Runner Up Best Fiction, The Beach Book Festival
San Francisco Book Festival Honorable Mention
Hollywood Book Festival Honorable Mention
Paris Book Festival Honorable Mention
An unknown group is carrying out terrorist attacks to undermine China’s Communist Party and China’s global expansion.
Wes Robertson, an American businessman who is injured in one of the attacks, becomes caught up in the hunt for the terrorists as does Maria Braga, the American Ambassador to an African country where people died from another.
As Wes and Maria hunt the perpetrators in China and the United States they become romantically involved. Meanwhile, Chinese officials suspect Wes may be involved with the terrorists, and the terrorists seek to stop Wes, killing him if need be. Can Wes and Maria discover who is behind these attacks and stop them before it is too late? Their search leads to a final confrontation and a surprising ending.
Lucinda E Clarke for Readers’ Favorite –
Attacking the Dragon by A. Marc. Ross is set in China, the USA, and Equatorial Guinea. Some unknown organization is attacking the Belt and Road initiative led by the Chinese to uplift and possibly draw Third World countries into debt. This unidentified group has succeeded in blowing up a factory, injuring a Senior Party Member and a US businessman who works extensively with Chinese companies. A second disaster occurs when a half-built dam in Equatorial Guinea collapses and destroys a village downriver, killing dozens of people. More sabotage is planned, and in the meantime, everyone blames everyone else, and tensions rise. Wesley Robertson and a US Ambassador work together to discover the perpetrators, and that is not an easy task. While Wesley himself is suspected by the Chinese, only his contacts in government circles lead to his release. Attacking the Dragon is a fast-moving, engrossing political thriller that has the reader on the edge of their seat from the first page to the last.
For lovers of political intrigue, this is a book they are sure to enjoy. Attacking the Dragon by A. Marc. Ross takes the reader into the heart of China. There are great descriptions of areas outside the main cities, and the journey to Chengdu was particularly exciting. This book is so well written that you could imagine you were in the backstreets of China. On several occasions, the principal characters’ lives are at risk, and dangers are lurking in the shadows. There are murders aplenty, and suspicion at the highest level. We are taken behind the scenes in the senior echelons of the Chinese Party officials, where a simple mistake or lack of judgment can cost you your life. Attacking the Dragon also takes the reader to Equatorial Guinea and cities in the United States. The narrative moves at a breakneck speed with numerous twists and turns and cliffhanger moments. It is a book I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend
Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers’ Favorite –
A. Marc Ross’s Attacking the Dragon is a conspiracy thriller about a covert international campaign to weaken China’s Belt and Road Initiative through engineered violence and political destabilization. After a bombing in Shenzhen devastates a Party delegation, investigators trace a connection to defective steel rods that were manufactured in northeastern China, and later used in a dam that collapses in Equatorial Guinea. As Chinese intelligence officer Haofu Tao, American intermediary Wes Robertson, and Ambassador Maria Braga confront the mounting evidence, the attacks reveal coordination by a strategist operating across various governments and intelligence services. Each disaster is designed to erode trust in Chinese infrastructure projects and provoke geopolitical realignment. The novel tracks the widening investigation as rival powers maneuver behind the scenes to control the narrative and the future balance of global influence.
Attacking the Dragon by A. Marc Ross is a pitch-perfect geopolitical thriller where power plays and sabotage are happening at speed. Ross gives readers a series of killer spy montages, with agents racing around scaffolding, wondering if a hidden device is already sitting there. Nobody is having a calm afternoon, including me as a reader, clammy palms and all. Wes is at the center of everything with very steady, very composed energy, but it’s Maria Braga that I love most. She fully owns her diplomatic presence and coordinates sophisticated cross-agency cooperation that could spiral at any second. And then we have Yin Liu Jie, terrifying in a polished, strategic way that makes him feel unsettlingly believable. Ross gives readers an armchair race through a Giant Panda exhibit at the Smithsonian Zoo, a coup in Niger, and the Giant Buddha statue in Leshan. Coincidentally, I have actually been to the Buddha. I was not stabbed with a yellow parasol. Readers who enjoy fast international intrigue and tangled statecraft will love this book. Very highly recommended.
Reviewed by Christian Sia for Readers’ Favorite –
In Attacking the Dragon, A. Marc Ross delivers an enthralling geopolitical thriller about a covert campaign to destroy China’s Belt and Road Initiative. This strategy is designed to help other countries, especially developing ones, and starts with a series of catastrophic events. In Shenzhen, a factory is bombed, and party elites are murdered; in Equatorial Guinea, a dam project is sabotaged; and a military coup in Niger begins with the assassination of Niger’s ambassador to China. Who is behind these events and why? American businessman Wesley Robertson teams up with Ambassador Maria Braga and seeks help from Chinese official Haofu Tao for answers. The investigation will take them from China to the US, but what becomes more troubling is that the Chinese suspect Wes while the perpetrators are doing everything they can to murder him. Can he uncover the bad guys and clear his name while handling a romance with Maria?
A. Marc Ross introduces an enjoyable plot, and the sense of uncertainty that permeates the story had me racing from page to page. I wanted to see Maria and Wes fall in love, and I was curious about their suspenseful investigation. The characters like Yin Liu Jie and US diplomat Aarav Rajan, apart from the main characters, created the atmosphere of the perfect thriller, and I wanted to find out what happened to them regarding their plots. It will be explosive for many readers. Attacking the Dragon uses a multi-perspective style that builds tension and suspense, and the exploration of state-sponsored sabotage is a resonant theme skillfully handled by the author. The plot is twisted, just as I like it in thrillers, and the conflict grows in complexity as the story progresses.
Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers’ Favorite –
Attacking the Dragon by A. Marc Ross is a real page-turning thriller. China’s Communist Party is under attack, as terrorists seek to stop the country from expanding. One of the attacks left an American called Wes Robertson injured, and he joins forces with Mari Braga, the American ambassador to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, to hunt down those responsible. Across China and America, they hunt, but Chinese officials are hot on their trail, believing Wes to be part of the terrorist organization. Nothing will get in their way, and Wes and Maria are in the race of their lives. Can they stop the terrorists before it’s too late?
Attacking the Dragon by A. Marc Cross is a thoroughly enjoyable book, a story that surprises you at every turn. The plot is taut, keeping you on your toes with every page, and has plenty of twists and turns. The action is non-stop, and there’s even some romance along the way to make things just a little bit sweeter. The characters are strongly developed, and although there are quite a few of them, you won’t have any trouble keeping up with them. The action starts on the first page, and the tension builds steadily throughout, leading to an ending you won’t see coming. This book is quite timely, given current world events, and it’s a bit of an eye-opener to those not in the know about the complicated relationships between different countries—things aren’t quite as black-and-white as they seem. Forget the heavy espionage you might expect to see; this is entertaining, enjoyable, and totally compelling.