In a Country with No Name by Ron Morris
Some thrillers seem like the stuff of fantasy, stories so detached from everyday life that the average person couldn’t possibly relate. Spy thrillers tend to be large culprits in this regard, featuring larger-than-life (and cooler-than-life) heroes like James Bond, Jack Ryan and Jason Bourne (what’s with all the J’s, anyway?).
But author Ron Morris delivers a riveting thriller any average citizen could get behind in the first of his new Bert Mars Adventure series, In a Country with No Name.
The story follows one ordinary young man’s journey of suspense and danger in Southeast Asia. From his innocuous life as a foreigner teaching English in Thailand to his surprising new role in a neighboring country’s coup d’état, Bert Mars’s story is both exciting and petrifying.
As Bert himself so succinctly states: “There is a thin divide between doom and having a good story to tell.” And boy, is it a good story.
A Thrilling Tale of Ambition
Bert lives a comfortable yet uneventful life in Thailand: a cute girlfriend, a steady job. But underneath, he yearns for something more. So, when the opportunity arises for him to move to an unnamed neighboring country and work for a local TV network, he quickly jumps at the chance.
What he doesn’t expect at his new job: American spies. After stumbling across top-secret information about a plan hatched against his country’s enemies, Bert is slowly drawn into their covert world.
Bert’s hesitance is quickly replaced by enthusiasm and ambition as he, a communications specialist, becomes a key player in the growing schemes of politicians and billionaires.
His role in a growing coup could earn him riches and glory, but not without testing his loyalty — and his morality. For Bert, the lines between right and wrong slowly fade into obscurity.
One skirts the laws that everyday people must adhere to — drives a little faster, foregoes the paperwork, confounds the “insolence of office,” while, as every man does, accounting oneself reasonable and believing that such indulgences are only for the occasional, entirely appropriate convenience.
As the suspense unfolds, betrayal and guilt lurk where you least expect them. In a world of rampant corruption, where glory is gained at the cost of countless lives, Bert’s aspirations may cost him more than he’s willing to give.
The Blurred Lines of Morality
This is a world with no clear definition, where everything falls within the realms of gray rather than black and white, where no character is without fault.
The story’s protagonist is far from your typical moral hero; he has flaws, and plenty of them. His hubris leads him to make questionable decisions, and readers will be riveted watching his moral compass shift and realign at multiple points throughout the story, such as in this instance:
I relished learning new words. One such word was “freebooting.” This referred to Americans in the early nineteenth century who went down to Mexico or Nicaragua on a lark to try to overthrow the government, just for the thrill of it. That word had stuck in my mind and was firing my imagination now. I wondered at the audacity of those young men of an earlier time, so devoid of the propriety of my own age. And now, I was going to freeboot.
Bert’s flaws make him not only more relatable but also far more likable than the flawless spy caricatures that permeate the thriller genre.
A Profound Examination of Humanity
At its heart, In a Country with No Name is more than just a thriller; it’s an in-depth examination of humanity, of life and age and morality, of wealth and privilege and corruption.
One of Morris’s greatest strengths as an author comes from his ability to so adeptly convey these issues in a way that will make readers pause and reflect. There were multiple instances where I found myself highlighting lines and passages, moments that struck a chord in a way I can’t quite describe.
- “Where I come from, people don’t want money. They just want to spend money.”
- We were all surely thinking, “How careless these people were to go to ruin. What we have built will forever stand.”
- No witness … All of nature’s eyes turned away and I began to think I would be the only one who would ever know what had happened. The luck of the white man in a foreign land. Mike had said it. I started to think I could get away with it.
- I began to understand the lubricant of revolution. It was money. A lot was required to spread around to make sure that everything went to plan … Oh boy, I should have asked for more money.
Readers are sure to find plenty to highlight or bookmark themselves, moments that feel profound or moments that strike with their dry humor.
A Spy Thriller for the Ages
Another of Morris’s strengths lies in his evident firsthand knowledge of and experience with Southeast Asian culture, which will enrapture readers.
These aspects breathe life into the novel, providing it with hidden depth and realism: whether it’s the nuances of Southeast Asian body language and mannerisms, the superstitions and history of the region, or the iconic landscapes, from jungle ruins to buffalo-laden rice fields.
Rather than replicating the lush grandeur of spy legends of old, In a Country with No Name is grounded in reality, from its flawed characters to its vibrant backdrop. But that never detracts from the story’s action or suspense; it only heightens them.
This is a story that could happen to your average tourist. And, according to the book’s descriptor — “based on true events” — maybe it really did.
About Ron Morris:
Ron Morris is a writer, broadcast journalist, political analyst, and traveler. His writing includes Thai politics (The Thai Book), as well as a literary memoir of living in Southeast Asia (Last Century) and a novel of Bangkok life told from the perspectives of both foreigners and locals (There Are Still Unknown Places).
His latest novel, In a Country with No Name, is based on true events. It recounts a dangerous adventure in an unnamed Southeast Asian nation and an attempted coup d’état. It is the first book in the upcoming Bert Mars Adventure series.
His books are available in Asia Books and Books Kinokuniya bookstores and are a part of the Oriental Hotel’s Author’s Library in Bangkok alongside works by James Michener and Graham Greene.
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