Martin Booth
The Dragon Syndicates
Pbk published January 2000 by Bantam at £5.99
ISBN: 0553505904 Artwork by: Cover illustration: Black Sheep
In 1996 a Hong Kong magazine editor who published an article on Triads was attacked in his office and had his arm severed at the elbow. Today the Triads operate an unrivalled criminal empire - extortion, gambling, international prostitution and the smuggling of illegal immigrants, money-laundering, fraud, corruption, arms and narcotics dealing all fall under their control - according to UN sources, the Triads constitute "the greatest potential criminal threat the world has ever known".
In The Dragon Syndicates Martin Booth tells the full, incredible story of the Triads. He examines their evolution from the 3rd Century BC, their rituals and mythologies, their role in shaping the 20th Century, their extensive criminal history and the life of key figures, and their increasing involvement in hi-tech crimes such as computer fraud and blackmail.
For the last three centuries, wherever the Chinese have emigrated they have taken their secret brotherhoods. At first little more than mutual interest societies, the Triads have evolved into the most efficient, ruthless and international of all crime fraternities.
Although outlawed, the Triads have always had immense political influence on Chinese politics. They instigated the Tong wars in America, fought with the Allies against the Japanese in Malaya, connived with the CIA in Vietnam and promoted the heroin trade to Europe and the USA.
Triad societies demand absolute loyalty and exact brutal retribution from transgressors and opponents, who are traditionally hacked to death with myriad swords. Few people have ever infiltrated their ranks; fewer have survived to talk about it.
'The most wide ranging and spectacular study yet of the Triads - his book is hard to put down' Literary Review
'Booth's is a thumping book,,,Chinatown is never going to be quite the same again.' The Independent
Martin Booth spent 20 years living in Hong Kong. He met his first Triad when he was just seven years old (as a blond boy he was considered lucky and allowed into Kowloon Walled City, normally closed to Europeans), he was called Ah Law and was a Red Pole, a runner for one of the drug dens. A former teacher, he is the author of twelve novels (including the Booker nominated The Industry of Souls), a highly acclaimed history of opium and a biography of Arthur Conan Doyle.
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Gerald Seymour
Holding the Zero
Published January 2000 by Bantam at £16.99
ISBN: 059304424X
Gus Peake should have kept his job and stayed at home, but an old family friendship draws him to the remote wastes of Northern Iraq and to a savage, forgotten war between Kurdish guerrillas and Saddam Hussein's military strength.
In brutal, no-quarter combat, Peake can bring to the fighting the skills he has learned as a marksman. If he is to survive, he must turn that marksmanship into a killing weapon, learn to deal out random death at long distance, and help the guerrillas to reach their goal - the city of Kirkuq.
From Baghdad, Iraq sends Major Karim Aziz, who travels with the reputation of being the most dedicated and professional sniper in Saddam's army.
For both men their duel, from which only one can walk away, becomes an obsession. It will take only one shot, echoing in the mountains and valleys, to settle the score
A Line in the Sand:
'Brilliantly written and deserving of the Booker Prize.' Mail on Sunday
'A classic ... may be his best yet.' The Times
Gerald Seymour is the author of eighteen bestselling novels, including Harry's Game, The Glory Boys and, most recently, A Line in the Sand. He lives in the West Country.
