What do you think?
Rate this book
Vietnam Black
Tasked with finding a US informant who has gone missing in the village of Hai Trang, Sergeant Reese and Corporal Hanson lead their squad off into the Vietnamese jungle, but it isn't long before they get the sense that there's something different about this mission. They find Viet Cong corpses along the path, strangely mummified or desiccated, and the village of Hai Trang itself turns out to be a ghost town. There, they find just one survivor - a young girl named Lai Anh - who tells them that everyone in the village has been destroyed by the "Vietnam Black".
Heading back to base, they stumble across a Viet Cong tunnel system, which they feel compelled to investigate. Crawling into the darkness, the squad discovers that a nightmarish creature has made the tunnels its home. The Vietnam Black, a colossal centipede, covered in impenetrable black armour, loaded with a highly poisonous venom, and armed with scythe-like mandibles has awoken. Now, Reese has to lead his squad back home, avoiding the North Vietnamese Army, the Viet Cong, the dangers of the jungle, and the Vietnam Black.
Heading back to base, they stumble across a Viet Cong tunnel system, which they feel compelled to investigate. Crawling into the darkness, the squad discovers that a nightmarish creature has made the tunnels its home. The Vietnam Black, a colossal centipede, covered in impenetrable black armour, loaded with a highly poisonous venom, and armed with scythe-like mandibles has awoken. Now, Reese has to lead his squad back home, avoiding the North Vietnamese Army, the Viet Cong, the dangers of the jungle, and the Vietnam Black.
172 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 3, 2018
About the author
Brad Harmer-Barnes
11 books33 followersBrad Harmer-Barnes is a British horror author who grew up watching 1950s “creature feature” movies and 1980s action and slasher movies, as well as reading H.P. Lovecraft, M.R. James, Stephen King, Brian Lumley and Clive Barker.
Outside of writing, he enjoys tabletop and video gaming, collecting obscure soundtracks on vinyl, and trying to get through as much of his “To Read” pile as is possible.
You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @realbradhb, and he is also a regular guest on comedy podcast “The Crazy Train”.
Outside of writing, he enjoys tabletop and video gaming, collecting obscure soundtracks on vinyl, and trying to get through as much of his “To Read” pile as is possible.
You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @realbradhb, and he is also a regular guest on comedy podcast “The Crazy Train”.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
May 2, 2018
This is Brad Harmer-Barnes' third B-movie creature-feature and it's my favourite so far. This won't appeal to everyone; it doesn't have pretensions of erudition and it wears its influences proudly on its sleeve (or dust jacket); but for die hard lovers of great late night schlock horror like myself, it's bloody gold dust, mate!
As the title suggests, we're in Vietnam during the war, accompanying a bunch of grunts on a search and rescue mission that isn't expected to be combat-heavy. Needless to say, things don't go entirely as planned as our heroes discover there's something lurking in the green that is beyond their worst nightmares of what they'd have to face in a combat zone.
There's some seriously flesh-crawling, stomach-churning stuff here. My murder and mayhem cravings were thoroughly appeased. The scene in the underground tunnels particularly prodded my buttons... Getting stuck deep underground is probably number three on my 'worst nightmares' list, so thanks for that, Brad! >shudder<
As you can probably tell, I loved this book and I WANT A GODDAMNED SEQUEL, like, YESTERDAY!
As the title suggests, we're in Vietnam during the war, accompanying a bunch of grunts on a search and rescue mission that isn't expected to be combat-heavy. Needless to say, things don't go entirely as planned as our heroes discover there's something lurking in the green that is beyond their worst nightmares of what they'd have to face in a combat zone.
There's some seriously flesh-crawling, stomach-churning stuff here. My murder and mayhem cravings were thoroughly appeased. The scene in the underground tunnels particularly prodded my buttons... Getting stuck deep underground is probably number three on my 'worst nightmares' list, so thanks for that, Brad! >shudder<
As you can probably tell, I loved this book and I WANT A GODDAMNED SEQUEL, like, YESTERDAY!
October 22, 2018
Think you've seen all the horrors that Vietnam can bring?
THINK AGAIN.
Let's run through the jungle with an enormous centipede monster interfering with our peaceful little war. Damn insect.
Can we call some air support, please?
This novella is pretty okay. Good parts and better parts. Lots of bloody fleshbags with nametags. Oh, war. War never changes.
THINK AGAIN.
Let's run through the jungle with an enormous centipede monster interfering with our peaceful little war. Damn insect.
Can we call some air support, please?
This novella is pretty okay. Good parts and better parts. Lots of bloody fleshbags with nametags. Oh, war. War never changes.
October 21, 2018
This is the second monster book I've read by this author and, once again, I was not disappointed.
As the title suggests, the story takes place during the Vietnam War, when a group of Grunts is sent on a S&R mission. While walking through the jungle and trying not to get killed by Vietkong agents, they stumble across ... well, just look at the cover.
The rest is a mad dash through the thicket while being chased by a gigantic centepede.
I must say that I love animals. Yes, even the "icky" ones most people find repulsive. Nevertheless, I understand when people start shuddering when even only thinking about the little creepy crawlys. Therefore, this creature worked wonderfully in this short horror story. The setting, too, was brought to life wonderfully (making it almost unfit to be read in what is a crisp, foggy October Sunday).
The action was fast-paced, the horror gave me goosebumps. Only the narrator of the audio version wasn't too good (sorry). But I enjoyed the blood and gore and especially the claustrophobia of a certain tunnel scene (actually, of both). If you wanna get freaked out this Spooktober, this is a book I recommend you read.
As the title suggests, the story takes place during the Vietnam War, when a group of Grunts is sent on a S&R mission. While walking through the jungle and trying not to get killed by Vietkong agents, they stumble across ... well, just look at the cover.
The rest is a mad dash through the thicket while being chased by a gigantic centepede.
I must say that I love animals. Yes, even the "icky" ones most people find repulsive. Nevertheless, I understand when people start shuddering when even only thinking about the little creepy crawlys. Therefore, this creature worked wonderfully in this short horror story. The setting, too, was brought to life wonderfully (making it almost unfit to be read in what is a crisp, foggy October Sunday).
The action was fast-paced, the horror gave me goosebumps. Only the narrator of the audio version wasn't too good (sorry). But I enjoyed the blood and gore and especially the claustrophobia of a certain tunnel scene (actually, of both). If you wanna get freaked out this Spooktober, this is a book I recommend you read.
May 11, 2021
This was a great little Vietnam war story.....with a giant killer centipede!! It was captivating throughout, I really enjoyed it!! 😁
October 30, 2018
Probably the most fun book I’ve read this Spooktober (though we’re not fully done yet).
A small squad is sent on a search and rescue mission in the Vietnamese jungle after contact to a local informant is lost.
On their way to the village where the informant is supposed to live they come across an odd looking corpse that is drained of its entrails and with almost no blood showing.
The village is full of dead bodies as well and some of the soldiers start to question more and more if it’s even possible for the Viet Cong to be responsible of all this.
That’s when they come across a survivor. And slowly the horrible truth is unfolding. There’s not only the threat of the NVA and Viet Cong, there’s also something much more terrifying lurking in the jungle. And it is still hungry.
The author does a wonderful job of making the setting come alive and revving up the tension more and more until the monster finally shows somewhere around the halfway point. And then it gets even more suspenseful and creepy as those first few encounters are absolutely terrifying.
Later on the plot is more action-driven but still highly enjoyable as the threat of the creature is well established by then and the characters, even though they are not that fleshed-out (it’s a pretty short book / novella), are working pretty well as a group of characters. Though that group is getting smaller and smaller and ever more desperate.
I had a blast!
The pacing of the book worked just perfect for me, the dialogue was entertaining and the death scenes were deliciously icky. I liked the ending as well, but actually had – I think – a better idea myself of how this book could have ended.
So this, as a whole, places it somewhere between 4.5 and 5 stars for me personally. Which, in the end, is a five anyway.
Recommended for fans of creature features and 80s action movies. And to anybody who enjoys being spooked in October or at any other time of the year.
The best or at the very least most entertaining creature feature I’ve read so far.
A small squad is sent on a search and rescue mission in the Vietnamese jungle after contact to a local informant is lost.
On their way to the village where the informant is supposed to live they come across an odd looking corpse that is drained of its entrails and with almost no blood showing.
The village is full of dead bodies as well and some of the soldiers start to question more and more if it’s even possible for the Viet Cong to be responsible of all this.
That’s when they come across a survivor. And slowly the horrible truth is unfolding. There’s not only the threat of the NVA and Viet Cong, there’s also something much more terrifying lurking in the jungle. And it is still hungry.
The author does a wonderful job of making the setting come alive and revving up the tension more and more until the monster finally shows somewhere around the halfway point. And then it gets even more suspenseful and creepy as those first few encounters are absolutely terrifying.
Later on the plot is more action-driven but still highly enjoyable as the threat of the creature is well established by then and the characters, even though they are not that fleshed-out (it’s a pretty short book / novella), are working pretty well as a group of characters. Though that group is getting smaller and smaller and ever more desperate.
I had a blast!
The pacing of the book worked just perfect for me, the dialogue was entertaining and the death scenes were deliciously icky. I liked the ending as well, but actually had – I think – a better idea myself of how this book could have ended.
So this, as a whole, places it somewhere between 4.5 and 5 stars for me personally. Which, in the end, is a five anyway.
Recommended for fans of creature features and 80s action movies. And to anybody who enjoys being spooked in October or at any other time of the year.
The best or at the very least most entertaining creature feature I’ve read so far.
April 11, 2021
A Vietnam creature feature???? Yep, and it is awesome!
August 26, 2019
This was my first Brad Harmer-Barnes novel and it will not be my last. Lots to enjoy, so much in fact that it only took me the weekend to get through the paperback. The characters were what you'd expect to find in a story set during the Vietnam War. Though some of the military jargon and typical squad structure during combat had some errors, it was not entirely distracting from the story. I find it interesting that most of how we know behavior during the Vietnam War is from what we've seen in movies, such as Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, and Apocalypse Now to name a few. And all of those stem from writers like Francis Coppola, Oliver Stone, and Gustav Hasford--to name a few, but mostly all of that jargon comes from a writer named Michael Herr (read Dispatches).
How much is real or Hollywood is debatable, but when it comes to imagining the story, it helps paint the picture because its what we've come to expect. So, good on Brad Harmer-Barnes for tapping into those resources and doing his research. Where the research faltered was on the smaller detail stuff, like Army units, area of engagement, movements, etc.
The who, what, and where are all easily identifiable. This helps the fluidity of the story. And when the baddie finally reveals itself, the pace never lets up. Its an action pumping thriller with one nasty monster. Plenty of gore and cringe moments, esp dealing with how the creature eats. Ugh!
The ending was very satisfying, if not utterly diabolical! Vietnam Black is certainly going on my must read list. If you enjoy creature features and Vietnam War movies, you'll enjoy this book.
How much is real or Hollywood is debatable, but when it comes to imagining the story, it helps paint the picture because its what we've come to expect. So, good on Brad Harmer-Barnes for tapping into those resources and doing his research. Where the research faltered was on the smaller detail stuff, like Army units, area of engagement, movements, etc.
The who, what, and where are all easily identifiable. This helps the fluidity of the story. And when the baddie finally reveals itself, the pace never lets up. Its an action pumping thriller with one nasty monster. Plenty of gore and cringe moments, esp dealing with how the creature eats. Ugh!
The ending was very satisfying, if not utterly diabolical! Vietnam Black is certainly going on my must read list. If you enjoy creature features and Vietnam War movies, you'll enjoy this book.
February 22, 2018
Background: Brad Harmer-Barnes is a British horror author. Outside novels, he both runs the Suppressing Fire pulp gaming blog and hosts Brick Fury on the site’s YouTube channel. He is a founding member and contributor to the nostalgia tinged geeky blog site, Emotionally Fourteen, and is a regular guest on their The Crazy Train podcast. Oh, and he’s also a former stand-up comic that ran the Rock N Rant comedy club in his local area.
Vietnam Black is Brad’s third novella and was released by Severed Press on February 2nd 2018. Set during the Vietnam War, we follow a group of US soldiers as they search for a missing informant. At first, they put his disappearance down to the Viet Cong, but in truth, there is something far darker lurking in the jungle …
The Good: One thing that I loved with Brad’s first two books was that it brought certain feelings to mind. By this, I mean that they reminded in part of various films that I’ve enjoyed over the years. With Vietnam Black, this rings true again. The book has a real feel of the original Predator to me, both in terms of the jungle setting, and the well-trained soldiers being hunted by a far more powerful non-human creature. If you were a fan of Schwarzenegger’s alien hunter piece, you’ll likely plenty to enjoy here.
Now, both the blurb and the front cover make it clear what the beasty is here: a colossal centipede. When I read Brad’s previous book Tempest Outpost, I was disappointed not to see any mastication in the book. If you don’t know, this is the method by which spiders (among other creatures) eat, and the process lends itself quite nicely to horror. Here, I am happy to say, there is plenty of mastication of display. It’s a horrible fate for any character, and that helps make an impact when you know it’s about to happen (or indeed has already happened).
Brad continues to shine when it comes to two things here. The first is in his ability to create vivid imagery. Whether it be action heavy scenes or simply getting a feel for the surroundings, Brad offers a good guiding hand that doesn’t allow you to get lost. The second is in the natural feel of the character interactions. Speech never feels stilted, and each character’s body language feels authentic when it’s on show.
The monster is pretty scary too. Part of this is due to the way it’s built up. One human character in particular gets some fleshing out, only to be taken out of the book by the titular monster. This works because you get attached and then get smacked in the face with the fact that anyone could die. That leaves you a little more on edge.
Without giving anything away, I really liked the ending here too.
The Bad: In terms of content warning, the story gets a little gruesome. I’d say that the mastication makes it more so than either of Brad’s previous two books, though it never gets so over the top that it’s overwhelming. I would also say that the language used by the characters is appropriate to the setting. What this means is that certain terms that would be seen as racist if used by someone now are out in force. It’s in context, of course, but if that’s a deal breaker for you, you’ll be left feeling cold here.
I really enjoy the first Predator film, but in some ways, I prefer the sequel. The reason for this is that bar Schwarzenegger’s Alan Schaefer, I felt that the characters were less fleshed out in the original. The set-up here means that I get a similar feel from Vietnam Black. Remember when I said that one character gets some fleshing out, then falls prey to the monster? Up until then, the other cast members felt comparatively thin. While this is improved upon as the story progresses, I honestly felt that the characters felt less well-rounded overall than in Brad’s previous work. The premise and general quality means that this doesn’t wreck the book at all, but it is a shame.
Final View: With Vietnam Black, Brad-Harmer Barnes has created another quick, enjoyable read that’s high on tension, and features an excellently creepy creature. It’s well worth a look-in for fans of his work, and offers plenty for those yet to discover his tales.
Final Score: 4 / 5
Vietnam Black is Brad’s third novella and was released by Severed Press on February 2nd 2018. Set during the Vietnam War, we follow a group of US soldiers as they search for a missing informant. At first, they put his disappearance down to the Viet Cong, but in truth, there is something far darker lurking in the jungle …
The Good: One thing that I loved with Brad’s first two books was that it brought certain feelings to mind. By this, I mean that they reminded in part of various films that I’ve enjoyed over the years. With Vietnam Black, this rings true again. The book has a real feel of the original Predator to me, both in terms of the jungle setting, and the well-trained soldiers being hunted by a far more powerful non-human creature. If you were a fan of Schwarzenegger’s alien hunter piece, you’ll likely plenty to enjoy here.
Now, both the blurb and the front cover make it clear what the beasty is here: a colossal centipede. When I read Brad’s previous book Tempest Outpost, I was disappointed not to see any mastication in the book. If you don’t know, this is the method by which spiders (among other creatures) eat, and the process lends itself quite nicely to horror. Here, I am happy to say, there is plenty of mastication of display. It’s a horrible fate for any character, and that helps make an impact when you know it’s about to happen (or indeed has already happened).
Brad continues to shine when it comes to two things here. The first is in his ability to create vivid imagery. Whether it be action heavy scenes or simply getting a feel for the surroundings, Brad offers a good guiding hand that doesn’t allow you to get lost. The second is in the natural feel of the character interactions. Speech never feels stilted, and each character’s body language feels authentic when it’s on show.
The monster is pretty scary too. Part of this is due to the way it’s built up. One human character in particular gets some fleshing out, only to be taken out of the book by the titular monster. This works because you get attached and then get smacked in the face with the fact that anyone could die. That leaves you a little more on edge.
Without giving anything away, I really liked the ending here too.
The Bad: In terms of content warning, the story gets a little gruesome. I’d say that the mastication makes it more so than either of Brad’s previous two books, though it never gets so over the top that it’s overwhelming. I would also say that the language used by the characters is appropriate to the setting. What this means is that certain terms that would be seen as racist if used by someone now are out in force. It’s in context, of course, but if that’s a deal breaker for you, you’ll be left feeling cold here.
I really enjoy the first Predator film, but in some ways, I prefer the sequel. The reason for this is that bar Schwarzenegger’s Alan Schaefer, I felt that the characters were less fleshed out in the original. The set-up here means that I get a similar feel from Vietnam Black. Remember when I said that one character gets some fleshing out, then falls prey to the monster? Up until then, the other cast members felt comparatively thin. While this is improved upon as the story progresses, I honestly felt that the characters felt less well-rounded overall than in Brad’s previous work. The premise and general quality means that this doesn’t wreck the book at all, but it is a shame.
Final View: With Vietnam Black, Brad-Harmer Barnes has created another quick, enjoyable read that’s high on tension, and features an excellently creepy creature. It’s well worth a look-in for fans of his work, and offers plenty for those yet to discover his tales.
Final Score: 4 / 5
September 17, 2018
I love Vietnam and Horror so this was up my alley. It's fun with a few silly/sloppy bits but not taking itself to seriously allows one to overlook the Shindigglers and enjoy it.
3 starry nights.
3 starry nights.
April 6, 2018
A great giant bug book!
Good characters, great monster. Great atmosphere to set up an is vs. it encounter. If you like using and other large beast novels, you will enjoy this book.
Good characters, great monster. Great atmosphere to set up an is vs. it encounter. If you like using and other large beast novels, you will enjoy this book.
November 6, 2022
Ahhh! This was such a fast paced novel!
There’s the Vietnam War, a squad out on a perilous mission, and a monster from the darkest part of the jungle!! These were the perfect ingredients to an original story.
I was completely immersed, feeling the claustrophobia of the heat and the green; knowing there are hidden Viet Cong, traps, and dangerous creatures on all sides.
Granted this book does take place in a different era, so the language isn’t the most appropriate, but you still can’t help rooting for the soldiers to survive. The fate of the FNG…. My heart 😢
Hope there’s a sequel in the works!!
Favourite Line(s): “We've got another two days march, easy, and probably Charlie the whole fucking way knowing our rotten luck so far. Oh, yeah, and there’s a goddamn fucking monster caterpillar motherfucker out there. What the fuck do we do now, Corporal?”
There’s the Vietnam War, a squad out on a perilous mission, and a monster from the darkest part of the jungle!! These were the perfect ingredients to an original story.
I was completely immersed, feeling the claustrophobia of the heat and the green; knowing there are hidden Viet Cong, traps, and dangerous creatures on all sides.
Granted this book does take place in a different era, so the language isn’t the most appropriate, but you still can’t help rooting for the soldiers to survive. The fate of the FNG…. My heart 😢
Hope there’s a sequel in the works!!
Favourite Line(s): “We've got another two days march, easy, and probably Charlie the whole fucking way knowing our rotten luck so far. Oh, yeah, and there’s a goddamn fucking monster caterpillar motherfucker out there. What the fuck do we do now, Corporal?”
July 26, 2023
Viet-Fing-Nam
You can say you hate the politicans, you can say you hate the war, but really it’s the heat and the bugs that you’ll come to really hate and fear before your tour of duty is up.
They’s novels by Brad Harmer-Barnes are few but with time I can see his works become really popular with monster enthusiast creature feature fans around the world.
Do I do one negative thing about the book the author should’ve used more descriptive details on objects and buildings he gave there name but only the pare-facts or a joke about in some way. I hope he does better has military thriller readers like me get abit-up about weapons that aren’t described to a certain Lv.
You can say you hate the politicans, you can say you hate the war, but really it’s the heat and the bugs that you’ll come to really hate and fear before your tour of duty is up.
They’s novels by Brad Harmer-Barnes are few but with time I can see his works become really popular with monster enthusiast creature feature fans around the world.
Do I do one negative thing about the book the author should’ve used more descriptive details on objects and buildings he gave there name but only the pare-facts or a joke about in some way. I hope he does better has military thriller readers like me get abit-up about weapons that aren’t described to a certain Lv.
June 17, 2024
There are some pretty exceptional blood-soaked moments of horror from this monster story. In particular, all the moments surrounding the Charlie tunnel were stomach-turning, yet captivating to read. The story really picks up closer to the arrival of the village and from there it really does not let up for the squad. A fun, action packed read!
May 27, 2018
A threeway mashup between US soldiers, Vietcong and a giant centipede from the bowels of the earth, Vietnam Black absolutely exceeded expectations. As a lover of Vietnam movies and the old school creature features this story was so clearly influenced by, I massively enjoyed this book. It felt a little stalled to start but once the centipede appears the action does not let up. The writing is beautifully cinematic. The story and characters are uncomplicated but full of well-researched touches (like the 'red smoke' scene) which makes the whole setting feel more genuine. I was a bit cynical that a Vietnamese peasant girl would speak such great English, and that any animal would be so persistent in going after prey that gave it so much trouble instead of looking for an easier meal, but that probably just made it feel more like one of the genuine old B-movies than anything else. Right to the explosive finish I couldn't put this one down.
October 20, 2019
Die Geschichte hätte verdammt viel mehr Spaß machen können, und beängstigender sein, wenn das ganze Sprachlich nicht so kurz gefallen wäre. Leider gelingt es dem Autor zu selten das Potential seiner Geschichte auszuschöpfen und Atmospäre zu erzeugen.
Das ganze Riesentausendfüßer jagt GIs im Vietnam Dschungel Szenario klingt leider sehr viel besser als letztlich ausgeführt wurde. Die Geschichte ist geplagt von einer steifen Sprache und sich zum Ende hin häufenden Typos (manche davon unfreiwillig witzig, wenn zum Beispiel aus "Gewicht" "Gesicht" wird).
Dass die US-Army mit der Colt Model M1911 Pistole ausgerüstet war muss nicht jedesmal neu erwähnt werden, man darf eine Pistole um des Leseflusses willen auch mal einfach Pistole nennen, nachdem ihr Modell etabliert ist... auch ein Satz wie dieser:
Auch die Logik der Erzählung bricht sehr schnell zusammen, der Trupp findet mehrer Leichen welche von innen Ausgehölt wurden... und begegen dann einem Tausendfüßer mit einem guten Meter Durchmesser, wer also ist für diese Toten tatsächlich verantwortlich?
Das ganze Riesentausendfüßer jagt GIs im Vietnam Dschungel Szenario klingt leider sehr viel besser als letztlich ausgeführt wurde. Die Geschichte ist geplagt von einer steifen Sprache und sich zum Ende hin häufenden Typos (manche davon unfreiwillig witzig, wenn zum Beispiel aus "Gewicht" "Gesicht" wird).
Dass die US-Army mit der Colt Model M1911 Pistole ausgerüstet war muss nicht jedesmal neu erwähnt werden, man darf eine Pistole um des Leseflusses willen auch mal einfach Pistole nennen, nachdem ihr Modell etabliert ist... auch ein Satz wie dieser:
"Dann hatte er sich wieder so weit unter Kontrolle, dass er das Vietcong-AK-47-Sturmgewehr an seine Schulter zog und eine halbautomatische Salve abfeuerte."Störte mich beim Lesen eher, und ruiniert die Szene welche in diesem Moment eigentlich bedrohlich und zugleich Action betont sein sollte. Ein AK-47 in Vietnam bleibt zum einen auch dort ein Russisches Sturmgewehr, zum anderen hat der Protagonist das Gewehr erst wenige Sätze zuvor im Feindtunnel entdeckt - wir wissen wessen Waffe er da abfeuert, zu mal er selbst in dieser Szene nur mit seinem M1911 Colt (<- gefühlt etwa einhundertmal gelesen im Roman) bewaffnet ist.
Auch die Logik der Erzählung bricht sehr schnell zusammen, der Trupp findet mehrer Leichen welche von innen Ausgehölt wurden... und begegen dann einem Tausendfüßer mit einem guten Meter Durchmesser, wer also ist für diese Toten tatsächlich verantwortlich?
March 11, 2018
CREEPY CRAWLERS IN NAM IT IS...
Hello, this story was just okay. It was there and I read it. No characters of note. The story was kinda flat. It was not bad but it was not good either. Thanks.
Hello, this story was just okay. It was there and I read it. No characters of note. The story was kinda flat. It was not bad but it was not good either. Thanks.
September 16, 2018
Review pending
November 22, 2019
Excellent!
Great book! Love creature stories, when I can find a good one anyway, and this one more than fills the bill. A great cast of characters, all of whom I could very easily picture in my mind, and one helluva creature! Definitely a 5 star effort!
Great book! Love creature stories, when I can find a good one anyway, and this one more than fills the bill. A great cast of characters, all of whom I could very easily picture in my mind, and one helluva creature! Definitely a 5 star effort!
May 16, 2018
A good read, full of action and monster mayhem, but is let down by a strong ending that fizzles out.
July 16, 2018
Loved it...kept my interest from the very beginning all the way to the end!
October 16, 2019
Solid creature feature and a quick read. I was entertained.
A bit uneven but great atmosphere and action in the book. I didn't get a feeling of horror though and would have preferred more scenes with the monster.
Will definitely recommend and will check out the author's other work.
A bit uneven but great atmosphere and action in the book. I didn't get a feeling of horror though and would have preferred more scenes with the monster.
Will definitely recommend and will check out the author's other work.
May 28, 2019
Apart from the amazing cover artwork which intitially drew me to it this is pretty standard genre fare with absolutely no suprises and mediocre writing. If you are one of these horror omnivores that is not particularly discriminating you might still enjoy this, but if you are looking for something special it is best to avoid this effort. I could not bring myself to finish it 70% in as it was getting really predictable and slightly tedious to read.
Alternatives: A lot of the creature horror genre is polluted by generic stuff such as this. One of the few guys who manages to pull it off on a regular basis is Micheal McBride. Snowblind is a good place to start for you. If you like it more pulpy, gory and dig the Vietnam setting I would definitely refer you to Tim Curran's Grimweave.
Alternatives: A lot of the creature horror genre is polluted by generic stuff such as this. One of the few guys who manages to pull it off on a regular basis is Micheal McBride. Snowblind is a good place to start for you. If you like it more pulpy, gory and dig the Vietnam setting I would definitely refer you to Tim Curran's Grimweave.
June 12, 2020
Horror, eigentlich überhaupt nicht mein Genre, aber man sollte ja immer für etwas neues offen sein! Und hier habe ich es nicht bereut, spannend, gruselig, dabei auch noch den Vietnamkrieg in seiner Realität ( soweit ich als Außenstehende das überhaupt beurteilen kann) darstellen. Ich konnte das Buch nicht weglegen und werde wohl das Reiseziel Vietnam von der Wunschliste streichen!
July 8, 2021
A quick an fun read, with that special vibe that remindes one of the trashy creature features from the 60s and 70s.
It is a story full of good ideas that really gives you the creeps but it is very poorly written. Lots of typos and the pov jumps around uncontrollably, which make it a little bit annoying to read at times.
It is a story full of good ideas that really gives you the creeps but it is very poorly written. Lots of typos and the pov jumps around uncontrollably, which make it a little bit annoying to read at times.
June 22, 2022
The story is a fun, cool idea. Vietnam, GI's being GI's, A giant centipede, what more do you need. It would make a banger of a film.
The one big negative, it really is glaring too, is that the story carries the 3 stars I am giving Vietnam Black (2.5 if I could give it that) on its shoulders because of how bad the writing is, it's just not that well written. Perspective changes randomly, dialogue amongst soldiers is such that half of them are essentially the same voice, over complication of minutia that is not important (gun names, repeated facts), overuse of certain words (desiccated x1000), details missed that would have made the plot more compelling (soldiers of that era don't say 7.30 and 9 oclock, they use 24 hour time, its a small fact but it pulls you out of the story nonetheless)
Despite all those quite serious issues, I really did like the idea, I liked the setting, the setup and the big ol' monster. It was a fun and very quick read.
The one big negative, it really is glaring too, is that the story carries the 3 stars I am giving Vietnam Black (2.5 if I could give it that) on its shoulders because of how bad the writing is, it's just not that well written. Perspective changes randomly, dialogue amongst soldiers is such that half of them are essentially the same voice, over complication of minutia that is not important (gun names, repeated facts), overuse of certain words (desiccated x1000), details missed that would have made the plot more compelling (soldiers of that era don't say 7.30 and 9 oclock, they use 24 hour time, its a small fact but it pulls you out of the story nonetheless)
Despite all those quite serious issues, I really did like the idea, I liked the setting, the setup and the big ol' monster. It was a fun and very quick read.
May 30, 2023
Starts strong with compelling American soldier characters, a convincingly authentic setting in the Vietnam War, a promising hook of search & find mission for an important intel source in a remote village, and an ominous scene as the men find mutilated remains of the villagers. The men depart with a survivor and things go wrong in a cave as the giant centipede from the cover makes an appearance. The story begins to lose cohesion as one of the main characters is killed off. The decision-making within the ranks deteriorates, and the second half isn’t as good as the first. I wasn’t that impressed by the death scenes or the countermeasures taken by the remaining characters. Great cover, solid set-up, disappointing delivery.
July 11, 2023
I was suggested this book after looking for a good centipede horror book. This one didn't disappoint. It was a bit of a slow start but once the action got started, it kept going. Great read, don't want to spoil much. Well done!
January 8, 2026
A breezy, extremely readable 'creature feature'. A bit adolescent in its voice, with the writing focused primarily on working through a crib sheet of Vietnam-era movie references whilst characters gawk at the jungle and wait for things to go wrong. There’s a slightly off-putting fetishisation of the military throughout, with hyper-specific call-outs to the model numbers of guns, planes, bombs, and other hardware that sit awkwardly alongside the more critical, weary tone usually associated with the best art and fiction of the period. The prose can also feel rushed, as if written under crunch, with certain phrases and bits of imagery (“lit up like a Christmas tree”) resurfacing more than once despite the book’s short length. A few plot inconsistencies crop up too - Vietnamese farm girl Lai Anh seemingly learning fluent English overnight (as if she’d had some of that magic candy Bart eats in the Season One Simpsons episode “Crepes of Wrath”, after chirping in staccato sentences just pages earlier) - though these are mostly forgivable given its knowingly pulpy inspirations, which do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to suspending disbelief.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews