Bestselling author, advisor to the US and foreign governments, human rights and war correspondent, award-winning poet and international energy expert, Mike Bond has lived and worked in over thirty countries on six continents. His works have been translated into several languages and have been praised by critics on both sides of the Atlantic for their intricate plots, fascinating characters, extraordinary settings, and explosive pace.
Based on his own experiences in dangerous, remote, and war-torn regions, his novels look deeply into the dark side of man as well as the good. They mix the terror and fury of battle and the intense joy of love, the vanishing beauty of the natural world, and the nature of the universe and its many meanings for human life. His lean unsentimental raw prose, free of best-seller formulas and literary pretension, conveys through the lives of real people what it means to be deeply alive, to hunger for a better world.
Dealing with political truths few else discuss, Mike Bond's
writings have been widely quoted by military experts, intelligence
analysts, and political thinkers. How do we live, his books ask, at
the deepest level? How does evil masquerade as good? What are
politics, government, and intelligence behind their many masks? The
secrets behind international deals, dirty wars, assassinations, and
coups? How does one lead a good life and care for others in a world
of danger and evil?
Kirkus Review - SAVING PARADISE: In the latest thriller from Bond
(The Last Savanna, 2013, etc.), an Afghanistan War
veteran-turned-surfer risks his life and freedom to search for a
journalist's murderer. When Pono Hawkins finds surfing-magazine
correspondent Sylvia Gordon's lifeless body floating off the shore
of Oahu, police quickly determine that she was murdered, but then
promptly change their minds and rule it an accidental drowning.
Pono makes it his mission to find the woman's killer, and his quest
takes him into a world of political and corporate corruption. As he
weeds through lies, suspects and threats, the police eventually
agree that the journalist was indeed murdered--and they accuse the
twice-jailed Pono, who soon finds himself on the run. More murders
follow. Bond's lusciously convoluted story provides myriad suspects
and motives. At one point, near the beginning of the story, Pono
lists Sylvia Gordon's probable killers and has trouble eliminating
any one of them. On multiple occasions, Pono believes someone is a
murderer, changes his mind and then reverts back after uncovering
new information. As a result, he distrusts nearly everyone, and
readers likely will, too. Bond skillfully adds new elements to the
mystery, including several energy corporations and no less than
three femmes fatales: Angie, Sylvia's Maui friend; Kim, a cop
responsible for one of Pono's trips to prison; and Charity, a
receptionist for a company called WindPower. Other characters are
more dependable, such as Pono's fellow veterans--most notably, the
technologically savvy Mitchell--as well as Pono's cat, Puma, and
surfing dachshund, Mojo. But his most persuasive relationship is
with Sylvia, a woman he can't stop thinking about, even though he
never knew her when she was alive. In the end, readers may find it
nearly impossible to guess the killer, but they'll enjoy the trip.
A complex, entertaining whodunit.
Reviews for prior Mike Bond thrillers: TIBETAN CROSS
Bond's deft thriller will reinforce your worst fears about the CIA
and the Bomb. A taut, tense tale of pursuit through exotic and
unsavory locales. (Publishers Weekly) One of the most exciting in
recent fiction...an astonishing thriller that speaks profoundly
about the venality of governments and the nobility of man.( San
Francisco Examiner) HOLY WAR
A profound tale of war, written with grace and understanding by a
novelist who thoroughly knows the subject. Literally impossible to
stop reading. (British Armed Forces Broadcasting) NIGHT OF THE
DEAD
A thoroughly amazing book. Memorable, an extraordinary story that
speaks from and to the heart. And a terrifying depiction of one
man's battle against the CIA and Latin American death squads. (BBC)
THE LAST SAVANNA
An entrancing, terrifying vision of Africa. A story that not only
thrills but informs. Impossible to set aside or forget. (BBC)
The imagery was so powerful and built emotions so intense that I
had to stop reading a few times to regain my composure. (African
Publishers' Network)
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