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MWSA Review
Saigon Spring is historical fiction of the highest order. The novel is written by Phillip Derrick and tells the story of Travis Nickels, an American soldier who returns to South Vietnam during the closing days of the war. Nickels is a first-hand witness to the horror that was the fall of Vietnam. The underlying history is well-researched and flows well, even when overset with the underlying story of an American soldier trying to do the right thing in a world gone crazy.
Author Derrick puts a lot of detail into his descriptions of life in war torn South Vietnam and America. His character development of the hero starts with his initial return to America after his first tour of duty in Vietnam. The author spends a lot of time initially describing the anti-war attitude of the country and the antagonism that Nickels experiences when he first arrives home. I lived through this period myself, as a young Air Force officer on the West Coast. There was definitely some resentment and antagonism out there, but at least in my experience, nothing like what Phillip Derrick described. Notwithstanding the anti-military attitude of the country, Nickels eventually goes to college, joins ROTC, and is commissioned an officer in the United States Army. Subsequently, he is reassigned back to Vietnam on a secret mission, one that even he does not understand. As it is later revealed, he was sent back to Vietnam to act as bait to catch a particularly nasty North Vietnamese agent.
Saigon Spring relies heavily on the factual history of a very dark time in our country’s history. It was an entertaining read, and I would recommend it to my friends.
Review by Larry Sharrar (May 2021)
Author's Synopsis
Everyone, at any given time, has a secret.
For Jim Peterson, it was assuming the identity of a dead paratrooper named Travis Nickels to pursue a serial killer in Vietnam.
Mission completed, he returned to the USA as Sergeant Nickels, knowing one thing for sure - he was done with both the US Army and South Vietnam. But four years later fate has arranged for his return to the land he left behind. He will find a country in its final death throes, a woman from his past, and a mysterious man who wants something from him that could mean his life.
Sometimes things come full circle with a twist. And secrets can be deadly.
Note: This is a sequel to Facing the Dragon.
Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 303
Word Count: 48,500