure, full of twist and turns, right up to the end. If you ever wondered how Silicon Valley works, This is your book. "I really wouldn't be the least bit surprised, If Hollywood came knocking."
Defiantly one of my top reads of the year."Can't wait for your next book!"
October 16, 2013
Ken Goldstein obviously knows the business world and weaves an impressively detailed backdrop for his story. Although to call it a backdrop does not give it enough credit. The world of high powered business almost becomes a character of its own and is deepy interwoven into the story. The action is fast paced, with rich characters that I'd love to see again in a follow up novel.
What is surpising is the depth of what I call the novel's soul. This story has veins of thematic morality running all throughout.
Impressive. Entertaining. Thoughtful.
What is surpising is the depth of what I call the novel's soul. This story has veins of thematic morality running all throughout.
Impressive. Entertaining. Thoughtful.
February 28, 2015
The story was interesting, but not engrossing. Unlike some stories, I never really knew what the next twist or turn might be--perhaps because each was somewhat contrived. I was most bothered by the occasional long stretches of third person passive voice. This made the opening especially cumbersome to work through. It's a style; just not my style.
I work in high tech, but not Silicon Valley. I found the description of the ethos and pathos of the Bay Area intriguing, but I wondered how true it is or was.
I work in high tech, but not Silicon Valley. I found the description of the ethos and pathos of the Bay Area intriguing, but I wondered how true it is or was.
September 22, 2013
"This is Rage" is the "Bonfire of the Vanities" of our times!
Goldstein's novel is a passport into an idiosyncratic world that is thoroughly entertaining and outrageous, but also shockingly close to reality.
Having been a digital entertainment company executive as well as Wall Street analyst/banker, I can say from first-hand experience that he nails it completely with this can't-put-it-down satirical thriller.
Goldstein's novel is a passport into an idiosyncratic world that is thoroughly entertaining and outrageous, but also shockingly close to reality.
Having been a digital entertainment company executive as well as Wall Street analyst/banker, I can say from first-hand experience that he nails it completely with this can't-put-it-down satirical thriller.
September 25, 2013
A thriller that reveals the machinations of Silicon Valley. I thought it was both entertaining and educating. This is a book that keeps you thinking days after turning the last page.
This Is Rage creates a clash between old media and new media, boardroom and employee, business and politics. Ken weaves a great story that has me wondering where this marriage between media and technology is taking us.
I'm sure I will read it again!
This Is Rage creates a clash between old media and new media, boardroom and employee, business and politics. Ken weaves a great story that has me wondering where this marriage between media and technology is taking us.
I'm sure I will read it again!
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