Rating: Summary: I could smell the fear Review: As a veteran of the same time frame (66-68) that Mr. Demille spent in country, I can attest to his veracity. This is his finest work to date, and only whets my appetite for more. It is rare to find a page-turner that is also a great literary piece. This is it. The juxtaposition of todays Vietnam with yesterdays is heart wrenching for this reader who was there, and coupling this with a great mystery story is almost too much to bear. Another great work by this author, and I can only hope to see more of Paul Brenner.
Rating: Summary: Up Country Review: This book was awful. The dialogue is cliche and boring. The narrative is meandering and full of unnecessary and uninteresting information. Even if you're not looking for award winning literature and just want some cheap thrill novel, the ending leaves most of the plot issues unresolved and is thereby extremely unsatisfying. Long and a frustrating waste of time.
Rating: Summary: THE BEST VIETNAM WAR BOOK!!! Review: Nelson DeMille enjoys the psychologial side of things while solving mysteries. He has a full deck to work with in this book. VIETNAM VETS in VIETNAm, KHE SANH, MY LAI, TET OFFENSIVE, it is all here in STUNNING DETAIL that makes it more than what we got from the evening news.Add Love, a murder mystery and the Vietnamese KGB to a Vietnam Travelogue and the pages fly. THIS IS HIS BEST BOOK BY FAR
Rating: Summary: Arrrghhh! Review: Here's my succinct review and subsequent request: A) Great book; Demille is the master of informed, non-mooshy, and smartass literature. Side note: If Paul Brenner were real, I'd be on a plane to Falls Church right now. This character is sexy as hell, quick on his feet, testosterone-infused, and many of his random thoughts and comments literally make me guffaw. B) NELSON, PLEASE DON'T STOP WRITING UNTIL THE BOOK IS FINISHED!! If I had the desire and/or inclination to imagine and create possible/probable endings of premature ejaculatory novels, then I'd have no need to read; I'd just sit around and make up my OWN damn stories.
Rating: Summary: An Amazing Thriller And a Step Back In Time Review: I am not a Vietnam vet. I am a woman who was a very young woman back in 1968; the year of the Tet offensive. I absorbed any news I could get about Vietnam, back then, because so many of my peers - boys, really, friends from school and neighbors - were fighting there. Some of them never made it home. Many of them did, and I have heard some of their stories first hand. Nelson DeMille is a favorite writer of mine, so I didn't think twice about picking up this novel and settling in for a good mystery-suspense read. I am not at all disappointed, in fact, I feel like I have received an extra bonus with "Up Country." DeMille delivers on the storyline, Big Time...but he also gave me an extraordinary picture of Vietnam, back then and today. And his account of the war, the battles, the country, the people, and the differences 30+ years make, are realistic and accurate. I feel like I made the trip myself - twice! I was also very moved by his account and his prose. I cried at times, which is a unique experience for me with a Nelson DeMille novel. The plot is taunt with suspense and the characters lifelike and so believable. Paul Brenner, an Army Chief Warrant Officer with the Criminal Investigation Division, has been ordered to return to Vietnam after 30 years, to investigate a murder. During the Tet Offensive, three decades before, an army lieutenant was killed by his captain. The crime was witnessed by a wounded North Vietnamese soldier. Brenner's superiors know this because the soldier wrote a letter to a relative describing the murder. The relative, another North Viet soldier, received the letter, and it was found on his dead body after he was killed in battle. An American soldier, now an aging vet, took it off the dead man and kept it until recently. Then he turned the letter over to the government. Brenner is told to find out whether the author/witness is still alive and to "resolve the situation" if he is. Brenner goes back to his old stomping grounds, Saigon, Hue, Dien Bien Phu, Hanoi, and many places in between. He revisits battlefields and reminisces. He travels, under some duress, with a beautiful, super savvy American woman, cum international business tycoon, cum intelligence officer (?) who wangles her way into his affections. With every wangle, she manages to accompany him an extra few miles, to his delight and suspicion. The characters they meet along the way, primarily Vietnamese, are original and endearing - even the villains...in a sadistic sort of way. DeMille's fabulous wit is ever present, in the often humerous dialogue, character descriptions, and some of the harrowing adventures Brenner gets into with his feminine sidekick. I cannot recommend this book highly enough - as a terrific read and also a worthwhile learning experience.
Rating: Summary: Boring, boring... Review: After reading DeMille's "Plum Island," I was ready for another great read. But this title settles into a boring series of descriptions of battlefields and geographies while giving the main story line little attention. This author needs to learn how to use words conservatively to tell a compelling story.
Rating: Summary: outstanding read! Review: Not quite as good as G Coast or Genral's Daughter, Bu DeMille is still the best thriller writer out there today.
Rating: Summary: Up Country Review: As with the other books written by Nelson DeMille he has NOT failed in keeping you glue to the book, and always wanting more. This is a exciting book, and recommended.
Rating: Summary: GREAT SEQUEL Review: A great sequel to THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER mainly because it doesn't try to be the same thing all over again. Paul Brenner is back but retired from Army CID. He reluctantly takes a case as a civilian that returns him to Vietnam and some unpleasant memories. When he's not banging Susan Weber, a CIA "business woman" from Saigon, assigned to assist him, he's smart-mouthing the commie police and assorted authority figures. This is a humorous and reflective novel about Vietnam and provides an interesting overview of the way things were during the war and its current effect on the Vietnamese people. Different and well worth the read. I look forward to Mr. DeMille's next effort. What a great author.
Rating: Summary: "Up Country" Surpasses Expectations Review: Nelson DeMille has written another thought-invoking, engrossing, fast paced story. I have read all of his books and will read any future books he writes. He develops his characters and stories carefully and in depth. Each of his books carries you into the moment with the characters, but Up Country had something extra. It's his first book that made me cry. Perhaps it was because my brother served in Vietnam in the Army infantry and this book brought me face to face with some of the atrocities he surely encountered but doesn't speak of. Plus, it brought back memories of long forgotten events, events which should never be forgotten so we're not doomed to repeat our mistakes or become complacent. I am very glad that Up Country is going to be made into a movie. I hope that Paul Brenner will again be played by John Travolta. You can just hear and see him as Paul Brenner when reading this very, very good book!
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