Pax Pacifica

Sent to China to assess a potentially disastrous situation, Dr. Desaix Clark faces conspiracy, deceit, and betrayal as two rulers vie for power and Western security hangs in the balance. By the author of Maximum Vigilance. Tour.

Intricate Oriental intrigue lies at the heart of this psycho-political thriller from Pieczenik (Maximum Vigilance), who once again turns to crafty Cajun protagonist Dr. Desaix Clark to solve an international crisis. This time, the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs must travel to China to defuse the rivalry between Prime Minister Lee Ann Wu ("ambitious, willful, and manipulative") and her Defense Minister, General Y.K. Chang ("an ugly, ruthless son of a bitch"). Clark also must determine if the pair's shady maneuvers with Taiwan and Japan are designed to unite East Asia or to generate a war that will bring a new balance of power to the region. Once in China, Clark finds diplomacy giving way to danger as he is taken hostage by Chang, and to romance as he dallies with Prime Minister Wu. Pieczenik's story line is tangled, sometimes overly so, but a wealth of fascinating detail about contemporary China (rampant pollution in Beijing; cannibalism in the provinces) makes it more enticing. Throughout, moreover?and especially in scenes like the gripper in which Clark is forced to watch a man being tortured?Piecznik's ability to excavate ever deeper layers of character motivation is on full display, making this a strong bet for thriller fans who prefer the firing of neurons to the firing of guns.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A thriller based on a fundamental tenet of Sun Tzu's Art of War: Wars are won not on the battlefield, but in the minds of men. After trying to disentangle the minds here, we'll take the action, please. Assistant Secretary of State Desaix Clark (hero of Maximum Vigilance, 1992) is sent to Beijing by his friend and boss, Secretary of State Jim Moffat, to avert a Chinese/Japanese invasion of Taiwan. His initial meeting with Prime Minister Lee Ann Wu is rife with hidden meanings underlying the chatter about food and culture; Desaix, also a psychiatrist, is happy to engage in the minister's mind games. When Ann reveals a possibly apocryphal conflict with her defense minister, General Y.K. Chang, Desaix is torn between negotiating with Chang, who periodically detains him in torture chambers, or with Ann, who proves to be mentally unstable. His uncertainty extends to all the top officials he meets from China, Japan, and Taiwan, any of whom may be vying for pan-Asian control. He and his entourage, which includes CIA Beijing Station Chief Phoebe Hill, race via underground tunnel, rail, and ship to Shanghai, where an international delegate will attempt to reach a resolution before war erupts. Desaix gradually uncovers the most shocking secret of all regarding bureaucratic rivalry between the US State Department and the CIA. Realizing that he is being used as a pawn between Ann and Chang, Desaix is now unable to trust even his old friend Jim. The narrative embodies Sun Tzu's state of formlessness, in which the warrior follows his adversary with a plan that has no constant shape, observing and waiting until he has the opportunity to strike. Unfortunately, the complex deceptions and lack of structure create a difficult reading experience. The mental gymnastics Desaix employs to get himself out of dangerous situations are lost on baffled readers. Pieczenik uses Chinese philosophy to weave a web so intricate that it's opaque and abstruse. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.