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Vulture Capital by Mark Coggins
Science Fiction
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When Basis Ventures venture capitalist Ted Valmont is belatedly informed that the Chief Scientist of NeuroStimix—a biotech firm in which he has invested—is missing, it's not just business, it's personal.
Not only is the scientist an old school chum, but his disappearance jeopardizes the development of NeuroStimix's most important product: a device intended to aid spinal cord injury victims. Since Valmont's twin brother, Tim, was paralyzed in a college diving accident, finding the scientist and getting him back into harness is of the utmost importance to both brothers.
Valmont engages August Riordan to assist in the search and the men soon discover that the disappearance is part of a larger conspiracy to use NeuroStimix technology for perverse applications. Terrorism. Prostitution. Slave labor. These are just the beginning. And when a beautiful, mysterious young woman comes onto the scene, it's impossible to say whether the technology will provide the ultimate means to save them all or be the catalyst for tortuous, self-inflicted deaths...
REVIEWS AND RECOGNITIONS
Cover story with novel excerpt, Silicon Valley Metro, 10/16/03.
"If you laid all the boring Silicon Valley authors end-to-end it would be a good thing. But they still wouldn't amount to half the insight Coggins lays down in his adventurous novel. Fast cars, nymphomaniac rich kids, billionaires with short attention spans and long money: a truer picture of Silicon Valley can't be found. In a world transformed through technology-driven change, we need new heroes, a new James Bond—Ted Valmont is it."
—CNBC
"Coggins is … deftly using the tropes of classic private-eye fiction to give readers a cold, delightfully nasty look at the venture capitalists who rode to fame and glory on the tech boom. His eye is sharp and the details are crisp … From the boardrooms of Palo Alto to the wineries of Napa, Vulture Capital gives us Northern California in the 21st century, as noir as it ever was …
"Po Bronson, for all his talents, did not catch the Valley's entrepreneurial/venture capital lifeblood in The First Twenty Million Is Always the Hardest as unerringly as Coggins does in Vulture Capital …
"A trip through the dark satanic mills of venture capital with Chandler or Hammett as tour guide."
—Salon.com
"[D]ry ice sarcasm … and plenty of nasty chuckles in route."
—Wall Street Journal
"Peppered with local landmarks and tech in-jokes, Vulture Capital exposes the seamy underside of venture capital, populated by back-stabbing partners, corrupt CEOs and nasty funding boards."
—Silicon Valley Metro
"Coggins has a talent for penning credible, often clever dialogue, and some of his more cynical remarks and observations about modern society might reduce a nun to gales of laughter."
—January Magazine
"[T]ruly brings the California private eye novel into the 21st century."
—What Do I Read Next?, Gale Group
"Vulture Capital is another winner ... [S]trong recommendation."
—Deadly Pleasures Magazine
"Vulture Capital is a well executed, slightly twisted and weird, but completely believable story about the dark side of Silicon Valley's start-up community."
—I Love a Mystery
This work is licensed under a
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Audio Quality: 
Out of 17 ratings
Narration Quality: 
Out of 17 ratings
Writing Quality:
Out of 17 ratings
Overall Rating:
Out of 17 ratings
Chapters
| Title | Description | Date Created |
| Vulture 01 (16.12 MB) | Venture Capitalist Ted Valmont discovers that the stakes have been raised for the investment he has made in NeuroStimix, a biotech company with technology intended to aid spinal cord injury victims. | Oct 18, 2010 |
| Vulture 02 (23.76 MB) | Valmont attends a board meeting at NeuroStimix, where he is belatedly informed that Warren Niebuhr, the Chief Scientist of the company, is missing. | Oct 18, 2010 |
| Vulture 03 (23.55 MB) | Larry Breen, managing general partner at Basis Ventures, the firm that Valmont work at, makes clear that he believes it’s time to cut the firm’s losses at NeuroStimix. Valmont tries to let off steam with an old girlfriend. | Oct 18, 2010 |
| Vulture 04 (36.68 MB) | In an attempt to locate Warren Niebuhr, Valmont interviews his wife, who evidences no great concern for her husband’s welfare. Valmont takes his search to Napa Valley, where he meets and beds the beautiful niece of a fellow winery owner. | Oct 18, 2010 |
| Vulture 05 (19.2 MB) | Valmont talks to Deputy Sheriff Norman Olken of Napa County, who tells him that Niebuhr’s car--but not Niebuhr--has been located. | Oct 18, 2010 |
| Vulture 06 (26.91 MB) | Valmont gets a rude surprise at the Basis Ventures FinCom meeting. Growing more desperate to locate Warren Niebuhr, he visits NeuroStimix in search of clues and meets network administrator Chris Duckworth. | Oct 25, 2010 |
| Vulture 07 (34.06 MB) | Valmont hires private investigator August Riordan to help with the search for Niebuhr. Things go horribly wrong during his first offical date with Gabrielle Maitland. | Nov 1, 2010 |
| Vulture 08 (35.41 MB) | Valmont is nearly killed in a bizarre incident. He has a tense interview with Douglas Maitland, then meets again with Sheriff Olken to get an update on the Neibuhr investigation. Bruce Crane and Forest Hawley try to convince him to give Maitland and Gabrielle a wide berth. | Nov 7, 2010 |
| Vulture 09 (23.07 MB) | Valmont hears that Warren Niebuhr has been in contact with his wife Laura. He is surprised and angered by developments at NeuroStimix and confronts Larry Breen about them. | Nov 14, 2010 |
| Vulture 10 (24.28 MB) | Riordan brings a maid who worked at the Appellation Inn (where Warren Niebuhr was last seen) to Valmont's house. She has some surprising news. The next day, Riordan prevents another attack on Valmont--and solves a mystery in the process. | Nov 21, 2010 |
| Vulture 11 (21.06 MB) | Valmont sneaks onto the Maitland estate to see Gabrielle. He finds her, but is surprised by Douglas Maitland and Ramos. | Nov 29, 2010 |
| Vulture 12 (25.63 MB) | Valmont wakes up in the hospital and is told he was in an automobile accident. Bruce Crane and Riordan visit, Riordan bringing some suprising news about Gabrielle and Douglas Maitland. | Dec 5, 2010 |
| Vulture 13 (23.88 MB) | Valmont checks himself out of the hospital and goes back to the Maitland estate, where he breaks into the caves dug in the hills behind the winery. What he finds there connects his troubles at NeuroStimix with Maitland for the first time. | Dec 12, 2010 |
| Vulture 14 (27.14 MB) | Valmont confronts Larry Breen about his discoveries in the wine caves on the Maitland estate. He forces a meeting with Breen, Maitland and Gabrielle, where he learns Gabrielle's big secret. | Dec 19, 2010 |
| Vulture 15 (27.02 MB) | Valmont attempts to gain leverage on Breen and Maitland, but they see through his threats. At Riordan's urging, he agrees to feign participation in their new company in order to buy time. | Dec 26, 2010 |
| Vulture 16 (37.65 MB) | Valmont and Riordan go to a bar in Napa to meet with Gabrielle. They end up having a final showdown with Breen and Maitland. | Jan 3, 2011 |
| Vulture 17 (20.61 MB) | Valmont, Riordan and Duckworth debrief. Valmont talks with Gabrielle and his brother Tim about their futures. Bonus features. | Jan 5, 2011 |