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Thai Horse
Christian Hatcher, the licensed killer they call the Shadow Warrior, is out of jail and looking for the betrayer that got him there. With his body wasted and his spirit nearly crushed, Hatcher returns to Hong Kong and Bangkok--deadly stops on the heroine pipeline--and comes closer to a solution that he fears to discover . . . .
"It's enough to make Ludlum seem humdrum." – Atlanta Journal & Constitution
"Diehl knows how to tell a story, and his novel moves." – The New York Times Book Review
526 pages, Paperback
First published December 12, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
March 18, 2021
After enjoying
Chameleon
, I decided to try another thriller by William Diehl:
Thai Horse
, published in 1987.
The novel concerns the trials and tribulations of Christian Hatcher, an ultra-lethal shadow operative who has been doing dirty deeds for a deep black military outfit called the “Shadow Brigade” since the Vietnam War. Hatcher’s Brigade director is a devious man named Sloan, who was responsible for Hatcher getting locked up in a brutal Central American prison for the past three years. Sloan has evidence that an old Annapolis buddy of Hatcher’s named Cody—who was allegedly killed when his plane was shot down in ‘Nam back in ’73—is still alive and may be involved in organized crime in Southeast Asia. Cody is the son of a revered four-star general with terminal cancer who wishes to see his son one last time. To avoid any embarrassing publicity, the job is given to the Shadow Brigade, and Sloan promptly gets Hatcher released from prison and offers him the mission.
(As a side note, I liked Hatcher’s description of Sloan:
Let’s face it, it’s shady recruiters like Sloan who make the shadow-fiction world go round!)
Hatcher gets on the case, and soon lands in Hong Kong, an old haunt where he once infiltrated the criminal underworld as a Shadow Brigade operative. He makes contact with an old American friend named “China” Cohen, a likeable scoundrel who is now the “white Tsu Fi”—the legendary boss of a Hong Kong triad. It turns out that the leaders of the most powerful triad have good personal reasons to want Hatcher dead, and he soon finds himself the target of a big-time hit. This leads to a scene reminiscent of the assault on Tony Montana’s estate in the classic 1983 film Scarface, as black-turtlenecked, submachine gun-toting hitmen storm Cohen’s walled compound.
Following a lead that a Dutch smugger may have information about Cody, Hatcher, Cohen and an old Asian flame named Daphne head upriver into outlaw territory ruled by the notoriously brutal gangster Sam-Sam Sam. Here the movie that came to mind was Apocalypse Now!, as the crew encounters colorful and violent characters of various races and nationalities on the river, Hatcher finds his target and things go sideways in an explosively bloody way.
The intrigue gets ever more complex as people near Hatcher are knocked off, Sloan continues to be devious, drug lords prepare a massive shipment, a terrorist attack hits Paris, the rival triad leader hunts Hatcher, Hatcher hunts Cody, a group of colorful expatriate Vietnam vets gets involved, and it all somehow revolves around the meaning of the mysterious term “Thai Horse”. Is it Cody? Someone else? An organization? An operation? A drug? Or just an old Thai legend? All is revealed in the 60 or 70 pages, as Hatcher solves the mysteries of Cody and the Thai Horse, his beef with the triad comes to an ultra-violent climax, and various personal scores are settled in brutal ways.
Like Chameleon, Thai Horse is very reminiscent of Eric Van Lustbader’s work from that era, and both authors were clearly influenced by thriller mega-seller Robert Ludlum. Like them, Diehl gets a little too melodramatic, wordy and implausible at times, but he knows how to keep the pages turning and construct a complex but entertaining yarn. If you like shadow warfare with an Asian flavor, deadly assassins, international conspiracies, war-time backstories, strong characters, brutal violence, stylish romance, a dash of explicit sex and just enough realism to make the story plausible without becoming dull, you should enjoy this novel.
The novel concerns the trials and tribulations of Christian Hatcher, an ultra-lethal shadow operative who has been doing dirty deeds for a deep black military outfit called the “Shadow Brigade” since the Vietnam War. Hatcher’s Brigade director is a devious man named Sloan, who was responsible for Hatcher getting locked up in a brutal Central American prison for the past three years. Sloan has evidence that an old Annapolis buddy of Hatcher’s named Cody—who was allegedly killed when his plane was shot down in ‘Nam back in ’73—is still alive and may be involved in organized crime in Southeast Asia. Cody is the son of a revered four-star general with terminal cancer who wishes to see his son one last time. To avoid any embarrassing publicity, the job is given to the Shadow Brigade, and Sloan promptly gets Hatcher released from prison and offers him the mission.
(As a side note, I liked Hatcher’s description of Sloan:
A hundred years ago, thought Hatcher, Sloan would have been hawking elixirs from the back of a wagon or selling shares in the Brooklyn Bridge. Now he sold dirty tricks with fictions of adventure and patriotism, seducing wide-eyed young men and women into the shadow wars, to become assassins, saboteurs, gunrunners, second-story men, safe crackers, even mercenaries, all for the glory of flag and country. Hatcher had met Sloan in the time of his innocence and had bought the lie.
Let’s face it, it’s shady recruiters like Sloan who make the shadow-fiction world go round!)
Hatcher gets on the case, and soon lands in Hong Kong, an old haunt where he once infiltrated the criminal underworld as a Shadow Brigade operative. He makes contact with an old American friend named “China” Cohen, a likeable scoundrel who is now the “white Tsu Fi”—the legendary boss of a Hong Kong triad. It turns out that the leaders of the most powerful triad have good personal reasons to want Hatcher dead, and he soon finds himself the target of a big-time hit. This leads to a scene reminiscent of the assault on Tony Montana’s estate in the classic 1983 film Scarface, as black-turtlenecked, submachine gun-toting hitmen storm Cohen’s walled compound.
Following a lead that a Dutch smugger may have information about Cody, Hatcher, Cohen and an old Asian flame named Daphne head upriver into outlaw territory ruled by the notoriously brutal gangster Sam-Sam Sam. Here the movie that came to mind was Apocalypse Now!, as the crew encounters colorful and violent characters of various races and nationalities on the river, Hatcher finds his target and things go sideways in an explosively bloody way.
The intrigue gets ever more complex as people near Hatcher are knocked off, Sloan continues to be devious, drug lords prepare a massive shipment, a terrorist attack hits Paris, the rival triad leader hunts Hatcher, Hatcher hunts Cody, a group of colorful expatriate Vietnam vets gets involved, and it all somehow revolves around the meaning of the mysterious term “Thai Horse”. Is it Cody? Someone else? An organization? An operation? A drug? Or just an old Thai legend? All is revealed in the 60 or 70 pages, as Hatcher solves the mysteries of Cody and the Thai Horse, his beef with the triad comes to an ultra-violent climax, and various personal scores are settled in brutal ways.
Like Chameleon, Thai Horse is very reminiscent of Eric Van Lustbader’s work from that era, and both authors were clearly influenced by thriller mega-seller Robert Ludlum. Like them, Diehl gets a little too melodramatic, wordy and implausible at times, but he knows how to keep the pages turning and construct a complex but entertaining yarn. If you like shadow warfare with an Asian flavor, deadly assassins, international conspiracies, war-time backstories, strong characters, brutal violence, stylish romance, a dash of explicit sex and just enough realism to make the story plausible without becoming dull, you should enjoy this novel.
November 6, 2020
Read in 1988. The Atlanta Journal said "It's enough to make Ludlum seem humdrum." Sex, violence, murder and mayhem abound in this suspenseful thriller. One of my favorites that year.
April 7, 2016
I was wandering in the library again when I saw a book with a bright red cover.
It was called Thai Horse and it was written by a William Diehl whom I had never heard
of. I red the flap and this was my kind of book so I bought it and am I ever glad that I
did. This was an action packed story throughout. William Diehl though I'm sorry to say
passed away in 2006. He wrote 10 books and I'll probably try to find them all. I only
read this one book so far but he seems to write the kind of books that I like and I gave
it a 4.5.
It was called Thai Horse and it was written by a William Diehl whom I had never heard
of. I red the flap and this was my kind of book so I bought it and am I ever glad that I
did. This was an action packed story throughout. William Diehl though I'm sorry to say
passed away in 2006. He wrote 10 books and I'll probably try to find them all. I only
read this one book so far but he seems to write the kind of books that I like and I gave
it a 4.5.
January 20, 2018
So we can't ignore the obvious: this book is full of racism and sexism in both subtle and overt ways. And not just in the sense of "flawed characters who say nasty things but they're messed up so we get it"; I mean in the sense of "ooh boy, this author's dream women really are blondes who make dinner and don't ask questions and always want sex, and Asian women who are SO EXOTIC and also always want sex." It gets worse, but I won't catalog all the problems. I mean, we could talk about Diehl's need for an editor, and his obsession with describing men as HUGE WITH BIG MUSCLES. And SCARS. It's just silly.
So why 2 stars instead of 1? Because I'm intrigued by the echoes of the Vietnam war in this book. As a kid in 1988, when this was published (according to one contemporary source, though some say 1987), I never had any knowledge of how Vietnam still was echoing through our national consciousness. But of course for so many--including people like the soldiers in this book--the conflict was still reverberating. So when the book showed some of the fallout in various characters' lives, I was actually interested for the first (and only? yes, only) time. The most interesting moment is probably during a scene when a number of scarred vets go on a tiger hunt toward the end of the book, and the scene is written in a way that makes that hunt clearly parallel to the fighting they had experienced not so very long before that moment. And that was actually a bit subtle and interesting, and it taught me something.
But no, of course you shouldn't bother to read it or anything.
(By the way, I'm reading and reviewing books published in 1988 throughout 2018 to get a sense of writing 30 years ago. This is 1 of many, hopefully. More 1988 stuff on Twitter at @1988is2018.)
So why 2 stars instead of 1? Because I'm intrigued by the echoes of the Vietnam war in this book. As a kid in 1988, when this was published (according to one contemporary source, though some say 1987), I never had any knowledge of how Vietnam still was echoing through our national consciousness. But of course for so many--including people like the soldiers in this book--the conflict was still reverberating. So when the book showed some of the fallout in various characters' lives, I was actually interested for the first (and only? yes, only) time. The most interesting moment is probably during a scene when a number of scarred vets go on a tiger hunt toward the end of the book, and the scene is written in a way that makes that hunt clearly parallel to the fighting they had experienced not so very long before that moment. And that was actually a bit subtle and interesting, and it taught me something.
But no, of course you shouldn't bother to read it or anything.
(By the way, I'm reading and reviewing books published in 1988 throughout 2018 to get a sense of writing 30 years ago. This is 1 of many, hopefully. More 1988 stuff on Twitter at @1988is2018.)
May 1, 2025
I'm female so I'll tell you right now this is a male fantasy book, 1980's style, but don't let that stop you from giving this book a try. Diehl is a writer of considerable talent, with a gift for creating fascinating characters and locations. I can't stress that enough; it's well-written escapism. And you learn a thing or two about the underbelly of Hong Kong and Bangkok, and also the damaged American souls who got dragged into the stupid Vietnam conflict and now can't leave. If you are of Asian descent, you may flinch at the characterizations of Asian women and men. NTL, Asia does have gangs; it can't be denied. But the Asian females - one Amercan and one Chinese - are pretty, whip-smart, younger, sexually ready, and don't ask questions about Hatcher's violent and disturbing past. In other words, a male, middle-aged dream come true. There's violence throughout, and it gets bad towards the end; I personally don't like how one of the female characters was handled - didn't think that was necessary and felt that choice bordered on creepy. I myself, as a female, find the Tom-Cruise-type-action-adventure boring after a while - the constant violence either makes you turn away, or tune out. I tune out. How many blows can one guy take?! I stop believing. BUT, the people and places kept me turning the pages. I wonder, are there men (or women) out there like Hatcher? I don't know, but I enjoyed going along on his ride; just glad I don't have to live his life! If you are taking a long flight (to Asia?) or lucky enough to sit on a beach all summer, you might be glad you picked up this book. I know I am.
March 3, 2021
I've read a lot of so-so books in the last year that were churned out for volume. They were shallow, predictable, and a drudge to read. Thai Horse was a magnificent read, a real surprise! The storyline is exotic, fast-paced, intriguing, making it a real page-turner. The characterizations like the story itself are complex and so well developed. The characters of Hatcher and Sloan are developed to the soul level. The reader becomes a virtual relative of Hatcher, knowing him better than family members. I struggled to put this book down each night to get some sleep. Except for one small area in the middle of the book that wasn't edited, this book is a treasure.
I can't recommend it highly enough. This is what great literature is about.
I can't recommend it highly enough. This is what great literature is about.
January 9, 2021
One of my favorites!
I just turned 40 yesterday, I first read this book when I was about 13. My father and his mother had a huge book collection between the two of them and so growing up I always had something new to read. Not just because of the nostalgia of that summer I declare this is a really great book. I find it has aged rather well (aside from a few PC issues i.e offensive names, some very inappropriate age based relationships but they are just there to convey what life was like at that particular time, in that particular place I think) it's full of action and vrry believable/relatable characters and suspense. I hope you try it
I just turned 40 yesterday, I first read this book when I was about 13. My father and his mother had a huge book collection between the two of them and so growing up I always had something new to read. Not just because of the nostalgia of that summer I declare this is a really great book. I find it has aged rather well (aside from a few PC issues i.e offensive names, some very inappropriate age based relationships but they are just there to convey what life was like at that particular time, in that particular place I think) it's full of action and vrry believable/relatable characters and suspense. I hope you try it
March 18, 2025
I really tried to get through this book because it was a friend recommend. I gave it 200 pages (exactly half way) and then just finally had to drop it. I think the book is fairly well written and maybe it was considered a thriller in the 80's...but half way through and it still definitely was not thrilling. The third person omniscient was the most annoying thing for me, honestly. I don't need or want to know the backstory to every single character and I think if Diehl had taken that out, this book could have been written in 100 pages easily.
April 5, 2021
The struggle to rate this book.
The writing I thought was pretty good, 4 stars.
I also enjoyed the plot, although I am sure someone who is East Asian may have some legitimate critiques to the author's portrayal of the countries and characters. 3 stars.
However. The way the female characters were written, absolutely atrocious. Just so bad. 1 star.
So on average, I guess I will give this novel 2.66 stars, rounded up to 3.
The writing I thought was pretty good, 4 stars.
I also enjoyed the plot, although I am sure someone who is East Asian may have some legitimate critiques to the author's portrayal of the countries and characters. 3 stars.
However. The way the female characters were written, absolutely atrocious. Just so bad. 1 star.
So on average, I guess I will give this novel 2.66 stars, rounded up to 3.
May 3, 2020
What do you have to say about the book in which the climax starts and ends in 50 pages and then it is unnecessarily draged for another 50 pages? How about unnecessary description of places?
Apart from this, the book was good. Story of ok.
Apart from this, the book was good. Story of ok.
September 7, 2021
An interesting look at the effect the drug trade has had, and continues to have on the world, and many of the events which have forged those links. The fact that all this masquerades as an interesting novel is a fabulous bonus.
August 17, 2023
A wonderful and powerful pics of mystery and action, whose characters had me captivated from the very start. An exhilarating book with twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat down to the very last page.
January 12, 2017
This book kept you one the edge of your seat. I typically do not read books like this, but I'm glad I did. Finished it in less than 3 days.
January 9, 2020
Good read!!
Reminds me of a book I read. Long time ago called Shibumi Hatcher was like main character in that book. Plot was good, loved the characters from the Longhorn!
Reminds me of a book I read. Long time ago called Shibumi Hatcher was like main character in that book. Plot was good, loved the characters from the Longhorn!
June 8, 2020
A little slow and confusing to start, but a good read.
January 27, 2024
I read the first thirty pages and decided it wasn't for me. Someone else may enjoy this novel more, so I am taking it back to the library.
January 27, 2024
Enjoyable, but a lot of detail.
June 20, 2024
S#!? HOT
Only seldomly predictable but still does the job of entertainment as well as holding the attention, I gotta give it 5 stars
Only seldomly predictable but still does the job of entertainment as well as holding the attention, I gotta give it 5 stars
November 25, 2025
a decent read from my past.
still good
still good
December 30, 2020
An oldie from my personal library, but still a goodie!
Read
October 20, 2024Inhoud:
Tijdens de oorlog in Vietnam knapt superspion Christian Hatcher de klussen op die niemand anders aandurft. Hij opereert alleen, in het grootste geheim en staat bekend als de Schaduwvechter, de man met de ogen van steen. Hatcher maakt weinig vrienden; hij maakt vooral veel vijanden. De enige man voor wie hij respect kan opbrengen is zijn baas, mentor en alter ego Harry Sloan.
Maar Sloan laat zijn beste geheim agent vallen als deze hem het hardst nodig heeft, en Hatcher belandt in Los Boxes, ee beruchte gevangenis in Zuid-Amerika.
Als hij na drie helse jaren eindelijk vrijkomt wordt Hatcher een schilderijendief. Hij leidt een gevaarlijk, luxueus leven en houdt met heel zijn hart va Ginia, een mooie, rustige vrouw. Sloan, die Harchers vrijlating uit Los Boxes bewerkstelligde, zoekt zijn pupil weer op en dwingt hem een laatste opdracht te vervullen.
De Schaduwvechter moet de generaalszoon Murphy Cody - ooit zijn beste vriend - opsporen, die vijftien jaar geleden als vermist werd opgegeven in Vietnam.
Christian Hatcher keert terug naar de sinistere schaduwwereld van het Verre Oosten; naar Hongkong, Bangkok en de stomende jungle van Thailand - waar de papavervelden bleoeien en waar oude doodsvijanden dreigend op de loer liggen.
Waardering:
Omdat ik, toen ik het boek las, nog geen beoordelingen en mening gaf over boeken is het voor mij niet mogelijk om nu een juiste waardering aan het boek te geven. Ik hoop in de aankomende jaren tijd te vinden om de serie weer op te pakken om opnieuw te lezen, zodat ik ook dit boek een waardering kan geven.
Boekinformatie:
Uitgeverij: Phoenix
Isbn: 90.6879.124.9
Totaal aantal pagina's: 348
Tijdens de oorlog in Vietnam knapt superspion Christian Hatcher de klussen op die niemand anders aandurft. Hij opereert alleen, in het grootste geheim en staat bekend als de Schaduwvechter, de man met de ogen van steen. Hatcher maakt weinig vrienden; hij maakt vooral veel vijanden. De enige man voor wie hij respect kan opbrengen is zijn baas, mentor en alter ego Harry Sloan.
Maar Sloan laat zijn beste geheim agent vallen als deze hem het hardst nodig heeft, en Hatcher belandt in Los Boxes, ee beruchte gevangenis in Zuid-Amerika.
Als hij na drie helse jaren eindelijk vrijkomt wordt Hatcher een schilderijendief. Hij leidt een gevaarlijk, luxueus leven en houdt met heel zijn hart va Ginia, een mooie, rustige vrouw. Sloan, die Harchers vrijlating uit Los Boxes bewerkstelligde, zoekt zijn pupil weer op en dwingt hem een laatste opdracht te vervullen.
De Schaduwvechter moet de generaalszoon Murphy Cody - ooit zijn beste vriend - opsporen, die vijftien jaar geleden als vermist werd opgegeven in Vietnam.
Christian Hatcher keert terug naar de sinistere schaduwwereld van het Verre Oosten; naar Hongkong, Bangkok en de stomende jungle van Thailand - waar de papavervelden bleoeien en waar oude doodsvijanden dreigend op de loer liggen.
Waardering:
Omdat ik, toen ik het boek las, nog geen beoordelingen en mening gaf over boeken is het voor mij niet mogelijk om nu een juiste waardering aan het boek te geven. Ik hoop in de aankomende jaren tijd te vinden om de serie weer op te pakken om opnieuw te lezen, zodat ik ook dit boek een waardering kan geven.
Boekinformatie:
Uitgeverij: Phoenix
Isbn: 90.6879.124.9
Totaal aantal pagina's: 348
January 29, 2014
This is another Diehl winner. I have now read 6 of his books. I am only sorry that Mr. Diehl started writing in his 50's and died before finishing his 10th book. The six I have read are all page-turners.The background of this novel is the aftermath of the Vietnam War and how it affected a group of service men. After a confusing (to me) beginning, Thai Horse settles into fast read with well-defined characters. With the exception of Diehl's Primal Fear, Show of Evil, and Reign in Hell (all involving one evil character), his other novels are totally different from one another. Each, however, is a fine spy/adventure/mystery novel. I have added Diehl to my other favorite suspense/mystery authors, Demille, Baldacci,Silva, Berenson, Child, Martini, Rosenberg, Thor, Ludlum, Forsyth, Follett and Archer.
July 6, 2015
Attempted to read this last year, obviously couldn't get through it. I liked the beginning when the main character was in prison, I thought those chapters were interesting and well written. Just afterward, I realized that I wasn't really into spy/thriller/adventures with white guys as the main character. Especially if they go to Asia, because then it gets racist. I ended up donating this and two similar books I had in my to-read piles. I should have known better, I hated The Bourne Identity.
August 24, 2014
Diehl does it again !!
Diehl does it again !!
Another can't put it down adventure, mixing So much truth and history with intrigue! Wonderful characters, so real you'll feel you know them personally. If you think it's all fantasy.....think again! If you see this authors name on a book BUY IT! (no we're not related) !
Diehl does it again !!
Another can't put it down adventure, mixing So much truth and history with intrigue! Wonderful characters, so real you'll feel you know them personally. If you think it's all fantasy.....think again! If you see this authors name on a book BUY IT! (no we're not related) !
March 20, 2016
This book was interesting from the first page to the last. Sex, violence, milder and mayhem abound.main character was a shadow warrior during Vietnam . Betrayed by his handler in South America he makes a big change. Handler brings him back for the rest of the tale.
July 12, 2008
Similar to a Robert Ludlam spy type books
October 27, 2008
U.S. soldier mysteriously disappears during the Vietnam war, and, many years later, a man named Hatcher, a fellow soldier goes back to Vietnam to solve mystery. Okay.
March 7, 2009
I really enjoyed this book. The historical content was good and the mystery was wonderful. It has been over 15 years since I read it but I still remember the story.
March 30, 2010
Christian Hatcher, a Viet Nam intelligence veteran, returns to
government service to determine whether another Viet Nam
vet is dead or alive in the Far East. Action packed thriller.
government service to determine whether another Viet Nam
vet is dead or alive in the Far East. Action packed thriller.
July 21, 2022
I read Thai Horse for the first time back in the early 90's and it sill holds up pretty well. We've moved on from Vietnam, but the scars were surprisingly fresh back then.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews