Fate

Fate (Mystery)

By Ian Hamilton

House of Anansi Press

ISBN #978-1487003869

Price $15.95 (Paperback)

Price $9.99 (Kindle

304 Pages

Rating 3-Stars

“Boring”

This is the story of Chow Tung, known to friends as “Uncle”, a form of respect, though he’s still a fairly young man in his thirties.  His position in the Fanling triads is that of White Paper Fan because he’s good with numbers. It chronicles his escape from communist China to Hong Kong, then jumps ahead a decade when the Mountain Master of the Fanling triads is killed by a hit & run driver, leaving their leadership vacant. Basically the story follows the trouble of electing a new leader. How boring can you get?

Readers of Ian Hamilton have been familiar with Uncle through the Ava Lee series, about a Chinese/Canadian girl who follows the money in crooked deals leaving someone needing her help. One of her cases came to the attention of Uncle, and he uses his power to assist her. The early stories of Ava Lee were topnotch and interesting mysteries. But the last couple of Ava Lee stories were below par for the author, and left the reader less satisfied in her, and for some reason the author has decided to feature Uncle in his own stories. Unfortunately, this first entry was boring. We’re talking triads, and criminal gangs in Hong Kong, so you would think there’d be lots of action. There isn’t.  When there is action, there’s really no tension in the setting. We do learn the command structure of the triads, and even an overly long funeral for one of the leaders. We know from the beginning that Uncle will end up as the new Mountain Master, even though he’s trying to put someone else in the office. It’s Uncle that sees the problems and sets things on the right course, so he’s already performing as their leader. If you’re interested in the structure of the triad gangsters, this book will help you. Although I would suggest you read the early Ava Lee stories for that. If you’re looking for a good action novel, it isn’t here. Again, those early Ava Lee entries are your best bet.

Tom Johnson

Author of THE MAN IN THE BLACK FEDORA

Recruited

When four US and Canadian forward air controllers were taken hostage by an Islamic terrorist organization during a blistering seesaw battle in Iraq, CANUS-ETF (Canada United States Expeditionary Targeting Force) knew they had to act fast. A hundred million dollars was demanded and everyone knew there was no way the ransom would be paid.

The best chance for rescue was to deploy a small team of elite combat rescuers. American Navy Seal Captain Jonathan Rogers was chosen to head the mission. His Canadian counterpart was twenty-six-year-old Rayna Tan, the first woman to ever lead a Special Forces operation in the Middle East. She had proven herself as a warrior leader but this mission had exceptional potential perils.

Recruited (Thriller)

By Wesley Robert Lowe

Independent Publishing Platform

ASIN # B01AO5Q2MA

Price Free (Kindle)

97 Pages

Rating 3-Stars

Rayna Tan, born in China, adopted by Harry and Vivien Chang of Honk Kong, then moved to the US and Canada, having dual citizenship. Rayne is highly educated, a black belt in Judo, Wushu, and Tae-Kwan-do, joins the Canadian Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2), where she rises to the rank of captain, and leader of an assault team. Her counterpart in the SEALS is captain Jonathan Rogers, who sacrifices his life to save others. When her boyfriend, Tanner, is gunned down by a drug gang just when she accepts his marriage proposal, she tries to disappear, but finds the gang can easily find her. She contacts Jonathan’s father, one of the guiding members of Fidelitas, an assassin group better trained than the Navy SEALS and Army Special Forces, where she goes through vigorous training before going after the Pablo Escobar drug cartel in South America.

This was a short story, prequel to the series mainly to introduce Rayna Tan and the other main players in the future series. With all her training, she seemed more like a green trainee than a professional soldier when she’s placed in training with Fidelitas, and I had a hard time visualizing her as Chinese. The author doesn’t capture that oriental mystique in Rayna Tan, and it makes her appear just as another Caucasian heroine. Recruited doesn’t give much promise for the future series unless the author can retool his main character enough to make her real to the reader.

Tom Johnson

Author of CARNIVAL OF DEATH