97. Shimmer by Eric Barnes...

Shimmer tells the story of Robbie Case, and his company, Core Communications. Built on a flawed technology, he nonetheless has managed to build Core into a multi-billion-dollar company in just three years. But the amount of hands-on manipulation that's required to keep Core going is starting to wear Robbie out. And if that isn't enough to stress about, Robbie also worries about what'll happen to his friends--the ones who were there in the beginning, the ones who're doing their darnedest to keep building Core, so that when grace gets here, they're all filthy rich.

Except that they won't. Because Core's success is a fraud. One that Robbie perpetuates because he doesn't know what else to do. And because he's actually a good guy, he's built a whole framework behind the scenes to keep things afloat. As long as money's rolling in, and his own Internal Audit team doesn't figure it out, Core can keep going.

Shimmer is a kinda-sorta technology read. Being a geek--yes, I was a mainframe programmer in a kinda-sorta previous life--I chuckled at the references, and commisserated with Core's programmers. (geeks unite!) However, you do not require anointing into geekdom to enjoy the story, and I did. There was enough of a plot going (Is he going to make it? Is he not?), and the characters were interesting, if sometimes a little stereotypical, and I liked the ending.

Want more? Check out my giveaway (hurry, it ends on Wed!), along with a guest post from Eric himself!

Title: Shimmer
Author: Eric Barnes
ISBN-10: 1932961674
ISBN-13: 978-1932961676
Paperback: 281 pages (ARC)
Publisher: Unbridled Books, 2009