Customer Reviews

GRAVE IMPORTS (The Ray Sharp Novels)

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GRAVE IMPORTS kept me up late. Author Eric Stone leads the reader on a thrilling journey to the remote corners of Cambodia, Thailand, and Hong Kong. One can smell the gunpowder, eavesdrop on the cacophony of Chinese dialects, observe the limbless beggars, and taste the sting of pungent chili.
In GRAVE IMPORTS, protagonist Ray Sharp is compelled to investigate a smuggling enterprise that is robbing ancient Cambodian temples of their priceless artifacts. Still recovering from an experience that plagues him with nightmares and occasionally drives him to the bottle, Sharp must confront not only his own demons, but a lawless world of opportunists and manipulators. Though many of the characters are unique and deeply sympathetic, some tread a narrow line between survival and corruption. Sharp can't pass judgment, as the lines he once drew between right and wrong have blurred or moved. I heartily recommend the journey through GRAVE IMPORTS, which will leave you with a racing pulse. It will also have you pondering the clouded moralities of war and enterprise.

Stolen Cambodian art--statues, parts of temples, icons--illegally sent through Thailand, Vietnam and China to Hong Kong where it is sold, at the time, legally, brings Ray Sharp to his second adventure. The exotic Far East background provides the reader with real glimpses into the people and locales.

Sharp leaves his journalistic career as a result of an unfortunate incident, which leaves him in a depressed state. A good friend, a former CIA spook, now trying to build a corporate investigation firm, hires Ray. He is assigned a routine look into a Chinese art supplies company in which an American client is considering investing. Instead of mundane art supplies, he finds secret stashes of antiquities. The trail leads to an ex-South Vietnamese General now living in Thailand and to the Khmer Rouge, the ancient temples, and the killing fields of Cambodia.

The author's knowledge of the Far East seems to be quite genuine, and the descriptions of the streets and people of Hong Kong, Bangkok and other locations compelling. The story is believable and the characters real. Insights into the cultures of the area, as well as the horrible plunder of artifacts, are lessons well-told.

Ray Sharp is working as an investigator for Due Diligence International, a job that requires a lot of the same skills Ray used to use as a journalist/editor for Asia's largest circulation business monthly. His latest assignment involves looking into the background of one firm because another firm wants to invest some big money. Seems like a fairly easy job.

What Sharp discovers is the huge trade in Asian antiquities. Some places it's legal to sell them, some places not. The borderline between those places is dangerous. Naturally, Sharp winds up there. He runs afoul of a former general, he winds up in a prison camp, and he gets shot at once or twice. None of the women he has more than nodding relationships with come out of this whole.

Stone writes about the dark underbelly of Asia. Readers of THE LIVING ROOM OF THE DEAD will be delighted that Stone's second book is at least as good as his first. Ray Sharp is one of those people who can't just walk away from something; this makes for a tough personal life but a great book. GRAVE IMPORTS is loosely based upon events that happened to Stone; his ability to transform fact into fiction is superb. GRAVE IMPORTS is not always pleasant to read in terms of content; Stone's writing is good enough to make this reader not want to put the book down, no matter what.

GRAVE IMPORTS is Eric Stone's second outing with his character, Ray Sharp. You are immediately inside Sharp's head, seeing what he sees, feeling what he feels. And there is a lot to see from Hong Kong to Cambodia. You can see, taste, and smell the exotic locations as Sharp starts digging into the illegal trade of antiquities.

But Sharp has his own ruins to get through. His rough past keeps haunting him while he tries to sort out the mess around him. And it gets worse before it gets better. The pages start to fly as he gets closer to the truth.

This is a great read from a guy who lived in Asia and reported from there for eleven years. You can tell Stone's been there from his brilliant descriptions of people, places and things.

Grave Imports is well worth the trip.

If you like lots of violence interspersed with a thin plot, this is the book for you! Too bad, because the premise is a good one."

Eric Stone has crafted another gem of a novel. The exotic Asian settings are extremely well-drawn, although often not very enticing to this reader. The interesting characters have distinctive voices, and their well-expressed dialogue drives the plot through an escalating series of conflicts to the understandable climax.

Ray Sharp, the series' protagonist, is a fascinatingly complex semi-hero. His impulsive behavior couple with bursts of introspection to mark him as a flawed but recognizable modern man.

I'm eager to read book 3 in the series to witness the next step in Ray Sharp's maturation.

Eric Stone has done another masterful job of capturing the pulse, passions and aroma of another asian culture. The description of the territories Ray Sharp travels through, his interactions with creadible characters, and his sense of self and social issues is thought provoking. In it's entirity it makes the reader want to walk in his footsteps, support the causes he ties them to; while avoiding the dangerous element of course.

After finishing the first two books in this series, I'm certainly hoping a third will be written soon! Eric Stone's blog indicates that he is working on a book tentatively titled 'Shanghaied'. We can only hope it will take Ray Sharp on a new thilling adventure in another part of asia. I have passed through a lot of these same areas and can say with some experience that this series depicts realistic backgrounds for a most exciting read!

In Eric Stone's second novel we once again learn about far-flung places; this time it's Cambodia, and the illicit art trade robbing the country of its national treasures. Stone's journalism background shines through, yet he casts his scenes vividly, allowing readers to suspend enough disbelief to lose themselves in the story.