Family saga
TWO TIGERS ONE MOUNTAIN, Bruce Venables (Random House) $29.95
Australian author and actor Bruce Venables has finally released the sequel to The Time of the Dragons, a historical family epic set in Hong Kong before the war.
The focus has moved on, the two sons now grown men and fighting on opposing sides in the Korean War.
James Merchant is as venal as his adopted brother Lee Kwan Man-hop is philosophical – the two tigers are about to come into conflict.
Their exotically lovely mother Elanora is still the Merchant Mistress, ruling the remains of the Merchant ‘noble house’ in Hong Kong.
Two Tigers One Mountain is much in the vein of Taipan with exotic characters and locations, family dramas, betrayals and love affairs.
Venables’ novel takes from his past spent in the colony and adds interesting sides to the protagonists, making it a cut above the usual.
Verdict: Great, sweeping family saga with an exotic location.
Funky fashion from Japan
THE TOKYO LOOK BOOK, Philomena Kent & Yuri Manabe (Kodansha) $39.95 more
Greek gods come alive
GODS BEHAVING BADLY, Marie Phillips (Jonathan Cape) $32.95 more
Folklore and fantasy
THE LAST WISH, Andrzej Sapkowski (Gollancz) $32.95 more
Forensic thrills
THE BONE GARDEN, Tess Gerritsen (Bantam Press) $32.95 more
Family saga
TWO TIGERS ONE MOUNTAIN, Bruce Venables (Random House) $29.95 more
Guts and glory
THE REVENGE OF CAPTAIN PAINE, Andrew Pepper (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) $32.95 more
A thrilling ghost
EXIT GHOST, Robert Harris (Hutchinson) $32.95 more
Keneally's memoir for Schindler
SEARCHING FOR SCHINDLER (A Memoir), Tom Keneally (Random House) $45 more
Japanese touch of the surreal
END OF THE WORLD BLUES, Jon Courtenay Grimwood (Gollancz) $22.95 more
Ottoman Empire thrills
THE SNAKE STONE, Jason Goodwin (Faber & Faber) $32.95 more
