My rating:

add to my books

The Rice Queen Spy

by John F. Rooney

4.33 · rating details · 3 ratings · 3 reviews

Philip Croft, a master spy for Her Majesty's secret service was cruelly outed and tortured for his homosexuality. He was a rice queen-partial only to Asian men, a gentle man who was betrayed by some-not for being gay, but for being too decent and nave. This novel traces Philip's life and his loves, and is a triumphant testimony to a gay man's passage to old age. He kept hi...more

Paperback, 292 pages

Published September 10th 2007 by Senneff House Publishers

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-9 of 9)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Nov 20, 2011

Elisa Ramblings added it

I don’t know what I was expecting by this novel but for sure I’m impressed by how the author managed to make of Philip Croft, the Rice Queen Spy, an even too real character, with the faults and down of a man, not an hero.

Philip Croft is a spy for the Queen of England, but he is not some fake James Bond; when the novel starts, Philip is 58 years old and under investigation for being gay. Investigation that implies physical torture to the hand of his same colleagues, betrayed by whom h...moreI don’t know what I was expecting by this novel but for sure I’m impressed by how the author managed to make of Philip Croft, the Rice Queen Spy, an even too real character, with the faults and down of a man, not an hero.

Philip Croft is a spy for the Queen of England, but he is not some fake James Bond; when the novel starts, Philip is 58 years old and under investigation for being gay. Investigation that implies physical torture to the hand of his same colleagues, betrayed by whom he believed were friends. And Philip will betray other colleagues, sure, brought to the edge by a sadistic man, but nevertheless he will shout the names of other homosexual men in the Service. After this experience, Philip is forced into an early retirement, but in a way this will be the freedom he was always searching.

Philip always lived his homosexuality abroad, in Asian countries were other foreigners profited of their wealth in comparison to the poor local boys. Yes, Philip is not some romance hero in searching for Mr Right; on the contrary, he is more like a sailor with a lover in every Asian Pacific harbours, and with his retirement he didn’t change his customs. Philip will open a gay sauna in London, and spend his winters wandering the Asia and in the end, having a 4 months boyfriend in Philippines, Reynaldo, while at the same time maintaining a friendly relationship with his employee in London, Kwan, and with an in-house boyfriend at home, Robin. And before and after these new boyfriends, he had always saved the memory of the love of his life, Tom.

There is a dark side in Philip the author is not willing to hide: Philip’s passion for young men, barely legally boys, borders into paedophilia, and indeed there are men in the circle of Philip’s friends that probably are not stranger to that; the same Philip is tempted, but for various reason he will never lapse, even if, only having being tempted is a nightmare that will always haunt Philip’s life.

Doing a balance of the pros and cons of Philip, he has to come out with more positive traits since, in the end, he will find a young man, Robin, who will be faithful to him until the end. And yes, the author chooses to accompany the reader until the end of Philip’s life, an end that is no bad, an end that will see Philip old and not alone, but maybe a little haunted by one too many ghosts. But you could say that he has so many ghosts since he had so many years to live and love.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0975275666/?tag...(less)

like 1 like

· see review

Jul 26, 2008

John rated it

44 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
LIFE GOES ON EVEN FOR FORMER SPYS, October 3, 2007
By Jak Klinikowski "justjak13"

I can honestly say I've never read anything like THE RICE QUEEN SPY. I've enjoyed plenty of fictitious memoirs, and biographies, and I've devoured my fair share of spy stories, but none have combined character, plot and subject matter in quite the same way as this novel.

Phillip Croft is a much decorated spy in Her M...more44 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
LIFE GOES ON EVEN FOR FORMER SPYS, October 3, 2007
By Jak Klinikowski "justjak13"

I can honestly say I've never read anything like THE RICE QUEEN SPY. I've enjoyed plenty of fictitious memoirs, and biographies, and I've devoured my fair share of spy stories, but none have combined character, plot and subject matter in quite the same way as this novel.

Phillip Croft is a much decorated spy in Her Majesty's elite intelligence organization, M16. Phillip has remained a closeted homosexual throughout his career, and he's only attracted to young Asian men. The story begins when Phillip is 58 years of age.

It's December of 1973 and Phillip is imprisoned in a safe house, referred to as The Terminal, somewhere in the English countryside. He's being held by the very organization he works for. Phillip is the victim of an inter-departmental witch hunt and has been outed to his superiors. He is being interrogated and tortured in the hopes that he will confess to treason, or, at the very least, reveal the names of other homosexuals in the organization. After many painful days, Phillip is finally released.

Here the story shifts gears. After his humiliation, Phillip is allowed early retirement with pension, and he decides to live his life as an openly gay man, and indulge his passion for Asians. Through Phillip's experiences a rich history of the Asian and London gay worlds during the later part of the twentieth century unfolds.

This is by no means a pornographic novel, in fact the sex scenes are tame by current standards, but there are many descriptions and images of the sexual propensities of the times, including prostitution and pedophilia, and they are often disturbing. Phillip is not a child chaser, but many of the older Caucasians that travel in this world are, and their proclivities can be eye opening and somewhat upsetting.

THE RICE QUEEN SPY is a fascinating read, but there are some problems. After an exciting beginning, Phillip's first post retirement trip to Asia meanders on for far too many pages seeming at times almost like a travelogue .There are also two subplots, one about the man who betrayed Phillip to further his career and another about the obsessed homophobic Sergeant that carried out the torture on Phillip, that have great potential but are never truly given the attention they deserve.

These are minor complaints balanced against the over all scope of the book. This is, at its core, a riveting tale about an older gay man coming to terms with who he is and getting on with his life. Phillip's past exploits help to explain the nature of the man, but it's his present actions that embolden the story, and it's a story seldom told in gay fiction. In our youth obsessed culture, little is written about the gay man over 50, and certainly nothing about someone with Phillip's exotic background. Life does not end with the advent of grey hair and a pot belly and that is made abundantly clear in this novel. (less)

· see review

Aug 04, 2008

Sabrina rated it

Recommended to Sabrina by: Breeni Books

Shelves: read-in-2008, reviewed-for-breeni-books

Philip Croft was an English spy until he was outed by an anonymous inside source. His identity was not the secret revealed; his sexuality was. He committed no crime, but to the ruling class of his country, his homosexuality was enough to condemn him. As The Rice Queen Spy by John F. Rooney opens, Philip is being tortured to elicit the names of other homosexuals within the agency, and is effectively reduced to a desk job to encourage his speedy retirement.

When Philip finally resigns, ...morePhilip Croft was an English spy until he was outed by an anonymous inside source. His identity was not the secret revealed; his sexuality was. He committed no crime, but to the ruling class of his country, his homosexuality was enough to condemn him. As The Rice Queen Spy by John F. Rooney opens, Philip is being tortured to elicit the names of other homosexuals within the agency, and is effectively reduced to a desk job to encourage his speedy retirement.

When Philip finally resigns, he is a broken man. His mistreatment at the hands of his own government leaves him emotionally scarred and depressed. But with the aid of some friends, he manages to turn his disgrace into a blessing. He decides to be true to himself and live as an openly gay man, something he spent his youth concealing. He even opens a gay sauna, though it doesn't last long as romance takes precedence over profit. He travels the world, forming liaisons in spots around the globe. His favorite destination becomes the Philippines, where in the 1970s, homosexual foreigners are viewed as meal tickets to legions of teenage and underage prostitutes.

Philip is labeled a "rice queen" by friends due to his affinity for young Asian men. During the early years of his retirement, plenty of willing Asian men are available to the gay aristocracy to which Philip and his cohorts belong. But as decades pass, political upheavals and personal betrayal challenge the easy promiscuity they enjoy. Eventually, the natural progression of life makes monogamy a more appealing option for the aging ex-spy.

The Rice Queen Spy is a story about life stages. Even as an older adult, when Philip is relieved of his covert duties, he is much like a child raised in a restrictive home. When he is given his first taste of freedom, he lives recklessly at times, taking full advantage of his newly discovered self-confidence. It is also about self-discovery. Philip may not be as much a victim as he would like to believe.

While The Rice Queen Spy is an intriguing portrait of an alternative lifestyle, at times Rooney's narrative is a bit dry and mired in details. It is helpful to have a good description of a locale to aid in visualizing the setting, but the reader does not need to know the minutiae of every single meal the characters enjoy. These specifics are conveyed more in itemized list form than in colorful description.

Rooney provides an interesting twist with the inclusion of his first novel, The Daemon in Our Dreams. Though the stories are seemingly unrelated, characters from this first novel reappear in The Rice Queen Spy and the connections become evident. I have his newest novel, Clawed Back from the Dead, in my queue, so I'm eager to see if it is related to these first two in similar fashion. There are some unrealized subplots--in particular the motivations of Philip's homophobic persecutor, Sergeant Whaley--that I would love to see developed.

Overall, Rooney has an elegant writing style, and the book is a vision of shifting societal perspectives. It is also an introduction to some common challenges of homosexuals. One really should read The Daemon in Our Dreams to experience the full effect, however. It is not necessary, but helpful in understanding some of the relationships and connections.(less)

· see review

Nov 20, 2011

Lara Biyuts added it

Aug 10, 2011

Jaime marked it as to-read

Shelves: m-m, suspense-thriller

May 08, 2011

Eija marked it as to-read

Mar 17, 2011

Murray marked it as to-read

Shelves: lgbt

Mar 17, 2011

Bembo rated it

Shelves: gay

Jun 20, 2010

Purcell marked it as to-read

suspense-thriller

1 shelf

m-m

1 shelf

lgbt

1 shelf

gay

1 shelf

reviewed-for-bree...

1 shelf

Books by John F. Rooney

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Pin It

Trivia About The Rice Queen Spy

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: The Rice Queen Spy
avg rating	preview: The Rice Queen Spy Goodreads rating: 4.33 (3 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2442200.The_Rice_Queen_Spy?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1321851166m/2442200.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2442200.The_Rice_Queen_Spy?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Rice Queen Spy by John F. Rooney[/url]

The Rice Queen Spy

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (1)

Popular Shelves

Books by John F. Rooney

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About The Rice Queen Spy

The Rice Queen Spy

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

combine Other Editions (1)

Popular Shelves

Books by John F. Rooney

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About The Rice Queen Spy

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (1)