Daniel

I gave it two stars because of originality. That is the extent of its value. I would have been better had it remained only an idea in the writer's head.The dialogues were unreal. This is apparently how a civilian thinks military conversations are laid out. The author's dialogues might be more appropriate for a high school football team.At one point their 155's were supposedly shelling a distant ARVN unit. Uh, ARVN is an acronym for our Vietnamese allies. Firebase Martha was manned by 101 G.I.'s and when they were told that there were two North Vietnam regiments surrounding them, the commanding officer stated that that meant they were outnumbered 5 to one. Two typical regiments would have between 4,000 and 6,000 soldiers. They were likely outnumbered fifty to one.Again, the idea is a good one, but as a veteran there is no way I could buy into any of the military workings of this story.

Daniel, by Keith Yocum, is one of the most unique books that I've ever read about the Vietnam War. The story captivates you right from the start and keeps you guessing about this new visitor. For most of the book, I thought Daniel to be either a ghost or an Archangel with a mission to protect this outpost from being overrun by enemy soldiers. Yes, it is late in the war and many U.S. troops had already left the country, those remaining were simply in a defensive posture awaiting their turn - nobody wanted to be the last soldier killed in Vietnam.The story is riveting and the reader can't read fast enough to see what will happen next. I thoroughly enjoyed this story! Keith did a wonderful job at describing those last days on Firebase Martha; the boredom, dust, loneliness and fear. I especially enjoyed reading about the main character's first encounter with the visitor in the middle of the night. The fear experienced in a situation like this can be paralyzing to the young soldier in the bunker. In the dark of night, the shadows played tricks on you; unnecessary firing at imagined enemy soldiers attacking was always frowned upon. However, Keith describes the fear and emotions perfectly - something real is out there...it is walking directly toward you...you are mystified by the appearance...afraid...this can't be happening!Daniel is a wonderful story...the last chapter left me breathless...rejoicing finally when it was all over. A great read and highly recommended!John Podlaski, authorCherries - A Vietnam War Novel

In the waining months of America's involvement in Viet-Nam a seemingly shell shocked GI wanders up to the front gates of the last active U. S. artillery base, Firebase Martha northeast of Saigon.Definitely "spacey" in behavior, Daniel, as he calls himself has an uncanny ability to traverse mine fields unscathed, face down Viet-Cong snipers without being shot and,to tell the future. It's this last that begins to convince the drug soaked GI's and some of their more sober brethren that Daniel is far more than he appears.Manned by soldiers whose main goal is surviving the military experience, many men in Martha begin to think that Daniel is their one best chance to go home in something other than a body bag.The tale is extremely realistic in its portrayal of the various clashing cadres present at the end of the war including druggies, black power brothers, career officers and non-coms and the just plain bored and scared draftees.Although the ending chapters seem just a bit rough, the story is compelling enough that I devoured in one sitting. An epilogue bringing the reader up to date on the various characters noticeably increases the feeling of realism in the book. I felt it was very much worth the price, in Kindle edition, and impatiently wait for other works by Mr. Yocum.

I served in the Navy as an electro-mechanic during some of the war years(1966-1970)As a result I was far removed from (and largely unaware of) the action described in this book not only in a geographical sense but in job description. Since beginning to read the various combat related accounts that have emerged from this era I have begun to realize that a vast gulf of war time experiences existed between the combat soldier in the jungle and my life in air-conditioned ship board compartments with good food and living conditions. As a fellow member of the military during this era, I have to tip my cap to to the men who endured the hellish conditions described here and elsewhere  Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War . Daniel and others like it should be a "must read" for members of the military who were far removed from combat conditions and for antiwar activists who made it so much more difficult for those of us who served. And for the millions of people of the general public who, to this day, have no clue of what it was like. Two Thumbs UP!!

I'm a 62 year old woman who has never really understood the Vietnam War, neither why we were in it or why we left it as we did. As part of completing my own bucket list I've decided to do some research. However, I did not want to start with dry, informative military books. I picked this up and could not put it down. Yes, it may seem far-fetched to some, but if you live long enough both magic and the supernatural comes back into your life. I won't insult those brave soldiers who fought that war by saying that the book made me understand their plight. But it did give me an ever so little taste of the fear they must have lived in throughout their tour. My only suggestion would have been to have just left Daniel to each character and reader to solve. It was a great first Vietnam read!

'Daniel' is a pretty interesting Vietnam war novel, set in early 1972 - during the withdrawal phase - on a remote firebase. Daniel - a bizzare GI - stumbles into the base with no ID, no dogtags and little recollection of where he is from or what he is about. The troops oscillate between thinking he's badly shell shocked, a faking deserter and a guardian angel (of the slightly more ephemereal kind - especially since he has been reported killed in action) and he is just another twist of bizzarness to come out of that war.The book also manages to portray the difference in how the various ranks perceived the involvement pretty well, even if it does not quite reach the quality of something like  Matterhorn  in this respect.The author includes some of the post traumatic stress disorder issues plaguing the soldiers afterwards and finishes the novel with a slightly surprising ending four years after the events on the firebase, which truly shocks the protagonists who finally find out the truth about Daniel.The book appears a pretty convincing account of life on a firebase and Daniel adds a nice twist to events to distinguish the book from other Vietnam era novels. Matterhorn

This is a strangely compelling story which I read in two sessions. It has all the usual Vietnam situations, but alongside it also has the question of 'who is Daniel, what's going to happen ?' The book held my interest right to the end and whilst satisfying, it still leaves me with unanswered questions about Daniel, as it was meant to be of course. A memorable book, and I hope to see more from this author.

I bought this book simply because it seemed different. It turned out to be the most compelling read that I have had for a long time, read it pretty much in a couple of days and feel glad to have done so.Almost within a couple of pages the book grew on me, can't explain why but it seemed to promise something big from the outset and perhaps the premonition of anticipation from a book that increasingly utilised premonition within its story-line was "the hook". It worked for me!

In some respects I suppose this book gives an account of daily life on an isolated firebase in Vietnam, but it progresses with an odd twist that focuses on one individual. In turn others around this individual question their part in the war & even their own sanity.The ending is quite sad in a way, the friends think they are out to help & do good, remembering a fallen colleague to his family, but it doesn't quite turn out that way in a twistmthat didn't make itself obvious.

I enjoyed this book, having read a lot of books on the Vietnam era both factual and fiction this is a diversion from the usual storylines. Set on a Firebase at the back end of the war, it captures the atmosphere of a backwater unit waiting for the call to leave and head "back to the world". However, things change and the plots weaves around the central characters and how Daniel affects each of them. An enjoyable read with a great twist at the end.