Sigh... I really wanted to like this book. The subject matter, something interesting, and thought provoking; the story of soldiers who went AWOL during the Vietnam War. However, at 575 pages of dense material, there is a lot to get through. A lot. Effectively, there is a great story under all of this weight of text, but the enjoyment of reading is lost amongst the length. By the end of the book, I really didn't care about the characters and just wanted it to be over. ( )

I received this book as an ebook so it took me till the end to answer one question. How accurate was the description of the Vietnam War? The author, according to the notes at the end, served in Vietnam, which makes it a first hand account. The story starts in Canada, where Thomas Kindred, a Vietnam deserter, receives a message from one of his old comrades, and a fellow AWOL, to say a fellow deserter has died, and he thinks he is next. There is another thread running through the story, that of Thomas and his girlfriend Carmen. This tends to be a bit of a distraction, but does come into it's own at the end. The telephone call leads to an Odyssey ranging from Seattle, San Fransisco, New York, then back to San Fransisco for a rather surprising denoument. The cast of characters are a mixed bunch, including some very odd members of a left wing anti war organisation drifting towards anarchy. In parts the story tends to drift just a little, and it is sometimes difficult to know quite where the story is heading, but it is definitely worth perservering. An interesting read. ( )

NOTE: I received a copy of the book , all that was requested was an honest review.

In 1968 Thomas Kindred walked away from his unit in Vietnam. Along with 3 others he hid out in Saigon then returned to the US and ended up in Canada where he is living under the name Michael Park. One day he checks his answering machine and finds a message from one of the 3 from Vietnam, saying he was afraid that someone had killed one of the other guys and he was afraid he was next. And thus begins a trip that will take Thomas to Seattle, then San Francisco and then to New York with a side trip to New Jersey to see his father. His girlfriend goes to Seattle with him then leaves. In San Francisco he meets Angela who was with his friend when he overdosed and died. During his travels he has many questions, will any be answered?

Pros: As stated this was from the author/publisher. I do not know if this was a final edition but there were so editing mistakes that although minor were present. The author did a good job of moving from one point to another and describing the story.

Con: The author did not give the reader any real reason to care about the characters. Why are they doing what they are doing? What do they expect to do or prove? These points could have been done better and given the reader a reason to care what the characters. In other words, the story was okay but could have been a lot better. ( )

This was definitely an interesting read but I was disappointed with the way the novel ended. I liked the mystery that kept me guessing and I was very intrigued with the characters and their back stories. I also loved the back and forth between Saigon and present day. I wish we had been given more of a back story on the other soldiers who went AWOL. Overall, a good, quick read.