Thai Horse by William Diehl (1997, Paperback, Reissue)

‘Apocalypse Now’ was set in a war-ravaged Vietnam, but ‘Thai Horse’ takes place in the bruised aftermath of the same war, in Bangkok. Here also the hero—shadow warrior Chris Hatcher—goes on a long, tortuous hunt for a renegade US soldier, Murph Cody, once his bosom buddy. The wild goose chase, in its wake, exposes the dark underbelly of the drug mafias of the Golden Triangle. The mafia heading the secret organizations, known as Triads, can match the best of business brains in their strategies and the worst terrorists in their vice. The terror trail leads us to the source of drugs trade, where tribesmen systematically produce the deadly crop, dodging the prying eyes of the authorities.

The depravity and the viciousness of the drug gangs and the blood and gore that Hatcher’s entry generates, are somewhat counterbalanced by the light-hearted camaraderie of the Vietnam veterans cooped in a strange corner in Bangkok. They are the destitute of the war—home and their past now seems so far far away. They want to live their lives in the make-believe world in a totally unreal environment.

The novelist deftly invokes the sights and sounds of the enchanting city that is Bangkok. If you have traveled there, this book will take you one notch closer to its heart.