Red Flags

by Juris Jurjevics

A novel of soldiers and spies in the Highlands of Vietnam

Army cop Erik Rider is enjoying his war until he’s sent to disrupt Vietcong opium fields in a remote Highland province.

Rider lands in Cheo Reo, home to hard-pressed soldiers, intelligence operatives, and profiteers of all stripes. The tiny U.S. contingent and their unenthusiastic Vietnamese allies are hopelessly outnumbered by infiltrating enemy infantry. And they’re all surrounded by sixty thousand Montagnard tribespeople who want their mountain homeland back.

The Vietcong are on to Rider’s game and have placed a bounty on his head. As he hunts the opium fields, skirmishes with enemy patrols, and defends the undermanned U.S. base, Rider makes a disturbing discovery: someone close to home has a stake in the opium smuggling ring—and will kill to protect it.

Written by a master, and as authentic as Matterhorn or Dog Soldiers, Red Flags is a riveting new addition to espionage fiction.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, War, Military Fiction, Mystery, Espionage, Crime

325 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Larry Bassett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books about the Iraq war are beginning to come out. But here is yet another one about Vietnam. I think you are going to continue to hear about Vietnam for a couple more decades. There are too many of us who lived during that time and who died there.

Red Flags is set in the mid 1960s when the U.S. had “advisers” by the score in Vietnam rather than soldiers by the thousands. What do the Vietnamese think about the advisers?

“They’re embarrassed to have us land on them with all our strategizing and machines as if they couldn’t do it themselves. And they’re embarrassed and resentful that they can’t. They don’t trust their lousy excuse for a government, and their government doesn’t trust us. They see us pouring in men and equipment, erecting huge aerodromes and monster camps, and it makes them suspicious that we have permanent designs on the place, like the French.”

The actors are in some strange scenes.

“Not a word until we figure out what we’re dealing with. A priest, a missionary, a USAID rep, and an unarmed ARVN meet with a VC commander in the jungle. It’s like the setup for a joke. But what’s the punch line?”

And how do U.S. advisors interface with the South Vietnamese leadership?

“You know the score. He writes my report card. As senior adviser, I’m judged by how happy I keep my counterpart.”
“And is he happy?”
“So long as I get him what he wants by way of material and air assets and don’t demand too much from him or his troops.”
“So we give him what he wants.”
“Don’t always want to, but yes. I manage to get him the supplies, the copters, the toys. Hard to deny him since Chinh holds all the cards. He’s the Man. My job is to bolster, persuade, cajole, get him to act. And I won’t be able to do it if Big John starts seriously rattling Chinh’s cage and challenging his perks.”

And, more to the point,

“Look,” Gidding said. We’re in Vietnam by invitation. On their sufferance – Chinh’s sufferance. We’re here as advisers, not Chinh’s superiors. As far as we’re concerned, Chinh operates with impunity. I can’t reign him in or order his men into the field. Neither can the colonel. We’re not Saigon, we’re not General Loc up in Two Corps. Their private undertakings are their business. They’re none of yours.”

And what does the Vietnamese leader Chinh say?

Chinh grunted. He appeared affronted. “You want fight Communist. Okay,okay. American soldier stay year, sometime two. Me? Fifteen. Fight war fifteen year. Last five year, before I come to Cheo Reo, I have eight adviser. Soon you go. I wait. Get different adviser, different advice.

We get to know some of the “soldiers and spies.” Two U.S. spies have been sent to the province to disrupt the growth and export of opium and marijuana by the VC that results in the deposit of tens of thousands of dollars in VC accounts that is used to buy arms and supplies to fight the war. The story is told by one of those spies.

I wanted to keep reading this book. The story is fascinating and loaded with plenty of accurate details about what Americans found in Vietnam as the “conflict” escalated into a war. The focus is on espionage in the midst of the lead up to a long war in which corruption played a large part. It is hard to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys.

Red Flags puts you in the midst of the action in a way that lets you feel the intensity and horror of the events. This is a five star book and a must read for those who are captured by the war in Vietnam.

[Eric_W · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We kill for peace," could be the motto of the US Army.

The story is a nice mix of mystery, espionage, and social criticism. Eric Rider is a CID agent on his second tour of Vietnam who is sent to the Montagnard area to interfere with the flow of money into VC and NVA coffers from the production and sale of drugs. His ostensible cover is that of an intelligence officer sent there to collect information. This provides the perfect mechanism for the author to reveal one of his themes: the ignoble treatment of the Montagnards.

The Montagnards were miserably treated by everyone: the French, the Vietnamese, everyone, but were considered more trustworthy than the South Vietnamese by the U.S., especially the Special Forces, and the Montagnards cooperated, partly because of their hatred for the Vietnamese and partly because of the promises of future independence (unrealistic) made by the Americans. The author clearly has a great deal of empathy for the Montagnards. The scene where Rider assists in the delivery of a breech baby in a Montagnard village is quite extraordinary. That he must later kill the child's father, a VC, makes it all the more poignant.

One very interesting tidbit is that foreign civilian contractors were essentially immune from prosecution for any crimes they might commit. Because Congress had not declared war, they were not subject to military courts or the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and because they were often American citizens they were immune from Vietnamese justice. This situation led to some foreigners taking advantage of smuggling, black marketeering, virtually anything to enrich themselves. NVA camps were found with piles of USAID rice.

American soldiers were often placed in untenable positions, unable to trust the ARVN, who had been fighting foreign invaders for centuries and knew Americans were simply just a more recent variety of invader, nor American contractors and AID employees who were making piles of cash by playing off both sides, not to mention their own superiors who cared more about rotating in and out of combat zones just long enough to accumulate medals and "combat" time to help their careers. Just why many Americans re-upped for second and third tours in Vietnam has puzzled many. Rider and Roberta, a USAID doctor talk about it. "People who don't know who they are," is what the Vietnamese called American soldiers. Normality becomes ill-defined as soldiers returned to a society that didn't value them and was totally unreal compared to the super adrenaline flow overseas.

There's quite a shocking (sorry) scene where Rider happens to see an extra wire running off one of the field telephones in the compound and realizes his phone has been booby-trapped. They discover other electronic devices (tape recorders and such) set to blow up in the user's face. This was retribution by the local ARVN Colonel angry they had interfered with his profitable opium trade.

The verisimilitude of the novel was lauded by many reviewers on Amazon who actually served in Vietnam and the area around Pleiku where it takes place. I am completely baffled by a few reviewers who thought the book was boring. I could not stop listening and resented interruptions. The audiobook was very ably read by Joe Barrett, one of my favorite narrators.

[Christina (A Reader of Fictions) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Red Flags hooked me in the opening and then quickly lost me again for quite a while. The premise of the girl wanting to learn about the father she never knew was compelling, particularly given Rider's hesitancy to speak. Knowing all the awful things that occur in any war, and the especially unique and terrible things that transpired in the Vietnam conflict, it set my mind spinning and prepared me for serious drama.

Instead, the novel is not propelled forward by any real plot or constant action. There is some action, of course, but there's also a lot of boredom. Soldiers spend a lot of time standing around or watching for attackers only to have none come. There were also some places where the story seemed to jump awkwardly, which could be due to Rider's own memory of the events. All of this combines to make Red Flags a better novel, I expect, but did not always make it incredibly readable.

What I really liked about Red Flags was that it focused on some elements of the war that I never previously learned much about. For one thing, I never knew about the Montagnards, the tribes in the highlands of Vietnam, and the way they were used by every side. Additionally, I knew quite a bit about the corruption of the South Vietnamese government, but the corruption within the ARVN was completely eye-opening. Some of the stuff they were doing was just...well, awful and dumb. Why would you help the enemy kill your side?

Red Flags is a slow burner, but really makes you think. While not my favorite Vietnam War book, this is a solid read with an interesting focus.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last year saw the publication of a masterpiece of Vietnam War fiction, Matterhorn, which was a searing and existentially bleak example of the battle novel. This year sees the publication of this very different, and only just slightly less impressive Vietnam War novel. At about half the length of Matterhorn, this book falls roughly into the crime genre, as it tells the tale of an Army CID officer sent undercover to a small base in the Central Highlands kind of near Pleiku. It seems that the North might be financing some of its international arms purchasing through the wholesale drug production and export of heroin and marijuana. "Captain" Rider and his partner are supposed to try and find out where the drugs are coming from and who might be involved.

But as well-plotted as the investigative storyline is, it's really just an excuse for the author (a Vietnam Vet) to vividly lay out the tenuousness of the American position in the country. What really pops to the fore is the complexity of the situation, as Rider tries to understand the relationships between the regular Army, the Green Beret outposts, the local CIA operative, the South Vietnamese Army unit across the road, their corrupt commander (who functions as provincial warlord), the various Montagnard tribes, the Viet Cong, local do-gooder missionaries, a sexy American medic, and more. Readers who aren't well-versed in the history of the Vietnam War will get a great introduction to the true complexity of what was happening on the ground. And if this story is anything to go by, what was happening was tons of corruption, graft, and outright cooperation with the enemy by some of the U.S.'s supposed allies. The story here paints the war as mere background, or rather, opportunity, for the well-positioned to make a lot of money. The actual outcome is never in doubt, and the parallels to present-day adventures in Afghanistan are all-too easily made.

To be sure, this does not aspire to the heights that Matterhorn did, but it's just as strikingly authentic, and just as ultimately depressing in its portrayal of the futility of American efforts. The characters all come completely to life, the dialogue rings true, and the few action scenes are loaded with tension (there's a great section where Rider joins a small group to kidnap an NVA courier deep in the jungle). The one quibble I have with the story is that as things build to a climax at the end, Rider and several other main characters exhibit shocking naivete with regard to the likely effect of their harassment of the story's villain. But even that is eventually sorted out in a fairly satisfying manner. There are certainly hundreds, if not thousands, of novels written about the Vietnam War -- this one belongs in the short list of ones that are well worth your time.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red Flags is a very well informed book about the realities of the VietNam War.
I had recently read the rather well reviewed "Matterhorn" by Karl Marlantes and found Red Flags to be a far superior novel.
The depiction of the war in the Central Highlands circa 1966-1967--1968 is very accurate. The detail on intelligence collection by both sides is unusual [and only partially complete] but quite informative.
The primary characters all know that the war was losing effort and yet as professionals continue to perform their duties as best they can.
Certain aspects of the novel are particularly good and not often a focus in either fiction or the nonfiction writing on the Vietnam War:
the depiction of the Army Special Forces "A" teams;
the relationship of the Vietnamese and the Montagnards;
the methods used by the North Vietnamese military to maneuver, supply and support its force;
the relationships among the U.S.Army and the CIA and the State Department USAID workers;
the disconnect between the Westmoreland MACV and the actual conditions in the Central Highlands;
the workings of the U.S. military as a bureaucracy;
the corruption of the South Vietnamese Army and government;
the extraordinary sacrifices the the North Vietnamese were prepared to accept; and
the culture of the U Army "lifer' who found a home and a calling as a soldier in Vietnam.

I would suggest this book be read with Tatjiana Soli's recent and excellent novel "The Lotus Eaters" and Graham Greene's classic "The Quiet American".

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eric Rider is an Army Cop, a member of their Criminal Investigative Service during the early days of the Vietnam War. He is sent to Cheo Reo, a remote base in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, on a secret mission to find who is growing opium in the highlands and using the proceeds to fund Viet Cong activities. Its partly a spy mission, partly combat duty and partly a cop mission, but its a superb novel of the early days of the war.

Rider goes on spy missions with the local CIA agent, while also helping a local doctor who is ministering to the Montagnard tribes people. He also aids Colonel Bennett in his camp. The remote outpost has little military value to the North Vietnamese, but hidden in the jungle it seems like many locals from the AIDE group, the South Vietnam Army, the Viet Kong, the North Vietnamese are all doing business. Corruption is rife.

Rider must manuever among these groups and survive the machinations of the drug overlord, who is closer at hand than one would imagine.

Its a great superb war novel and spy novel because it explores another side of the conflict that is not covered in other fiction about this period. How much of it is really fiction and how much is fact is hard to say, but Jurjevic's journey into his past is all good.

[Bobby · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must for anyone who has ever had an interest in the backroom, self-serving antics of all constituents of the early days of the Vietnam"conflict". Having served in Vietnam shortly after the time described in the story, I can justify my feelings of betrayal that were instilled about 1/2 way through my tour. I believed in being there for awhile but by the time I came home I remember thinking "what the hell just happened"!! Thanks Mr. Jurjevics for letting me know my post-war inclinations and doubts were justified.

[Max Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soldiers, Traitors, Spies, and Contraband: another side of the Vietnam War”

“Red Flags” was written by Juris Jurjevics. He emigrated from Latvia as a young lad and settled in the United States after the end of WWII. Jurjevics served in the Vietnam War in the “1967” to “1968” era. His adult profession since then has been centered on writing and publishing books. Jurjevics is cofounder and publisher of SOHO press in New York.

“Red Flags” is a work of fiction whose root is planted in the real experiences of Juris Jurjevics; a memoir of sorts of his time serving in Vietnam. The novel is of the intrigue/spy/thriller genre involving a certain aspect of the Vietnam War. The book is narrated in the first person by the main protagonist; the character dialog is interspersed as conversation. The writing is not complex yet contains well constructed descriptions that easily convey the sights and scenes to the reader. The writing style should be appreciated by a wide audience.

The novel opens with a meeting between one Erik Rider and a young woman named Celeste Bennett. Erik and Celeste’s father, Colonel Bennett were stationed together in Vietnam. Bennett was killed in the war, and Celeste wants to know about the father she never had from those that knew him; and so begins the tale of traitors, soldiers, spies and drug money as Erik recalls the days in Reo Cheo. The story picks up as Erik Rider, a military investigator, is dispatched to a remote outpost called Reo Cheo, where he is to attempt to disrupt the flow of contraband; drugs (opium), medicines, gasoline, ammunition, weapons, and rations. The sale of the drugs on the black market is funding the activities of the North Vietnamese troops. What Erik discovers is a web of systemic corruption involving local politicians and South Vietnamese military leaders, all of whom are operating with the tacit approval of U.S. military commanders. He also introduces the huge native tribal population of Montagnards who are abused at the hands of the Vietnamese causing terrible conflicts for their American advisers who actually felt a greater loyalty to the aboriginal tribes than to Saigon.

This is a very engaging novel and one I quite liked. The exposure of the mission that Erik Rider brings to life is gripping, especially if one has not heretofore been aware of the sordid facts; the fictional line notwithstanding. The characters are well developed and memorable. There is a definitive sadness that permeates the composition. Perhaps it is from the knowledge of the vast number of lives that were lost in a conflict no one wanted to own; or perhaps it was in the final retribution that while deserved, resulted in no lingering satisfaction.

This novel is not complex in any manner. The story is told as a reminiscence, detailed when necessary vague when prudent. The underlying motivation for the reminiscence is believable in spite of its triteness. There is a fair amount of background provided leading up to the book’s conclusion with action taking place mostly in the last chapters. While the tale is good, it requires a certain amount of persistence in wading through the preliminaries; it’s worth it!

I highly recommend this novel and rate it “memorable”.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good thriller. Part detective story, war story, and spy story all rolled into one. The action takes place in the northern highlands of Viet-Nam. The author is congratulated for weaving convoluted plot, full of suspense, colorful characters, and a restraint on action that makes this a satisfying tale.

[Sam Reaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Juris Jurjevics, who died in 2018, had an interesting life. Born in Latvia during the Second World War and raised in Displaced Persons camps in Europe before immigrating with his family to the U.S. in 1950, he worked in publishing for many years, founded Soho Press, and found time to write his own novels. He was also a Vietnam veteran, and that experience underlies this rich, compelling and very dark novel.
The book is set in 1966, with the mass commitment of troops that will turn the conflict into a major war still a year away but storm clouds gathering. Erik Rider, an investigator from the army's Criminal Investigation Division, is sent to investigate reports of a drug operation run by the Viet Cong in the Central Highlands, where Special Forces advisers are training Montagnard tribesmen to oppose the communists. The situation is precarious. The Montagnards are not fond of the South Vietnamese troops who garrison the district; the Americans don't think much of them either. The American base is undermanned and NVA regulars are streaming through the district on their way south. The Montagnards' loyalties are unpredictable and the South Vietnamese commander is a greedy profiteer. Intelligence leaks from the base are handicapping operations against the VC. Rider has to try to figure out what's going on, with the help of an American woman doctor, who's dallying with the base commander. It gets complicated, and ultimately of course it gets very, very violent.
The setting is vividly evoked with a volume of detail which speaks to personal experience; the characters, American, Vietnamese and Montagnard, are fully realized and convincing, and the futility of the American intervention in Vietnam is brought home with force. Like all good novels, this one illuminates the darkest places.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eric Ryder, an Army cop, is sent to a remote American outpost (80-some Americans in a province crawling with VC) to investigate a major opium smuggling operation that is funding the VC effort. He goes under cover as a captain who is both intelligence and communications officer at the outpost, accompanied by his fellow agent,"SGT" Miser. (They're both warrant officers, but CID agents assume ranks and identities as it suits the mission.) It's 1966 and the war is in its early expansive phase, but it become clear, at least to the CID agents, that the war is largely lost due to the corrupt nature of the Saigon government and the determined nature of the Vietcong. So the task is enormous, taking place in the middle of a jungle war with uncertain allies. Ryder is energetic and skilled at his job, so he and his CIA counterpart soon become targets for reprisal. How they cope makes for an engrossing novel--one that is exciting but also instructive about the nature of the war.

Jurjevic's book is the best of the novels about the Vietnam war (better even that "Matterhorn"), and is skillfully written. It serves as both a spy novel and a war novel. It is also a novel that is set in a place resembling Graham Greene country.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books ever set against the backdrop of the Vietnam war. Tohroughly researched, well-written, great characters, good dialogue. The usual frustrations associated with a corrupt, ill-conceived way, except that, in the end, the good guys come away with a bit of a win. Well done. Looking forward to reading more Jurjevics.

[Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was my nightmare. Leading up to high school and into the first year, the continuation of the “war,” and my direct involvement was real. My parents had some sit downs to discuss the Canadian alternative. Nightly news. Newspaper immersion.
At university, I am introduced to Tim O’brien and Michael Herr.
Still not quenched, when asked where I want to, need to travel next by my sort-of-stepson upon leaving our journey to India, I said without hesitation—Vietnam.
Two years later, I was there with Landon in Hanoi, Hue, Da Nang, little villages and townships.
I saw the terrain, I spoke to many, many people but I could never get close to what it might have been like to actually be there.
These books are my only chance. Latvian immigrant Jurvis Jurjevics was drafted and spent time in county. Every page after an awkward stateside opening just drips with atmosphere and details that envelop you in time, place and action, constant action.
The thrust is a captain assigned to special detail to uncover a drug trade taking place in a remote northern region. He’ll have one other accomplice in his mission. You will meet a wide variety of characters from every faction of the fracas. It wasn’t officially a war, you see, so only certain legal channnels and support were available.
The devil is in an avalanche of details.
It’s a terrifying and visceral experience that gave me just a much fulfillment as I’ll ever get outside of time travel and the terrible luck of the draft. Who knows, maybe I would have become a Canuck.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a few well written reviews on Goodreads about this novel; I won’t compete! But a few observations:
-I first picked up the book because the author was a co-founder of Soho Books, a publisher I’ve been reading (and I don’t generally look for certain publishers) for ~30 years (ahem). My hero. I’ve read works by many international authors, such a cornucopia of wonderful mystery/detective writing!
-This is not masterful writing, though it’s a masterpiece to me for giving me more of an understanding of some of the historical, political, ethical, and tragic underpinnings of the Vietnam war. And more insight into what some loved ones experienced there.
-The narrative is set mainly during 1964-5, before officially a “war”; Americans were there as “advisors”.
-The corruption rampant, the callous disregard for human lives, the back room machinations all leading up to all out war and so many thousands of young lives lost and ruined.

[Sally Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

War novels are not my go-to, but I enjoyed Jurjevics' The Trudeau Vector and thought I would try another of his books. I lived in Hanoi for a time in the '90s, while the U.S. embargo was being lifted, which has inspired me to read books set in or about Vietnam. (Shout out to the amazing Robert Olen Butler!) I thought the plot of this story lagged in the middle, but the depth of detail and context was really powerful. Now I want to read more about the Montagnards, whom Fitzgerald and Karnow skimmed over, as far as I remember. I hope post-war conditions for them didn't end up the way I suspect they did.

[Robert M. Roth MD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

This is a historical fiction novel which addresses the rampant corruption that was evident during the war in Vietnam. At the end of the book, the author states that very little of the book is actually based on fiction. The book itself is very well done, the characters are credible and in many cases, likable. The plot flows smoothly. While there are some combat scenes depicted, this is mainly a book about how pervasive corruption undermined part of the American war effort.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel, almost more than anything else I have read on the Vietnam war, explains why the US could not win. The corruption, the in country politics of doing anything, the sheer waste of life is all brought during the course of this excellent thriller/war novel/detective story. I could hardly stop listening and was dismayed when it was over. Damn fine read.

[Emmett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The realistic description of Vietnam was incredible. The plot was very good. The characters were solid. It's a very good book.

CID team is sent to a small outpost to investigate current trends occurring. They find out that the Vietnam War sucks. The south is in cahoots with the north and it all goes to crap real fast.

This book is like a mystery inside a war.

[Yuval Zukerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid realistic depiction of a corrupt remote Vietnamese province torn between sides and the American soldiers sent to help. The color and vivid milieu pictures often outshine the plot. Worth a read.

[M OLIVER · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read many books about the conflict in Viet Nam, both fiction and non-fiction, and this has to be amongst the best. Very well written with a good storyline. I will certainly be looking to read further books by Mr Jurjevics.

[Tom Diehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Recommend to all veterans. I was U.S. Navy and found so much truth in the book's narrative that compared to my own experiences between 1964 to 1968!

[Mark Soone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recieved an Advance Reading Copy (Through Goodreads) From a marketing manager of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt named Hannah (Again Thank you!).

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed every second spent in this book and was disappointed only by the fact that it had to end! It sounded somewhat interesting when I signed up for the free give away, but having not been an avid vietnam fiction reader I did not really know what to excpect. I am somewhat ashamed to say outside of the Korean war, there is probably no era or aspect of US history that I am as uninformed about. I am 42, and outside of a couple of Stephen Coonts novels I have almost entirely avoided this genre (Partly intentional). In my teens and early 20's I was fascinated with the anti-war protests and the free love/Hippie perspective than anything of this nature. So although I went into this with an opend mind, I did not necesarily have high hopes.

What I found in this book entirely surprised me....The intro roped me in right from the start. I found the characters very believable and in many cases very deep and well developed. The plot was very action paced without being a simple shoot em up type story, with lots of gore and blood (very little actually). The descriptive prose allowed an outsider (and an uniformed one as well!) to imagine that I could see, hear and smell the enviroment that was being desribed. The layers upon layers of corupption and betrayal were again very realistic, horrifying and discouraging (I cannot fathom the emotions that our real life soldier/heros endured!).

I would whole heartedly recommend this book even if you are not a fan of the Vietnam era genre or even war/espionage type of fiction. If you are a fan of those genres this should go immediately to your must read list...very good!

If I had any complaints or negatives it would again be that unfortunately the book had to end! Secondly a glossary of terms for the inept and uninformed like myself would have been benificial especially early in the story.

I would like to include a special thank you to the author:
1. For valiantly serving our country....while I have always had an appreciation for our vets, Mr. Jurjevics has raised my awareness and understanding of the sacrifices many men and women have mad for our nation.
2. For drawing me into a story and giving me an understanding of the surroundings, enviroment and multi layered corruption during this conflict (If that is the right word). Even moreso for helping to develop an appreciation for places and people, that were not really on my radar.
3. For a brilliant book....I love reading and you have given me a memory that will not soon be forgotten

Early thoughts:I recieved an Advance reading Copy of this book from Hannah (Thanks!). I have not been a big reader of Vietnam fiction, so I don't have the understanding of some others who do. I do however feel a quick bond with the characters, and a sense of being able to picture and feel the things the author describes. A very enjoyable read, although outside of the back cover I don't have a handle on the plot or twists as of yet(PG 24)

The only negative so far is that not being a vietnam reader frequently, and having no military background some abbreviations MACV SOG and ARVN, and terms are greek to me without an explanation...a glossary of terms would have been benificial...some I can peice together others no.

[james · Rating 5 out of 5]

I seldom rate a book with 5 stars but this one is special.

In the early 1960s there was one irrefutable fact about Vietnam: no one had any firm grasp on what was taking place there.

This book presents all the confusing details of the reality that was Vietnam in a story told through the eyes of an American investigator who is sent to the highlands to discover the driving force of the ever-increasing opium production, the profits of which were funnelled into Viet Cong bank accounts.

There were many different groups involved: US Army, South Viet Nam Army, North Viet Nam Army, Viet Cong Army, US Aid workers. Also there are American people, some French left over from their colonial days, Viet Nam people, plus at least four indiginous tribes in the highlands called montagnards, non of whom trusted members of the other tribes nor any government.

And then there's the bottomless pit of corruption. The center of this is the South Viet Nam Army colonel, who didn't rise through the ranks, but rather became a battalion commander by paying hard cash. Unlike Robin Hood, he stole from everyone and kept everything.

Somehow the author melds all this into a coherent whole.

[Mirrani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Red Flags is a book that I was interested in because it took place during the time of the Vietnam War. Though it takes place in the war, it is mostly about a drug ring that some US special forces are trying to take down while the war goes on around them. I don't want this to sound as if the war isn't well represented, because I felt as if it was, but there were times when my attention wandered while reading because I didn't quite have enough to hold my mind to the book. I wasn't disappointed, but it wasn't exactly what I was expecting either. What I did get about the war, when we had to take a break from drug hunting, really helped me to experience and understand what it was like to have lived through that time. If I had been in the mood for a focus on drug take down missions I would have enjoyed the book very much, I think. I just couldn't get into that mood while I was reading. Still, this was a good book for me, even if I had different expectations.

[Kathy Dobronyi · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. I first read this book and reviewed it 11/1/16. I met the author in NYC six months later. A remarkable man, writer, and editor

Red Flags is about conflict between ranks, militaries, enemies, and friends. There is also the conflict of a clandestine love between a commanding officer who has a wife Stateside, and a lover who is a civilian doctor working in Montagnard villages.

This well-written, well-researched suspenseful book reveals the immense frustrations of being allies with unreliable and corrupt governments and their armies.

Sadly we didn’t learn anything from the Vietnam War, especially dealing with corrupt governments. We still sacrifice our military and civilian contractors in civil wars in foreign lands with corrupt governments. As in Viet Nam, there are drugs in Afghanistan. In Iraq, there is petroleum. In the United States there is the military industrial complex that bleeds the country dry.

[Chris Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crime novels are pretty far outside my normal reading habits but, for whatever reason, this one caught my eye at the library so I gave it a shot. I'm really glad I did! Red Flags is the story of an Army criminal investigator who is assigned to go under cover as a Signal Officer (guess that's why it's called Red Flags?) to break up a drug ring in rural Vietnam during the war. The author, Juris Jurjevics, is a Vietnam veteran himself; he couples his memories of the war with a great deal of research that really makes the environment come alive at the same time that he tells a polished and fast-paced story.

This is one of those times when you get excited to have discovered a new author whose books you look forward to. Unfortunately, Jurjevics only has one other novel published but, according to his website, is working on two others.

[Alexis Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is a journey of memory back to the adviser days of the Vietnam war. A daughter of a slain soldier never knew her father and visits one of the men with whom he served. From there it's off to the early days of the war. Not a time often written about, the story weaves the friend/enemies (often the same people,) the Montagnard tribesmen, CIA, opium, beautiful aide doctor, with the American advisers. In many ways, this was "my" war in that my contemporaries were the cannon fodder of the times.

The author did a magnificent job of telling a riveting war story. One of the best war novels I have ever read.

BTW, goodreads kept correcting my spelling of the word advisors (my spelling) until I looked it up. Either is acceptable.

[Václav · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of the book is a flashback of one Erik Rider, back to his days during the infamous Vietnam war when he conducted a covert operation in Cheo Rheo against the underground weed business supplying the NVA with resources. The narration is quite nice, interestingly encapsulated as a recollection told by the main character years after, though not as gripping as it could have been – it might as well have been shrunken down a notch, because it felt a wee bit repetitive (killing, corruption, inept chain of command being the main themes) and the story progressed quite slowly. The horrors of war, hard choices, the omnipresent corruption and business with pot are depicted well though. The ending is conclusive and satisfactory. Me recommend. Get it on Kindle, it's cheap.

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

An aging man is approached by the adult daughter of his former colonel in the Vietnam War. She wants to know how he died since she has never really believed the stories she's heard from her mother and others. Erik Rider, the aging man, tells his story about using Montagnards ethnic groups to stop drug running in a Cheo Reo province to fund the North Korean and Viet Cong troops. Montagnards is a general term for several groups of people who are not ethnic Vietnamese and lived in the mountains and hilltops in Vietnam. They have their own languages and cultures and generally wanted to be left alone. While the story could have been interesting and the author clearly knows the history and the groups he writes about, I found his writing clunky and not engaging.

[Marnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I wasn't sure how much I was going to like this book since I found it started a bit slow for me. And yet, I couldn't seem to put it down. I have read many books on WWII, and none on Vietnam. I thoroughly enjoyed this book in the end. While there is much misunderstandings about the Vietnam, this book has further inspired me to read on.. My heart does go out to all of those innocent soldiers that fought representing out country. Amazing yet, to see that corruption really does occur in that line of field also. Too bad, so much of it is really masked up. Goodread. Thanks for the opportunity to be a first reader.