"Power Play" by Joseph Finder

Joseph Finder’s “Power Play” is a fast-paced and involving corporate thriller, which seized me in its jaws and refused to relent until the final page. I’ll admit I had my doubts…that the story would unfold predictably and be cliché-ridden (can anyone really blame me? The most entertaining thriller I’ve come across so far is Michael Jackson’s), however it soon veered comfortably in an unexpected direction. Landry, a junior executive at an aerospace company, is invited to the high-powered company retreat. By no rights should he be there, but he’s the only one who can provide an honest appraisal as to why a commercial plane recently crashed. Written from Landry’s perspective, the tension continues to mount as the group is left without means of communication to the outside world. The “Man with a troubled past” individual has become overused these days, but Joe’s dusted it down—and for the duration of the story, it’s as if he’s the first to have written this type of character. The pacing—a crucial part of any thriller—is handled meticulously. It rises smoothly, so it takes a while to realise that you’re actually holding your breaths in a little longer each chapter. Hand-in-hand with pacing comes length. I would’ve loved a slightly longer book, with a few more chapters to speed through—but this is a sign of great writing rather than a legitimate complaint. Any more and the pacing would be shot, any more and the story would drag. Joe’s got a gift. Joe knows when to stop writing. Score: Recommended. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a book to read poolside on a short vacation, or on a long-haul flight (it’ll keep the blood circulating, that’s for sure!) Rationale: A brilliant blend of office politics, plane crash conspiracies and gunplay—skip it and regret it. "Power Play" is available in the US from August 21st.

Interview with Joseph Finder

The New York Times Best-selling author recently took a couple of minutes of his hectic schedule to do a small interview for Bookie Monster. Let's save the formalities for later, and jump straight into it! ~~~~~~~~~~~ Bookie Monster: "Power Play", your new novel, centers on employees of an aerospace company--was there any particular reason you chose this type of company above any other? Joe Finder: I was fascinated by a business that is so global and so huge, where the stakes are so high, the money is so big, and the products themselves inherently fascinating. The Technology fascinates me: how does a plane stay up in the sky, and what further improvements can be made to that? There is also a kind of "Boy's Club" culture in a lot of these companies. I wanted to set the story in an industry where a female CEO would clash with the entrenched culture. One of those industries is Aerospace. BM: You're beginning the tour for your new novel on the 21st, as a seasoned traveler have you had any bad airport experiences? Joe Finder: Constantly, last night I was delayed for 2 hours in an airport. Given how much I travel for research and promoting books, I am always in airports-- and it's almost always an unpleasant experience. BM: Do you have any favourite thrillers--both on screen and on the page-- and how have they influenced you? Joe Finder: I love thrillers, both in film and in print. I just saw the film version of "The Bourne Ultimatum" and it is unbelievable--it's like the third act of a great book: non-stop action and tension. Other films I love are "In the Line of Fire", "Day of the Jackal" and "Marathon Man". I love "Marathon Man" and "Day of the Jackal" as novels too. Other books that influenced me would include "The Bourne Identity" and Ira Levin's books "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Boys from Brazil". Those are just the ones that jump to mind, given enough time I could name dozens! BM: You have quite an active presence on networking websites like myspace and facebook--how has the internet affected your publicizing? How about your writing itself? Joe Finder: The internet has made it just about unnecessary for me to hire researchers any more, because it is so easy to find information and experts online. On the other hand that bouncing e-mail icon breaks my concentration, so I can't be online when I'm writing. In terms of publicity, the internet is a whole world that remains almost untapped. Newspapers are dying; TV ads for books are ineffectual; radio is becoming increasingly expensive while the number of listeners is dwindling. The internet is pretty much free and it's a great place to introduce people to your books. SO many blogs, so many websites...they're more and more important. BM: You mentioned that Newspapers are dying--but what about books? Publishers are begin to release fewer books each year, instead focusing on titles with big names attached--does this worry you, despite your "Big Name" status? Joe Finder: I think it's worse in the UK than it is here. Objectively, more books are being sold now than 30 or 40 years ago, but fewer people are reading more books. Some people just watch TV, or just go to the movies. It is true, particularly in the UK, that some publishers are focusing on authors who are commodities--but that raises the question: how do you bring in new blood? Far too often the Big Names start to coast, so this is actually a bad business model in the long run. It's not good business and it's not good for creativity. BM: Thank you for your time, Joe. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joe Finder is a best-selling author of thrillers such as "Company Man" and "Killer Instinct"--for more information, visit Joe's website. The exciting new novel, "Power Play" is released on August 21st--a review will be posted in a couple of days.