Thailand: an exotic and dangerous journey
Like many people who have lived in Thailand, I still have many wonderful memories of the Land of Smiles. But it is also true that a farang (foreigner) is not always aware of what is really going on behind the scenes. The smiles, while genuine, mislead us into thinking that what is presented on the surface is the only reality. In Kingdom of Make-Believe, a New York publisher who once served in Thailand during the Vietnam War receives a plea for help from his late brother's Thai widow. As he was also in love with the woman himself before she chose to marry his brother, his emotions while returning to Thailand for the first time in over 20 years run high. But he gradually discovers that the nostalgic portrait he carried of Thailand Past bears little resemblance to reality, and he begins to uncover deception, danger and death. He also learns of the guilt of those he had befriended and even loved. Scenes in the novel range from Manhattan's Greenwich Village to a typhoon-ravaged Hong Kong to Thailand's notorious nightlife and warlord betrayals inside the Golden Triangle. I hope readers find this to be a gripping mystery and exotic thriller, but, at its heart, it is the story of a man coming to terms with reality and with himself. I first arrived in Thailand as a Chinese linguist with the Army Security Agency during the Vietnam War. I returned to the United States and received my Masters Degree in Asian Studies from the University of Hawaii. I later returned to Asia and lived for 17 years in Hong Kong and Bangkok writing, editing and publishing. I'm pleased to say that my writing and photography on Thailand have won several awards including the PATA Grand Prize for Excellence. I'm always pleased to hear comments about the novel and hope readers might like my next novel set in Thailand, Memoirs of a Bangkok Warrior. -

2008-01-12 The worst book I have ever made myself read to the end

This is a trite, badly constructed and hopelessly contrived collection of non sequitor incidents. The last quarter of the book has some pace but even that section is so packed with impossible to believe details as to be irritating beyond belief. I am doubtful that Dean Barrett has spent time in Thailand other than on visits to 'collect material'. It just does not read 'Thailand'. The characteristation is very thin and depends on the character being described rather than emerging with the exception of Brian, the 'hero', who is a complete prat. I almost threw the book in the bin when I read again that 'they made love'. How anyone can give it a star, let alone more, beats me - I have had to because the system demands it. Readers, please think of it being a minus 5*. Try reading Bangkok 8, Bangkok Tattoo, and Bangkok Haunts by John Burdett which are fabulous, especially Bangkok 8. They will show you just what sort of purile writing is encapasulated in this book. It was just awful. I made myself read it to the end because I never give up on a book. I am thinking of changing that rule.