Author: Clem Chambers
ISBN: 978-1-84243-297-6

The story revolves around a “hot shot” trader Jim (also known as Ken, short for Kenco), who has the uncanny ability of reading and analyzing all kinds of charts that predict the future. His colleagues refer to him as Moby, the billion-dollar whale, as he made billions of dollars for his company. The amazing part is that he is only in his early twenties and he was able to rise to prominence in his firm within a matter of a couple of years.

Jim's notoriety comes to the attention of a shady character, Max Dumas, emperor of trading, the Wizard of Oz, who earns billions of dollars dealing in US treasuries using an unbelievable amount of computing firepower. Dumas tells Jim that he is quite aware of his brilliance in bending his models and he also informs Jim that he has discovered from his computer read-outs that something very disturbing is about to happen. This may prove to be catastrophic wherein the entire world will come crashing down. The global capital system would come to a halt and the markets would be put out of action for weeks or months.

Presenting him with an offer he couldn't refuse amounting to a salary of fifty million dollars, Jim is persuaded to work with Dumas in helping him solve the mystery and prevent the catastrophe.

To be fair, Chambers has quite a vivid imagination and his plot is certainly unique as he crafts an audacious debut novel. However, it is not without faults for there were moments where I felt I was watching a B-movie as the plot seemed to meander and sway. In addition, I found that the overuse of financial “mumbo jumbo” and confusing dialogue turned out to be quite exhausting. Nonetheless, I was still left with the unpleasant thought, could this apocalypse really happen? And in light of what we have witnessed with our present economic melt down, what Chambers has provided is a story that may not be as far fetched as it seems.