Tet by Paul Allor

by Paul Allor

1968: At the height of the Vietnam War, Marine Eugene Smith and local woman Quang Ha have found each other in the midst of the violence that surrounds them. They plan to leave the war behind, and begin a new life in America. But when a fellow Marine is brutally murdered on the eve of the Tet Offensive, Eugene and Ha s plans are gone forever. Eugene finds himself in a city on fire, desperate to find the woman he loves. 1984: The war is over. Eugene is wounded, inside and out. And now, he finds himself going back to Vietnam, to set things right and start again. But as Eugene sinks deeper into a 16-year-old murder investigation he finally understands how wrong he s been. And that some wounds never heal. In this critically acclaimed book, writer Paul Allor and artist Paul Tucker present an extraordinary, heartfelt story of hard-boiled crime, war-torn romance, and the aftermath of violence on the human soul."

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, War, Historical, Romance, Historical Fiction, Fiction

Paperback

First published April 12, 2016

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things unfold as they must. We can accept that…or we can drink.

True.

War is hell.

Any war story that doesn't leave you with that understanding doesn't have truth in it.

What an intense story! About the war in Vietnam, but not. About love, but not. Not exactly. The best stories are about emotions and they make you feel. And this one does.

And a story about war where the real suspense is in human relationships? That's good storytelling.

Recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley, Diamond Distributors, and IDW Comics for a copy in return for an honest review.

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Tet' by Paul Allor tells a story spanning two time periods: the Vietnam War and a disabled veteran looking back on the events.

Marine Eugene Smith falls in love with a woman from Vietnam named Quang Ha. Ha sees Eugene as her way out of a war torn country. When Eugene's fellow Marine is murdered, he's teamed up a local policeman to solve the murder. Before the investigation gets too far underway, the city explodes. Eugene is injured on his way to find Ha and is sent out of the country. Years later, he returns to the country to tie up loose ends, if such a thing is possible.

The tone is dark as stories of this era are. What struck me is how a kind of noir tone informs the story. Lost love, unsolved murder and broken dreams. The art by Paul Tucker shows a vibrant countryside, while still showing the darker side of the human soul. I liked this story of how the past can haunt us and what can possibly happen if we try for closure.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, IDW Publishing, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

[Chinook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic. The scenes in Vietnam reminded me of visiting there, with all the wires crisscrossing the streets and the gorgeous buildings. I've been to Hue and done a war tour around the city, but the tour didn't really bring any of the events to life. This graphic novel did. I hope the story continues.

[Austin Gaines · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a short Vietnam detective comic spanning a couple decades. It should have been longer, but what was there was good. I dug the art as well. It had kind of a dream like quality that I dig. The whole story was very melancholic with some terrors of war thrown in. Worth checking out.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the type of comic one finds to be a disappointment for all of the right reasons. Indeed, presumptions of character, and casual estimates of moral empathy, all have their place in a time of war. But what about personal relations? Personal relations, specifically, as one navigates the darkened alleys scalded hot by house-to-house military machinery.

Enfolded among soldiers with bruised egos, and regular folk eager to survive, is the story of TET. Here, any and all effort to understand the self invariably trivializes the will of others.

It may seem hard to imagine how investigating a murder, during Vietnam's wartime, could inflate (or derail) sentiments of self-aggrandizement, but alas, such is the fate of Lieutenant Eugene Smith. When Smith's buddy, an intelligence officer, is found with his throat slashed (next to the body of a high-ranking city official), it's time to hit the beat.

Leading the investigation is Ngyuen Bao, a rugged police officer who doesn't waste time and doesn't play games. Bao has little patience for banter and even less for the chicanery he and Smith encounter while, however ironically, trying to bring closure and peace to an otherwise random death in the middle of a warzone.

War stories are everywhere, and Vietnam stories are no less frequent. Fortunately, TET props up Smith with an uneasy sense of faded and reluctant heroism; as readers catch up to him, Smith has aged twenty years, has a bad leg, and is returning to Vietnam after Bao sends him a mysterious letter regarding the case they investigated (but never closed) all those years ago.

There's energy in the old lieutenant's voice. For the hard work he put in during the war, yes, but also for the woman he left behind: Quang Ha.

How is Ha doing? How did she resolve Smith leaving the country with his pelvis in fifty pieces? How did she reconcile marrying Bao, in Smith's absence, when the war intensified?

Smith gets his answers, as does the reader. And interestingly enough, almost none of the answers are what either Smith or the reader really expect (or feel particularly comfortable with, for that matter). War is hell, after all, and any and all means of livelihood must be preserved. Survival is the only thing that matters.

To this end, only one fact remains: Smith left the war. Ha didn't.

In this way, TET is instructive. No form of self can emerge from war unscathed or unscarred. Further, it is much more difficult, if not impossible to perceive the scars of others, beyond one's own.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dark story – what else? – from the days of the Vietnam War. Part love story, part crime adventure, part war tale, it's actually a pretty damn good meshing of all three, to show the complexity that can arise when simple men and simple emotions get simply into the wrong situation. The artwork could have done more to differentiate characters now and again, but is pretty flawless in evoking mood, and the use of silent panels is sterling. If it hadn't jumped a chunk and made me uneasy about how we would get back to things, and why we were not already, I might have found full favour with it, but it's well worth consideration.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than a war story, more than an unsolved mystery, more than a love story. Eugene Smith returns to Vietnam 16 years after the Tet Offensive, learns who killed his friend Chip in the days before the Offensive began and why, and discovers his former fiancée is still alive after all these years. Story is unhurried but spartan in its delivery; art is rough and kind of messy, just like life. Details are filled in almost on a need to know basis. The reader is only given them when it’s clear that they must be revealed. I will definitely seek out more from the creators.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

[Alex Sarll]

The oldest story - all's never been fair in love or war, but there are those who can't resist the temptation, who can square it with themselves. I didn't feel the art quite lived up to the writing, though I get the impression a bit more practice might make all the difference there.
(Netgalley freebie)

[Reggie_Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and haunting. It deals with murder surrounded by war and shows the damage war can do to everyone involved. Every element was explored and it felt honest. I found myself looking up the author to see if it was a true story. Rare that a graphic novel can capture such depth, emotion, and truth in just a few dozen pages.

[George Ilsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess I'm not the target for this book -- it did not gel for me. The characters did not feel completely real, and so it felt a little flat. Perhaps someone who wants to know more about the Vietnam war would find it more interesting.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short, sad tale. It felt like an old comic, so well done there, Just not a book I'd recommend reading if You're already sad.

I received an advanced copy of this from NetGalley.com and the publisher. .

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part murder mystery, part unresolved issues from the war. I found the story to be kind of boring. The art was bland and the color palette off for the source material.

Received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Polly Krize · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Dark tale of Vietnam War: part mystery, part romance. Well done for the shortness of the book, but I wish the graphics were a bit more colorful and striking.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had heard so many good things about this, but it fell flat for me. It's part war story, part love story, part crime mystery, and none of it had much suspense. Maybe if I'd read each part as it originally came out, month by month, the suspense would have been built in?