Fijileaks
  • Home
  • Archive Home
  • In-depth Analysis
    • BOI Report into George Speight and others beatings
  • Documents
  • Opinion
  • CRC Submissions
  • Features
  • Archive

SOLID OIL: Former Fiji Sun publisher Russell Hunter's political eco-terrorism thriller has all elements of fast-paced winner, assembling a breathtaking diversity of protagonists & intentions and winding its way to an unexpected, gripping conclusion

7/2/2014

1 Comment

 
SOLID OIL is fiction but many will see it as prophetic and not all will appreciate its message. Written by former Fiji Sun publisher and regional journalist Russell Hunter, now based in Townsville, northern Australia, the book is highly optimistic about the future of PNG  – but there are obstacles to be cleared first.

SOLID OIL is especially optimistic about the role – and power – of women as a story of greed, ambition, corruption and ultimate honesty unfolds. The central tale will be familiar to many connected to PNG. A world-class resource has been found in the country. Nations, companies and individuals are eager for control of it and some are prepared to defy all laws to achieve it. A crime cartel faces the combined might of the United States and Australia (who each have their own agendas) in a battle to control the precious deposit of lithium – often described as the oil of the 21st century.  The outcome is far from being as clear cut as might be expected.

Finally it falls to a young woman to lead her country away from the past and into a promising but by no means secure future. In doing so she must sacrifice her love for a man to her love for her nation. 

The novel, set in the murky world of eco-terrorism, has been published in the United States and is available in hard copy and e-format from Amazon and Angus and Robertson online as well as most leading on line bookstores.

“I suppose you could call it an eco-thriller though the description is overused,” said Russell, “It’s mostly set in Papua New Guinea, Canberra and Washington with cameo appearances by Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Hong Kong and  Monte Carlo.”

The story revolves around the pursuit of lithium, a light metallic element used in just about everything from mobile phones to nuclear bombs. There is a Vietnamese gangster after the precious resource while the first woman U.S president has her own plans for it.

Added to this mix are murder, corruption and a category 5 hurricane.

Russell Hunter  has ‘previous’ with violent criminals. While working as a newspaperman in Fiji in 2008 he was abducted from his home late at night, by soldiers of the military dictator Frank Bainimamrama who took power at gunpoint in December 2006.

“He wanted total control of everything including - especially- the  media,” said Russell, “I took a very firm line against this in the paper and clearly had to go. A gang of squaddies (not in uniform - in fact it was denied that they were military until that position was no longer tenable) arrived at the house and took me to a secret location overnight before marching me on to a plane for Sydney the following morning, despite a court order obtained in the meantime, that I was not to be removed from the country.”

“My daughter, then 13, was especially traumatised at the sight of her father being forced into a car by seven men in the middle of the night.”


Picture
The former Fiji Sun publisher Russell Hunter with a copy of his eco-thriller Solid Oil
Picture
Title: Solid Oil

Author: Russell Hunter

Publisher: Cambridge Books, Cambridge, Maryland, United States

ISBN: 9781613862384

Price: Paperback US$18.95, e-book US$6.95

Contact: Russell Hunter  0410 120985

Click below to BUY:
http://www.amazon.com/Solid-Oil-Russell-Hunter/dp/1613862385

"The rainforest’s secret is known to a very few. But each is perfectly placed to profit from it. The secret is lithium—sometimes described as the oil of the 21st century—and the knowledge of it has spawned a crime cabal led by Vietnamese gangster-turned-investor Johnny Ho and including a diverse cast of fellow crooks. Their plan is to own the priceless resource in the middle of the island of New Guinea, cut down the rainforest, and leverage themselves into financial control of most of Southeast Asia. To protect them they have a weapon only a nuclear strike can combat. Or so they think. The first female president of a United States, self sufficient in oil but totally without the precious lithium, has her own plans. Andrei Kutuzov, chess aficionado, avid reader and unlikely secret agent, is sent to make them a reality. The Australians, meanwhile, are also aware of the deposit and have their own intentions—with an SAS team on call to support them. As the story unfolds through murder, jealousy, corruption and a Category 5 hurricane, Kutuzov comes to realize the players have reckoned without one factor—the nation that holds the deposit and the beautiful young woman who will emerge to lead it. The presence of a national heroine (and the people who call the forest home) forces them all to think again."

Click here to read the Facebook page/reviews on Solid Oil: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Solid-Oil/1402457929996041
About the Author
Born and educated in Dundee, Scotland, Russell Hunter’s work as journalist, editor and newspaper manager has taken him to most parts of the planet. Many of those play roles in Solid Oil. He has travelled in and written extensively on the Pacific Islands. His devotion to the principles of democracy and media freedom resulted in his abduction and subsequent deportation from Fiji by the military dictatorship that seized government at gunpoint in 2006. He has since settled in Australia’s tropical north with his Papua New Guinean partner. They have two daughters.
1 Comment
Tukana
10/2/2014 09:38:34 am

A good read with fast paced narrative that kept me turning the pages. The plot is in the realm of the possible!
A worthwhile acquisition from a new author.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Contact Email
    ​[email protected]
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012