iUniverse, 474 pages, (paperback) $25.95, 9781475988550
(Reviewed: September, 2013)
Author Glenn Ogura is a California resident and the executive vice president of a laser micromachining business, so it makes sense that his first novel, Startup, dramatizes a business battle with millions at stake in the world of Silicon Valley tech companies.
Zack Penny and a group of fellow engineers believe they have invented a new technology that will produce paper-thin video displays. The invention won’t just make them rich; it will also get them out from under the iron fist of their employer, Allen Henley, the powerful CEO of Silicon Valley tech firm DisplayTechnik.
Unfortunately for the group (and their startup company, Imagination), Zack’s girlfriend Mary Anne — who’s also Henley’s daughter — betrays Zack by essentially revealing the plans to her father. Henley’s scheme to crush the startup (and Zack) by any means necessary forms the core of the story.
It’s not a bad idea for a business/legal thriller, but there aren’t enough exciting story developments in Startup to justify its length. The plot is often predictable, particularly some standard third-act changes of allegiance, before a jarringly violent conclusion.
A critical flaw: Henley’s villainy is so unabashed that Startup might as well have had him eat a live puppy in his first appearance. It’s unfathomable that Mary Anne could believe, as she claims, that her father could have a “good heart” when he’s written throughout as a vile, sociopathic maniac.
Ogura shows flashes of potential as a storyteller, especially in defining his characters with colorful details. However, drama takes a back seat to melodrama throughout Startup. The story would be greatly improved by trimming a good 100 pages of people yelling at each other and by including a denouement much more in character with the business/legal thriller that the first two acts promise.
Also available in hardcover and ebook.
Author’s Current Residence
Oakley, California
Source: BlueInk Reviews
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