Silent Thunder: A Novel [Hardcover]

Peter Tasker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1992

A private investigator, a financial analyst, and a stockbroker take on a mysterious organization called Silent Thunder, led by a ruthless fanatic out to disrupt the world's economic systems and propel Japan into a complete domination over Asia.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Alternately a thriller, a whodunit and a soft-porn page-turner, this outstanding debut novel depicts Japanese power brokers who are attempting to wreck Western financial markets. The apparent suicide of an investment banker in Tokyo leads PI Mori to a secret "patriotic society" called Silent Thunder, which has colluded with Maruichi Securities to drive up the price of dollars in order to provoke a market free fall. At a covert mountainside meeting, Mori eavesdrops on a speech by top Thunderer Iwanaga-Sensei, who plans to reassert the primacy of Japanese culture and economically enslave the West. As Mori and others try to foil this insidious plot, they must venture into the world of high-stakes money-market trading (depicted in interesting, unintimidating detail) and make a risky attempt to tap Maruichi's central computer. A provocative subplot involves an American image-maker and a presidential candidate who are both deep in Iwanaga's pocket. British-born financial analyst Tasker has a fine grasp of the values and cultural contradictions of contemporary Japan. (One scene depicts the Silent Thunderers railing against Western obsession with pleasure while eating salami off the bellies of nude women.) Characters and dialogue ring true in a tale packed with plenty of spills and thrills. Paperback rights to Berkley.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Imperialist Japanese corporate warriors wielding awesome economic weapons threaten the shaky stability of the new world order. Financial strategist and Orient resident Tasker (The Japanese, 1988) pits a seedy Tokyo p.i. and a couple of disaffected employees against the rogue capitalists in this top-notch first novel. Mori is the only name given for the p.i. hired by the parents of an apparent suicide to look into the story behind their son's defenestration. The late Mr. Hara had every reason to live: a Tokyo University diploma, superb financial skills, a respectable marriage, a top position with the country's largest and most powerful securities firm. Suicide seems senseless. Mori, who was himself on the fast track until he was derailed by political activism in the Sixties, quickly discovers that Mr. Hara was at odds with his brother-in-law, Mr. Yoshimura, a nasty fellow with apparent ties to the Yakuza, Japan's organized criminals. Mr. Yoshimura works for a hotshot electronics firm headed by a brilliant and monstrously ambitious young fascist with ties to the charismatic founder of Hara's firm. Meanwhile, Mori's investigation is too effective for the comfort of the industrial and commercial moguls looking to use the balance of payments to tip America into the dustbin, and they send him some unmistakably threatening signals via their thugs. But Mori won't be signaled, and even when the Yakuza snatch his songstress girlfriend, he won't be stopped. The brooding, flashing, hyperdense Tokyo of serialized manga comic books, soulless sex, and samurai economics shares top billing with the very attractive investigator--in this fresh and very clever thriller. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha Amer Inc; 1st edition (September 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4770016859
• ISBN-13: 978-4770016850
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,735,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting perspective, March 28, 2001

By 

"[e-mail]" (Sandy Bay, Tasmania Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silent Thunder: A Novel (Hardcover)

It is rare for a foreigner, who is not a travel writer, to give us an 'insider's' view of Japan. Although I was not particularly interested in the financial parts of the novel, the exploits of the Japanese private detective really caught my imagination. Few Japanese writers of the genre have their works translated into English so this novel was welcome surprise. I look forward to his next book with some anticipation.