Up Country

Rating:
Summary: DeMille Does It Again
Review: Fans of DeMille will be delighted with Up Country. While it may be his longest work yet, it is one which the reader will not want to end. Those readers who served in the military, particularly the Army, during the Vietnam war will find that bond forged by a common hardship and suffering carries over into DeMille's work--once an infantryman, always an infantryman. DeMille, as usual, develops his characters in sharp and complicated detail. With every twist and turn of the plot, another layer of complexity is added to the two main characters, Paul Brenner and Susan Weber. And as usual, DeMille's dialogue is dead on always, and hilarious at times. I had to leave the bedroom while I read Up Country. I kept laughing out loud at Brenner's wiseass dialogue and waking my wife. Do yourself a favor and buy this book. It's the best read you will have until the next DeMille novel is published. I haven't enjoyed myself as much since I read The Gold Coast.

Rating:
Summary: THE BEST BOOK EVER
Review: This is by far the best Nelson DeMille book ever. Suspense, Comedy, Action, Mystery, Passion, and much Intrigue. I recommend this book to everyone who reads any book. It is for every audience. I could not put the book down!

Rating:
Summary: Up Country
Review: Great! especially for Nam vets, but it should work for everyone. I couldn't put it down

Rating:
Summary: Didn't Disappoint
Review: I never get tired of his wisecracking couples. I was laughing one minute and scared to death for them the next. Also, though I was young at the time of the Vietnam war, I've lived all these years in the aftermath of it and found this book so insightful and helpful to an understanding of the madness.

Rating:
Summary: Return to Vietnam
Review: Chief Warrant Officer Paul Brenner, De Mille's hero from his acclaimed book, The General's Daughter has been forcibly retired from the U.S Army division of criminal investigation. Now a civilian, he is recruited for a secret mission by his old boss Colonel Karl Hellman. It seems that a recently uncovered letter from a North Vietnamese soldier dated in 1968 during the Tet offensive, reveals that he witnessed the murder of a U.S. Army lieutenant by his captain. Brenner's job is to determine if the Vietnamese witness is still alive, make contact with him and seize any relevant war souvenirs he might possess. Unfortunately the exact location of the witness has not allegedly been determined yet and will be revealed to Brenner during the course of the investigation.

Brenner, who had served 2 tours of duty during the Vietnam war, arrives in Saigon, now called Ho Chi Minh City, posing as a tourist revisiting his military past. He is contacted by a beautiful American ex patriate Susan Weber an investment banker who will be his translator and guide. Together they make a cathartic trip north through numerous battle sites at which Brenner served working there way north toward Hanoi. The precise location of the witness is finally revealed and they perilously make there way to his small village in North Vietnam.

Along the way we catch glimpses as to the actual purpose of Brenner's mission. We also begin to realize that Brenner's companion Susan Weber seems to be more than just an investment banker.

De Mille's novel, while about 200 pages too long, is a fascinating travelogue of Vietnam, chronicling the evolution of the country since the ending of the war. This novel, I am certain, provided him with a vehicle to relive his own personal experiences during his tour of duty in Vietnam. His passion comes through as he winds us Up Country.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding read!
Review: I've read several of Mr. DeMille's other novels, but this is the best so far. Truly the best book I've read in a long, long time and possibly one of the top 10 ever (I read a lot and in my 50's).

Rating:
Summary: Don't Bother!!
Review: From page 3 to page 702 this is unrepentent drivel with no redeeming virtues. It rivals Wally Lamb's I Know This Much is True as the worst book ever written.

Rating:
Summary: More than a thriller
Review: Constant DeMille's readers will recognise the protagonist of "Up Country", Paul Brenner, from "The general's daughter". Once again, the CID investigator has a complicated case in his hands. He must return to Vietnam (where he made two tours, in 1968 and 1972) and disclose an US army murder that happened in Quang Tri almost thirty years ago. To accomplish that, he must find an ex-north-vietnamese soldier that witnessed the whole thing but disappeared since then. The problem is, Vietnam (especially the northern part of the country) doesn't see american veterans with good eyes, so Brenner must be very cautious not to arise suspicions over his person. To help him, he will have the company of Susan Weber, an exotic lady that works for an american company in vietnamese soil. But Susan seems to be much more than she shows.

All DeMille's usual elements are there: sarcasm, witty moments, a murder, politics involved, a beautiful woman, sex, and more. But "Up Country" is more than that, and a little different from his other books.

The story is very slow. Most of the 850 pages portrait Brenner through his ancient battlegrounds in Vietnam, and many chapters, as he goes up north in the asiatic country, describe his old war experiences and how he was affected by them, even if he doesn't want to admit it. In fact, the murder investigation is resolved in no more than 50 pages. The thrilling moments sum up to no more than 200 pages. The rest is an account of how is the modern Vietnam - through the eyes of an american, of course -, mixed with intelligent dialogue and good characters - Paul Brenner is very similar to John Corey from "Plum Island" and "Lion's game", although more serious and businesslike. And yet, even with all the readers' complaints about "Up country" being more a travel guide than a thriller, I liked this book. It's not DeMille's best, not like "The gold coast" or "Plum Island", but it's very enjoyable. And the ending leaves room to another Paul Brenner book. "Up country" may not be, although, the best book to start reading DeMille. In fact, a beginner should read his books in chronological order of the release dates.

Grade 8.1/10

Rating:
Summary: Good, but boring.
Review: This book is 700 pages long. The first hundred pages and the last two hundred pages are the only interesting sections. Everything else is pretty boring, unless you are a Vietnam vet and can relate to DeMille's story. I loved the General's Daughter, but this is no General's Daughter. Also, the conclusion left some loose ends.

Rating:
Summary: Up Country
Review: Like a great vacation, I hated for this book to end. I was too young to know much about Vietnam during the war yet old enough to know it was a beautiful country in terrible conflict, and Mr. Demille conveys that beautifully. I can't wait for his next Paul Brenner novel.