A love story of tremendous beauty...a tale of passion, adventure, and ambition set against the streets of San Francisco, America's most romantic city.Dan Lavette's parents immigrated to America and eventually made their way to San Francisco, and Dan learns to be a fisherman like his father - but when the great earthquake and fire hits in 1906 Dan is left orphaned and on his own. Not one to let anything get him down, he aims high and plans to get it all. Money. Ships. The richest and most beautiful, unobtainable woman in San Francisco. The leader in the burgeoning airline business. The biggest hotel in the Hawaiian Islands.But, does all that success come at a price? Yes, it does, but I seriously doubt you'll care enough to get there, and I admit to skimming quite a lot just to get to the end. I'm always up for a big fat saga set in California and this was one of those 70's blockbuster books that I either missed the first time around or I read it and completely forgot it. The latter option is entirely possible ;). The characters are flat and unlikable and the story itself is so filled with the standard clichés of California industry and Fast isn't able to bring something fresh to any of it. And yes, the early days of film and wine-making are here, but since Dan's not involved we get secondary characters as filler. Since this series continues for three more books, perhaps these characters have some use, but I for one am not taking that ride. 3/5 stars.FTC? A Kindle freebie.
