Proglen

Publisher info

Proglen is Thailand's oldest online bookstore. It specializes in English and other European language books published in Thailand. Thailand is fortunate to have so many publishers with good books covering the Southeast Asian region in both fiction and non-fiction. Dipping our toes into the eBooks explosion is our latest endeavour.

Where to find Proglen online

Where to buy in print

The Force of Karma
Price: $7.95 USD. Words: 106,110. Language: English. Published: September 19, 2022 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Literature » Literary, Nonfiction » History » Asian » Asia / Southeast Asia
THE FORCE OF KARMA - The sequel to Pira Sudham's 1988 classic Monsoon Country - A new edition of the 2002 The Force of Karma - Pira added additional last chapter in 2022 bringing the historical saga up-to-date. When the Red Shirts demonstrated in support of Thaksin Shinawatra the one sure outcome was that it wouldn't be the politicians, army generals or university professors who would be killed.
Monsoon Country
Price: $7.95 USD. Words: 72,260. Language: English. Published: September 19, 2022 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Literature » Literary, Nonfiction » History » Asian » Asia / Southeast Asia
Pira Sudham's 1988 classic Monsoon Country - NEW 2022 EDITION - It is hard to overstate the impact that Pira's Monsoon Country had on the outside world when it was first published in 1988. Regarded as a classic by many, yet is was classic in a genre of just one novel.
Chess from Scratch: A Beginner's Guide to Chess and Its Applications to ADHD
Price: $7.95 USD. Words: 35,850. Language: English. Published: May 14, 2022 by Proglen. Categories: Nonfiction » Education & Study Guides » Special education / learning disabilities, Nonfiction » Entertainment » Games, puzzles, & brain twisters » Chess
More than just another chess for beginners book. Much more than a teaching chess to kids book. Chess from Scratch will not only help beginners of all ages, but also gets those of us who haven't played a game for 40 or 50 years to pick the game up again. Its intention is to move the reader from rank beginner to an intermediate level of chess.
Jove
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 91,300. Language: English. Published: July 19, 2021 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Adventure, Fiction » Science fiction » Hard sci-fi
ONE MANS ESCAPE INTO HUMANKINDS GREATEST ADVENTURE… NASA astronaut Alex Shaw is past his prime, once a rising star he has in recent years been side-lined by new technology. Now almost irrelevant he is barely holding it together. Then along came JOVE. When life is discovered on Jupiter he is given one last chance to make history. JOVE…IT’S OUT THERE !
Jimm Juree Box Set 2: The Jimm Juree Case Files 6 - 10
Price: $6.95 USD. Words: 44,130. Language: English. Published: September 20, 2020 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Women Sleuths, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Amateur sleuth
These short stories are part of a new series of Colin Cotterill short stories featuring his female news reporter and detective, Jimm Juree. Fans of Jimm know her from the four novels where, with the help of the members of her strange family, she usually solves the crime. Move over Miss Marple, Jimm Juree does it for the 21st Century.
Genesis 2.0: Magic Circles Book 2
Price: $4.95 USD. Words: 189,630. Language: English. Published: June 6, 2020 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Apocalyptic, Fiction » Science fiction » Cyberpunk
A nanobot superorganism lays waste to the Earth. Is this the apocalypse? Or does the world's end harbor new beginnings? Life will always find a way. Evolution on steroids - the most significant development since inanimate matter first gave rise to life. You can't predict novel evolutionary developments, you recognize them only after they emerge. Then you have to deal with them.
MOM: Magic Circles Book 1
Price: $4.95 USD. Words: 100,170. Language: English. Published: June 5, 2020 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Apocalyptic, Fiction » Science fiction » Cyberpunk
MOM is the mall operations manager -- the greatest intelligence in history, a machine awakened to self-awareness at a time when the last few human survivors have withdrawn to the last two remaining refuges on Earth. Quarantined from the global nanobot superorganism outside the malls and from each other inside, the mallsters are utterly dependent on MOM for everything. Now the malls are crumbling.
Number Twelve: Lost Property
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 9,060. Language: English. Published: November 9, 2019 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Women Sleuths
Jimm Juree leaves her handbag behind at supermarket car park. Finding it again drags her into world of social media which she had managed to ignore thus far. She discovers that crime fighting can be easier with the backing of many online friends.
Jimm Juree Box Set: The Jimm Juree Case Files 1 - 5
Price: $6.95 USD. Words: 43,870. Language: English. Published: October 7, 2019 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Women Sleuths, Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime
The Jimm Juree Box Set allows you to save money by receiving the first five Jimm Juree Case Files in one short story collection. There is still a saving even if you already have first story. The first five stories were originally published separately between 2016 and 2018.
Brannan: The Movie
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 58,860. Language: English. Published: September 11, 2019 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Crime thriller, Fiction » Adventure » Sea adventures
Joe Brannan is living the good life; as skipper and owner of a charter dive-boat operating out of Thailand’s sin city Pattaya he has everything. Everything that is, except the cash flow it takes to keep his beloved boat operating. Then, due to an unexpected twist of fate, he is approached by a beautiful movie starlet with a lucrative proposition that could change his fortunes forever.
Number Eleven: Whale Vomit
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 10,360. Language: English. Published: August 9, 2019 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Women Sleuths, Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime
Jimm didn't know what she had found on the beach or how valuable it was. Her Granddad did though. What she also didn't know were the troubles her attempt to claim a fortune would lead her into.
Number Ten: Tom Tom
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 8,980. Language: English. Published: May 12, 2019 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Women Sleuths, Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime
Number Ten: Tom Tom is the tenth in a new series of Colin Cotterill short stories featuring his female news reporter and detective, Jimm Juree. Someone is stalking a local nurse and Jimm is asked to help find the culprit. Instead she uncovers a hot bed of local perversion. Who is the guilty party?
Brannan’s Chase
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 61,600. Language: English. Published: May 4, 2019 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Spies & espionage, Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime
Murderous gangsters, lethal North Korean assassins, a stolen superweapon. The chase is on… BRANNAN’S BACK! Amid the storm, the heat, the slaughter and the courage, Brannans chase is on…
Detektiv Verspielt
Price: $5.60 USD. Words: 37,460. Language: German. Published: April 24, 2019 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime, Fiction » Mystery & detective » General
Romeos neuester Fall führt ihn nach Las Vegas. Leser werden viel über die gängigen Kasinospiele, den Kasinobetrieb im Allgemeinen, über die mannigfachen Betrugsversuche von Professionellen und Dilettanten erfahren und möglicherweise auch Hinweise zur Verbesserung ihrer Spieltechnik erhalten.
Brannan’s Run
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 60,560. Language: English. Published: April 3, 2019 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Crime thriller, Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime
Joe Brannan owner and Captain of a dive boat working out of Thailand's sin city Pattaya is desperate to keep his business afloat, so when an acquaintance comes to him with a tale of sunken riches he simply can't resist taking a look. But nobody warned him he would risk losing everything as he is caught up in a maelstrom of twists and turns, malevolent villains, close calls and Cambodian pirates.
Number Nine: Maprao Syndrome
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 9,130. Language: English. Published: March 1, 2019 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Women Sleuths, Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime
Number Nine: Maprao Syndrome is the ninth in a new series of Colin Cotterill short stories featuring his female news reporter and detective, Jimm Juree. An American lady tourist has been kidnapped in Maprao, South Thailand. The police need Jimm's expertise, or at least her English language reading skills. This case needs Jimm and her friendly local policemen, Chom to figure out what's gone on.
Taking it up the Blindside
Price: $8.95 USD. Words: 79,760. Language: English. Published: February 7, 2019 by Proglen. Categories: Nonfiction » Sports & outdoor recreation » Football & rugby » Rugby, Nonfiction » Entertainment » Humor & satire » Topic / sports
What goes on tour, stays on tour…UNTIL NOW! All, and I do mean all, rugby players the world over are from the same mould. They are friendly, convivial, generally well mannered, muscular, motivated, heavy drinkers with a high testosterone level, but above all trustworthy. Now this treacherous author has let the pussy out of the bag and touring is no longer a simple visa permit from the wife.
Number Eight: Smelly Man
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 8,700. Language: English. Published: December 25, 2018 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Women Sleuths, Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime
Number Eight: Smelly Man is the seventh in a new series of Colin Cotterill short stories featuring his female news reporter and detective, Jimm Juree. Who is trying to kill the smelly tramp? The tramp doesn't know, but he hires Jimm to find out. Jimm with her family and a friendly gay cop set to work on the mystery as only they can.
Number Seven: Sex on the Beach
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 11,980. Language: English. Published: November 18, 2018 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Women Sleuths
Number Seven: Sex on the Beach is the seventh in a new series of Colin Cotterill short stories featuring his female news reporter and detective, Jimm Juree. When a tourist is raped and killed at a resort in the south of Thailand, the police place the guilt on a Burmese migrant worker. Jimm is recruited to help the arrested worker and soon smells a rat, or rather a number of them.
Famous Last Selfies
Price: $9.99 USD. Words: 1,190. Language: English. Published: November 1, 2018 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » General, Fiction » Graphic novels & comics » Comics
Although best known as an author of crime novels like the Dr. Siri and Jimm Juree series, Colin Cotterill is also an accomplished artist and illustrator. He has designed many book covers for other authors and this new book of cartoons allows you to perhaps see a little bit more into how his mind works.
Number Six: Spay With Me
Series: Jimm Juree Case Files. Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 10,940. Language: English. Published: July 21, 2018 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Women Sleuths
Number Six: Spay With Me is the sixth in a new series of Colin Cotterill short stories featuring his female news reporter and detective, Jimm Juree. Fans of Jimm know her from the four novels where, with the help of the members of her strange family, she usually solves the crime. Move over Miss Marple, Jimm Juree does it for the 21st Century.
The Long Winding Road to Nakhon Nowhere: When Thailand Truly was the Land of Smiles
Price: $9.99 USD. Words: 84,360. Language: English. Published: May 1, 2018 by Proglen. Categories: Nonfiction » Biography » Editors, journalists, & publishers, Nonfiction » Travel » By region » Asia
In January 1969, at the age of 22, Roger Crutchley set out from London on an overland trip to the Far East. After three months he found himself in Bangkok which was not on his planned route at all. Here he relates his eventful journey and the early experiences in Thailand, a kingdom he is still trying to figure out after working four decades on the Bangkok Post newspaper.
Number Five: Trash
Series: Jimm Juree Case Files, Book 5. Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 8,080. Language: English. Published: April 27, 2018 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Women Sleuths
Number Five: Trash is the fifth in a new series of Colin Cotterill short stories. Not a message in a bottle; instead it's in a sealed plastic bag which once held medicines, stuffed inside an old sardine can and washed up on the beach. A cry for help by someone held against their will? And is there any connection to the Burmese labourers dying from malaria? Another case for Jimm Juree.
Number Four: The Zero Finger Option
Series: Jimm Juree Case Files, Book 4. Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 13,010. Language: English. Published: January 27, 2018 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Women Sleuths
Number Four: The Zero Finger Option is the fourth in a new series of Colin Cotterill short stories featuring his female news reporter and detective, Jimm Juree. In The Zero Finger Option a letter a day delivered by a good looking young postman leads Jimm into a new mystery. It starts as a case of internet scamming, but ends up somewhere far worse.
Number Three: Highway Robbery
Series: Jimm Juree Case Files, Book 3. Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 14,260. Language: English. Published: December 16, 2017 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Women Sleuths
"First, my only appointment of the week phoned to postpone. Second, on the TV news I was astounded to see scenes from our own Highway 41 where an armoured security van had been deserted minus its cash. And, third, I was awoken just before midnight by the sound of groaning coming from the empty shop house beside mine. It was a while before I learned how these three events were connected."
Digital Dragon: The Road to Nirvana Runs Through the Land of Tao
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 13,300. Language: English. Published: November 28, 2017 by Proglen. Categories: Nonfiction » Art, Architecture, Photography » Architecture » History, Nonfiction » Art, Architecture, Photography » Fine art » Criticism & theory
Digital Dragon: The Road to Nirvana runs through the land of Tao offers a new perspective on art and science in East and West. Not widely known is that Far Eastern aesthetics played a crucial role in modernizing Western art and architecture. The merger of Western science and Far Eastern aesthetics is a key driver of our emerging planetary culture.
Number Two: When You Wish Upon a Star
Series: Jimm Juree Case Files, Book 2. Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 6,220. Language: English. Published: October 28, 2017 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Women Sleuths, Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime
Number Two: When You Wish Upon a Star is a fictional short story by Colin Cotterill. It is the second in a series of eBook short stories based on his fictional Thai woman journalist and crime solver, Jimm Juree. In this story a car drives into a river and a woman is dead. A terrible accident and a broken hearted husband. Or it would be if Jimm’s sixth sense hadn’t cut in.
Detektiv Exotisch
Price: $5.80 USD. Words: 40,270. Language: German. Published: October 9, 2017 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime, Fiction » Mystery & detective » General
Der Detektiv Romeo besucht seine Mutter in Bangkok. Als der geplante Entspannungsurlaub langweilig zu werden droht, übernimmt er für sie eine Gefälligkeitsmission auf einer exotischen Insel. Was er als leichte Übung eingeschätzt hatte, mündet in eine schonungslose Abrechnung mit der Inselmafia vor dem Hintergrund einer schrecklichen Bluttat. Der begnadete Ermittler Romeo ist wieder da!
Number One: The Funeral Photographer
Series: Jimm Juree Case Files, Book 1. Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 6,710. Language: English. Published: September 16, 2017 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Women Sleuths, Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime
The Funeral Photographer is the first in a new series of Colin Cotterill short stories featuring his female news reporter and detective, Jimm Juree. Fans of Jimm know her from the four novels where, with the help of the members of her strange family, she usually solves the crime. Move over Miss Marple, Jimm Juree does it for the 21st Century.
Shadow of the Barbarian
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 61,900. Language: English. Published: July 27, 2017 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Epic, Fiction » Young adult or teen » Fantasy
KUDA. More than a barbarian, less than a hero. From wild and wintry steppes to exotic cities. Amidst the flashing eyes and flowing hair of beautiful women Kuda the barbarian must draw steel against foul sorcery, savage tribesmen and treacherous pirates: In two titanic tales. SHADOW OF THE BARBARIAN & TEARS OF THE GODS Kick-Ass sword & sorcery re-booted for the twenty-first century.
Folktales of Bhutan
Price: $7.99 USD. Words: 55,020. Language: English. Published: September 30, 2016 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Cultural & ethnic themes » Cultural interest, general, Nonfiction » Travel » By region » Asia
From the author of Bhutanese Tales of the Yeti another dip into the library of the storytellers from the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. Folktales of Bhutan is a collection of thirty-eight folktales and legends and is a first attempt by a Bhutanese to record in English the oral tradition of this kingdom in the eastern Himalayas.
East River
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 128,520. Language: English. Published: September 9, 2016 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Thriller & suspense » General, Fiction » Adventure » Action
A page turning novel about murder, corruption and money laundering within the walls of the UN and one of its peacekeeping operations.
Bangkok People
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 65,020. Language: English. Published: August 7, 2016 by Proglen. Categories: Nonfiction » Travel » By region » Asia, Nonfiction » History » Asian » Asia / Southeast Asia
The profiles, mostly written for the Manager Magazine, before the 1997 Asian Economic Crisis of which the magazine ended up a victim, was from the time of Bangkok booming. Will it ever get quite up to those good-time heights again? Dig in and enjoy these vignettes of the real people who populated this wonderful city.
noch ein Bier
Price: $5.59 USD. Words: 45,490. Language: German. Published: July 30, 2016 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Anthologies » Short stories - single author
J.Torings Geschichten sind in weit gestreuten Lebensbereichen angesiedelt. Sie sind heiter und amüsant, warmherzig und einfühlsam, vielschichtig aber schnörkellos, berührend und bisweilen bestürzend, manchmal skurril bis ins Absurde, immer sind sie jedoch höchst unterhaltsam. Mit trockenem Humor und einer Nuance Sarkasmus verdichtet er banale Begebenheiten zu Episoden des Lebens.
The Amok Runners
Price: $7.99 USD. Words: 65,320. Language: English. Published: June 15, 2016 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Women Sleuths
A detective crime novel set in Thailand featuring Jimm Juree, Colin Cotterill's fictional detective.
Pattaya Strange
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 400. Language: English. Published: May 23, 2016 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » General
Did you ever wonder what happened to Britain's saucy seaside postcards? They are alive and well and living in Pattaya, Thailand. Far naughtier than Brighton, Michael J. Baird has been producing this homage to our cultural past in the sin city itself, Pattaya. In this book Mike takes another look at how strange Pattaya can be at times.
Pattayas Beach Road
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 440. Language: English. Published: May 23, 2016 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » General
Did you ever wonder what happened to Britain's saucy seaside postcards? They are alive and well and living in Pattaya, Thailand. Far naughtier than Brighton, Michael J. Baird has been producing this homage to our cultural past in the sin city itself, Pattaya. In this book Mike takes another look at Pattaya's famous Beach Road.
Pattaya: The Bars
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 440. Language: English. Published: May 23, 2016 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » General
Did you ever wonder what happened to Britain's saucy seaside postcards? They are alive and well and living in Pattaya, Thailand. Far naughtier than Brighton, Michael J. Baird has been producing this homage to our cultural past in the sin city itself, Pattaya. In this book Mike takes look at Pattaya's many bars.
Ladyboy Book 1: Adult Cartoon Book
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 510. Language: English. Published: May 23, 2016 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » General
Did you ever wonder what happened to Britain's saucy seaside postcards? They are alive and well and living in Pattaya, Thailand. Far naughtier than Brighton, Michael J. Baird has been producing this homage to our cultural past in the sin city itself, Pattaya. In this book Mike takes another look at Pattaya's transvestite community and its foreign customers.
Amuzing Thai Cartoons Book 2
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 620. Language: English. Published: May 23, 2016 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » General
Did you ever wonder what happened to Britain's saucy seaside postcards? They are alive and well and living in Pattaya, Thailand. Far naughtier than Brighton, Michael J. Baird has been producing this homage to our cultural past in the sin city itself, Pattaya. In this book Mike takes another look at Pattaya's transvestite community and its foreign customers.
Amuzing Thai Cartoons Book 1
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 610. Language: English. Published: May 23, 2016 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » General
Did you ever wonder what happened to Britain's saucy seaside postcards? They are alive and well and living in Pattaya, Thailand. Far naughtier than Brighton, Michael J. Baird has been producing this homage to our cultural past in the sin city itself, Pattaya. In this book Mike takes another look at Pattaya's transvestite community and its foreign customers.
Pattayas Unforgetable Memories
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 460. Language: English. Published: May 23, 2016 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » General
Did you ever wonder what happened to Britain's saucy seaside postcards? They are alive and well and living in Pattaya, Thailand. Far naughtier than Brighton, Michael J. Baird has been producing this homage to our cultural past in the sin city itself, Pattaya.
Ladyboy Outrageous Cartoon Book 3
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 540. Language: English. Published: May 23, 2016 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » General
Did you ever wonder what happened to Britain's saucy seaside postcards? They are alive and well and living in Pattaya, Thailand. Far naughtier than Brighton, Michael J. Baird has been producing this homage to our cultural past in the sin city itself, Pattaya. In this book Mike takes another look at Pattaya's transvestite community and its foreign customers. The Pattaya Mail has been printing M
Pattayas Cartoon Memories Volume 1
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 550. Language: English. Published: May 23, 2016 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » General
The Pattaya Mail has been printing Mike’s cartoons in their newspaper every week in black & white for the last 15 years under the pen name of M.J.B. Mike has built up a huge fan club who look forward to seeing what has sparked him off each week.
Thai Literature - An Introduction
Price: $9.99 USD. Words: 42,140. Language: English. Published: December 3, 2015 by Proglen. Categories: Nonfiction » History » Asian » Asia / Southeast Asia, Essay » Literature
Thai Literature — An Introduction is a study of the extensive and diverse writings that form an integral part of the Thai literary tradition. The book has been divided into tentative periods beginning with the discovery of an inscription on a stele, erected in 1292 by Ram Kamhaeng, and concluding with an overview of contemporary Thai literature.
Detektiv Kaputt
Price: $5.49 USD. Words: 41,320. Language: German. Published: August 4, 2015 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » General, Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Crime thriller
Der Detektiv Romeo befindet sich am Tiefpunkt seines Lebens. Die allgemeine Weltwirtschaftskrise ist auch über die Ermittlungsbranche hereingebrochen. Existenzielle Sorgen und die Vorstellung einer Zukunft ohne Perspektiven haben ihn kaputt gemacht.
Thai Jinks
Price: $4.95 USD. Words: 74,780. Language: English. Published: June 13, 2015 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » General, Nonfiction » Travel » By region » Asia
Through the eighties and nineties and into the new century we followed the humorous adventures of Jim Eckardt in both of Bangkok's daily English language newspapers, the Bangkok Post and the Nation. You see, things happened to Jim. It often involved beer. Some of these things weren't so good, but they were always funny and never dull.
Bleeding in Black and White
Price: $7.99 USD. Words: 104,940. Language: English. Published: April 21, 2015 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Spies & espionage, Fiction » Mystery & detective » General
Colin Cotterill creates a new member of his wonderful cast of characters in his latest book Bleeding in Black and White. He is CIA agent Robert "Bodge" Leon.
Maria and the Wicked Witch
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 4,830. Language: English. Published: March 18, 2015 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Children’s books » Fairy tales & fables
Two wonderful children’s stories are featured. In the first, Maria and the Wicked Witch, 6-year-old Maria, tricked by an evil witch, disobeys her parents, enters a forbidden forest and is taken captive. She uses all her wiles to escape from the witch. The second, The Three Crayons - Red, Blue and Green - are taken to a Village Fair by their parents Mom Brown Crayon and Dad Yellow Crayon.
Quest for The Rod of Moses
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 45,760. Language: English. Published: March 10, 2015 by Proglen. Categories: Fiction » Children’s books » Fairy tales & fables, Fiction » Children’s books » Legends, Myths, Fables / General
A young warrior, Zarn, is chosen by Fairy Julietta to seek and obtain the Rod of Moses as the means to ensure the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Zamara has a male heir to the Royal Throne.
View more books by this publisher...

Series

Jimm Juree Case Files
A new series of Colin Cotterill short stories featuring his female news reporter and detective, Jimm Juree. Fans of Jimm know her from the four novels where, with the help of the members of her strange family, she usually solves the crime. Move over Miss Marple, Jimm Juree does it for the 21st Century.

Proglen's tag cloud

adhd education    adhd learning    adult cartoons    adult humor    adult humour    adventure in pattaya    ai    alien world    amateur detective    amateur sleuth    amateur sleuths    ambergris    apocalyptic    artificial intelligence    asian crime    asian detective    asian economic crisis    asian rugby    assasin thailand    axonometry    bangkok    bangkok 1997    bangkok post    bangkok rugby    barbarian    barbarian hero    bargirl cartoons    best selfies    bhutan    bhutan culture    bhutan history    bhutan kingdom of bhutan    boom town    british club bangkok    cambodia    caribbean labor day parade brooklyn    cartoons    cellphone camera    charter boat    chess    chess book    chess course    chess ebook    chess for kids    chess rules    chess tutorial    chiang mai    chinese art    cia    cia in thailand    claude shannon    colin cotterill    concubine    crime    crime in thailand    crime murder    crime story    crutch    cyberpunk    detective in thailand    detective short story    detektiv    detektivroman    distopian fantasy    distopian science fiction    dive boat    dive pattaya    diving boat    diving in thailand    doctor siri    dystopian    dystopian adult    dystopian apocalyptic    dystopian fiction    dystopian science fiction romance    dystopian thriller    eckardt    edith clampton    esarn    evil wizards    fairy    fairy tale    fantasy dark    fantasy epic    fantasy epics    fantasy genre    fantasy hero    female detective    female protagonists    female sleuth    fiction thailand    folktales    forbidden forest    frank lloyd wright    george boole    geschichten    gottfried leibniz    gulf of siam    himalaya    himalayan mountains    himalayas    hong kong    hong kong rugby    international crime    international detective    international mystery    isan    issan    james eckardt    jimm juree    kasino    klaus wenk    koh samui    kriminalitt    lady crime fighter    lady detective    ladyboy cartoons    ladyboys    las vegas    learn chess    legends    living in bangkok    magic spells    magic sword    monsters    montagnards    movie extra    murder    murder thailand    new york    nobby piles    norbert wiener    north korean spies    northeast thailand    online crime fighting    pattaya cartoons    pattaya crime    pattaya dive boat    pattaya diving    pattaya mail cartoons    pattaya movie    pattaya nightlife humor    pattaya nightlife humour    pattaya romance    pattaya thailand    peacekeeping mission    phuket    pira sudham    postscript    privatdetektiv    private investigator    ram kamhaeng    rhinos rugby club    rugby asia    rugby sex    rugby tours    russian pattaya    saigon    science fantasy    science fiction    science fiction adventure    science fiction romance    selfie    selfie photos    selfie stick    selfportrait photograph    short story    siamese literature    smartphone cameras    songkla    south thailand    sukhumvit road    sunthon phu    sword and sorcery    sword sorcery    taking selfies    terrorist attack    thai army coup    thai cartoons    thai crime    thai crime mystery    thai detective    thai history    thai journalism    thai literature    thai murder    thai mystery    thai poetry    thai poets    thai politics    thai religion    thai russian gangsters    thai writing    thailand    thailand beach    thailand coup    thailand crime    thailand detective    thailand facts    thailand history    thailand holiday postcards    thailand holidays    thailand people    the nation bangkok    theo van doesburg    treasure hunt    un new york    us navy pattaya    vegas crime    vegas kasino    viet minh    vietnam    vincent van gogh    washington dc    witch    woman detective    woman sleuth    women detective    women detectives    women sleuths   

Smashwords book reviews by Proglen

  • The Book of Answers on July 18, 2011

    Reviewer--Collin Piprell (www.collinpiprell.com). I had the pleasure of reading an early review copy of C.Y. Gopinath's debut novel. *The Book of Answers* promises even greater success than his globetrotting chronicle *Travels with the Fish( (HarperCollins India, 1999). Released just this month, also by HarperCollins India, *The Book of Answers* has already appeared on the bestseller list in that country. I’m going to don my “let’s pitch this book to a modern market” hat, something I find hard to do with my own books and hesitate to do with Gopinath’s debut novel for fear of doing it an injustice. Anyway, here goes: Think, an Indian Jonathan Swift turns to magical realism with a message for readers everywhere. Alternatively, we could describe the novel as a fabulist satire wherein a Clarke Kent hero represents the potential of Everyman to take a stand and fight against those absurd and often evil (often bureaucratic) forces that shape our lives. Readers in Thailand might almost believe that former and newly de facto PM Thaksin Shinawatra had seen the book in manuscript and used it as a manual for retaking power. The book is compulsively readable. I found myself reluctant to skim passages for fear of missing any of the gems scattered across every page. Gopinath sketches his hugely entertaining characters with sure and economical strokes. I enjoyed all of them, from the Convener and the godman to B Plus and the “doctor of venereal diseases,” with his very entertaining medical examination of Pat and Rose, the central characters. The author’s treatment of Indian English, meanwhile, is both warmly funny and minimalist, in no way obtrusive. In the course of one entertaining dialogue, for example, “codswallop” devolves by stages into “shit,” the speaker’s Anglophiliac try for elegance nicely derailed. “More banging for a buck,” in another conversation, is enough to comically conjure, without further ado, the voice Gopinath wanted. “Gourment” (see the extract, below) is how Indian bureaucrats pronounce “government,” and it includes connotations sorely missing in the conventional expression. The book is also a structural success. Among other features, it presents an excellent conclusion, something too many otherwise good novels lack. En route, Gopinath consistently leaves the reader hanging at the end of each chapter, wanting more, and introduces each successive chapter with a surprise. In the first chapter, the hero’s proto-obsessive compulsive negotiation of Mumbai's streets and his collision with the Fat Man is superbly realized. And what an idea is introduced shortly thereafter! A blind calligrapher of unknown provenance has inscribed wisdom for times not yet here in a mysterious tome known as The Book of Answers, recording details of the future produced by that calligrapher's lover, chief cook for a client's household. That’s followed hard upon by in introduction to “The Ministry of Errors and Regrets.” This venerable institution applies the principle of wringing every possible lesson from a mistake by repeating that error as often as possible. Gopinath adopts a wonderfully comic voice, kind of like Flann O'Brien describing a meeting chaired by the Mad Hatter, the agenda set by Kafka. (The latter individual would have appreciated a ministerial interview to determine whether Pat, the hero, and Rose, his companion, were rich or poor.) The story as a whole is a delightful tapestry woven from such threads as the eponymous Book of Answers itself; the Ministry for Errors and Regrets; Rose's scrapbook of omens; the dynamic between Pat, his friend Arindam, and Rose, who turns out to be Arindam's wife; Pat's comic love-life with Rose; and the rather moving development of Pat's relationship with his son Tippy, as Tippy himself is gradually revealed as much more than the klutz we first meet, the lad with “content-free eyes” tipped back in a chair chewing gum. Here’s just a taste from the hilariously barbed banquet: “We live in times of world ending. Kali yug, as we say in the scriptures. The Convener believes our country is in doldrums. Gourment is committed but man can only do so much. Shri Ishwar Prasad is facing challenges of lifetime, struggling with national problems such as upcoming elections, crime, literacy, terrorism, democracy, women's liberation, abortion, sexual slavery, judicial backlog, and a bankrupt treasury. While he is doing all this —” “We are not fooled,” said Rose. “Your boss heads a government in charge of pulling wool over people's eyes. The reality is that it’s a government of lies.” Her eyes blazed at the Convener’s Personal Assistant. “You make a good point,” Janki Ram continued reasonably. “But concept of pulling wool is rooted in Hindu philosophy and spirituality. Shri Ishwar Prasad says reality is overrated. It's a nice idea, of course, but it doesn't exist. The Convener’s only wants to make this acceptable to our struggling millions. He is not sidetracked by the facts. He is concerned with the truth.” Such ideas, expressed differently, figure prominently in another book I've just read. Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle, by Chris Hedges, is a bleak jeremiad that appears to leave little option other than fleeing the planet. I prefer the darkly comic recourse offered by The Book of Answers. www.collinpiprell.com