Rendezvous

by Nelson DeMille

In this tense, riveting mind game, New York Times bestselling novelist Nelson DeMille delivers a suspenseful short story in the tradition of his classic military novels The General's Daughter and Word of Honor. A band of soldiers in its last month of service in Vietnam goes out on a patrol through enemy territory only to find a female Viet Cong sniper in its path. Recounting the mission in shattering and sometimes gruesome detail, DeMille creates a concise masterpiece of moody suspense. Demille served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and saw combat in Vietnam as an infantry platoon leader, earning a Bronze Star. He states that Rendezvous features a fictionalized version of himself from that experience.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Thriller, War, Audiobook, Military Fiction, Historical Fiction

60 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 18, 2012

About the author

Nelson Richard DeMille was an American author of action adventure and suspense novels. His novels include Plum Island, The Charm School, and The General's Daughter. DeMille also wrote under the pen names Jack Cannon, Kurt Ladner, Ellen Kay and Brad Matthews.

Reviews

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick kindle short story. Suspenseful sniper related Vietnam theme. Enjoyed.

[Krissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to this audiobook with my husband. We both were impressed with how much the author squeezed into this short story without it feeling like it was too much. Great story.

His Rating: 3 stars
My Rating: 4 stars

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

[Pop · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good short story similar to the novel Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes, which is my number 2 novel about the Vietnam War.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I am currently reading a book on the history of Vietnam and the war, and being a major Nelson DeMille fan, I was certain that this short story would be right up my alley. I was right and it held my attention from beginning to end. The narration, in true DeMille style, was superb and the brief plot was also quite poignant. DeMille never fails to impress with his sarcasm, humour, and way with words.

Set in the jungles of Vietnam, the reader is taking on a brief excursion with a team out scouting enemy territory. When set upon by a talented sniper, the team is forced to scatter for cover and get to the rendezvous point in time to be air lifted out of danger. With no radios and the sniper ever present, the reader must watch as the team tries to get to safety, while eluding this femme fatale (yes, we discover the sniper is a woman).

DeMille at his best with a very quick (over lunch) short story well worth the brief time investment.

Kudos to the master of the written word, Mr. DeMille!

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the kindle version while listening to the audiobook. This was intense and chilling at some points.

[✨Susan✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good short about one troop in the Vietnam War who are being eliminated one at a time by a female sniper. I don't usually read books about that time because I remember how horrible it was for our Men and our Country, however, Nelson DeMille's writing was excellent and the narration was done perfectly, without exaggeration.

[David Highton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 60 page short story about an ill-fated reconnaissance patrol in Vietnam and a female sniper

[cheryl vought · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a big Nelson Demille fan. I have read almost all of his books. I thought this story was just OK. It didn't have much character building, and was quite predictable on its own. However, basically having the lieutenant spell out exactly what was going to happen, in his thinking and then when he told the Sergeant, ruined the story. I would have liked to be surprised by that. And then the end just drops off, because you know he is immediately thinking sequel. Not my favorite Demille.

[Albablume · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gripping short story that drops you in the middle of an American patrol in the Vietnamese jungle, and makes you ponder on the damages we inflict on fellow human beings through war.

The audiobook makes it a lot the more vivid.

[Jon Thomason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short read (45 minutes or so). Vintage DeMille. Doesn't feel like he was trying too hard (which is good, and unlike _The Panther_) and just tells the story. If you liked this, I *strongly* recommend the raw, foul, but utterly captivating _Matterhorn_ by Karl Marlantes, a full novel-length story of the Vietnam War. Also, DeMille's earlier _In Country_.

[Ted · Rating 1 out of 5]

In a word, ridiculous. Don't waste your time on this one. The M16 was not accurate at ranges greater than 100 meters? Bull shit. Two radiomen in a 10 man LRRP? Not likely. Fixing a starlight scope to an M16 in seconds to get a shot off? No way. Cigarettes carried by LRRP members on a mission? Laughable. Not deserving of a single star.

[Sixpacknl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not spectacular but good enough and easy to read. Takes less than an hour to finish.

[Tony Hayden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very basic writing style. No characters built, no pictures painted in my mind. Do not recommend.

[Andrew Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good short story about a group of soldiers being hunted down by a female sniper. Worth an hour of anybody's time.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m surprised at how much I liked this military short story set in Vietnam. It was suspenseful and well written as I could easily imagine what was going on. It is obviously violent which can be off putting but still, good. Voice actor Scott Brick is fantastic. He is how I found this novel and I will be listening to more of his narrations.

[Phil James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple but enjoyable short story about a platoon of US soldiers on a mission in Vietnam who are stalked by a sniper.

[Les · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a realistic and terrifying story about a scout team being stalked by a female sniper in the jungles of Viet-Nam

While only 35 pages it is engrossing and immersive

[Amber Borrello · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great short story! Had me invested from beginning to end! I listened on audiobook, and the narrator was phenomenal! Highly recommend.

[Dan Banana · Rating 4 out of 5]

a solid short story of jungle war, good characters

[Jessica Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, sweet, something different

Wanted a short book that was different to what I've been reading and this fit the bill!

3 stars because it isn't my usual read and it is _so_ short it feels like it's missing something

[Maryjane Strange · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved the quick story & how it ended!

[Neville · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Rendezvous' is a very short story that's long on suspense and is a great introduction to Nelson DeMille's writing style for those not familiar with his best-selling works.

The story is compelling reading from start to finish, and in the end, you're going to be yearning for more.

We're transported back to a time of war, the early '70's in Vietnam, where soldiers were bogged down with jungle-fever and sleepless nights, hearing the roar of lions and the whispers of snakes in their midst.

Sent on a brief mission to map out the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the infantry also had to contend with creatures of the human kind - enemy soldiers. Only on this tour of duty, DeMille presents an even more formidable foe - a female sniper with a smart and sneaky modis operandi. Working alone, her weapon of choice has a silencer and flash suppressor. Her telescopic sights enabled her to pick and choose victims with little warning. Death snuck up so stealthily that the infantry leader had to take roll call to determine who was alive or dead in his reconnaissance patrol. The enemy sniper was that good, and so is this book.

[Mark Noble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Up Country, Nelson DeMille’s 2003 novel about the Vietnam War is one of the best written on that topic. His recent short story, Rendezvous, distills that experience down to the essence: discomfort, mental stress, fear, pain, eroticism and death, without any of the politics, strategy, travelogue and lyricism that comes along with the 880 page novel. It is a suspenseful, gripping, scary and bloody tale. An Army Lieutenant leads a patrol through the Vietnam jungles during the height of the war. As if the discomforts of the hot, humid, buggy and snake infested equatorial jungle are not enough, they are stalked by a soldier’s worst nightmare, a female sniper who is systematically picking off the members of the patrol. The Lieutenant tries to lead his team to a rendezvous with a chopper that will fly them to safety before she kills them all. DeMille keeps the suspense and the discomfort at a high level throughout the story. It took me 45 minutes to read the story and I could not put it down until I was finished, but relieved that it was over. Rendezvous packs a lot of emotion in a very short space.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very nice, tightly woven short story involving a group of American men caught out on a long range patrol during the Vietnam War. It is told from the first person POV and the main character (who remains unnamed throughout the story) is the Lieutenant in charge of the patrol. He is forced to try to deal with a sniper who is methodically taking out his team. It's a race to get back to the rendezvous point for their helicopter pickup.

I've read almost all of DeMille's novels but this is the first of his short stories that I have come across. I don't believe he is well known for his short fiction either but I thought this one was done very well. Just enough tension to capture the reader without weighing you down with a full novel of the horrors of war.

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella is a fictionalized account of top selling author Nelson DeMille's experiences in Viet Nam. While an easy short read, it is an intensely told story of a platoon in the jungles of Viet Nam and their interface with a female Viet Cong sniper during that war which seems to be told as an experience rather than as fiction. Perhaps it is just because DeMille is such a good story teller.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a huge fan of Kindle Singles but this was okay. Took about an hour to read. First glimpse of Nelson DeMille's work though and if this is the idea, to hook readers on an author through short reads such as this, it works. I would consider another (longer) book by this author.

[Adam Light · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspensful short story set in Vietnam about a group of soldiers ensnared in a deadly game of cat and mouse by a ruthless and extremely accurate sniper. It only took a few minutes to read but it was constructed perfectly and showcased DeMille's style nicely.

[Chris Cool · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's your basic Nelson DeMille book, so if you like that sort of thing you'll be fairly pleased. I loved Up Country so I knew going in that I would be happy with this short story, and it did not disappoint.

[Sara Frandina · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a short, this has all of the necessary ingredients. It sucked me in right away, and had just enough detail and drive without being overdone or too long. Highly emotional when you consider the circumstances and the reality.