Garrett Reilly is a 26 year old bond trader with a New York brokerage house and the most successful trader in town. He has a photographic memory for numbers and the ability to sense patterns in them, to rank them and to make money for himself and his firm by working this ability to come out ahead of other buyers and sellers in trading. His ability allows him to sense a sudden enormous selloff in US Treasury bonds to the tune of billions of dollars, and he is aware that following this trend can make him very rich.
Starting to follow the Treasury market and taking advantage of it causes the US government to become interested in him and he is visited by army Captain Alexis Truffant, who advises that Garrett has stumbled upon the initial attack of a covert war started by China. He is asked to begin working for the government to help thwart the attack, and plan action against the enemy. It helps that Captain Truffant is quite beautiful and a romantic interest develops between the two. Garrett is placed in charge of a group tasked with challenging the Chinese and developing a response that does not involve military action but played out the same way as the attacks. Manipulation of markets, hacking of computer data, and psychological warfare that does not involve weapons. And oh, yes bringing China to it’s knees.
Chapman’s knowledge of computers, financial markets and the inner workings of government delivers a scenario of an unconventional war between superpowers that is fought behind the scenes, with no knowledge that a conflict is occurring by the people of these countries. Brilliant idea and delivery of the first of what should be many novels by this author in the near future.
12/13 Paul Lane
The Ascendant by Drew Chapman. Simon & Schuster (January 7, 2014). ISBN 978-1476725888. 400p.
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