Listen to and enjoy the new, unabridged audiobook version of this exciting, topical spy thriller published by Blacksmith Books and read by the author, Paul Ulrich.
"What I liked most about Saudi Match Point is that readers will probably gain more of an understanding about the Middle East and the problems and vagaries associated with Islamic militancy from these entertaining pages than by wading through reams of copy and endless hours of network news bulletins offered daily by the international media."
-- Luke Hunt, former AFP Afghan bureau chief: book review for the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club
"Ulrich's story is clearly woven, possesses all the action of top spy thrillers, and maintains admirable consistency. Further, while the cast includes enough characters to confuse casual readers, the characters are instantly recognizable as the story transports us from location to location and culture to culture. Read this book for enjoyment, and you will take away a new understanding of some of the newest forces affecting the international scene today."
-- Bruce Cook, Reserve Books.
"Saudi Match Point bears the hallmarks of a promising writer of thrillers and those of a novice novelist in roughly equal measure. Drawing on years of experience overseas as a consultant, technician, foreign-aid worker and (self-admitted) government bureaucrat, author Paul Ulrich economically and effectively conveys the heady atmosphere and multicultural boiling pot of Saudi Arabia. He creates colorful characters about whom the reader comes to care, most especially a sheltered young woman whose plight, in a family that adheres to ultra-strict Wahabbi Muslim teachings, is heartbreaking. And he convincingly mixes real geopolitics into fictional situations."
-- Jon Sobel, Blogcritics Magazine.
Saudi Match Point is considered "absolutely brilliant"
-- Kowloon Diaries.
"In terms of geopolitical value for money, Paul Ulrich’s new book Saudi Match Point has it all: Al-Qaeda, the Chinese government, oil wars, a high level US conspiracy, a hostage crisis and the battle between radical Islam and modern mores."
-- Nury Vittachi, Literary pundit.
Can the Chinese foil a U.S. grab for oil in Saudi Arabia?
This topical spy thriller captures the current turmoil of the “war on terror" and weaves agents of the Chinese government into the plot, pulling the reader into a world of subterfuge and shifting alliances that may well mirror tomorrow's headlines.
The story: a young China expert at the U.S. embassy in Riyadh learns a shocking secret: the U.S. will use a hostage crisis as a pretext to invade the Saudi kingdom and seize control of its oilfields. Meanwhile, the daughter of a radical cleric is desperate to escape an arranged marriage. As she attempts to flee the country, her half-brother becomes embroiled in an Al Qaeda plot to drive out the American infidels -- a plan the newly assertive Chinese are determined to stop.
As the U.S. and China compete for mastery of the Gulf, an American diplomat risks betraying his country and a Saudi woman risks her life -- but what price betrayal in a land ruled and divided by harsh Islamic law?
Customer note:
This audiobook comes with a one-page reference list of the novel's characters. On purchase, you can download this additional MS Word document with the audio files.
