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The Tesla Conspiracy
Michael D. Finley
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Buy *The Tesla Conspiracy* by Michael D. Finley

The Tesla Conspiracy
Michael D. Finley
Law Offices of Michael D. Finley
Paperback
332 pages
October 2012
rated 3 of 5 possible stars

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Suppression of information: who can do it, and why? The Tesla Conspiracy opens with a fast-paced prologue: Ben Grazier has recreated Nikola Tesla's frequency interrupter. A group of masked men abduct him and force him to build the same device for them, supposedly for military use. Grazier manages to escape, only to find out that the mysterious enemy has killed his wife and daughter.

The main narrative settles in at the first chapter with Kathy Olson, who has just started to study electrical engineering at Western Technological University. Her new roommate, Julie Lozano, is majoring in history, but conspiracies are her hobby. She tells Kathy about Nikola Tesla--a genius in the area of physics and especially in electrical and mechanical engineering. Kathy has never before heard of him but quickly becomes obsessed with Tesla, reading as much as she can about him. Julie and Kathy find it strange that Tesla is absent from textbooks published in United States. Could it be because one of his experiments was a car which ran on an electrical motor but did not require charging? Instead, the Pierce Arrow car supposedly used energy extracted from thin air. Kathy wants to recreate Tesla's invention; unfortunately, a lot of people do not want her to succeed.

The prologue is about Ben Grazier who has recreated Tesla's frequency interrupter. A group of masked men have kidnapped him and force him to build the same device for them, supposedly for military use. Grazier manages to escape, only to find out that the mysterious enemy has killed his wife and daughter. This chapter is fast-paced and exciting. However, the rest of the book focuses on Kathy and Julie in collage, who are mostly doing normal stuff, such as getting new friends and rivals. Therefore the difference between the prologue and the rest of the book is a little jarring.

Kathy starts out as an average young student, but little by little we find out more about her past. Her mother died when she was young, leaving her to be raised by her father. Even though she is good looking, she has had a hard time making friends in school because she was a nerd and more intelligent than the children around her. She has deliberately taught herself how to make friends but is still often dismissive of her new friends, thinking that they are only nice to her because of her looks.

Julie is also a nerd who has a hard time getting friends. Unlike Kathy, though, she doesn't know how to approach people and would rather listen to the radio show Midnight Mysteries, which centers on various conspiracy theories. As Kathy introduces her to other people, slowly Julie starts to get friends, too. Unfortunately, Kathy and Julie are not exciting characters. However, Julie is a very realistic young adult character and so are their friends.

The early sections of the novel contain a lot of information about Nikola Tesla and his inventions. The exposition feels forced, but the background is necessary for the rest of the story. After the exciting prologue, the book focuses on Kathy and Julie in college, mostly doing normal stuff like getting new friends and rivals.  The difference between the prologue and the rest of the book is jarring. The pace does not quicken again until near the end.



Originally published on Curled Up With A Good Book at www.curledup.com. © Mervi Hamalainen, 2013

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