The Gates of Exquisite View

British businessman Simon Young and his Eurasian son Matthew return in this sequel to The Mah-Jongg Spies, as two principals in an outsize cast of international characters. All are struggling to possess the Young company's miraculous computer, Apogee, which can ensure its controlling nation domination over the world. With the People's Republic of China planning to invade Taiwan, Qiu Qianwei of the Mainland Intelligence Agency goes after Apogee and narrowly survives deadly attacks in Thailand and Taiwan. In the Soviet Union, discussions on an alliance with Red China are under way; in Taiwan, sadistic Li Lu-tang holds Mat and his lover Mo Mei-Hua hostages to force Simon into surrendering the computer to the Taiwanese. The prisoners suffer in ""the gates of exquisite view,'' where Li forces them to look at depictions of hideous tortures that they are about to undergo. Along with graphic descriptions of the fates that befall others, these scenes test the reader's endurance. There is rarely a moment to pause for breath between the agonizingly suspenseful events in a thriller that is worthy of its genre. (January)