Title: Startup
Author: Glenn Ogura
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 978-1-4759-8855-0
Pages: 474, Paperback/Kindle
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Anita Lock, Pacific Book Review
Book Review
Zack Penny has a silicon dream of starting up his own company, Imagination. Along with a handful of his electrical engineer buddies from Display Tecknik, Zack has everything he needs to produce a unique multimillion-dollar product, a “cutting-edge flat-display” screen, which uses a totally different technology than Display Tecknik. Zack also has the perfect business model — to always keep open communication and give his employees the proper respect they deserve. At Display Tecknik, CEO Allen Henley is the model to follow. He sets up the rules, period. Although Zack and his crew keep a very low profile while they put the last minute touches on Imagination, Allen gets wind of Zack’s plans and fires Zack and his troupe on the spot. But this is not the end. Allen’s idea of fighting competition means to go out for the kill. The small band of friends, and most especially Zack, have no idea that they are about to experience eleven days of living hell.In his fast-paced debut thriller, Ogura spins a story of hope caught in the jaws of greed. Zack, the protagonist, is an ordinary guy with big hopes, not just for Imagination, but also for the love of his life, Mary Anne, who happens to be Allen’s daughter. No doubt, Mary Anne becomes an unwitting participant in Allen’s malicious plans toward Zack’s demise, but there is nothing hackneyed about Ogura’s method for unfolding Allen’s wicked intentions. Keeping each chapter short and riveting, Ogura flips from protagonist to antagonist scenes and, at times, the audience gets to see what’s going to happen before the characters do. He also incorporates scenes that are purely focused on a particular character, juxtaposing their struggles with their past while interweaving panoramic scenes of San Francisco or highlighting snippets of historical information.
Ogura includes nothing but a stellar cast of characters that cover the gamut of simple everyday people to the lives of those – particularly the antagonist, Allen — who have been completely engulfed by the evils of power and wealth. His character development centers more on the thoughts that shape each personality than outward appearances. This design permits Ogura full usage of third person omniscient view, and thereby provides readers with a glimpse into each character’s joy and pain, especially those who have a difficult time standing up to Allen’s overbearing demeanor.
Ogura, who has a degree in electrical engineering, is also a highly gifted writer. Indeed, he has proven that he can construct an incredibly imaginative narrative from beginning to end. It is this reviewer’s hope that Startup will be the first of many Ogura bestsellers.
