Unconfirmed Kill

Vietnam: Ground Zero #3

by Eric Helm

A year in the jungles of Vietnam brings its own reprieve - R and R. The men of U.S. Army Special Forces Camp A-555 are excited at the prospect of time away from that hellish conflict. But, although they don't know it, the squad is marked for death in Hong Kong. And rest and relaxation takes on new meaning as vicious attacks against the American team bring the jungle war to the city. An implacable enemy stalks the Special Forces unit in Hong Kong and lures the men into his lair with a tantalizing bait - a beautiful American woman left under their protection.

Eric Helm is the pen name of two Vietnam veterans, men who were there and who now tell it like it was.

Genres: War

221 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Josh Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good chapter in this series. It was a little different with half the book in Hong Kong tracking down the same Chinese officer that they have been after. The officer had followed Gerber and Fetterman there when they went on leave. With them being so close to China they were on his turf and he wanted to see them suffer for ruining so many of his plans. However Gerber was able to get help from others on his squad to come back from their leave and meet them there without the enemy knowing. The first half was at the camp and was more like the normal book.

Highly recommended. With Scorpion Squad and now the first 3 of this series, I've read seven of them and all have been solid reads with plenty of action and well defined characters.

[Connie Hamby · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great series

I read everyone of these books and enjoyed all of them I sure hope Eric Helm writes some more Thanks

[Sam Carpenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very dramatic

Takes you there and back. Find the commie bastard, finish the job. Get it done, save the damsel in distress, save the day.
Rock on

[Jack Rilkoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good read. It seemed far fetched but was pretty good on following and tying up the story line.

[Jeff Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real page turner and a cracking read. While it might be questionably accurate it kept me interest until the last page.

[Bill Elston · Rating 1 out of 5]

way too Far Fetched

Save your money and your time on this one, Helm has entered into science fiction with this book. Couldn’t even finish it!

[Hilmi Isa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eric Helm merupakan nama pena untuk dua orang veteran Perang Vietnam. Unconfirmed Kill merupakan novel fiksyen ketiga di dalam siri Vietnam:Ground Zero. Dari tajuk sirinya sahaja,para pembaca sudah dapat mengagak apakah konsep atau genre utamanya. Zaman atau era Perang Vietnam dijadikan sebagai latar belakang penceritaan. Unconfirmed Kill merupakan novel pertama dari siri ini yang saya baca.

Seperti mana-mana novel,pasti ada watak utamanya. Watak utamanya adalah Kapten MacKenzie K. Gerber,pegawai pemerintah untuk sebuah A-Team Pasukan Khas Tentera Darat Amerika Syarikat,yang turut dikenali sebagai Green Berets. Unit ini berpangkalan di Vietnam Selatan,berhampiran dengan sempadan negara tersebut dengan Kemboja. Pangkalan tersebut diberi nama Kem A-555 yang juga digelar Triple Nickel.

Ketika bercuti di Hong Kong,Gerber,bersama-sama dengan Master Sergeant Tony Fetterman,mendapati bahawa mereka menjadi sasaran bunuh oleh seorang pegawai tentera China yang berkhidmat dengan Tentera Vietnam Utara (NVA). Mereka dijadikan sasaran kerana pasukan Gerber sering menjadi penghalang dan menganggu kelicinan operasi ketenteraan insurgensinya di dalam wilayah Vietnam Selatan. Pegawai China ini juga menangkap Robin Morrow,seorang wartawan yang mempunyai hubungan baik dengan pasukan Gerber,dan juga hubungan secara peribadi dengan Gerber sendiri. Gerber dan Fetterman perlu mengatur strategi dan mengumpulkan seberapa banyak bantuan yang mereka boleh dapati untuk membunuh pegawai China yang sudah sekian lama menjadi duri di dalam daging dan sekaligus menyelamatkan Morrow.

Sesungguhnya,saya menyedari bahawa adalah lebih baik membaca siri pertama novel ini,yang diberi tajuk Vietnam: Ground Zero,terlebih dahulu daripada membaca Unconfirmed Kill. Malangnya,saya tidak menjumpai novel tersebut. Jadi,terpaksalah saya memulakan pembacaan ke atas siri novel ini dengan membaca Unconfirmed Kill. Memandangkan siri novel ini sifatnya berkesinambungan,sememangnya terdapat perkaitan yang rapat di antara plot-plot cerita di dalam setiap novel. Namun demikian,penulis kadang-kala akan menceritakan kembali secara ringkas apa yang berlaku di dalam novel sebelumnya. Jadi,saya tidaklah terpinga-pinga ketika membaca. Sebagai contoh,penulis memaklumkan kepada pembaca hubungan antara Gerber dan Morrow yang boleh difahami walaupun disampaikan secara ringkas tetapi padat.

Saya juga mendapati bahawa novel ini bukanlah novel aksi perang semata-mata. Lebih daripada itu,novel ini turut menyertakan elemen-elemen berkaitan yang menarik. Sebagai contoh,penulis turut mengetengahkan bagaimana Perang Vietnam ini mempengaruhi hubungan antara watak-watak di dalam pasukan Gerber dengan keluarga dan orang yang mereka sayangi.

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I didn't find this one all that compelling. The writing was pretty good but the story jumped around all over the place and much of it took part in Hong Kong. I was really looking more for the setting to be fully in Vietnam. This is also several books in on the series and maybe I should have started with book 1. I would have if I could have found it. I will probably try another of these but will make sure to read the blurbs to make sure it takes place in Vietnam.