Excellent, fast paced, action packed story that continues Paul Brenners narrative after The General's Daughter. DeMille is without a doubt one of, if not, my favorite author. I'm rereading the Panther now, just to remind myself what happened to Brenner after Up Country. ( )

This is a tough one to review. I will do it with bullet points.
*The book is easily 300-400 pages too long.
* For the first 400 pages almost nothing related to the main story really happens.
* Much of it reads like a travelogue of the authors visit to Vietnam.
* main character Paul Brenner is annoyingly sarcastic, macho, and self deprecating.
* The other main character- Susan Weber is not very believable, and also annoying.
* The ongoing history lesson of first the French and then the American military involvement was excellent.
* The descriptions of places and events was excellent.
Nearly all of the supporting characters are far more interesting. ( )

First edition very fine

This book was awful. It begins in Washington D.C. with two retired service men meeting to set up a clandestine trip to the present Vietnam. Supposedly, a South Vietnamese soldier witnessed a superior officer murder one of his men. The real story is that there are incriminating photos of the man running for the U.S. presidency. This book may be a blast from the past for someone that was in the war but I wasn't. Save your timr and eyesight and pass up this stinker. ( )

I am surprised that I rated this four stars.
I usually prefer to pick sci-fis, fantasies, or known classics, but this book definitely proved that I won't regret pushing myself out of my comfort zone more often.

Growing up in Europe, the Vietnam War is not something that I'm particularly familiar with. Obviously I have vague cognitions about how it started, the atrocities committed, and some of the consequences, but I never really took the time to inform myself properly, and neither did my country's education system.
Up Country opened my eyes on this topic, and I'd agree if someone said that there are many books out there that could do the same and better, but if you want something that does it without being heavy and challenging, this is the one for you.

The writing style is light and fairly smooth, the main characters are likeable (or at least for me they were), and it tries to give insights on the reality of what it is like to be a veteran.
Unfortunately there were also some things I didn't like. Plot holes, unnecessary side characters which I expected more action from, and the case's solution failed my expectations.
But despite this, I was still hooked the whole time.

I didn't have high expectation about this book, and even if I still think it may not be an essential piece of literature, I'd say it should deserve a chance, if you are looking for a decent, real page-turner.
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