Up Country

By: Nelson DeMille

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 28 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

This production features a special audio introduction by Nelson DeMille.

There is a name carved into the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., of an American army lieutenant whose death is shrouded in mystery. The authorities have reason to believe that he was not killed by the enemy or by friendly fire; they suspect he was murdered.

At first, Paul Brenner, himself a Vietnam vet, isn't interested in investigating the case. After his forced retirement from the army's Criminal Investigation Division, he has adapted to the life of a civilian with a comfortable pension. Then his old boss, Karl Hellmann, summons him to the Vietnam Memorial to call in a career's worth of favors.

Hellmann tells Brenner of the circumstances surrounding the officer's death, and gives him this much to go on: The incident happened over three decades ago in Vietnam; the only evidence is a recently discovered letter written by an enemy soldier describing an act of shocking violence.

Brenner's assignment: return to Vietnam and find the witness.

Reluctantly, Brenner begins a strange journey that unearths his own painful memories of Vietnam and leads him down a trail as dangerous as the ones he walked a lifetime ago as a young infantryman. From sultry, sinful Saigon, where he meets beautiful American expatriate Susan Weber, to the remote, forbidding wilderness of up-country Vietnam, he will follow a trail of lies, betrayal, and murder...and uncover an explosive, long-buried secret.

©2002 by Nelson DeMille, Alll Rights Reserved (P)2002 by Time Warner AudioBooks, a Division of the AOL Time Warner Book Group

Critic reviews

"A profound exploration of...war, justice, and...the human heart." (Lisa Scottoline, author of Moment of Truth)
"Finely drawn characters, wickedly crisp dialogue, and brilliant twists...Nelson DeMille [is] the master storyteller of our times." (Linda Fairstein, author of The Deadhouse)

Great book and author

This is a long book to get through but worth it in the end. Demille is a great writer and sticks to his story line. He has a great character who is not Politically Correct, which in today's world, is refreshing. Things you like to say, his characters say for you.

A Great Read!

Surprisingly this was an excellent book! I am not a usually interested in books about Viet Nam; however, this was extremely good!

Book is not a great as I have heard

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. The book is wordy with a lot of unnecessary filler. The main character, Paul Brenner, comes across as a obnoxious, gullible, weak person with one sided opinions.

Would you be willing to try another book from Nelson DeMille? Why or why not?

No

Would you listen to another book narrated by Scott Brick?

No, the problem with the audible book may have been the narrators' interpretation and presentation of the main characters.

Was Up Country worth the listening time?

Somewhat

Any additional comments?

On a scale of 1 to10, 10 being the best, I would rate this book as a 7.
It could have been written with 25% less pages.
The plot is plausible, but the end leaves you without a definite
solution – not a good ending. I would not recommend the book.

An outstanding read.

Of all the books I've read about Vietnam, the Vietnam War, and the conditions after it ended, none have been able to capture the war and its aftermath as well as Nelson Demille has done. He has done an amazing job portraying the events that impacted so many people on both sides. Add in a story of current political and social intrigue and you get a book that will keep you involved.

An epic adventure from a slick writer.

I found this story had all the elements for a long car ride; interesting characters, well paced and conceived plot, historical background and at a satisfying length. As a bonus is Sott Brick's reading performance.

Nelson books

Great as always the unabridged is much better the the abridged it’s awesome must read or listen

Engrossing couldn’t stop listening

I love Nelson DeMille! And Scott Brick is the best narrator in all of the books I have listened to so far.
The plot was based in Viet Nam and being from that generation was of interest to me and the research for the book was based on history.
The twists and turn kept you hanging on for more. I found myself listening while cooking doing my gardening and even just relaxing on the couch instead of watching tv.
Too bad the younger generation probably hasn’t been exposed to DeMille.

A Must Read Detective Story Set in Vietnam

I learned so much about various time periods and places in Vietnam. In a way, this detective novel brought the country to life in a way that the news stories during the war and the travel reports from tourists in the past 5-10 years could not. Having worked in Finland along the Russian border where I could see the guard towers and your passport was taken away at the border when you crossed in with a tour group in 1986, the tension of dealing with immigration police in the book felt real to me. Very taut and well written.

Excellent

My husband spent 2 years in Vietnam - and I loved and waited for him at home. Listening to this book touched so many emotions for me. I don't have the words to express them. Just know, I really enjoyed this book.

Dejavous

I could identify with the story. I was a First Lieutenant Platoon Leader attached to MAC-V Team 3, at Hue Citadel, when the North Vietnamese (NVA) staged their Easter Offensive, in 1972. At the time, between the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) and U.S., we were losing 400 men/day, mostly to NVA artillery fire from the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ.) Then, the tanks and infantry came at Quang Tri in hordes. I had lost a good friend during the 1967 battle of Quang Tri. He had been a young paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division sent to Quang Tri to reinforce the 3rd Marine Division. Although from a distance, I knew it all too well.

The story line is entertaining, although I did get somewhat tired of the satire and cynicism of the main protagonist (Paul Brenner.) It was cute at first but became borning at times. Having been embedded with the ARVN during the Easter Offensive and Quang Tri Counteroffensive, I knew of thier distaste for us, and, consequently, knew that they would not tolerate the level of insults thrown at them in the story (although the brunt of the insults was Colonel Manh(sic.) . The ARVN officers were very corrupt, knew they were losing the war, and were preparing themselves for escape or some form of protectionism via the wealth they were accumulating by selling U.S. war materials. Years later, as an Army Special Forces "A" Team commander, I saw many of them hidden among the Airlift refugees sent to Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas for processing. Funny, they didn't have any clothes in their suitcases, only bundles of American dollars!!!

I had a CIA camp at Huong Diem, 7 miles east of Quang Tri. It was right out of MASH or CATCH 22! Operatives dressed in their Levis and Cabelas safari shirts with either .357 or .44 magnum Smith & Wesson revolvers (for which there was no large supply of ammunition), and their issue FG-58 aviator sunglasses. They did resemble Dirty Harry (Inspector Callahan) portrayed by Clint Eastwood.

I knew a great deal of the terrain described by the author albeit 20+ years earlier. I was actually wounded in the Hai Van Pass, that leads from Da Nang to Phu Bai and Hue. After being med evac'd to Clark AFB, Phillipines, my gurney was wheeled in every night to watch "Dirty Harry". Hey, didn't I see you in Vietnam?

During the late 1980s, as a Lockheed Martin engineer, I was tasked with mentoring a young Vietamese electrical engineer, who had graduated from the University of Michingan. He asked me if I had fought in the war, and whether or not I still spoke some of the Vietnamese language. I spoke with him in his native language and heard a common story of how his father and uncles had not fought against the Americans. Funny, I heard the same in Germany from Germans who worked for me! In 1996, my firm saw the investments in the reconstruction of Vietnam and wanted to get some of the World Bank stream of revenues. I was asked if I would return to Vietnam, to which I responded with "No"!