Matterhorn

A Novel of the Vietnam War

By: Karl Marlantes

Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot

Length: 21 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

An incredible publishing story—written over the course of thirty years by a highly decorated Vietnam veteran, a New York Times bestseller for sixteen weeks, a National Indie Next, and a USA Today bestseller—Matterhorn has been hailed as a "brilliant account of war" (New York Times Book Review).

Matterhorn is an epic war novel in the tradition of Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead and James Jones' The Thin Red Line. It is the timeless story of a young marine lieutenant, Waino Mellas, and his comrades in Bravo Company, who are dropped into the mountain jungle of Vietnam as boys and forced to fight their way into manhood. Standing in their way are not merely the North Vietnamese but also monsoon rain and mud, leeches and tigers, disease and malnutrition. Almost as daunting, it turns out, are the obstacles they discover between each other: racial tension, competing ambitions, and duplicitous superior officers. But when the company finds itself surrounded and outnumbered by a massive enemy regiment, the marines are thrust into the raw and all-consuming terror of combat. The experience will change them forever.

Matterhorn is a visceral and spellbinding novel about what it is like to be a young man at war. It is an unforgettable story that transforms the tragedy of Vietnam into a powerful and universal story of courage, camaraderie, and sacrifice—a parable not only of the war in Vietnam but of all war, and a testament to the redemptive power of literature.

A bonus PDF is included, with maps, a Chain of Command hierarchy, a glossary, and other interesting facts and information.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2010 Karl Marlantes (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“ Matterhorn is one of the most powerful and moving novels about combat, the Vietnam War, and war in general that I have ever read.” (Dan Rather)

“Brings a long, torturous war back to life with realistic characters and authentic, thrilling combat sequences.” ( Publishers Weekly)

“Unforgettable.… A beautifully crafted novel of unrivaled authenticity and power, filled with jungle heroism, crackerjack inventiveness, mud, blood, brotherhood, hatred, healing, terror, bureaucracy, politics, unfathomable waste, and unfathomable love." (Christina Robb, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist)

great read

fantastic Vietnam war story on the level with Platoon. Social and power conflicts were spot on and well said. Was worried I would need a flow chart for names and ranks initially, but it sorted itself out.

Wasnt ready for it to end and for me to leave

What made the experience of listening to Matterhorn the most enjoyable?

Drama, well written and delivered

Any additional comments?

Sad when the book was coming to an end, I was not ready for it to end and for my time in it to be over.... left me feeling what now? Its will be a while before I find another story like this.

Historical fiction with a message and good story

This is not a neat war story with heros who will swim up the Delta to take out a company of the bad guys with only a Kbar and bamboo blow gun. Instead, it is a story of the Vietnam War that includes the politics, egos, tactics, fear and camraderie that a new 2nd lieutenant experiences during his first tour in the bush. By the end of the book, you care and empathize with the book's characters and their contemporary comrades in Afganistan, Iraq. Be forwarned that the book uses language and depicts scenes that may offend some gentle Audible readers.

The narrator was good -- for the most part able to bring across the many different personalities presented in the book (both male and female).

The Best War Novel Ever

If you could sum up Matterhorn in three words, what would they be?

wrenching, despair, hope

What other book might you compare Matterhorn to and why?

Can't think of any to compare it to. There are a lot of genre military fiction around, but you won't find anything that really gets into the skin of a man in combat like this.

Who was the most memorable character of Matterhorn and why?

There are many. Hawk, Jackson, Vancouver, Mellish, Simpson, Blakely, etc. etc.

Any additional comments?

This is one of the best novels I have ever listened to. From the very beginning, you care about the characters. It is so real that when you lose one of the Marines, you really feel like you are losing a friend. Marlantes writes a novel that is so true to the relationships of men under fire that it is hard to believe it. I am sharing this title with all my friends, military and civilian.

Wow...

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

My boots were never on this ground, but Marlantes puts the reader in the jungle.

What did you like best about this story?

I really enjoyed the multiple points of view from grunt, to NCO, junior officer corps, to the battalion commanders. It was always obvious to me as an enlisted man that the officer corps never understood the experience of the grunt, and I know now that we never understood the difficulties of decision making by the oak leaf crowd. I am sure that Matterhorn was informed by personal experience.

Have you listened to any of Bronson Pinchot’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I have not and was very suprised at the excellence of the narration.

If you could take any character from Matterhorn out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I'd actually rather find some of my old friends from the US Army. We were family and the relationships in Matterhorn revived some of those memories.

Any additional comments?

Read it.

Great performance of vivid story.

Hearing this audiobook is as close to war as I hope to get in my lifetime. I felt as though I were there, and made strong bonds with the characters. The narration is wonderful. Bronson Pinchot captures the mood with a variety of character voices, all of which draw the listener even deeper into the story.

good but should have ended sooner.<br />

the end dragged out, but overall good book.
I would recommend, but keep in mind fictional.

Band of Brothers for the Vietnam War

I've had this book in my Audible library for a really long time and never got around to it because shortly after I bought it I realized that it was over 21 hours and I thought that was an awful long nonfiction book even if everybody was raving on how good it was. Years later I am on a mission to listen to all those audiobooks I've bought and listened to and I'm finally getting around to Matterhorn. First off, I learn right quickly that it's not nonfiction. Insteaad, it's a beautifully written fiction story that called to mind Band of Brothers and The Pacific. Matterhorn drew me in to the lives of Bravo Company and I just had to know what was going to happen to those men. I loved it and the 21 hours didn't seem quite that long.

Men of Outstanding Courage

What did you love best about Matterhorn?

It was very hardcore and gritty, the words were graphic and left you feeling what they were going thru!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Matterhorn?

The start of the book involving a leech and a certain soldier, made me cringe....Going to leave it at that.

What does Bronson Pinchot bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Grit, he can reach that deep gravely tone of voice that some of these hardened soldiers were probably like back then after being in the jungles for months on end.

If you could rename Matterhorn, what would you call it?

True Grit.

Any additional comments?

Not for the faint of heart but an amazing tail.

One you'll never forget

What did you love best about Matterhorn?

This is a story that needs telling. I was reluctant to take on a morbid subject, but once I began listening, could hardly stop. I felt like I was there with them.

Any additional comments?

Bronson Pinchot was excellent. I'll look for his name and choose accordingly.