A Bewitching Smile
Second in the Land of Smiles Trilogy
A Bewitching Smile is reminiscent
of A Passage to India in the creation of a kind of psychological
DMZ, another Shangri-la with its own ephipanies and perils. The
tough-sensitive characterization, and the sharp, often aphoristic
dialogue, and the irony, combine to create a powerful drama.
In this sequel to A Killing Smile,
Richard Breach who is a magician, mystic and world-class card player
teaches English in Bangkok. Crosby, his former student, has found
an assignment for Breach's talents: a rescue mission. Snow is held
hostage in a hill tribe village. Snow's plan to become Lahu godman
has failed and his life is at risk. Breach has private reasons of
his own -- a dying friend in England has requested a set of ritual
shaman's.
As the journey progresses to
the north of Thailand, another mission takes form: Breach is to
play in a high stakes card game. The story is about magic, myth
and the power to transform the self. A Bewitching Smile, the second
A Land of Smiles trilogy -- confirms the novels of Christopher G.
Moore are destined to become a Southeast Asia social chronicle of
the 90s.
Heaven Lake Press
(2000), 2nd ed., 292 pp.
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