Synopses
of books by Nury Vittachi


"The Feng Shui Detective" (Chameleon Press, 2000) Part of an acclaimed series of books about a 17-year-old girl, educated in Hong Kong, who becomes an assistant to a feng shui master. She expects to spend her time moving furniture – but discovers that Mr. Wong specializes in reading the feng shui at scenes of crime. The tales are in the short story format popularized by the Sherlock Holmes adventures.

"The Feng Shui Detective Goes South" (Chameleon Press, 2002) Second volume of the "Feng Shui Detective" series. In this volume, a full-length novel, Mr. Wong and his assistant become involved with a young woman who has terribly bad fortune. All forecasts say she is about to die. The only way Mr. Wong and his friends can save her life is to prove themselves wrong. The action shifts from Asia to Australia.

"The Feng Shui Detective's Casebook" (Chameleon Press, 2003) Third volume of the series. In this bracelet of stories, Mr. Wong and his assistant are commissioned to visit the board members of an international company in their own countries. So they head off to a variety of nations in Asia-Pacific, from Australia to Thailand to the Philippines to Singapore, interacting with all sorts of people from Thai movie stars to Manila journalists.

"Dead Eric Gets a Virus" (Chameleon Kids, 2002) Novel for young people aged 10 to 15 about a boy who downloads his brain into a computer. The experiment kills him—but his brain is still alive in the computer. So he installs a wireless internet connection into the neck of his corpse and brings himself back to life. Then he sends himself back to school. It all sounds weird and wonderful, but there are serious themes underneath, about the immortality and the value of life.

"The True History of Santa Claus" (PPP, 2003) Story for young people aged eight and up about two children who discover the truth about Santa Claus – that he really exists. The book contains a wealth of historical data about the original Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, and draws lines that show how the historical human character evolved into the magical figure that children all over the world celebrate today. The book is designed to counter the cynicism about Christmas that young people have from about the age of eight or nine upwards.

"North Wind" (Chameleon Press, 2001) Non-fiction account of how the Hong Kong media struggled to maintain its impartiality over the handover period.

"Asian Values" (ODP, Hong Kong, 1996) A novel. University students handcuff two strangers together as a sponsored prank. All they have to do is stay shackled for 24 hours to raise a fortune for charity. Not easy when one is a hardnosed Asian businessman and the other a Western feminist.

"Ludwig and the Chewy Chunks Cafe" (Chameleon Press, Hong Kong, 1995) Children's fiction popular with the seven to 11 age group. A little boy is the only person who knows the information needed to save the world -- but he has forgotten it.

"Riding the Millennial Storm" (John Wiley Inc, New York, 1998) Lively biography of a financial guru Marc Faber.

"Robot Junior" (Chameleon Kids, 2002) Illustrated "chapter book" for children aged 6 to 10 about two children who build a robot with the brain of a child.

"The Ultimate 'Only in Hong Kong' Collection" (Chameleon Press, 2000) Illustrated book of short funny real-life tales of Hong Kong.