Rating: 
Summary: Pointless Travel
Review: Although DeMille has written excellent thrillers in the past, UpCountry is simply the recounting of a fictional vetern's travels thru the new Vietnam in comparisions of his orignal visit in 1968. Put simply it is boring and pointless.
Rating: 
Summary: There's great, good and not so good
Review: I really enjoyed this book - and it could have been perfect, but was not...Let's look at the great first. I loved the buildup of the relationship with Paul and Susan, I felt like I was on a progressive dating experience and it was drawn out long enough to feel the tension. I thought the story was good and really enjoyed it despite the fact that a long built up and developed story just seemed to end abruptly. I heard the 28 hour unabridged audio and I swear Paul Brenner was John Corey - same whimsical skepticism, sarcasm etc. During the book I sometimes wonderered if DeMille made Paul too vulnerable. I mean, he had no plan, would have starved on the train, walked 500 miles, etc. I Really enjoyed the dialogue between Paul and Susan and between Paul and Mang. I even somewhat enjoyed the Vietnam travelogue, look back in to history (Canada here I come)but, at times, felt that the travelogue went too long before returning to the plot. I did appreciate the research and detail and felt that I just visited Vietnam.Overall, I enjoyed the book and certainly recommend it. It's an epic, but if one is looking for a fast plot with page turning action, they might not like it as much as I did.
Rating:
Summary: THUMBS UP FOR "UP COUNTRY"
Review: FANTASTIC BOOK! AS WITH MOST OF DEMILLE'S BOOKS, I WAS EXPECTING AN EXCITING THRILLER, BUT WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED TO FIND A LITTLE HISTORY LESSON AS WELL. FASCINATING LOOK AT POST-WAR VIETNAM AND IT'S PEOPLE. FANS OF THE WRITER CAN EXPECT A LITTLE SOMETHING DIFFERENT THIS TIME.
Rating: 
Summary: Explaining Vietnam
Review: In Nelson Demille's newest novel, his able storytelling neatly crafts the story of an aging army investigator, Paul Brenner, who returns to Vietnam to find the answers to a 30-year old murder. The answers are illusive at first, but Paul relives many events from his two tours of duty in Vietnam. I found the book excellent and it explained a lot about the nature of the war and what it's like now in Vietnam. I found the book very compelling and feel that DeMille's many fans won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Chillingly moving and suspenseful.
Review: Not since By the Rivers of Babylon has one of DeMille's books so completly captivated me. I found the story of Paul Brenner's memories of his tours of duty in Vietnam, while on a current assignment to find a vietnamese ex-soldier there, were very moving. It also explained to me why no one wants to talk about the time they were there. This is a truly exceptional book and I was sorry when I finished it.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but lacking something
Review: I am a huge fan of Nelson Demille, and have ready every other book he has written. While I found this book interesting and enlightening about the Vietnam War, Vietnam as a country, and the experience of Vietnam veterans, the book was less action-packed and riveting than most Demille books. I think the book was a bit self-indulgent on Demille's part, and I tasted an autobiographical flavor to a lot of the descriptions of veterans' experiences returning to Vietnam. Demille describes repeatedly in the book that many veterans view returning to Vietnam as a cathartic experience. I suspect that writing this book was, for Demille, a cathartic experience. Again, the book is quite interesting and I think it would be especially appealing to people of the Vietnam War generation (particularly veterans), but this book lacks the "punch" of a typical Demille book. If you were expecting a fast-moving thriller, you won't find it here. This book is more of a historical novel with some exciting action scenes accenting the historical parts. All of this is not to say that you won't enjoy the book. Demille engagingly captures the political climate of the time, provides interesting assessments of past and present day Vietnam, and throws in intriguing and complex characters. In addition, Paul Brenner has the sarcastic...personality that we enjoyed from The General's Daughter. This book just may not be what Demille fans were expecting.
Rating:
Summary: "Up Country" Another Masterpiece From Demille
Review: There are very few authors of this genre whose next novels I await so impatiently. After reading "Word of Honor" and "Cathedral" many years ago, I was hooked on Mr. Demille's style, humor and ability to present a tense and well-orchestrated plot mixed with a unique humor and considerable personal insight. His subsequent works (including The Talbot Oddyssey, The Charm School, Gold Coast, General's Daughter, Spencerville, Plum Island and Lion's Game) all fortified his position in my estimation as among the preeminent authors of his type. His newest book, "Up Country", is no exception. The book marks the return of Paul Brenner (the protagonist of "The General's Daughter"), but presents him in a much more fascinating storyline that was compelling on a number of levels, and left me wanting more, despite the 700-plus pages. His use of Viet Nam, his combining historical facts with current political intrigue, and the perspective of a Viet Nam vet returning 30 years later, meshes well with the evolving factors of a deepening mystery and, of course, a conflicted love interest. I strongly recommend this novel as among the author's best efforts. Now, if only he would move the publication date for his next book up, which will reportedly bring back John Corey (Plum Island, Lion's Game). Up Country is a hit! Demille has written yet another terrific book.
Rating:
Summary: Wait for the paperback
Review: Unless you enjoy spending money on a mystery and then reading hundreds of pages of inane travelogue, I'd wait on the paperback.
For fans of Plum Island or the General's Daughter, this does not approach either in terms of punch, mystery or enjoyment. I could have edited 300 pages out of this boring book easily.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe one should go home again....
Review: Up Country held my interest completely, late into the night. I excuse Paul Brenner for his wise-cracking attitude because (a)I also like the protagonist of Plum Island; (2)I like Bruce Willis' similar attitude in many shows; (3)I enjoy M*A*S*H on TV. HaHa. Paul is clever, resourceful, self-effacing, and introspective but by the end, so very vulnerable. I did not care for the characterization of his sidekick, Susan. She is too mysterious and rather unbelievable. I was sympathetic to her plight by the end, however. The ending of the novel bothered me especially. I usually enjoy inventing the "next chapter," but this time, I cannot. There were just too many undeveloped characters thrown together in that last tense scene in the ambassador's residence for me to process it all. And then, it is so abrupt. Was DeMille out of his alloted pages already, or was he already at work on the sequel? The novel as a whole, however, is extremely interesting to me, a female of that era, but one who only experienced the Vietnam war mostly from the TV news. The insights, the "travelogue," the people of the place and both times were fascinatingly presented by DeMille. I found myself referring to the map on the inside cover frequently. Whereas before, Vietnam was "that war" that tore up this country, now, for me, Vietnam is more pitiful, and I speak not only of the residents. The land itself, the nation's culture, its economy, its politics are also worthy of our reconsideration. We must not ignore this society; we owe it to a whole generation of young men and women who gave their all. A strong point is made so well by the contrasting attitudes of Paul and Susan -- for him and those of his generation, Vietnam was a hellish war; for her generation, Vietnam is a beautiful country, one to be developed. Several passages were unforgettable and poignant. For example, the early passage about items left at The Wall, in Washington, becoming now mostly just flowers points up how time passes and attitudes, memories adjust. Another example: the description of marketplace items in Vietnam for sale to tourists, items fashioned from the detritus of war, made me think about tourists swarming over Europe after WWII, drawn to sites of battles where their fathers/grandfathers saw action. I did that. Will our son some day tour Vietnam? So many books have been written about that era, but how many focused on the psychological aspects of 30 years later? This story is most certainly more concerned with soul-searching and catharsis and less for mystery. That part of the novel is minimal, in fact. But I did not feel cheated, expecting an adventure such as The Lion's Game. Not this time. Therein lies the merit of this novel. I found in Up Country a "life," if you will, for the place names I was only familiar with from history and a few recent movies. New insights to a subject only dimly perceived and conveniently pushed aside. The divisiveness of that era caused us to put it aside once it was "over." So many of us have failed to acknowledge the cost to a whole generation of our young men, no heroes' returning parades here. I have passed on my copy to my Vietnam veteran husband, strongly urging him to read it and give me his opinion. Should be interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I am greatly disappointed. I have read and thoroughly enjoyed everything DeMille has written and wait with impatience for each new work. This thing is nothing more that a travel report of yet another Viet Nam vet who feels compelled to return to the battlefield to resolve some issues that have burned deeply into his soul. I am like DeMille and thousands of others who earned infantry commissions right out of college, led rifle platoons and maybe commanded frontline companies and fought in I Corps near Hue, Phu Bai, Khe Sahn and Quang Tri. I read to relax. I didn't want to be reminded of every nook and cranny along QL 1 and QL 9. To the vets who need this stuff, Up Country will do it. I intend to be 1st in line when DeMilles next book comes out, but I genuinely wish I didn't read this one.
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