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Rating: 
Summary: Far-fetched but Entertaining
Review: "Hong Kong" begins rather amateurishly, with dialogue and scenes reading out of a cheap, B-rated spy movie. Stephen Coonts quickly warms up to his trade, however, and shows his masterful skill at crafting a thrilling, though far-fetched, tale of the classic democratic triumph over Communism, through whatever means necessary. Interesting twists and turns await the reader, but the sheer amount of possibilities and details imagined by Coonts left me pleasantly suprised and even more attracted to the story. Particularly interesting for those who have a fancy for Sino-US economic and political relations, such as myself. In a phrase, a modern Ian Fleming "James Bond" novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Jake Grafton Makes Smooth Transition Ashore
Review: Stephen Coonts proves he is more than equal to the task of maintaining the Jake Grafton character as he ages and moves away from the cockpit and the flight deck. This story harkens back to the tone and the pace that Coonts set with Under Siege, another book that found Jake Grafton ashore. Coonts works in some old characters, an exotic locale and some pretty good observations on the looming political/cultural struggles in China. He also weaves in some good comparisons to present day Hong Kong and life the way it was under British rule. There is enough high-tech stuff here to satisfy the techno-thriller reader, but it is paralleled by some good character portraits and an expansion of the character of Jake's wife, Callie. All in all a very satisfiable addition to the Jake Grafton series.
Rating:
Summary: Not His Best
Review: The good news is that Jake Grafton is back, and that this one is a good fast read. The drag is that he's out of the cockpit, and the book stays on the ground. It doesn't soar.Grafton is in fine form, in Hong Kong, where his old buddy Tiger Cole (the Guy-In-Back in FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER) is formenting a revolution. But we are expected to accept Jake as-is -- new readers to the series must find it hard to comprehend. There is very little back-story. Series readers know who Toad is; in HONG KONG he's just a voice on the other end of the telephone who gives information to advance the plot. The line between the techno-thriller and science fiction has blurred over recent years. But I've got to say that when you trot out killer robots, you've gone over the line. All in all, a good, fast read, better than most of what you'll come across, and hopefully the next Jake Grafton novel will find him back in the cockpit.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun, But There Are Far Better Novels of Hong Kong To Read
Review: This is a fun "airport novel", but when I lived in Hong Kong in the 90s there were several novels and nonfiction books available that gave me a much better understanding of Hong Kong, and tallied with the Hong Kong I was actually experiencing. Three fine literary novels about Hong Kong are *Kowloon Tong* by Paul Theroux, set at the Handover and dealing with British, Chinese and Americans; it effectively evokes the sleazy underbelly of the city - I felt I met or encountered many of the types described here during my 2 & 1/2 years living there. The story line is something like Graham Greene with a dash of Saul Bellow and Gore Vidal - this novel was banned in Mainland China for being a little too accurate. Timothy Mo's *The Monkey King* is about an eccentric Hong Kong Chinese family and gives a a whole host of recognizable Hong Kong attitudes - you will see and meet many of the types described in this book if you're domiciled there - it is also blisteringly funny. Somerset Maugham's *The Painted Veil* caused writs to be served in Hong Kong when it was first published in the 1920s - yet the mannerisms of some of the British characters in this book were still discernible in those of the Western community in the 1990s Hong Kong - especially the more foppish or boorish ones. Jan Morris's non-fiction *Hong Kong* gives an extremely absorbing account of the place - especially detailed on the tragic, sad history of the millions of Chinese refugees who fled China in the 1950s to the 70s to the safety of British rule in Hong Kong - these are the people who make up Hong Kong today. Great material on the British, too. Finally, Bo Yang's *The Ugly Chinaman* gives a lot of background on the unpleasant side of Hong Kong - the rude-pushy crowds, the unpleasant public behaviour, the shouting and spitting, those infamous Kowloon girlie bars the size of aircraft hangers - he traces it to the long history of oppression and inept rule by generations of Chinese leaders who kept the culture going but at the lowest common denominator for centuries - he calls the process "the putrid vat of soy sauce paste" and is at pains to let Westerners know it is the other side Chinese culture in addition to Confucius and the poetry of Li Po, say. Bo Yang argues that this process explains the insistancce on "Face" in Hong Kong, that is, the notion that good appearences - not losing face - are far more important than telling the truth about China's and Hong Kong's underbelly - fascinating read, and is also banned in China.
Rating:
Summary: A quick read from Coonts
Review: With Hong Kong, Coonts presents a story of anti-communist revolution that is initiated in Hong Kong. While the premise itself stretches one's imagination, Coonts nonetheless presents a compelling story that features Jake Grafton, the no-nonsense US Naval Officer, who in this case has a very personal reason to bring his skills and determination to bear. Coonts brings together a range of characters, while effectively blending a number of sub-stories within the main story. I recommend Hong Kong. You will want to go through it quickly.
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