Boomtown

by Greg Williams, The Overlook Press

After the Y2K panic had subsided and the streets of Times Square were cleared, America woke up to a new century shocked to find itself more or less the same as it was before. Following the lives of a group of sharply drawn characters in this uncannily hip and savagely satirical new novel from the acclaimed Sewanee Writers? Series, Greg Williams takes us to the heart of the postmillennial psyche. Jonathan Scarver, CEO of Internet start-up Allminder.com, has Midas-like visions of wealth and an IPO scheduled for late spring guaranteed to skyrocket the value of his stock options to obscenity, if he can only manage to keep it a secret that the company is nearly bankrupt. His publicity director, Brad Smith, has been relying on the comfort of all-night parties to relieve the stress of work and to drown out the calling of a secret ambition. Around his life circles Nicole, a struggling actress-slash-waitress coping with a post-breakup depression. In a series of just-missed chance encounters and lost opportunities of the kind that can only happen in Manhattan, Brad and Nicole's orbits nearly collide and are then repelled, spiraling with the city's gravitational pull toward their destiny. A "Bright Lights, Big City" for the dot.com age, "Boomtown" exposes with dry irony and magnetic wisdom the hubris, vanity, and deceit that fueled the staggering climb and precipitous fall of that era's ambition.

336 pages, Hardcover

First published March 29, 2004

About the author

Greg Williams is an English photographer and film director known for his work in film and editorial photography. He began his career as a war photographer before transitioning to high-profile editorial assignments for publications such as Vogue Italia, GQ, Vanity Fair, and Esquire. He serves as the official photographer for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and has worked on set and poster campaigns for major films, including Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, The Bourne Ultimatum, Robin Hood, and King Kong. His portrait subjects have included Kate Beckinsale, Daniel Craig, Megan Fox, Robert Downey Jr., and Sean Penn, and his advertising work features campaigns for Omega Watches.
As a filmmaker, Williams directed the short film Sgt. Slaughter – My Big Brother (2011), starring Tom Hardy. He is also developing his feature directorial debut, Samarkand, co-written with his brother Olly Williams, which explores the struggles of a Special Air Service soldier dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder in civilian life.
Williams has authored several photography books, including the Bond On Set series, documenting the productions of Die Another Day, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Skyfall. A pioneer in digital photography, he was the first to use a Red One digital camera to shoot a magazine cover, featuring Megan Fox for Esquire. He also created 'Motos' (Moving Photos), blending video and photography for digital platforms, with notable projects including a Dunhill campaign starring Jude Law and the cover of Los Angeles Times Magazine's first iPad-compatible digital issue.
He married model Eliza Cummings in 2019.

Reviews

[Cedric Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read BOOMTOWN when I first moved to New York. Reading it again after a few years of living in the city in which it's set gives it a new flavor. I recognize the names and places these characters frequent. The story centers on two individuals each facing their own challenges during the optimistic turn of the century where everyone had survived Y2K and technology was beginning to take out a life of its own. Nicole Garrison is an aspiring actress who works at the Film Center Cafe (the restaurant I manage). Brad Smith is a young PR guy at a new a dot com company. While Nicole decides to leave her philandering boyfriend and make a new start, Brad realizes that the dot com world may not turn out to be as wonderful as everyone had anticipated. The characters of BOOMTOWN are believably written. While the people back home don't understand the life of taking chances they have chosen to live in the asphalt jungle, those of us who have made that same choice do. We know these people like we know ourselves. We've had a beer with Brad. We've taken an acting class with Nicole. New York City becomes as much a character in the book as any of the people and helps move the pace along steadily to an end that is really just the beginning. I strongly recommend this book, especially for those who have been in the city for just a few years and understand that there are no timelines on dreams.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The whole book is sort of about the quickly reversible life. Having fun, getting a job, going out a lot, not making a lot decisions. It's all sort of disposable. I guess that's why he called it Boomtown. I'm a little slow on the uptake. Everyone rides the wave and then moves on.

Read this a while ago, likely soon after it was published. Well written. Good characters. Compelling depiction of the dot com bubble from inside it, though heavily fictionalized. I liked the realistic illustrations of the types of young people in Manhattan at the time. The main character finds his inner writer, which is always a bit hollow for me. Finding one's self through writing is a disappointingly obvious discovery for the main character of a somewhat literary novel.

[Todd Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story, although it stumbles a bit as the writer tries to infuse profanity at awkward moments. I'm not against salty language, but he reminds me of being 12 or 13 and, having just learned some new cuss words, you wait for the first chance to wedge it into a sentence whether it works or not. Then again, Gary Vaynerchuk spends every waking moment doing that so maybe it's a thing.

The ending was the worst part of the book as he tries to quickly (in 2 pages) pack in a missed opportunity / where are they now montage that would have been better suited developed over the last few chapters, not pages.

[Ally · Rating 4 out of 5]

My friend Greg - great writer. Fun read.