Saudi Match Point
by Paul Ulrich
280 pages, paperback
ISBN 9628673254
HK$80 / US$10
Can the Chinese foil a US
oil grab?
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A
young China expert learns a shocking secret: the US will
use a hostage crisis as a pretext to invade the Saudi
kingdom and seize control of its oilfields.
Meanwhile, the daughter of a radical cleric is desperate
to escape a pending arranged marriage. As she attempts
to flee the country, her half-brother becomes embroiled
in an Al-Qaeda plot to drive out the American infidels -
a plan the newly assertive Chinese are determined to
stop.
Once Upon a Time in
Cairo by Sayed Gouda 304 pages,
paperback
ISBN 9628673246 HK$95 / US$12
Cairo, 1948. Two families lay claim to a plot of land on
which they share a house. The ruthless master of
El-Wehda Street takes the side of Musa against El-Arabi,
and an honest man dies defending his shop. Three
generations live through conflict, celebration,
betrayal, murder and, finally, love…
Amina cannot blind her
sons to the beauty of Delilah’s daughters, but do they
have the right to love if justice does not prevail? Can
Safwat rise above 'an eye for an eye'? Will he choose
peace -- or seek a just revenge?
As the Hong Kong handover
boom fizzles into the Asian economic bust, a young American couple's
marriage and careers tumble into a maze of television news,
betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie.
TV news veteran Muhammad
Cohen's engaging, often hilarious novel captures the mood ahead of
the July 1, 1997 handover when Hong Kong reigned as the centre of
the universe, a multicultural melting pot bubbling with pure gold.
As the Asian crisis abruptly ends the party, mainland China emerges,
eclipsing Hong Kong. For everyone whose job or business falls under
China's lengthening economic shadow, Hong Kong On Air
presents a fresh angle on how it all began. For media watchers,
Hong Kong On Air broadcasts the backstage secrets of television
news the way The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
illustrated the dark side of comic books.
