Bangkok Burn (Bangkok Series) [Kindle Edition]

Simon Royle (Author)

Book Description

12 May 2010

 A war is taking place on the streets of Bangkok as political cliques fire bullets and rockets at each other.

Mysterious 'Men in Black' snipe combatants from both sides.

It is a good time to settle old scores.

Take a walk on the darkside with Chance. An enigma: family-orientated, loyal and loving... and a cold-blooded killer.... This chilling, high-octane thriller takes you to parts of Bangkok no tourist should ever go, a world where life is cheap and morality non-existent.

Product Details

• File Size: 467 KB
• Print Length: 330 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 6163055020
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: I & I Press (January 11, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B006WMDMI2
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,789 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Bangkok really burns January 12, 2012

By Sly

Format:Kindle Edition

A red-hot thriller set against the exotic backdrop of Bangkok, this is a blistering read from start to finish. The hero, or maybe anti-hero, is Chance, a farang (foreigner) and an orphan who was raised by a Bangkok mafia family. Though he wants out of a life of crime to keep the love of his life, Pim, that proves difficult when he is variously double-crossed, blown up, shot at and dropped off cliffs.

Meanwhile, a war is taking place in the streets of Bangkok as political cliques fire bullets and rockets at each other. The real culture and current affairs of the country are every bit as vital to this novel as the characters, and as vibrant and challenging as the plot.

Written by a man who clearly has an intimate knowledge of Bangkok, from its elite down to its underbelly, you will wonder how much of Chance's story is true. You'll also sweat every heart-stopping moment with him, every heart-breaking revelation, every shock and wound incurred by his attempts to save his family and discover the astonishing truth.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Love the setting! March 7, 2012

By Jenni Gate

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book because I was intrigued by the setting, having myself lived overseas for years. I loved the descriptions of Bangkok and Thailand in general, and I was intrigued by the plot. The story is good, and the characters are pretty well fleshed out. I thought the writing was very good in places and lacking in others. The Kindle version I read had several places where sentence structure was spotty, as if the book had been written in a hurry and not edited as carefully as it should. This pulled me out of the story in a few places, but wasn't so distracting as to make me put it down. I continued reading because it was fast paced and I wanted to know what happened. I did have one moment of total disconnect with the main character, but I enjoyed the story and would read another from this author.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Really great gangster thriller. January 24, 2012

By stasike

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

One of the best books I have read in quite a long time.
Bangkok burn is a contemporary thriller set in a very exotic location. I liked the complex plot, the fast pace of the book and all those interesting facts about Bangkok [under]life. I very much liked the fact that you can't predict what is going to happen next. The very likable main villain Chance uses Twitter, throw-away mobile phones, logs from mobile towers and other modern technology, together with old-fashioned guns -*lots* of 'em - or even much older "technology" - crocodile pit #51. The story takes place during recent riots in Bangkok.
The author lives in Bangkok and obviously knows this town and country very well.
The book is plain mobi (.azw file), well formatted, not infested in DRM and the number of devices is not limited.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Body recycling January 14, 2012

By Jacko

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Dying was the easy part is right. This chilling, high-octane thriller takes you to parts of Bangkok no tourist should ever go, a world where life is cheap and morality non-existent.

Hungry crocodiles, fast action, and strong characterizations make for a riveting read. The main character, Chance, is an enigma: family-orientated, loyal and loving... and a cold-blooded killer. I'd certainly want him on my side.

If you like lean, mean thrillers in exotic settings, you can't go past Bangkok Burn - A Thriller.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Godfather, Thai-style February 14, 2012

By J. Chambers TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Note: This review was originally published at Red Adept Reviews on February 10, 2012.

Overall: 5 stars

Plot/Storyline: 5 stars

A few months ago, I reviewed a novel that was set in Thailand. The Thailand in that story was a peaceful, idyllic place that actually caused me to daydream about taking my pension and moving there. It's a far different Thailand that's depicted in Bangkok Burn, however. This was a Thailand in the midst of political and social upheaval, used as a backdrop for the story of a Thai mafia family and their struggles to survive. Think of it as The Godfather, Thai-style, and you've got the idea.

The story opened with a bang--literally--as Por, a mafia leader, and Chance, his adopted western son, were nearly killed by a bomb. At almost the same time, Uncle Mike, another member of the family, was kidnapped. Were the two incidents related? With Por seriously injured, Chance had to step up and find answers quickly.

There were plenty of suspects, since Por's family was constantly having to defend their turf against other Thai mafia families as well as foreigners like the Japanese Yakuza.

The novel was an exciting, suspenseful murder mystery, focusing on Chance's desperate investigations to learn who was behind the bombing and the kidnapping. Chance could be cunning when he needed to be, but he also knew how persuasive a large-caliber weapon aimed at a suspect could be in loosening tongues. Also, the family ran a unique "disposal" service for those needing to make someone disappear without a trace, and the mere threat of this was all it took to persuade some people to sing like a bird....

Two key elements of the story were the ongoing chaos as various Thai factions jockeyed for political power in the streets of Bangkok, and the corruption of government officials. Each of these were important to the story, especially the corruption that allowed the mafia families to bribe officials to look the other way or even to actively help them.

All-in-all, Bangkok Burn was a great story and a fascinating look at a Thailand that isn't covered in tourist guidebooks.

Character Development: 5 stars

Although the story was plot-driven, the main characters were well developed. Chance, who had been adopted by Por after his hippie parents were killed while working for Por, struggled with his increasingly important role in the family, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to stay. Chai, who had grown up with Chance, was Chance's bodyguard; he was totally loyal and wouldn't hesitate to take a bullet for Chance. Uncle Mike, an expat Kiwi, was a member of Por's extended family. He didn't actively participate in the family business, but when he was kidnapped, the family pulled out all the stops to get him back. One of my favorite characters was Joom, Por's number one wife. She was a delightful, charming lady, but she was tough as nails when business decisions had to be made, and she could handle a gun as well as any man.

The members of Por's mafia family came across as likeable, even admirable flesh-and-blood characters. I doubt if this is the case with real-like crime families, but since the point of view was that of Chance, who's a member of the family, it made sense. It reminded me of Harry in the movie "True Lies" when Helen asked him if he had ever killed anyone. His reply: "Yes, but they were all bad." Chance had killed, and he wouldn't hesitate to kill again for the family, but killing innocent people was bad for business.

Writing style: 5 stars

The author's writing style was polished and professional. The descriptions of Thailand, notably Bangkok, were vivid and realistic. The author did an especially skillful job of weaving a fictional story into the lush Thai backdrop.

Editing: 4 3/4 Stars

My only negative comment is that there were a few too many errors, mostly punctuation, but they weren't frequent enough to be distracting.

Bangkok Burn is a novel with 4,271 Kindle locations. Lending and text-to-speech are enabled. Read more ›

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Writing needs a lot of work September 9, 2012

By Terreciel

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I didn't finish this book. The writing is so poor, I didn't continue. Here is an example:

"I'd hooked up the back-up to a USB port and was trying passwords. Uncle Mike always used Rolling Stone's songs. It was the only way his Acid scarred mind could remember them; the passwords, not the 'Stones, he remembered all of their songs. Written as one word with prime numbers in between the words, it wasn't foolproof but I hadn't gotten in yet."

I can overlook some grammatical and punctuation errors, but there are so many that they affect the meaning. If I have to re-read a sentence for it to make sense, that's when it's crossed the line from a few errors to poor writing.

In addition, the main character is supposed to be 41 but sounds more like 18. The character development for the supporting characters is almost non-existent.

I expect the usual comments that I can't fairly evaluate a book without reading the whole thing. If I were being paid to edit this book, yes, I'd read it all. However, I shouldn't have to do extensive editing and proofing in my mind just to understand what the author is trying to say for a book that's already been published.

I do think Royale has potential. He does get in some good imagery such as this bit that talks about the different political factions in Bangkok: "CNN had the colors down to poor underdog red versus rich elite yellow. Not getting that there are more colors here than a Dulux paint catalog, with a flip side of shades of gray."

With a lot more work on his grammar and usage and a very good editor and proofreader, Royale may become a good writer. Right now, unfortunately, this book was published long before it was ready.

More About the Author

Simon Royle was born in Manchester, England in 1963. He has been variously a yachtsman, advertising executive, and a senior management executive in software companies. A futurist and a technologist, he lives in Bangkok, with his wife and two children.

Simon's first two novels Tag, and Bangkok Burn, have been well received by Amazon readers.

Tag is a technothriller set in the year 2109. What readers have called,

- "more futuristic than science-fiction, and the technological advances of 2110 are not far-fetched, they are easily imaginable."

- "...in "Tag." The technology felt like a logical evolution from today to one hundred years into the future."

- ""Tag," reminds me a bit of one my childhood favorite authors, Isaac Asimov, in that he's written a book that projects a future reflecting very plausible cultural and political scenario, given what trends we've seen in history."
(Above quotes stolen from recent reviews on Amazon US).

As Simon, says :), "With 'Tag' I drew on my travels and experiences in Singapore and Australia. Extrapolating from things I see today and placing them in the context of our world a hundred years from now."

Bangkok Burn - a noir thriller, set during the May 2010 riots in Bangkok, has proved a hit with readers; especially those who have traveled to Thailand.

- "A red-hot thriller set against the exotic backdrop of Bangkok, this is a blistering read from start to finish."

- "I loved this book from beginning to end, it kept me hooked and on the edge of my seat the whole way through. I can't wait for the sequel." (Author's note: "I'm working on it...")

I love to connect with you. Got a question, something to say, or just want to say hello, then send me an email: [e-mail]

I have a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Simon.Royle.Author

A website at www.simon-royle.com

I also have a twitter feed (where I frequently tweet about free books :)) @sgroyle

Looking forward to hear from you,

Simon