China Wind

This novel is a great read. I served with a combined action platoon in the area of 3rd Amtracks at the time the novel was set and it is very accurate. The thing I notice most was that the book is suppose to be fiction, but reads alot like a non-fiction. Dan is very talented, and I feel that this is one of the best Vietnam novels available. Although the name have changed, I am very sure that I personally knew some of the charactors. I am anxious to start Dodge City Blues.

What makes a book enticing, all consuming, and in the end rewarding? It is the feeling of being in the same room with the characters, sitting in a chair observing the action. I felt this a number of times reading China Wind--the many and varied lessons of leadership between Sam and his constantly changing superiors; the capture of the young boy and the murder of the East German nurse / spy; the fire fight were Sam and the old Vietnamese man were the only ones to survive; the attack of the Frenchman on Lowy and Sam; the disposing of the Frenchman's body in the pond; and, the many discussions between Sam, his superiors, and his direct reports over beers in the Grand Hotel. I was struck by the powerful imagery of the bird drinking the remnants of alcohol from a glass and getting drunk while Sam was being told how to lead his team of "track rats", the black cat's swift death by the silent and deadly rocket pistol, and Sam's unexplained attraction to the King Cobra living in an ancient barrier wall. The book's title plays out subtlety in the narrative. The first time it was introduced, it was so subtle that it required re-reading of the chapter, which was well worth the effort. China Wind is all encompassing. I thought about the book day and night, at home and at work. The contradiction of a great book: I couldn't wait to finish it, and it ended too soon.