Saudi Match Point

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by Paul Ulrich

Can the Chinese foil a US oil grab in the Middle East?

This topical spy thriller captures the 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 which may well mirror tomorrow’s headlines.

The story: A young China expert at the US embassy in Riyadh learns a shocking secret: the US 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 US 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?

Look inside this book
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Prologue

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Description

Can the Chinese foil a US oil grab in the Middle East? This topical spy thriller captures the 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 which may well mirror tomorrow’s headlines.

MEDIA ATTENTION

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, The Correspondent

“Its characters pique interest and the plot gains momentum. By the late-going, it’s an exciting “page-turner”. Ulrich, who understands Chinese and Arabic, has rich experiences to inspire fiction. For two decades, he toiled as a consultant (on economics, telecoms and policies), bureaucrat, foreign-aid worker and software entrepreneur. Earlier, he studied at Yale, Harvard and Stanford. His background shows in the story. Saudi Match Point leaves an impression of promise as vast as the Arabian sands. In some ways, Ulrich excelled – in others, not so much. Do his readers thirst for more? Yes! Will this reviewer watch for his name in future? Absolutely!” – Cairns Media Magazine

“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.” – Reserve Books

“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.” – Blogcritics

Saudi Match Point is considered “absolutely brilliant” at Kowloon Diaries

“In terms of geopolitical value for money, Paul Ulrich’s 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.” – The Curious Diary of Mr Jam

Additional information

Dimensions 110 × 178 mm
Pages

268

Binding

Paperback

About the author

During a varied 20-year career, Paul has worked as an economic, telecom, and policy consultant in nearly 60 countries, including China, the Middle East, and the Arabian Peninsula. He has an undergraduate degree from Yale and graduate degrees from Harvard and Stanford. In addition to economics and public policy, Paul has studied Chinese and Arabic among other languages.

Before devoting himself full-time to writing, Paul’s jobs ranged from foreign-aid worker to government bureaucrat to multinational consultant and software entrepreneur. He is a patented inventor, with two high-tech U.S. patents to his name.