Satire meets thriller in The Banker and the Dragon: The Emergence of the Hei Bai Virus by Martin Lundqvist. The world falls into chaos when Chairman Jing Xi of China unleashes a deadly virus. Who will be able to step in and save the day? Pond. Jared Pond. Pond is possibly the greatest agent the Royal Australian Kangaroo Intelligence has ever seen. His Hollywood good looks are only surpassed by his penchant for sex, alcohol and gambling. Pond gets involved with Eileen Lu, an activist looking to end the tyranny of Jing Xi. However, there are more players in this deadly game of chicken. Money and power are the supreme motivators and reputations are on the line in this action-packed book.
The Banker and the Dragon takes place in the near future, in a world post-COVID19. The good guys and bad guys are fairly straightforward and play into all the classic stereotypes. The world domination plot in this cleverly conceived novel is balanced out with a fair amount of satirical characters, such as US president Deidrick Dump and Australian Prime Minister Scurry Morrissett, also known as Scummo. The dialogue is delightfully clichéd, adding to the transparency of the main characters and adding a light tone to the otherwise intense plot. The Banker and the Dragon: The Emergence of the Hei Bai Virus is a terrific caricature in the novelized thriller genre.
