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The Chinaman  By  cover art

The Chinaman

By: Stephen Leather
Narrated by: Russell Boulter
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Publisher's summary

The "Chinaman" understood death.

Jungle-skilled, silent, and lethal, he had killed for the Viet Cong and then for the Americans. He had watched helpless as his two eldest daughters were raped and killed by Thai pirates. Now, all that was behind him. Quiet, hard-working, and unassuming, he was building up his South London take-away business - until the day his wife and youngest daughter were murdered by an IRA bomb. Then he began to ask the authorities who were the men responsible, what was being done - and was turned away, fobbed off, treated as a nuisance. That was when the Chinaman, denied justice, decided on revenge...and went back to war.

©1992 Stephen Leather (P)2007 Isis Publishing Ltd.

Critic reviews

" The Chinaman is a gem of a thriller, perfectly constructed and full of the unexpected." ( Library Journal)

What listeners say about The Chinaman

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Great plot idea, but...

Turning loose a trained Vietnamese assassin among a bunch of IRA bombers is an idea loaded with possibilities. It's a great little book, but the author falls into the trap of Orientalism in his characterization of the Viet Cong hero: he makes him into a single-minded cutthroat with the tracking skills of Natty Bumppo. He could have been a Joyce fan, or a horse racing bettor, or a baseball or lacrosse fan. But no. He does know how to make nitroglycerin out of antifreeze and fertilizer and set it off with a flash bulb. Not too deep. The Irish terrorists get full three dimensional portraits, on the other hand, including cottages, favorite drinks, Land Rovers and girl friends. Still, the plot moves right along and it's a fun read, with plenty of surprises -- all of them for the deliciously astonished white folks, and many of them fatal.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome story

It's a different take than what the movie is as its does things completely differently.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Decent thriller

For a novel called the Chinaman, the book doesn't really focus on the Nguyen character enough. Instead it dragged a little too much with the IRA members relationships and inner conflicts. The Nguyen character could have had more depth and development.

The performance was good. His nailed his British Isles accents but his vietnamese accent at times sounded like a generic Asian accent and other times sounded Japanese. He also should learn how to pronounce the name Nguyen (sounds more like ngwen) and other vietnamese words such as "Hue" (pronounced hoo-ay not Hyoo).

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Better than the movie, and that's saying something

Very good, only wish I read it instead of hearing it. Good adaptation from book to movie.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fun read

I enjoyed the book. Interesting to watch the movie afterwards. I recommend watching the movie.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Eloquently detailed, but...

Eloquently detailed, but at times, perhaps too much during the most fast moving parts of the story. Excellent accent narration, especially the "Chinaman".

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fun/nteresting story with a superior performance.

This audio book is really well done and was great to listen to. I was sorry when it ended.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

no spoilers

I can't believe the ending. I am so disappointed in this story after everything that happened

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Me
  • 06-08-18

Great book

I bought this book after watching the movie. Of course, this is much better. The only thing I didn't like was the main character's accent.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

fantastic

This audiobook had me tuned in nonstop. I wish there was more! A great story with characters that jump off the tracks.

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