Trading Reality Book

May 1997 Englishman Michael Ridpath follows a very sound philosophy, believing that a writer should "write what he knows." Ridpath was a bond trader in the pressure-filled London market for eight years, analyzing reports and trading bonds at breakneck speeds, often with millions in British pounds riding on each decision. Writing was merely a creative release for him, until the success of Free to Trade, a novel about bond trading, afforded him the ability to leave London's financial epicenter and write full-time.

Ridpath's second effort, Trading Reality, does not stray from the world of buying and selling on a global scale. Rather, it incorporates the author's love for the financial pressure of the stock exchange floor with a genuine interest in virtual reality. Mark Fairfax is a rising young star at a prestigious London financial firm. He relishes his company BMW, his posh accomodations, and his exquisite girlfriend, Karen, an equities trader. Mark's brother, Richard, is a computer genius who runs a pioneering VR company named FairSystems, currently experiencing cash-flow problems but on the verge of something big in VR technology. When Richard is mysteriously killed, Mark takes over as the managing director of FairSystems and, as he begins to understand the technological workings of VR, realizes that the in-house developments that the company is sitting on could net a staggering profit.

Torn with grief and suspicion over his brother's death, and set on keeping Richard's dream of mass-market VR alive in his wake, Mark is faced with the daunting task of holding off corporate moguls and mega-companies intent on buying out FairSystems -- as well as one radical political organization intent on destroying VR technology for good -- all while staying out of the path of Richard's killer, who may very well have the same fate in mind for Mark, the trader-turned-technologist.