Category: Action/Thriller Publisher: Big River press
ISBN-10: 0979874416
Pages: 344
Copyright: October 2007
ISBN-13: 9780979874413
A retired ex-special forces type's past comes back to bite him when he realizes he's been targeted by a Special Ops team. His mission is to unearth what was buried 35 years ago in Southeast Asia, take the vengeance owed to his family, and another chance at love.
In HONOR DUE, the Major is an ex-Special Forces 'Nam Vet who worked covertly until by the 90's, diabetic and bone-tired of the life, knowing his handlers weren't taking terrorism seriously, he walked away into the Pacific Northwest and lost himself. As a young SpecOps shark puts him in the crosshairs, the Major is forced to resume hunting in the old way. Then he finds his old Montagnard War Brother, tortured and killed, and his friend's daughter hiding in his forest. The Major's new mission is to unearth what happened 35 years ago, as South Vietnam was falling, that has triggered the current pursuit, and take the vengeance owed his fallen brother and family. HONOR DUE speaks for the soul of our citizen warriors, appealing to readers of both genders interested in the way soldiers view the world. Without glamorizing violence, HONOR DUE offers insights into the warrior's code, and the necessity of keeping fang and claw sharp.
Excerpt
"I’m not some kind of survivalist nut, though there are a few of that stripe around these parts. Even I walk around them when we meet. Left alone, I’m a peaceful kind of guy, and don’t hurt anyone, although I take my right to privacy, and to keep and bear arms, dead serious."
Professional Reviews
Michael Curtis Ford, National Bestselling Author of The Ten Thousand
"A tense thriller painted on a dark palette, suffused with the heavy, cedary incense of the rugged northwest forests. D. H. BROWN's tight plotting and vivid characters continued to haunt me long after I had closed the book."
David H. Dun, National Bestselling Author, Necessary Evil
"D. H. BROWN has written a pulse pounding story with a strong unique voice, an unforgettable character, and a mesmerizingly clever plot."
RebeccasReads.com
"In HONOR DUE, with not a wasted word, D.H.BROWN has crafted a fast paced, electrifying manly modern thriller (& love story), about how the past can come back to bite you, giving honor due to fallen War Brothers, & stepping forward into the future. Like elk steaks, free-range chicken eggs, home-baked pies with apples from the orchard & good coffee, HONOR DUE is a satisfying read with something to say about how we live our lives."
In a suspenseful, sometimes-funny first book in his Citizen Warrior Series, DAVID H. BROWN, in HONOR DUE, has won a prime location on my bookshelf as a must-read author. I have found that I really enjoy books written in first person. Although the majority of publishers require third person in fiction writing, I think first person allows a much more personal feeling for the reader. It is as if the main character, the Major, is sitting right across the table and telling you his story--once in a while tossing in a joke or a sarcastic remark or action that enables you to thoroughly enjoy meeting the character. The reader is privy to his internal dialogue, his thoughts, conversations with his dog, and even his arguments with God. Bringing in the special care that he must take as a diabetic, even during traumatic times, makes the storyline even more realistic. I think you'll grow to love the sensitive, loving, and protective man that lies within the Major's gruff and gritty exterior.
The Major is "an ex-special forces vet whose years in `Nam taught him what he needed to know to work as a covert agent for the shadow branches of the government when he returned home." Continuing from the book description, "in the 90's he realized his bosses weren't taking terrorism seriously. Finally, a diabetic and completely tired of the life, he'd had enough of the killing, and one day he simply walked into the Pacific Northwest rainforest and lost himself"(page 2).
Having done reviews on two other books by former Vietnam veterans, (The Road from Here to Where You Stay and the Negligence of Death*) I have found a haunting spirit that surrounds those veterans and their stories about the Vietnam era. They sadden me, and yet pull me in to share what proves to be intimate parts of their lives. I am always grateful for that experience. Perhaps it is because I wrote to a friend who was in that war and he would never talk about what was happening there. Indeed, there are many veterans who cannot talk about their Vietnam service time. In a way, because of the controversies over the war and the unwillingness for involved soldiers to share their experiences, there is a certain mystique that seems to have developed. As a lover of mysteries, perhaps that is why I am continuously enthralled by those novels I find that are written by veterans of this puzzling war. No matter the reason--veterans of Vietnam never quite give up their warrior persona.
The Major didn't and when he arrived in the rainforest he'd brought all of his skills and talents, as well as his memories. Deep inside he knew that even though he'd had enough of the killing and he was now a civilian, he knew also that he would still always be a warrior and would be prepared whenever he was forced to again play that role. It was a good thing that he'd prepared.When the stranger showed up, asking questions, carrying his picture from his service days, instinct immediately told the Major there was trouble coming. He didn't know why yet, but his instinct told him--he would have to kill that stranger.
So he did.
Many of the Major's war memories surrounded his wife and child and her Montagnard family. Though his wife and child had been killed, he had worked to bring her family to the United States. Indeed he had met his wife through one of his warrior brothers, Ang. Now, as he followed the trail that the stranger had taken, he found that brother, to be tortured, dead. But he also found evidence that someone had escaped--perhaps Ang's wife? The Major had to find out.
One of my favorite characters is Black Dog--truly the Major's best friend. As the Major tracked through the rainforest, it was Black Dog who discovered the hiding place, and would not leave it, until Blon, Ang's daughter, had been found, nearly frozen, nearly dead.As he doctored and nursed Blon back to health, the Major had plenty of time to think--why was this happening now and who was behind it? Considering those with whom he had worked years ago, he was able to realize one thing quickly. The stranger that had been sent and who murdered Ang was really another victim--he had been sent to his death, as surely as he had died. He had become a victim of war and for that he had honor due him. The Major would see that honor was given to both of his warrior brothers--Ang and the stranger! But the Major found he was no longer alone in his war. Not only did neighbors prove to be trustworthy, but Blon, too, sought revenge. And, as she watched the Major and had to depend upon him for her life, she sought, too, to fill the empty place in his heart that had long been empty.As the Major follows the clues and tracks the men responsible, still he searches for the reason, the "why" this was happening. What he ultimately discovers surprises him...as well as the readers!
The Major is already on to something new in HONOR DEFENDED. You won't want to miss the Citizen Warrior Series!
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