Review by Amanda Deck -- Conflict on the Yangtze
-
Amanda Deck
- Previous Member of the Month
- Posts: 587
- Joined: 02 Jun 2018, 21:00
- Currently Reading: A Sight For Psychic Eyes
- Bookshelf Size: 113
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-amanda-deck.html
- Latest Review: Winds of Fall by Alberto Mercado
Review by Amanda Deck -- Conflict on the Yangtze
[Following is a volunteer review of "Conflict on the Yangtze" by Greg Kater.]
Jamie Munro and Jack O’Brien, Australian intelligence agents, are called to China to put a stop to the production and shipping of opium that is being sold in America and Australia. The men’s wives, Carna and Monique, along with Jacko’s sister, Sarah, travel with them as far as their layover in Manila. Monique’s parents are in Manila because her father is there inspecting trees for lumber that he will use to make his high-end furniture. They’ll all wait – supposedly safe – for the men to complete their dangerous mission in chaotic post-war China. Bandits, warring political factions, drug runners, and corrupt government officials make the mission as dangerous as expected. What wasn’t expected is that those left in Manila wouldn’t fare much better.
Conflict on the Yangtze is the fourth book in Greg Kater’s Warramunga Series. It’s another well-edited book with excellent descriptions of scenes and action as I’ve come to expect from him. It’s written with British English – “pedlars” instead of “peddlers” and “A mob have been…” instead of American “A mob has been…”.
I hate to say it, but I didn’t like this one as much as I did the previous works. This one had too much description of buildings and history, so much that it felt like I was on a guided tour. Of course, the characters were on a tour for part of the time, so it made perfect sense. The storyline wasn’t as suspenseful as previous installments since there was a lot more character interaction. It was an informative, interesting story even though the bad guys were a bit too easily dispatched.
Kater has included helpful maps and a photo at the beginning which was a nice touch. Even though I didn’t enjoy reading so much about the setting, it was still fascinating to be able to get to know this part of the world so easily because of it. Learning some history while being entertained is always a bonus of reading Kater’s novels. This is a book for fans of post-WWII politics and international relations. I liked that it made me question if it’s right or not to go into another country to fight a drug war. While at first it seemed perfectly reasonable, my second thoughts were that it’s only a country’s business to stop drugs at their own border. Not being able to do so successfully doesn’t necessarily confer any right to sneak into another country to stop it at the source…or does it?
With only mild profanity, no erotic scenes, and only two extremely minor errors in the whole book, this book is suitable for anyone with an interest in international relations and in caring relationships. The husbands and wives were loving, considerate of each other, and willing to go the extra mile for their spouses. I really like that. I rate Conflict on the Yangtze 4 out of 4 stars. While it’s not as riveting as his previous books to me, it’s still an excellent book in my opinion. I certainly plan to read more books by this author.
******
Conflict on the Yangtze
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Jamie Munro and Jack O’Brien, Australian intelligence agents, are called to China to put a stop to the production and shipping of opium that is being sold in America and Australia. The men’s wives, Carna and Monique, along with Jacko’s sister, Sarah, travel with them as far as their layover in Manila. Monique’s parents are in Manila because her father is there inspecting trees for lumber that he will use to make his high-end furniture. They’ll all wait – supposedly safe – for the men to complete their dangerous mission in chaotic post-war China. Bandits, warring political factions, drug runners, and corrupt government officials make the mission as dangerous as expected. What wasn’t expected is that those left in Manila wouldn’t fare much better.
Conflict on the Yangtze is the fourth book in Greg Kater’s Warramunga Series. It’s another well-edited book with excellent descriptions of scenes and action as I’ve come to expect from him. It’s written with British English – “pedlars” instead of “peddlers” and “A mob have been…” instead of American “A mob has been…”.
I hate to say it, but I didn’t like this one as much as I did the previous works. This one had too much description of buildings and history, so much that it felt like I was on a guided tour. Of course, the characters were on a tour for part of the time, so it made perfect sense. The storyline wasn’t as suspenseful as previous installments since there was a lot more character interaction. It was an informative, interesting story even though the bad guys were a bit too easily dispatched.
Kater has included helpful maps and a photo at the beginning which was a nice touch. Even though I didn’t enjoy reading so much about the setting, it was still fascinating to be able to get to know this part of the world so easily because of it. Learning some history while being entertained is always a bonus of reading Kater’s novels. This is a book for fans of post-WWII politics and international relations. I liked that it made me question if it’s right or not to go into another country to fight a drug war. While at first it seemed perfectly reasonable, my second thoughts were that it’s only a country’s business to stop drugs at their own border. Not being able to do so successfully doesn’t necessarily confer any right to sneak into another country to stop it at the source…or does it?
With only mild profanity, no erotic scenes, and only two extremely minor errors in the whole book, this book is suitable for anyone with an interest in international relations and in caring relationships. The husbands and wives were loving, considerate of each other, and willing to go the extra mile for their spouses. I really like that. I rate Conflict on the Yangtze 4 out of 4 stars. While it’s not as riveting as his previous books to me, it’s still an excellent book in my opinion. I certainly plan to read more books by this author.
******
Conflict on the Yangtze
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Winds of Fall by Alberto Mercado
