Rating: 
Summary: Five-star ratings from me are rare rare rare...
Review: I don't just read books. I devour them. The downside to this is that the more I read, the more mediocre most books seem, and the rarer it is to find a book that really delivers on all fronts. UP COUNTRY does. It's engaging from start to finish, the characters are deep and real, and the voice is both entertaining and compelling. This one is not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: Another Winner. Right up there with Lion's Game!
Review: About a veteran's return to Vietnam looking for evidence against a murderer is unique, action-packed and excellently written.
Another action-packed, fast-moving, continuous read by Nelson Demille.
Read The General's Daughter first, because this is the sequel. As
usual, a woman plays a very important part as investigation and sexual partner. The sex is appropriately covered and is not overly done in any way. It fits right into the story like it does in real life. You can't ignore sex and make a believable story these days. The character development and emotional descriptions are superb. The sarcastic humor is his best ever. The inevitable gory descriptions of the war in Vietnam are limited to a couple of chapters and act as a cathartic to
author as well as the reader(Vietnam vet or not). As Demille says many
times, War is H--- and maybe we should learn from history as well
as learn to forget. I find it amazing that someone can write such an entertaining book without having shoot-out after shoot-out to move the reader along. The lady partner character has developed into a modern, educated, savvy, no-nonsense woman who when he says he can't trust her, the reader believes it! But he shows that love is still the strongest emotion. The dialog is witty, lively, quick-minded and well though out.
The military types will find errors I guess, but I think he puts these in to make sure they have read the book when they write a review.
The people are wonderful, its just the government and the politicians that mess everything up. Inter-intelligence-service rivalry is well done and thought provoking.
I wish Nelson Demille could write as fast as I can read.
He is among the FEW authors whose books I keep to read
again later.
My second read will be right before the movie comes out.
Enjoy this book!
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Novel
Review: This is a wonderful book. It is well written and captivating. It contains a lot of information about Vietnam, both modern and wartime. DeMille is simply a master writer and I can't recommend his books strong enough to any that enjoy good fiction.A modern mystery, this book takes the reader to modern Vietnam to solve an old murder that happened during the war. While it certainly isn't a history book, it contains an amazing amount of information for a fictional story so the reader is both getting an action filled story and also some lessons in history. The protagonist is the same as in the book 'The General's Daughter', so I would recommend reading that one first. I didn't read them in order, as I didn't know there was an order and it didn't hurt the story at all, but if you have the option, get the other first as it is a very good book too. DeMille does an excellent good of getting the reader into a story right off the bat and with just enough back story to properly set the stage. He is never ever boring, just the opposite as no matter how much is going on, I am always getting disappointed as the story is getting near it's end. I guess it's the old "always leave 'em wanting more" thing... If there is any compliant to this book, it is going to be that the ending is not cut and dry enough. I didn't mind it, but my mom who also loved the book, complained that the ending didn't have enough closure. In any case, I give it a very strong recommendation. If you are new to DeMille, get 'The General's Daughter' and read it first, you'll be anxious to get to this one in no time.
Rating:
Summary: Among his best
Review: Another fantastic book by Nelson Demille. The imagery is superb and his personal knowledge of the setting shines through. Up Country is probably not as good as The General's Daughter, but then very few novels are. Still, this book is well worth your time. You won't be disappointed if you purchase this book.
Rating:
Summary: Up Country
Review: I found this book to hold my interest. I love Pauls sense of humor and sarcastic attitude. Thank you for your books. I felt like I was in Viet Nam along with them. You get an actual picture of the landscape and the people living there. Looking forward to reading more of these books.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Geographical Accuracy of QuangTri Province, VietNam
Review: I really enjoyed the book and was amazed of how accurate are the geographical details of Vietnam in Up Country, especially QuangTri province’s. I was born and grew up in QuangTri. My house was only 50 meters away from the citadel. Of course, there were a few minor errors:
1. MACV was outside of the citadel, not inside.
2. QuangTri was attacked in Tet Offensive but no success.
Rating: 
Summary: A self indulgent road-trip under the cloak of a mystery.
Review: 600 pages into this book and you are still no closer to the supposed purpose of the journey. If DeMille wanted to write a travel book about his return to his war haunts why not present it as a travel book. The jouney while somewhat interesting is also repetitive and long. And, can we have some variety in character. No matter what the names, they are always the smarmy middle aged, self important and self defacing, though pretending not to be hero, and the semi-dum mid-thirties brunette, fawning over our hero. Does DeMille have confidence problems with women?
Rating: 
Summary: A Memoir
Review: This book was a memoir for Paul Brenner.
Rating: 
Summary: Not really a suspense novel
Review: Up Country is Nelson DeMille's second VietNam novel (Word of Honor being the first) and I think he wrote it more for himself than for his audience. It's an OK book, but it's not really the suspense novel it's billed as, though there are suspenseful elements to it. I was unsure whether I would give it three stars or four right up until I began this review, and may revise the number up there before I finish. If you want it rated as a suspense novel it's a weak three, but if you're looking for a VietNam novel it's a strong four. Paul Brenner (the CID investigator from The General's Daughter) is called out of retirement to look into a strange case. A letter has surfaced in the posession of an American army vet, looted from a dead NVA soldier 30 years before. It details a murder that the writer of the letter (not the dead NVA soldier, but his brother) witnessed during the Tet offensive in January 1968. From details in the letter, the writer's name and home village are discerned by army investigators. During the Tet holiday, everyone in VietNam returns to their ancestral village, so if Brenner visits the village then, if the witness is still alive, he'll probably be there. Brenner's sent to interview him, masquerading as a soldier turned tourist visiting all of the places he fought in 30 years ago. If this were a suspense novel, it'd be about half of its length. You can sustain suspense for 800 pages, but it's difficult to do, and either DeMille doesn't know how, or he's interested in other things, because this book doesn't even try. When Brenner arrives in the country, he's harrassed by the police, but we know he's not going to be killed or imprisoned because the book has 700 more pages to go. There are a few chases and that sort of thing in the middle of the book but no real suspense. By the time the book reaches its climax, if you haven't figured out the bare bones of the conspiracy, you've not thought about it much. The book is, however, a fictionalized account of an American army vet returning to the country where he fought 30 years ago, and trying to come to terms with the country and what he did there when he was young. If you can live with this as the basis and the majority of the story, then you'll be fine. I can, mostly because DeMille's a facile and engaging writer. I was somewhat annoyed with Brenner, the main character, at times, though. He's basically interchangeable with any of DeMille's other characters (the guy in The Lion's Game, and the one in Plum Island, come to mind) and they all have a penchant for annoying and often lame humor. It's more than a bit annoying. Given that, I enjoyed the book, and would recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A sequel in the loosest sense of the word.
Review: Nelson DeMille has written some of the best novels I have ever read: Word of Honor, Charm School, Gold Coast. Up Country, I'm sorry to say, doesn't stand up there with my favorites. The only connection this book has to The General's Daughter is it's hero, Paul Brenner. Paul is coaxed out of retirement to investigate the murder of an Army officer by another during the Tet Offensive of 1968. No one, including the reader, believes that this is a simple murder investigation and we have to wait almost 600 pages to have that fact confirmed in what is by then a weak climax. The most interesting moments come when Paul revisits the sites of his former battles when he served with the First Cavalry during the Viet Nam War. I think that veterans will especially find much of interest in these segments. I know for me, they gave me a renewed appreciation of what combat conditions were like for the young men who were sent into the maelstrom. It was facinating to see through Paul's eyes, the irony of these places where he had fought for his very life turned into tourist attractions. The book is least interesting when it delves into the romantic connection between Paul and the beautiful (of course) woman who is assigned to be his guide and interpreter. Too much time is spent developing this romance that we all know is going to happen the minute she makes her first appearance. Paul is only mildly conflicted about blowing off his girlfriend from The General's Daughter. The very same plotline was followed in DeMille's other sequel, The Lion's Game. Doesn't anyone live happily ever after in DeMille's world? I'm no hopeless romantic myself but it stretches credibility a little to see the hero who is crazy in love with one woman simply toss her aside in the sequel to repeat the process again with another. If you have never read a DeMille book before fear not. It is not necessary to read The General's Daughter or any of DeMille's previous books before starting Up Country. In fact, I think it will work in your favor as you will not have a frame of reference to compare it to. After reading Up Country however, I strongly urge you to read the above mentioned titles.
|
