What do you think?
Rate this book
Once Upon A Time in Argentina
Every year, thousands of Chinese fishing vessels descend on Argentina’s territorial waters to fish them dry causing billions of dollars of untold ecological and economic damage.
Ryan McGowan, a disgraced Marine Raider, yearns for a second chance at adventure before fluorescent depression kills him.
Enter Mike Hudson, a private military contractor with a murky past.
Mike recruits Ryan and a team of similarly disgruntled operators for a maritime security detail in Argentina—policing illegal fishing with deadly force.
Part military thriller, part hangout novel, part neo-western… OUATIA is an old school shoot ‘em up.
Ryan McGowan, a disgraced Marine Raider, yearns for a second chance at adventure before fluorescent depression kills him.
Enter Mike Hudson, a private military contractor with a murky past.
Mike recruits Ryan and a team of similarly disgruntled operators for a maritime security detail in Argentina—policing illegal fishing with deadly force.
Part military thriller, part hangout novel, part neo-western… OUATIA is an old school shoot ‘em up.
310 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 2, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 17, 2026
I once heard Frank Kidd say something along the lines of "Everything can be a Western if you try hard enough" and damned if that isn't the truth about the paramilitary adventure. Though the story may revolve around modern day mercenaries conducting black ops missions quietly sanctioned by the Argentian government in order to curb the illegal fishing of their waters by Chinese trawlers, Once Upon A Time in Argentina still delivers on that classic western feel I've come to expect from Pulp West. With a cast of ex-military men of true grit, you won't find many soft corners amongst the rustling and gunfights on the Argentinian high seas.
Our lead man is Ryan McGowan, who at the onset shows us that even though you can take the man out of the military, you can't always take the military out of the man. We meet him in a period of the depressed dissatisfaction of civilian life after being discharged from the Marines. When he lives the fantasy many of us have (quitting our dead end job without notice or apology) and sets out to rewrite his life to something worth living again, he finds himself throwing in with the mysterious Mike, who convinces him to take up arms once more and fight the good fight once more. Or any fight, really.
"Life was fucking beautiful, and conflict was life."
There are a lot of lines that go hard in Once Upon A Time in Argentina, but that like stuck the most for me because I think it succinctly sums up the spirit of this novel. The conflicts take center-stage here; be they a man's struggles against himself and his circumstance, or a clash of personalities with other men, conflicts spanning international boundaries, or the betrayal of a code larger than one's self as we make our way through the world.
There are lots of strong themes in this novel; brotherhood, loyalty, morality, justice, with even a little environmentalism and romance thrown in amongst the choppy seas and flying bullets. If I had any critiques they would be that there is a lot of military jargon and abbreviations tossed around, some of which I knew while others were entirely foreign to me. I personally paused a few times to familiarize myself with the context before continuing with the story (which admittedly not every reader will do). As well, the character work for Ryan and Mike was aces, with the pair being two sides of the same coin at times, but the other guys on the team faded into the background a bit. This also could have been an artistic choice by the author, so I didn't ding the book too hard for that.
Overall this is an exciting page turner and a solid 3.5 stars from me (but we round up in these parts). The plot is tight, the pacing is fast without outpacing the reader, and it's absolutely balls-to-the-wall action-packed without being egregious or cartoony. Honestly, at times I found myself thinking it would make a great movie, so maybe Kidd will take a whack at turning it into a screenplay.
Our lead man is Ryan McGowan, who at the onset shows us that even though you can take the man out of the military, you can't always take the military out of the man. We meet him in a period of the depressed dissatisfaction of civilian life after being discharged from the Marines. When he lives the fantasy many of us have (quitting our dead end job without notice or apology) and sets out to rewrite his life to something worth living again, he finds himself throwing in with the mysterious Mike, who convinces him to take up arms once more and fight the good fight once more. Or any fight, really.
"Life was fucking beautiful, and conflict was life."
There are a lot of lines that go hard in Once Upon A Time in Argentina, but that like stuck the most for me because I think it succinctly sums up the spirit of this novel. The conflicts take center-stage here; be they a man's struggles against himself and his circumstance, or a clash of personalities with other men, conflicts spanning international boundaries, or the betrayal of a code larger than one's self as we make our way through the world.
There are lots of strong themes in this novel; brotherhood, loyalty, morality, justice, with even a little environmentalism and romance thrown in amongst the choppy seas and flying bullets. If I had any critiques they would be that there is a lot of military jargon and abbreviations tossed around, some of which I knew while others were entirely foreign to me. I personally paused a few times to familiarize myself with the context before continuing with the story (which admittedly not every reader will do). As well, the character work for Ryan and Mike was aces, with the pair being two sides of the same coin at times, but the other guys on the team faded into the background a bit. This also could have been an artistic choice by the author, so I didn't ding the book too hard for that.
Overall this is an exciting page turner and a solid 3.5 stars from me (but we round up in these parts). The plot is tight, the pacing is fast without outpacing the reader, and it's absolutely balls-to-the-wall action-packed without being egregious or cartoony. Honestly, at times I found myself thinking it would make a great movie, so maybe Kidd will take a whack at turning it into a screenplay.
July 2, 2026
OUATIA is terrific on its own but it shines even brighter when you put it side by side with its better known ilk. It was especially great to have the “one sitting read” hype and a company man saying it was “too in the know” being 100% believable.
I didn’t like that Frank tried to be too bang bang straight shooter (hardboiled/Hemingway?) and reused a word from the sentence before early on AND I was a little miffed at the spontaneous origin story midway (but it was short and turned out to be fully merited) otherwise I loved every minute and was routinely in awe of the “craft”.
The, what I’m calling, midpoint escalation; and expertly arranged fully believable while still propulsive multi-thread resolution were especially satisfying. Either he is very very good or he got some amazing advice.
I think we have a movie here.
I didn’t like that Frank tried to be too bang bang straight shooter (hardboiled/Hemingway?) and reused a word from the sentence before early on AND I was a little miffed at the spontaneous origin story midway (but it was short and turned out to be fully merited) otherwise I loved every minute and was routinely in awe of the “craft”.
The, what I’m calling, midpoint escalation; and expertly arranged fully believable while still propulsive multi-thread resolution were especially satisfying. Either he is very very good or he got some amazing advice.
I think we have a movie here.
April 29, 2026
A tightly plotted adventure involving mercenaries hired to attack Chinese fishing vessels poaching fish in Argentinian waters. The protagonist is a former Marine sick of the corporate world, recruited by another Iraqi war veteran. Likewise, the crew is all veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Of course things are not as they seem. True to category the story contains doublecrosses betrayals, and surprises, all fitting into the plot like a well-built jigsaw puzzle.
The Argentinian setting is an original touch, and it's been too long since we've seen adventure stories about mercenaries.
The Argentinian setting is an original touch, and it's been too long since we've seen adventure stories about mercenaries.
April 7, 2026
Entertaining Paramilitary Thriller
What does a disaffected combat soldier do to survive modern civilian life? He doesn’t, unless something interesting comes along. Solid page-turner with lots of action.
What does a disaffected combat soldier do to survive modern civilian life? He doesn’t, unless something interesting comes along. Solid page-turner with lots of action.
May 4, 2026
Really well done thriller that hooks you in
June 28, 2026
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this in one sitting while pulling barracks duty. I’d read more if Kidd comes up with a series! I look forward to reading more from him and hope his next book comes soon.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews