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Quantrill #3
Wild Country
Ted Quantrill is a human weapon. He has been a soldier, a commando, and, finally a hit man for the United States government.
But a man can grow tired of killing, and Quantrill has turned his back on the past. Here in the rugged wilderness of the Southwest, he plans to make a new life for himself and the woman he hopes to marry.
But yesterday won't let him alone. To preserve his life, he'll have to kill again. And his target is a good friend, as well-trained and deadly as he is...
But a man can grow tired of killing, and Quantrill has turned his back on the past. Here in the rugged wilderness of the Southwest, he plans to make a new life for himself and the woman he hopes to marry.
But yesterday won't let him alone. To preserve his life, he'll have to kill again. And his target is a good friend, as well-trained and deadly as he is...
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
About the author
Dean Ing
79 books36 followersDean Charles Ing was an American author, who usually wrote in the science fiction and techno-thriller genres.
He earned a bachelor’s degree from Fresno State University (1956), a master’s degree from San Jose State University (1970), and a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon (1974). It was his work in communication theory at the University of Oregon that prompted him to turn to writing in the 1970s.
Dean Ing was a veteran of the United States Air Force, an aerospace engineer, and a university professor who holds a doctorate in communications theory. He became professional writer in 1977. Ing and his wife lived in Oregon.
Much of Ing's fiction includes detailed, practical descriptions of techniques and methods which would be useful in an individual or group survival situation, including instructions for the manufacture of tools and other implements, the recovery of stuck vehicles and avoidance of disease and injury.
In addition to his fiction writing, Ing wrote nonfiction articles for the survivalist newsletter P.S. Letter, edited by Mel Tappan. Following in the footsteps of sci-fi novelist Pat Frank, Ing included a lengthy nonfiction appendix to his nuclear war survival novel Pulling Through.
In Ing’s fiction, his characters are involved with scientific or engineering solutions and entrepreneurial innovation, elements drawn from his own experience. A lifelong tinkerer, designer, and builder, he was an Air Force crew chief and a senior engineer for United Technologies and Lockheed. His characters know how things work, and they use ingenuity and engineering to solve situational challenges. Ing's work reflects the Oregon traditions of self-reliant independence and suspicion of authority.
“Since I deplore the voracious appetite of the public for entertainment-for-entertainment’s sake,” he told an interviewer in 1982, “most of my work has a clear didactic element. . . . I believe that Jefferson’s ideal of the independent yeoman farmer should be familiar to every generation because I mistrust a technological society in which most members are thoroughly incompetent to maintain the hardware or the software.”
He earned a bachelor’s degree from Fresno State University (1956), a master’s degree from San Jose State University (1970), and a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon (1974). It was his work in communication theory at the University of Oregon that prompted him to turn to writing in the 1970s.
Dean Ing was a veteran of the United States Air Force, an aerospace engineer, and a university professor who holds a doctorate in communications theory. He became professional writer in 1977. Ing and his wife lived in Oregon.
Much of Ing's fiction includes detailed, practical descriptions of techniques and methods which would be useful in an individual or group survival situation, including instructions for the manufacture of tools and other implements, the recovery of stuck vehicles and avoidance of disease and injury.
In addition to his fiction writing, Ing wrote nonfiction articles for the survivalist newsletter P.S. Letter, edited by Mel Tappan. Following in the footsteps of sci-fi novelist Pat Frank, Ing included a lengthy nonfiction appendix to his nuclear war survival novel Pulling Through.
In Ing’s fiction, his characters are involved with scientific or engineering solutions and entrepreneurial innovation, elements drawn from his own experience. A lifelong tinkerer, designer, and builder, he was an Air Force crew chief and a senior engineer for United Technologies and Lockheed. His characters know how things work, and they use ingenuity and engineering to solve situational challenges. Ing's work reflects the Oregon traditions of self-reliant independence and suspicion of authority.
“Since I deplore the voracious appetite of the public for entertainment-for-entertainment’s sake,” he told an interviewer in 1982, “most of my work has a clear didactic element. . . . I believe that Jefferson’s ideal of the independent yeoman farmer should be familiar to every generation because I mistrust a technological society in which most members are thoroughly incompetent to maintain the hardware or the software.”
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 10, 2026
Wild Country is the final book in Ing's Quantrill trilogy, preceded by Systemic Shock and Single Combat. In the first book we met Ted Quantrill, who is a fifteen-year-old preparing for a Boy Scout camping trip in August of 1996 when World War IV arrives. III occurred a decade before and resulted in new maps and political powers; the USSR collapsed and Russia became an ally of the US, Canada is the new Superpower, and the Mormons take control of the US. It's a survival story that incorporates a lot of political philosophy in the tradition of Mack Reynolds. It's kind of a YA coming-of-age story, but there's a lot of violence and rape and murder. And we meet a pig named Ba'al. The story branches out a lot along the way; when Ing stays with Ted it's pretty good, but some of the sub-threads are not so convincing. (For example, Israel packed up their country and moved it to L5.) It's an enjoyable if somewhat uneven story; I enjoyed it. The second volume is more of the same; the Mormons have solidified their power base in streamlined America, Ted is a member of a Search and Rescue unit though he's not yet twenty-one, and, believe it or not, the most interesting character is a big pig. In this finale, Ted has tried to retire from his job as assassin for the Mormons, but it's not as easy as he would wish. He gets involved in a romance. We have lots of drug smugglers infiltrating from Mexico. Ba'al the pig (yes, I understand that it's really a boar) is still the best character. It's a good adventure story, with a neat last page of eight thoughts for further stories.
January 4, 2021
Another good action thriller by Dean Ing; this one (third, I believe, in the “Quantrill” series) taking place after World War 4 in a United States in the process of recovery. Quantrill is a part-time government agent in search of a major drug dealer from Mexico who is mainlining drugs through the “wild country” that is a major part of Texas.
Another major character is the giant GMO boar known as Ba’al that stands nearly six feet tall at the shoulder. An enjoyable romp.
Another major character is the giant GMO boar known as Ba’al that stands nearly six feet tall at the shoulder. An enjoyable romp.
July 13, 2018
I first read this trilogy a few decades ago and really enjoyed it; still do! This last entry to the series focuses upon wild country, giving it an old wild west feel. Loved Ba'al.
July 25, 2019
Glorious
March 11, 2016
I read this a long time ago. I've moved around a bit since then and still have the book.
Post-partial-apocalyptic western series, with all the action implied. A nice round-out to a coming-of-age story that could have been a Bourne movie.
Post-partial-apocalyptic western series, with all the action implied. A nice round-out to a coming-of-age story that could have been a Bourne movie.
April 9, 2015
Good end to the series. I have always wondered if the author will write more in this series. I always liked Ba'al the pig, and hope to hear more of his exploits.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews