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Hangman's Point -- A Novel of Hong Kong Is Optioned for Film
Highly praised novel is first in the series
For a printable version of this release, please click here.
November 1998 - Village East Books is a new publishing company which specializes in "Fine Fiction on Asia." The company's first title, a historical thriller/mystery, has been optioned for film by Joe Knatchbull for his company, Kelso Films (London). The Knatchbull family has produced such films as Romeo & Juliet, Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express. The deal was negotiated by Alex Rossu of Fortis Entertainment, L.A., and the Protocol Agency, London.
Hangman's Point author, Dean Barrett, lived in Hong Kong for 17 years and has set the novel in Hong Kong in 1857. The novel was published this September and is distributed in the United States by Midpoint Trade and in Hong Kong by Pacific Century. The first in a series set in Hong Kong and southern China in the 1850's and 1860's, the novel has been described as "John Grisham meets James Clavell in 1857 Hong Kong."
The reviews thus far for Hangman's Point have been glowing:
"A fast-paced adventure story....A riveting, action-packed narrative....Barrett draws on his vast knowledge of southern China during a time of enormous change and conflict, providing richly fascinating detail of the customs, fashions, ships and weapons of the times."
-- Booklist
"Anyone who reads this novel will have to have a passport because they will be immediately transferred to the mid-nineteenth century Orient. The story line is filled with Andrew's misadventures even as it provides a rich historical perspective of the era. The support cast feels so genuine as they move the plot forward. Hangman's Point is a great historical fiction that, if there is any justice, will enable Dean Barrett to become a household name."
-- Under the Covers
"There is adventure and mystery in every corner of this well-researched and well-written historical."
-- 1Bookstreet.com
"Known in Hong Kong as the humor columnist Uncle Yum Cha, former army linguist Dean Barrett chronicles Sino-British tensions in 1857 Hong Kong, the tale of American smuggler Andrew Adams, who narrowly dodges hanging and a prison sentence by chasing down a band of deadly Chinese pirates."
-- Publishers Weekly
"Dean Barrett's wonderful talent allows him to present the culture and mind-set of traditional China without resorting to stereotypes or cliches."
-- Robert Lin, actor, co-star, Martin Scorsese's Kundun
"The most fascinating courtroom trial I've ever read."
-- Mia Yun, author, House of the Winds
"Dean Barrett successfully conjures up a lost world of shady adventurers, smoky opium dens, imperious Mandarins and raucous sailor bars....He spins a dark thriller of how the Chinese and others made a bold stab at capturing the British crown colony."
-- Daniel S. Levy, author, Two-Gun Cohen: A Biography
Village East has been sending author Dean Barrett on an extensive radio/TV/book signing tour in the US, a tour which in December of this year will extend to Hong Kong. Dean Barrett can be reached and booked for interviews through http://www.guestfinders.com.
Hangman's Point (ISBN: 0-9661899-1-4) is available through Barnes & Noble bookstores, independent bookstores and on-line bookstores. Signed first editions are available from 1-800-431-1579.
Among the novels Village East Books will publish in 1999 are two on Thailand: Kingdom of Make-Believe and Memoirs of a Bangkok Warrior. Village East Books website is: http://www.bookzone.com/asia
John Gillis
Village East Books
212-979-2004
village-east@mindspring.
http://www.bookzone.com/asia
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