Customer Reviews

Jade Lady Burning

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a simply fantastic novel!! Noir, dark and darkly humorous, gritty, seedy, pulsing with human vice and need, and chock-full of knuckle-dusting action, gun fire, and labyrinthine mystery. The story line revolves about two men, military detectives, investigating the steaming underbelly of the local black market Korean/American military economy and the concurrent trade in prostitution, despite the endearing fact that they themselves are active and daily participants in the party. The characterization in Jade Lady Burning is superb, authenticity in setting and detail perfect, the action is exciting, the characters memorable, the story and plot excellent.

To this day I find it mind-boggling that this book and author have been so completely overlooked by both the publishing mainstream and the general readership. There are few delights more enjoyable that stumbling upon a book and author you have never heard of that is so wonderful, enjoyable, and captivating that it catapaults straight to your all-time favorite lists. Finding and reading this book was a revelatory experience like waking in July to Christmas morning, or finding an overlooked bottle of stupendous, world-class wine and buying the entire stock of six cases for $12 a bottle (Yamhill Valley 96 Pinot in case anyone is interested.) Yet books like this should be shared and savored by all.

Despite the puzzling lack of popular acclaim, this book is easily one of my favorite reads. I found it in the public library seven or eight years ago, devoured it, and then went on to read his next two as quickly as possible. What a thrill ride! Since then I have been disappointed that the author, Martin Limon, has not published any other novels....so imagine my surprise and delight when I see on Amazon today that he has a new one arriving in a month. I just pre-ordered mine. With the advent of his new novel perhaps Mr. Limon will win the attention and readership he deserves. I hope so, and to that end, I share with my fellow readers why this book is so darn good and why, if his upcoming book is in the same vein, that it deserves to be on the bestseller lists.

In Jade Lady Burning Mr. Limon introduces us to his protagonists, Ernie Bascom and George Sueno, military investigators stationed in Korea in the seventies. I am a sucker for complex characters that are vividly brought to life, who struggle through thorny and complicated moral situations, and who grow throughout the novel as their basic humanity is challenged by the assaults life throws at them. Mr. Limon delivers in spades with these two likeable rogues in the characterization department. Even more impressive is his command of setting and atmosphere. His depictation of Korea, a byzantine and complicated place with differing social mores, expectations, values, and outlooks, is spot on and he captures perfectly the soupy, complicated moral morass than can come about when two cultures meet and try to function side-by-side.....particularly when one of the cultures is represented by an occupying military force, with it's own needs, vices, social structures, and attitudes.

The Publishers Weekly review dings this book for a "strangely, leisurely pace"; I never criticize other reviews because I know how hard they are to write, but I believe this remark completely undermines this novel and is representative itself of those differing cultural outlooks I referenced above. This book is set in Asia, and in Korea in particular. Life moves at a more languid pace there than in America and matters of custom are sometimes more important than matters of truth, which Ernie and George themselves so often discover in the course of their investigation. The fact that the author could make the novel move at a Korean pace was a brilliant bit of writing that makes the setting absolutely believable. I actually feel like I am back in Korea as I read his novels; his spare yet hauntingly evocative writing is that good. Despite the ding, my belief is the Korean characters should act like Koreans, and more over, Ernie and George should act like what they are, two soldiers stationed in Asia, with access to a Disneyland of earthly delights but yet with some nominal duty to police it so that while the army can blow off steam, nothing gets out of control. Mr. Limon does exactly that and it is the friction and differences between the cultures that drive this novel so convincingly and make it so enjoyable. Order this book folks and treat yourself to a rare read.

This is one of the more original mysteries I have read. As a foreigner who has lived in Korea for three years, I still learned a thing or two from the author reading this book and enjoyed hearing about the dark side of Korea. Although presently things have really changed since the timing of the book, I still walked around Itaewon afterwards and spotted some of the places Limon had mentioned. You also end up having a love-hate relationship with the main character, he obviously feels bad for the prostitutes he comes in contact with and seems to care for their welfare, but yet doesn't mind going into a whorehouse for a quick screw and every woman he comes into contact with, whether a working girl or not, is quickly rated on her appearence. The main character also seems to carry around a lot of the stereotypical attitudes military men here seem to have, but yet he also has learned to immerse himself in the culture and language and seems to have great respect for Korea. I will look forward to reading the next two books by this author, and recommend this to anyone who likes suspense and intrigue mixed in with an exotic background.

Set in what looks to be 1970s-era Seoul, Limon's debut is a highly enjoyable procedural featuring two well-drawn US army CID officers. Normally confined to busting up black market operations, the two must battle army bureaucracy while trying to solve the murder of one of the hundreds of prostitutes who live off US GIs. The book is excellent at exploring the relationship between the army and the local service economy that it supports, and Limon's service in Korea brings raw authenticity to every page. Limon's use of both Korean and US army culture in service of the plot makes this well worth reading.

Ignore PW. The New York Times rated this book as one of their Notable Books of 1992, a rare acheivement, especially for a first time mystery writer. Martin Limon is one of the few writers I go out of my way to find. He is so good at capturing the Korean culture, the military culture and the way the two cultures affect each other that you feel that you served a tour of duty in 1970s Korea yourself. The mystery and the characters are wonderful, too.

Not only is the concept of the "closing of ranks" (regardless of offense)around military officers totally believable, but even the the "good guys" are flawed. I am a dedicated Asiafile and found that the insights offered by the Author run remarkably deep. The are only a small number of Authors that specialize in the Asian set fiction. Martin Limon is certainly one of the best in this genre and the only one that comes to mind with a series set in a Korean locale. Having read the trilogy, I can hardly wait for his next offering.

This is one of the better books i've read recently. For any military or ex-military personnel who have been to korea, this book will most likely bring back vivid memories of the experience. A difficult place to put into words, Martin Limon acurately describes the way life is over there as far as the american military experience is concerned. Beyond that is also a well thought out and written story that should keep any reader of detective novels very interested. I highly recommend this book as well as "slicky boys".

A murder mystery is, I find, an excellent way to explore different cultural terrains or historical eras. The reader turns the pages breathlessly to find out whodunnit, and in the meantime, soaks up new information about country, language, culture, and history. This proves to be the case here.

This is an intriguing novel set in Korea in the 1970's, as seen exclusively (and narrowly) from the American GI's perspective. Having served in Korea myself in the military justice system, and having Korean heritage, I can say that the author nails that perspective dead on. The bar culture off base, the prostitution, the seediness, it was there during my tour in the late 80's, and I have no doubt it was even more prevalent in the 70's in which this novel is set. The author also succeeded admirably in how he evoked military life, the way the criminal investigation division is set apart from the rest of the Army, how the bureaucracy works, and how the military interacts with Korean business and contracting. I also enjoyed his take on the military "black market" - in which young soldiers are persuaded to sell duty-free PX goods to Korean black marketeers off base, and are caught and punished by the military justice system, while the Koreans turn to the next round of young soldiers.

The murder mystery itself is solid, though within the mainstream of police procedurals in military settings involving independent-minded military detectives. The main characters are tough, hard-drinking, and just this-side of sympathetic. I wanted to know more about them - I guess we'll get to know more about what makes them tick in subsequent novels, though I'll have to think about whether I take up another one, because....

The point of view for this novel is, I find, a bit too limiting for me. It was difficult for me to stay with it for the entire novel, and I'm not sure I could stick with this perspective for another one- unless the character takes in more of the country beyond the bar scene (there are strong hints he might do so). I found myself longing for something more than following the two detectives from bar to bar. There are only brief glimpses of the rest of the country and its people, and I for one think the novel would have benefited from expanding the setting beyond what quickly becomes the familiar, dreary, atmosphere of bars, booze, and women in Itaewon (the area immediately around Eighth Army headquarters, which has lots more than just bars).

Overall, though, I enjoyed the book, and will read reviews to see if the subsequent installments expand the setting....

Having spent two years at 8th Army HQ in Korea , I found Limon's descriptions of the lifestyles of GI's and residents of Itaewon incredibly accurate and absorbing.

CID investigators Sueno and Bascom are vividly rendered characters, cynical yet intense as they unravel the mystery. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys murder mysteries or simply outstanding writing.

Martin Limon has depicted an intensely honest and sadly accurate portrayal of the 8th Army bureaucracy in the 1970's. If George and Ernie were to return for assignment to Yongsan in 1999, they would find that the facilities have grown and modernized, but the inner workings of the Army command structure remain as Machiavellian as ever. Jade Lady Burning is must reading for anyone who is interested in understanding the inner workings of the Army from a soldier's perspective. Read Tom Clancy and WEB Griffen if you are looking for an idealized picture of the US military; read Ralph Peters and Martin Limon if you are looking for the unvarnished truth.

One of the best of the genre I've ever read. The setting, an army base in Korea in the 70's, comes alive through Limon's deft descriptions. Feels like noir. Dark winter atmosphere, desperate characters and unexpected humor. You pull for the "good guys" even though they're not so likable.

I usually sell my old mysteries to the used book store--not this one. This one I keep.