Stunde null in Phnom Penh.

Vincent Calvino #3

by Christopher G. Moore

En Phnom Penh todos mienten para sobrevivir. Y lograrlo no siempre equivale a ganar. Tras la devastadora guerra civil camboyana, a principios de los anos noventa, las fuerzas de pacificacion de la ONU intentan controlar los brotes de violencia que todavia asuelan el pais. Vincent Calvino, un detective privado que vive en la turbulenta ciudad, se ve envuelto en la desaparicion de un farang cuyo rastro le conduce desde Bangkok hasta la desgarrada Camboya, pasando por el mercado negro ruso, hospitales, nightclubs, agencias de noticias y el cuartel general de la guerrilla. Junto con el teniente coronel Pratt, su aliado en la delicada estructura policial de la zona, Calvino averigua que el desaparecido esta relacionado con el robo de unas joyas a la familia real saudi. Rapidamente comprende que no es el unico que esta buscando al farang. Hora Cero en Phnom Penh es una historia de detectives que describe sin artificios- la arriesgada transicion camboyana, desde el genocidio y la guerra civil hasta la economia de libre mercado y la normalidad democratica. Una novela de la que siempre se pueden extraer mas niveles de significado.

Genres: Crime, Asia, Asian Literature

Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Christopher G. Moore is a Canadian author who has lived in Thailand since 1988. Formerly a law professor at the University of British Columbia and a practicing lawyer, Moore has become a public figure in Southeast Asia, known for his novels and essays that have captured the spirit and social transformation of Southeast Asia over the past three decades.

Moore has written over 30 fiction and non-fiction books, including the Vincent Calvino novels which have won including the Shamus Award and German Critics Award and have been translated to over a dozen languages. Moore’s books and essays are a study of human nature, culture, power, justice, technological change and its implications on society and human rights.

Starting in 2017, the London-based Christopher G. Moore Foundation awards an annual literary prize to books advancing awareness on human rights. He’s also the founder of Changing Climate, Changing Lives Film Festival 2020.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set mostly in Phnom Penh, ZERO HOUR IN PHNOM PENH is based in the early 1990's, at the end of the civil war that tore Cambodia apart, in the wake of the appalling Khmer Rouge regime. UN peacekeeping forces are on the streets, gunfire is regularly heard, and PI Vincent Calvino is looking for an American man - a farang - who has friends in Thailand keen to get in touch with him.

With a distinctly noir sensibility, ZERO HOUR takes Calvino from where he is based in Thailand into the dangerous, unpredictable, unstable and decidedly seedy world of underground Phnom Penh. It's a risky business as it is obvious from the people this man is involved with, that there has to be something very dodgy going on. Even Calvino's friend Thai policeman Colonel Pratt seems to know a lot more about the missing man's involvements than he is letting on.

For a book with such a noir sensibility, there are some unexpected elements, not least of all a lot of descriptive and discursive story-lines that do mean it seems to take an age for any actual action to take place. Which isn't a bad thing at all if you're looking for noir with more of a cultural immersion effect. I will confess that it took me quite a while to get into the tone of the book - initially I found the wandering down various cul-de-sacs somewhat disconcerting, mostly because I struggled to see where everything could possibly be heading. That wasn't helped by some of the little offerings of sheer brilliance - the death of one particularly colourful character on the concrete steps in the stand at the racetrack was described with such skill that you could see him, his chocolate brownie, and the milling crowd with absolutely no effort whatsoever. I wanted more of that - more of the story moving forward. And once that started to happen, it has to be said a fair way into the book, I was completely and absolutely hooked.

It is a very dark story, and Calvino is a classic lone-wolf, cynical, side of the mouth talking, slightly Energiser Bunny sort of survivor that comes to that stereotype in a place, and an environment that's absolutely fascinating. There's no holds barred in the way that Phnom Penh is described, the way that the lawless society operates and the stark and very in-your-face descriptions of the differences between the UN peacekeepers and locals. There are a lot of people in this place living life on the edge, sometimes taking advantage, mostly being taken advantage of. It's not a pretty place, but whilst there are some glimpses of people trying to move forward, there are also some telling and very pointed examples of a collective ignoring, or lack of awareness of the reality of the present - and the immediate past. I was particularly struck by the references to an incident with a missing Australian traveller - a real-life incident I remember very well.

ZERO HOUR is not all noir, not all description, not all dire and not all dark though. There are glimpses of kindness, of care and of generosity. There's touches of humour, there's character development and there's a central lone-wolf character who might not exactly wisecrack his way through the grime, but he certainly is a dab hand at a bit of observational wryness. Despite the slow start to ZERO HOUR IN PHNOM PENH I found this book increasingly compelling as I went through. Definitely a series that I need to catch up with.

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moore tries to go a little bit beyond the mere adventure story he usually places Bangkok-based private investigator Vincent Calvino in. As the title indicates, most of the action moves to Cambodia and its capital, Phnom Penh. The setting is the early to mid 1990s and the city is occupied by UN peacekeepers who mostly fail in a futile attempt to bring law and order to a country obliterated by the Khmer Rouge and reeling from Vietnam's ten year occupation beginning in 1979, which ousted the Khmer Rouge from power. Everyone is corrupt, except for a lone Irish UN inspector, Shaw, who works with Calvino and his friend, Pratt, Calvino's longtime friend and now a Thai police colonel. Together, they try to uncover an arms deal and also bring back a $50 million necklace belonging to Saudia Arabia, which was stolen by Thais and taken to Thailand, whence it disappears.

As can be seen, this is the usual complex plot to be expected from Moore. Although, actually, this one is a bit crisper than most others. The real complexity arises at the end, in determining the mastermind seeking to control the jewel. Along the way, plenty of dead bodies and wounded pile up.

But there is something else. As alluded to above, Moore tries to bring a little extra to this story. He tries to explore "good" and "evil," "fate" and "destiny," as well as "purpose" and "meaning." I'm not sure he is entirely successful. That's because there are a great many passages that turn into preachy sermons. They're repetitive and, because they're so latched on to an avalanche of words, they lose their impact. Perhaps these pages should have reflected the bleakness of the subject matter in their sparseness of detail and description. I say "should have," but that's unfair. Moore wrote what he thought needed saying in a philosophical manner, detached and obsessively observant. If I think it should be done otherwise, I guess I should write my own book. Still these passages (with the white female American correspondent, the Vietnamese prostitute, and the French female doctor) dull the overall effect I think they attempt to achieve.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

For noir fans craving a novel drenched in atmosphere, Zero Hour in Phnom Penh delivers a shadowy, sweat-soaked descent into a city teetering on the edge of chaos. Christopher G. Moore’s hard-boiled expat detective, Vincent Calvino, navigates the neon-lit bars, back alleys, and political intrigues of post–Khmer Rouge Cambodia, searching for a missing American linked to a dangerous secret.

Moore masterfully blends Chandleresque cynicism with Southeast Asian grit, creating a world where corruption is currency, and morality is a slippery thing. The prose is lean and evocative, the dialogue razor-sharp, and the setting—both sensual and sinister—becomes a character in itself. Zero Hour isn’t just about solving a case; it’s about survival in a place where justice is a mirage and the past is never truly buried.

If you love your noir humid, dangerous, and laced with political intrigue, this one’s a must-read.

[Sina · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Wenn ich jedes mal, wenn in dem Buch das Wort 'Hure' vorkommt, einen Shot getrunken hätte, hätte ich noch vor der letzten Seite über das Buch gekotzt."

G. Moores Schreibsprache ist sehr hart, beschönigt wenig und stellt die meisten männlichen Charakter so dar als würden sie ständig mit ihrem Schwanz in der linken Hand und einer Knarre in der rechten Hand herumlaufen.

Trotzdem würde ich Empfehlen das Buch zu lesen, denn die Darstellung der damaligen Situation in Kambodscha, die Folgen der französischen Kolonialzeit und des Massakers durch die roten Khmer gehen unter die Haut.

[Jack Laschenski · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dark Side of Asia.

Vincent Calvino is an American expatriate private detective living in Bangkok. He is hired to find another expat in Cambodia.

Time is late 1980s. UN (no US) troops are still in Cambodia. Incompetent as usual.

Murder, betrayal, and the horror of a society totally destroyed by its own leaders.

A great novel. A study in human evil.

One of 16 Vincent Calvino novels by Moore.

This one is not available in the US - I got it directly from Thailand.

[Andrew Tattersall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thriller set in Cambodia in the early 90's so a lot that's written about is really different from things nearly a quarter of a century later. Some things similar though many of the places obviously no longer exist. Enjoyable but not great.

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read but rambled on a bit