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newson66's review against another edition
1.0
The previous books in the series have been pretty hit or miss - Bangkok 8 and Haunts were excellent whilst Bangkok Tattoo was not. I'd have to regettably give this one star as it is just too far removed from the rest of the series to be believable. Would perhaps have worked better as a stand alone novel as it has strayed in far fetched sci-fi.
wannabekingpin's review against another edition
4.0
All Reviews in One Place: Night Mode Reading; LT
About: A person is brutally murdered, their head torn off their shoulders with demonic strength. And a message is left for Sonchai at the crime scene, written in blood: “I know who father is“. To help him with this case, yet another one that directly revolves around him, a Chinese inspector Krom is assigned to Sonchai. And she soon confirms Sonchai’s suspicion that there’s something inhuman at work here.
The deeper Sonchai gets, the closer he gets to his father, with whom killer baited him closer, deeper into the case, the more he realizes that the world as he knew it has long as ended. This is the new era, era where the only power, respect, and religion is money. The second coming or the apocalypse itself is at the gate. And Sonchai is to choose a role: will you be John the Baptist, or Judas?
Mine: Some of the characters simply disappeared. Everyone forgot about them completely, and it’s really annoying. Especially since the new ones were very basic one-sided, and lacked any depth. The author is really struggling to write any women, and the ones that he does write, end up becoming either lamps or one-tune sounds. Then there’s the whole “every case revolves around Sonchai” deal. People need to stop killing to get his attention. Ending was pretty great though, not the very far end, but the culmination of it, before Sonchai jumped the bathroom. It put the other books together: you had a man whose word was always valued, a man who was loved even when he was hated, a man who was a saint, finally, become a saint. This new Cult, these New Age Apostles, they reach their hands to him with a promise: come, we’ll love you, just sit on the throne, and be our God.
In Lithuania we only have three books translated for us, and I think that was a good call on the publishers. The first three books really tie up the good story with the “happily ever after” attached to it. The rest are darker, and by far, not always good. Yet I don’t feel like I wasted time reading these, they were worth it, even when I hated it. So all in all, final book gets a 4 out of 5 from me.
About: A person is brutally murdered, their head torn off their shoulders with demonic strength. And a message is left for Sonchai at the crime scene, written in blood: “I know who
The deeper Sonchai gets, the closer he gets to his father, with whom killer baited him closer, deeper into the case, the more he realizes that the world as he knew it has long as ended. This is the new era, era where the only power, respect, and religion is money. The second coming or the apocalypse itself is at the gate. And Sonchai is to choose a role: will you be John the Baptist, or Judas?
Mine: Some of the characters simply disappeared. Everyone forgot about them completely, and it’s really annoying. Especially since the new ones were very basic one-sided, and lacked any depth. The author is really struggling to write any women, and the ones that he does write, end up becoming either lamps or one-tune sounds. Then there’s the whole “every case revolves around Sonchai” deal. People need to stop killing to get his attention. Ending was pretty great though, not the very far end, but the culmination of it, before Sonchai jumped the bathroom. It put the other books together: you had a man whose word was always valued, a man who was loved even when he was hated, a man who was a saint, finally, become a saint. This new Cult, these New Age Apostles, they reach their hands to him with a promise: come, we’ll love you, just sit on the throne, and be our God.
In Lithuania we only have three books translated for us, and I think that was a good call on the publishers. The first three books really tie up the good story with the “happily ever after” attached to it. The rest are darker, and by far, not always good. Yet I don’t feel like I wasted time reading these, they were worth it, even when I hated it. So all in all, final book gets a 4 out of 5 from me.
liberrydude's review against another edition
4.0
Another strange one in this series that morphs into science fiction and horror. The laid back but intrepid Sonchai meets Frankenstein in the flesh and descends into a heart of darkness in the Cambodian jungle. The ending leaves you wondering where exactly the next adventure in the series will go.
nankayrobbrand's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Liked a detective who is not similar to any I’ve read before
zade's review against another edition
4.0
Burdett returns with another installment in the life of Bangkok detective and monk manqué, Sonchai Jeetplicheep. While all of the Bangkok novels are quite good, this one returns to the previous high standard of the earlier works. Sonchai finds himself embroiled in international intelligence and struggles with his own sense of incompleteness arising from not knowing the identity of his American father. As usual, the plot is convoluted and pushes the boundaries of believability, dealing as it does with the development and evolution of transhuman soldiers, but the setting and ethos of SE Asia allows the blurring of real/unreal to seem perfectly normal. Burnett laces his narrative with Buddhist contemplations and cuttingly adept observations of the Western mind. Without having spent time in Thailand, I can't say whether his presentation of Thai psychology is accurate (Burdett is, after all, a Western expat himself), but his outsider's view rings true.
There is a certain discomfort to enjoying Burdett's novels and The Bangkok Asset is no exception. Burdett's attitude towards women and sex, particularly towards bar girls, challenges the mores of Western readers. He somehow manages to treat women as people and as objects at the same time and his approach to sexual relations is equally paradoxical. This works in the context of the novel, but it also leaves the reader feeling slightly tainted. Since I'm female, this may be a gendered response as well as a culturally determined one. In any case, it's never enough to stop me reading the next novel. The entertainment value and glimpse into Burdett's rendering of Thai culture make the trade-off a good one.
There is a certain discomfort to enjoying Burdett's novels and The Bangkok Asset is no exception. Burdett's attitude towards women and sex, particularly towards bar girls, challenges the mores of Western readers. He somehow manages to treat women as people and as objects at the same time and his approach to sexual relations is equally paradoxical. This works in the context of the novel, but it also leaves the reader feeling slightly tainted. Since I'm female, this may be a gendered response as well as a culturally determined one. In any case, it's never enough to stop me reading the next novel. The entertainment value and glimpse into Burdett's rendering of Thai culture make the trade-off a good one.
borisfeldman's review against another edition
3.0
Who doesn't love Sonchai Jitpleecheep?
To Burdett's credit, he is trying to keep his character from getting stale. This novel is quite different from the earlier ones in the Bangkok X series. Regrettably, it falls short. The fundamental plot is Marvellian. There is a lot of LSD in the book, and some of it may have found its way to the creator.
To Burdett's credit, he is trying to keep his character from getting stale. This novel is quite different from the earlier ones in the Bangkok X series. Regrettably, it falls short. The fundamental plot is Marvellian. There is a lot of LSD in the book, and some of it may have found its way to the creator.
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