Official Review: The Icarus Prediction by RD Gupta

[Dphaber]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Icarus Prediction" by RD Gupta.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Icarus Prediction: Betting it all has its price, by RD Gupta, promises on its Amazon page to deliver “a conspiracy so great, it threatens to sever the threads of international diplomacy, and plunge the world into a dark age of chaos.” Though I wouldn’t say that the action/finance novel delivers a conspiracy of that degree or a “dark age of chaos,” I would highly suggest the book. The Icarus Prediction does an excellent job of blending the adrenaline rushes, gunfire, and explosions of action with something a little more cerebral- Wall Street finance.

Jarrod Stryker, while in the CIA, has had a successful career and managed to make quite a few professional connections. On his last mission, however, another operative intentionally causes the op to go sideways- and once he hears her reasons decides to take the fall for her. Discharged from the Agency, and left to find a new career, Stryker puts his shiny college degree into use and goes into finance under William Blackenford, where he quickly becomes a rising star. However, it soon becomes apparent that Blackenford has led the firm into financial and legal ruin, and after a night of despair Stryker comes up with a risky, daring plan to keep the firm afloat.

I was mostly pulled into reading this novel by the promise of action mixed with stateside financial drama, but was surprised to find myself enjoying the financial exploits of Jarrod Stryker more than the brief flashes of insight into what was going on in other parts of the world. The descriptions of the character’s reasoning for his decisions, and the “command center” he ran while monitoring the trade of a lifetime, were fascinating. Though half of the book describes the inner workings of a firm on Wall Street, I would not describe those passages as even remotely boring.

Mechanically, the book was perfect. At no point was I struck by grammatical mistakes, awkward character dialogue, or character motivations and decisions that seemed unrealistic. I was really very impressed by the level of quality found in The Icarus Prediction, and this level of quality combined with the fascinating material made it a real page-turner.

In closing, The Icarus Prediction by RD Gupta was an interesting, well-written, and well-thought-out piece that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I’d recommend it to most enthusiastic readers I know, based on my experience, and for that I give it 4 out of 4 stars.

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The Icarus Prediction
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Like Dphaber's review? Post a comment saying so!

[TheIcarusPrediction]

Thanks for the insightful review!

[gali]

Sounds good. Thank you for the interesting review.

[bookowlie]

Nice review. I particularly enjoyed reading it since I had considered selecting this review book a few weeks ago.

[Tanaya]

Not at all interested in Wall Street, but you make a very convincing case to read this book. And the quality that you describe is refreshing to hear. Great review, and congrats to the author on a job well done.

[Jesska6029]

Sounds like an interesting read, but I'm not sure it's for me!

[Rachaelamb1]

Not my type of book, but Congratulations to the author for getting such a great review!