Dragon Dance

BookPage

Author Peter Tasker paints a bleak and plausible picture of a near-future Japan in his new book Dragon Dance. The year is 2006. In the shadow of Mt. Fuji, there is uncharacteristic dissension among the usually taciturn Japanese. Homeless people aimlessly wander the streets of Tokyo, and crime runs rampant. China is beginning to replace Japan as the premier mover and shaker of Asia, and the carefully woven treaties between the U.S. and Japan are beginning to unravel. French reporter Martine Meyer, stationed at the Tokyo office of an international newspaper, receives the assignment to interview a wildly popular new politician, Tsuyoshi Nozawa, a charismatic Dylan-esque folksinger who has ascended to Japan's senate, the Diet. In the midst of the proceedings, Martine receives an unusual e-mail warning her away from a particular part of town; a second suggests that she avoid orange juice for a while. When a deadly explosion takes place, and there is widespread panic over poisoned OJ, Martine realizes she is unwittingly at the center of an international conspiracy designed to make major alterations in the world order.

Dragon Dance succeeds on many levels. Tasker's novel cleverly offers romance, more than a bit of sexual tension, a fascinating mystery and a compelling tale of the Byzantine relationships that characterize international coexistence.

Kirkus Reviews

Post-boom malaise leaves Japan vulnerable to empty-headed politics, aging terrorists, and the predations of her big jealous neighbor on the mainland.

Life in the near future is nothing like the '80s for the Japanese. Lifetime employment is dead, real-estate values have evaporated, and college graduates are shining shoes. One of the few holdovers from sunnier times is the hideously unhelpful government established by the ever-less admired Americans after the war. Locked into an endless cycle of back-scratching, competition-mashing, and guilt-absolving, the iron triangle of politicians, bureaucrats, and big industrialists seems impotent in the face of the financial recession. But at this darkest moment, a political star is rising out of the world of, god help us, pop music. Nozawa, a sort of Nipponese Springsteen with an even larger sense of his mission on earth than The Boss, seems to be pulling together a viable opposition to the historic ruling party. With guidance from his savvy manager, Nozawa has spun the adulation of his fans into political gold. Martine Meyer, stateless polyglot reporter for The Tribune, is one of the few who publicly question the strangely quick rise of the pop star to the top of the power heap. Anonymous but helpful e-mails have combined with her deep reportorial instincts to spur an investigation of the charismatic crooner, a labor that nearly estranges her from her microbrewer boyfriend. As the singer's sun rises, unsavory events multiply. A black American soldier is framed for murdering a schoolgirl, an American warplane crashes into a city center. Just as Martine is getting a grasp on the story, the new bureau chief is pulling the rug from under her. Will she uncover the machinations of an evil Chinese faction that's combined with the radical dreams of an aging lady terrorist before Japan blows up?

As usual with Japanese-thriller expert Tasker (Buddha Kiss, 1998, etc.), an expat British securities executive, the real fun is in the superb local scenery, not the heavy-breathing plot.

Publishers Weekly

Though this new thriller from Tasker (Samurai Boogie) is a mixed bag, it does boast a winning premise. Backed by a powerful Chinese general and capitalizing on Japan's economic malaise and discontent, terrorist Reiko Matsubara plots a political revolution that will make Japan a nuclear power and undermine the country's cozy relationship with the U.S. The plan is to carefully orchestrate the political career of a popular entertainer, a sort of Japanese Ronald Reagan, until he becomes a figurehead prime minister controlled by Matsubara's sinister terrorist group. Martine Meyer, an American reporter for a U.S. newspaper, is a longtime resident of Japan who has influential contacts at every level of Japanese society. When she begins investigating the entertainer, Tsuyoshi Nozawa, and the peculiar people who surround him, a mysterious source feeds her information by e-mail, giving her a warning of tragedies to come: a black American soldier is framed for the murder of a Japanese child; a U.S. military plane crashes in a heavily populated area; there are poisonings at a popular food outlet. The scads of subplots include Meyer's love affair with a Japanese microbrewery owner and the story of a young Japanese woman married to a wealthy Caucasian businessman. The setup takes virtually the entire book, with the real action limited to the final 20 pages. There are some preposterous plot twists, but overall Tasker delivers a readable thriller with plenty of local color and a sharp sense of the cultural mood of early 21st-centrury Japan.

The Asahi Herald

On the surface, it all appears to be part of a nefarious master plan worthy of James Bond's nemesis, Blofeld. However, Tasker does one better than the usual devices, capturing in "Dragon Dance" various self-interested parties in the United States, Japan and China trying to wreak their own particular band of havoc. An Orwellian vision for sure, but one with a whisper of verisimilitude we can believe. Yes, it could happen to you, and yes, it could happen here. Be ready.

The Daily Yomiuri

An absorbing and visceral read.....Tasker is a skilled chef, sampling from different recipes to serve up something far-fetched yet close enough to reality to be conceivable.

The Japan Times

The story climaxes in a political assassination scenario whose abrupt twists and turns evoke memories of Richard Condon's 1959 masterpiece, "The Manchurian Candidate."

Publishers Weekly

Though this new thriller from Tasker (Samurai Boogie) is a mixed bag, it does boast a winning premise. Backed by a powerful Chinese general and capitalizing on Japan's economic malaise and discontent, terrorist Reiko Matsubara plots a political revolution that will make Japan a nuclear power and undermine the country's cozy relationship with the U.S. The plan is to carefully orchestrate the political career of a popular entertainer, a sort of Japanese Ronald Reagan, until he becomes a figurehead prime minister controlled by Matsubara's sinister terrorist group. Martine Meyer, an American reporter for a U.S. newspaper, is a longtime resident of Japan who has influential contacts at every level of Japanese society. When she begins investigating the entertainer, Tsuyoshi Nozawa, and the peculiar people who surround him, a mysterious source feeds her information by e-mail, giving her a warning of tragedies to come: a black American soldier is framed for the murder of a Japanese child; a U.S. military plane crashes in a heavily populated area; there are poisonings at a popular food outlet. The scads of subplots include Meyer's love affair with a Japanese microbrewery owner and the story of a young Japanese woman married to a wealthy Caucasian businessman. The setup takes virtually the entire book, with the real action limited to the final 20 pages. There are some preposterous plot twists, but overall Tasker delivers a readable thriller with plenty of local color and a sharp sense of the cultural mood of early 21st-century Japan. (Apr.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.