Review: Lots of promise, but falls short of satisfying.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 2, 2014
As CEO of the world's most successful energy company, Lowell Bracken is at the top of his game and beginning to plan for his children to succeed him. But when a small upstart solar power company enters the scene, it triggers a series of political dominoes that will completely destabilize the power structures of the entire planet, and Lowell will be lucky to escape with his children - and his skin - intact.This one is hard to pigeon hole. Part eco-drama. Part fantasy. Part political thriller. It's set on an alien planet, but with a tech level similar to our own. There is some kind of pseudo-magic, and dragons, but both are kept fairly low key in this first installment.Despite these promising elements, this one didn't quite grab me. Lowell in particular seemed rather inconsistent. He's touted as a ruthless and ultra-savvy CEO who built his company up from ashes, against heroic obstacles. But when the chips were down, I never saw any of that heroic ferocity and competence in evidence. If anything, he comes across as a has-been who is now easily duped and slightly bewildered. It's one of those cases where the author describes the kind of character we all love to admire, but doesn't actually write him in a way that's consistent with the hype. And while some of the other characters do live up to their billing, they are so uni-dimensional that I wasn't able to bond emotionally with any of them.Overall, I felt like this book took me to the brink of a really enjoyable ride, but left me standing there. It didn't quite have the horsepower to tip me over the edge and deliver.