Review of Scott Ely's "Starlight"

Hello,

Let me start this off by noting the fact that I've never been in the military and was too young to serve in Vietnam. My observations are solely based on my fascination with the Vietnam War. With a war where anything seemed possible, fiction is probably the best medium to try and capture the madness that was the Vietnam War. Neil Sheehan's "A Bright Shining Lie" is not only one of the best books about Vietnam I've ever read, but it's also one of the best books I've ever read.

This is my review for Scott Ely's "Starlight". Although my review is coming after the book's January 28th, 2014 release I was given an advance copy of through NetGalley.com and Open Road Media. My thanks to them.

The main characters of this book are Jackson and Tom Light, which seem to be polar opposites in many ways. Although they do sense something in each other that brings them together, I wouldn't exactly call them friends. If Jackson had a first name, I don't remember reading it. His nickname is Alabama, that's where he's from. It's also where he desperately wants to return and is counting down the days.

When this book starts Jackson is relatively safe in the confines of a camp, so-called Desolation Row. He is Major Hale's RTO- radio telephone operator. Since he's with the major, that means his life is more secure. Although he's in somewhat secure place he's afraid he's not going to survive the final 300 days of his tour. Most American troops served a one year tour in Vietnam. He's quite glad to be the radio operator for his superior, the paranoid Major Hale. Jackson is your average every man. His only goals seem to be surviving the war and getting home to Alabama and to his sort of girlfriend Loretta.

Light is a sniper extraordinaire, he seems like he would have an issue adjusting to civilian life. Whereas Light seems to feel more comfortable out in the jungle, even at one point building himself a hut in the heart of the jungle. Other than brushes with the Tiger and the Monk, Vietnamese snipers, Light carries himself like he's not going to die. He says that he'll look out for Jackson even. Light is a lone wolf that doesn't come back to camp often. People are fearful that he'll bring death with him. While reading this book I wondered if Light is actually dead. Although that would explain a lot, that would have been a very disappointing ending.

The Vietnam War had sort of a surrealistic and magic realism feel about it. Up is down and down is up and just who is your friend? Even when you figure that out it changes again. From the many books that I read about the Vietnam War it seemed anything is possible. Much Vietnam War fiction uses this lack of certainty in the plots of those books.

The third major character is Light's Starlight scope. Light and others are able to see the future through the scope. The Vietnamese seem to think that the scope is magic and has the ability to raise the dead. Jackson and Light had to cut short their R&R to Vung Tau as the Vietnamese were chasing Light with their dead in coffins.

The main questions are will these two survive their ordeal? I don't know all the military lingo, but it seems when this little adventure started their were a few hundred men fighting with Jackson. But as the action continue many more men start dying. The dying is intensified even more as they leave the relative safety of Desolation Row. Their goal is the so-called Holiday Inn. That's where the NVA have a series of fortified bunkers secure up against a mountain.

Other characters include Raymond and Reynolds, known as R&R, who are speed addicts. Reynolds quotes Jimi Hendrix songs for most of his dialogue and also pretends his M16 is a guitar. Raymond seems to be in charge of the both. R&R also have a pet monkey named Short timer. Like those two they've got the monkey addicted to speed also. There's also Labouf, who has a lot of money from various means and will try and do anything to protect it.

On a scale of 1-10 I'd have to give this book a 7. Although the book could have been better, I think it captures the craziness of the Vietnam War very well. One small criticism I have about the book is that there are times when this book didn't feel like a complete story. Instead it felt like a collection of incidents strung together. That being said this is an insightful look into the life of a grunt in this brutal war.

themusicaddict