The Warlords Secret

Editorial Reviews. About the Author. Lizzy wrote her first novel in the 3rd grade - a five page The Warlord's Secret - Kindle edition by Lizzy Ford. Download it.
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From Publishers Weekly China's Triad societies were established in the late 17th century to combat the oppression of the Manchu dynasty, and gradually branched out into criminal activities to finance their underground war. Related Video Shorts 0 Upload your video.

Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a customer review. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Where Organized Crime and Government Meet. This exceptional investigative reporting on Asian organized crime by Posner blew me away two decades ago and still remains extremely relevant and pathbreaking. Excellent companion volume to David A. This is a classic that I had loaned someone at the Passaic County Prosecutor's office and finally found thru Amazon. It clearly delineates who controls the drug trade worldwide.

The superb and meticulously honest journalist Gerald Posner wrote the "Warlords of Crime" back in The project took place during a more naive era when many including myself thought the drug war might be winnable. Posner takes us on a journey to learn about the drug warlords of Chinese heritage.

These ruthless outlaws carry out their nefarious activities throughout the world. They have no hesitation in either bribing or murdering their fellow human beings. Life is looked upon as an inexpensive commodity in a culture that traditionally values the collective over the individual. Most are members of criminal organizations going back hundreds of years.

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A warped sense of family values underpin their organizational structure. Enduring long prison sentence for the sake of the clan is regarded as a proud duty. Delayed gratification and self discipline are virtues taken for granted. Mere physical courage alone is not deemed sufficient for advancement.

Superb management skills and patience are instead mandatorily required for those hoping to be promoted to the top echelons of leadership. Posner finds that some of the police officers who have sold out to the warlords often have the best arrest records. It turns out that the warlords do everything to help their partners in law enforcement to publicly look good as possible. Even allowing some of their less esteemed comrades to be arrested is accepted as a price to be willingly paid.

The risks are high and rewards mostly nonexistent for lawmen poorly paid and commonly despised. The Oriental culture often does not perceive policemen as professionals deserving of honor. On the contrary, only the so called economic losers usually apply for police training. Needless to add, many of those choosing this line of work do so for corrupt reasons. It should be added that policemen at the turn of the twentieth century in the United States were also thought to be jerks and too lazy to do anything else.

Warm respect for police officers is far more prevalent in countries actively encouraging political and cultural equality of the masses. Unfortunately, just like governments in Central and South America desperately trying to evolve towards democratic stability, the Asian nations have the added burden of drug money threatening their fragile political institutions. I have enormous respect for Gerald Posner.

Nonetheless, I am compelled to confront him with an awkward and disturbing question. In this book, Posner refers to the routine torture practiced upon suspected Asian drug lawbreakers in their respective homelands. Posner does not condone such police behavior, but neither does he condemn it. One distinctly gets the impression that Posner at least subconsciously accepts this as a price that must be grudgingly accepted if we are to win the war on drugs.

What does Posner believe about our current efforts to defeat the drug barons? Should we, as I strongly advocate, host the white flag of surrender? Posner thinks the legalization of drugs would likely entice some people to experiment with drugs that might otherwise continue to shun such self destructive behavior. I have no reason to disagree with Posner on this point. That is indeed what occurred when the USA ended its national prohibition of alcohol. Almost certainly this phenomenon will be repeated if we also legalize drugs.

Nonetheless, do we not have larger concerns demanding our attention? Should we continue to jeopardize the civil liberties and safety of all citizens to protect the few who may be seduced into a life of low self esteem and existential wastefulness? Illicit drugs are ridiculously low in price and virtually available in most areas of the United States.

The Warlord's Secret

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The Secret Army: Chiang Kai-shek and the Drug Warlords of the Golden Triangle

The demon-possessed Warlord of Tiyan is at war with enemy kingdoms and her own impending madness. She discovers the answer to both her problems in Taran, a slave-turned-scout obsessed with vengeance and determined to have Tiyan and its queen for his own. Paperback , pages. Published April 18th by Createspace first published April 17th To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

To ask other readers questions about The Warlord's Secret , please sign up. Lists with This Book. Jun 07, Owen rated it did not like it Shelves: This is little more then generic fantasy plot devices and an overwrought tale of "true love" etc. There is no pacing in this book. The action progress without reference to any time or travel, making it seem that this entire book takes place over the course of a few hours and in an area the size of a football field. For some great kingdom and its jewel of a city under siege, characters com In compliance with FTC guidelines, I disclose thatI received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

For some great kingdom and its jewel of a city under siege, characters come and go as if they were on a Sunday stroll. And the characters, they are all completely forgettable. Note to prospective authors: Its not an effective or believable romance when the two leads immediately fall in love, constantly change their motivations, and act without any consistency. The world is flat and lifeless, and given the rapid pace of travel, is maybe the size of a national park. Very little descriptions result in nothing more then people shuffling from room to room.

The action is non-existent, and what could have been an impressive fight against 5 men where the demon takes over Rissa ends in less than a paragraph, followed by her re-capture, then escape from captivity and return to her own city, the whole scene taking less then 15 pages. Jul 18, Heather rated it it was ok Shelves: I got this book through the First Reads program. The story was promising: The story was the only part. I couldn't connect with the characters. They seemed flat to me. The best character was a bad guy but that was only because I could see his motivations.

I got a bit tired of being told how the characters felt instead of being shown. The man and the woman protagonists 'fell in l I got this book through the First Reads program. The man and the woman protagonists 'fell in love' a bit too well - he sees her and then I'm told that he thinks about how pretty she is and that he wants her soooooooo bad; she sees him and I'm told that she thinks the same thing - then pretty much all they think about is how they have to deny themselves the opportunity to go find a room so that they can save the kingdom. At least they did save the kingdom. I liked that part.

Dec 18, Cheshire rated it it was ok Shelves: I swear I've read this plot at least 20 times with only the slightest variations.

The writing style is not to my taste, leaving me skimming more than reading. Apr 22, Linda rated it really liked it Shelves: This one took me a little time to get into, maybe because the style was a little different from what I got used to with the first books I ready by Lizzy. Once I did start getting into the story, a part of me also started to get irritated with both Taran and Rissa.

He was so focused on getting revenge, it took him awhile to realize that there were people who looked up to him and wanted to rely on him. Rissa could have used his help beyond being her guardian early on, but there was just so much mi This one took me a little time to get into, maybe because the style was a little different from what I got used to with the first books I ready by Lizzy.

Rissa could have used his help beyond being her guardian early on, but there was just so much mistrust on both ends. And although her intentions were good, she didn't trust him at all, even when he showed he had true leadership qualities. Incidentally, I loved Vara. Usually, one of the main characters garners my affection pretty early on As for Vara, at first I wasn't sure if he could be trusted or not As I continued through the story, I started to realize he was a really good guy and always felt closest to Taran than anyone.

Unfortunately, Taran was too blinded by vengeance to see it. I was happy to see that they came to some kind of truce and a better understanding near the end. I now want a book on Vara.

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I also want more information on Jame and I want to know more about Taran's extended family and what they thought happened to him and his immediate family. Will he get a chance to meet with them again? With the way things ended, there is a book 2 coming, right? Aug 25, Michi rated it did not like it Shelves: By the halfway mark, the book had still failed to engage me, and I attribute that to shoddy worldbuilding and unengaging characters.

I hadn't realized that the "demon warlord's" city was the one under siege because of her frequent trips in and out of it, leaving me confused about which sides people were on or who was at war in the first place. Sieges are apparently accomplished with fire traps and wacky obstacles and not armies in this universe.

People travel random distances with By the halfway mark, the book had still failed to engage me, and I attribute that to shoddy worldbuilding and unengaging characters. People travel random distances without giving any sense of where they are going or where other countries are.

Are these city-states, neighboring villages, or sprawling nations? I couldn't accept a warlord being able to buy a foreign prisoner's personal bodyguard service without some serious objection from her guards, her household staff, or anyone else close to her. This is the only universe in which such a thing would make sense. And finally, the demon warlord herself. The book's awkward exposition infodump establishes that only boys of a certain age can contain the demon. Then our female protagonist enters, possessed by the demon with no explanation of how such a thing can happen.

You can't make specific rules and then violate them early on without killing a reader's suspension of disbelief. I was only interested in the underground character's one-sided friendship with one of the guys from Landis. I can't even recall any of their names. The protagonist was uncompelling and unbelievable, and whatever romance there was failed to grab my attention. Abandoned for something better. Dec 31, Heather andrews rated it really liked it. Hate to say this but the book wasn't my cup of tea. Lizzy did a great job at writing and the characters it's just the plot wasn't for me.

I enjoyed the fact that Rissa wasn't a damsel in distress and would do anything for her people. She responded with none of the reservation she normally d Hate to say this but the book wasn't my cup of tea. She responded with none of the reservation she normally displayed, opening to him. He growled and wrapped his arms around her hefting her onto his hips. She wrapped her legs around him and gasped into his mouth, her own desire matching his.

Neither of them wants to be the first to take the step in actually admitting how they feel. Jul 13, Kelly rated it really liked it Shelves: This story was a little uneven and sometimes the action jumped around a bit yet at the same time it was weirdly compelling. I don't know what Lizzy Ford does to pull me in to the point where I can't stop reading, but she does it well. Plot wise, this was an intriguing book chock full of demons and madness, warlords and honorable former slaves. The characters would sometimes swing from one emotional extreme to another without any reason, but I found myself overlooking those flaws just so I could s This story was a little uneven and sometimes the action jumped around a bit yet at the same time it was weirdly compelling.

The characters would sometimes swing from one emotional extreme to another without any reason, but I found myself overlooking those flaws just so I could see how Rissa and Taran would end up getting themselves out of the mess they found themselves in. I know the story isn't perfect but I liked it. It kept me entertained and it was a interesting take on demons and the lengths leaders will go to to keep their people safe. Jan 13, Kasey rated it it was ok Shelves: This was an interesting idea, but the story wasn't very thought out and honestly didn't flow well.

In a world with horses for transportation and war on the horizon nothing played as it should. Traveling the length of an entire Kingdom seemed to take mere minutes and the whole book read like this. Conflicts and histories that should have been played up felt as if I was reading a condensed only the highlights parts. I didn't feel like I was drawn into the story or that our characters were rounded This was an interesting idea, but the story wasn't very thought out and honestly didn't flow well. I didn't feel like I was drawn into the story or that our characters were rounded out as well as they should have been.

We should be able to picture this world and feel their feelings. As a rough outline this works, but with some editing and some real feeling, detail, and research it could have been a very good book. May 08, Mily Lou rated it really liked it Shelves: This book was great!!!! Taran was a good character. Even if he was a little bitter because of what happened to him in his childhood.

The way the author wrote the character was very impressive. It is very hard to like a character like Taran. Some authors make a big mistake when they make a main characters to mean. Reader tend to lose interest in them and look for other characters to like. I've done that many times. This book was fast pace and it was kinda hard to hate any characters because before This book was great!!!!