Dragon Dance

by Peter Tasker

The year is 2006. Global recession is spreading and Japan is sunk in economic and social crisis. While Japan is weakening, China is growing ever stronger. A secret group headed by an aged war hero plots to destabilize relations between Japan and the United States in order to strengthen China's position in Asia and ultimately to achieve world hegemony.

Once considered one of the safest cities in the world, Tokyo is plagued by a rising crime rate, regular security alerts, and increased homelessness and poverty. Riding on an unprecedented wave of popular opinion and political support, ultranationalist celebrity politician Tsuyoshi Nozawa campaigns to break the military alliance with the U.S. and make Japan a nuclear power.

While closely following Nozawa's progress, journalist Martine Meyer receives mysterious emails predicting fatal "accidents" and begins to suspect a conspiracy. As she struggles to deal with a pompous new bureau chief and begins to realize that her love affair with microbrewery owner Makoto is on the verge of either blossoming or wilting, Martine finds herself drawn into a sinister web of events that lead her ultimately face-to-face with the barrel of a terrorist's gun.

Genres: Thriller

ebook

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

PETER TASKER is a founding partner of Arcus Investments, an investment management firm that specializes in Japanese securities. He has written several books on Japanese economics and society, including Japan 2020 (1997) and The End of the Japanese Golden Era (1992). He is the author of several novels and works of non-fiction in both English and Japanese, and has written for Newsweek, Financial Times, The Economist and other publications.

Reviews

[Neil · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

I really tried with this,having two attempts to read it.
Unfortunately I just found it slow and heavy going.
One of the few books I did not finish this year.

[Brian Kitchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martine Meyer a journalist living in Japan starts to receive mysterious emails predicting fatal “accidents”, around the time she is doing a feature on famous singer and celebrity politician Tsuyoshi Nozawa. When the predictions start to become true, Martine begins to realise that someone is trying to destabilize relations between Japan and the USA. I won’t give any more of the plot away but can say that the novel was engrossing and held my attention to the last page.
The author obviously knows Japan very well, which gives the novel an authentic and very atmospheric feel. Although the novel is set in the near past (2006), the story it tells could well be happening today and shows how easily the public can be manipulated by an unscrupulous media.
I really enjoyed the novel and would highly recommend it.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit complicated and a bit scary as a view on what our world could be become.

[John Fahey]

Great series by Peter Tasker set in Japan.