The Vietnam conflict becomes mystical – When spirits go to war, physical bodies get hurt

Vietnam, 1967. As he stumbles among the convulsed nation’s gnarled battlefields as a young foot soldier, Ulises Duquel becomes fettered by collateral struggles. A streetwise survivalist with a solid college degree, he is suddenly spurned by the woman he loves. This plunges his soul into sentiments of self-sacrifice in battle. Also, a mundane Buddhist bonze he befriends at Marble Mountain disrupts his psyche further with a weird mysticism. In the meantime, Duquel attempts to save the holy man from the throes of military acrimony. All the while, an obsessive infantry captain keeps drawing Duquel into a secretive search-and-capture mission devoid of the protocols of conventional warfare. It includes paranormal weaponry and delving deeply into Vietnamese spirit folklore. The officer is hellbent on capturing a high-calibre but extremely elusive guerrilla chieftain of Vietnam’s National Liberation Front who is codenamed Quyet Thang,  A brutal and canny adversary, Thang is also fanatical in crushing any adversary of the Viet Cong’s insurrection. Including the captain’s close comrades in arms. Many good soldiers die in this quest as Duque suspects the mysterious Quyet may not even be alive. He suspects the officer’s clairvoyant field intelligence may be too delusional. Or is it?

✑  AUTHOR BIO  ✑

Rafael Matos is a veteran journalist, cybernews professor, and sailing enthusiast.  Born in Puerto Rico, he retired as an Associated Press editor and newsman at the AP Caribbean Bureau. After that, he occupied newsroom management positions in three daily newspapers in Puerto Rico.  Also worked as Caribbean editor for Efe Spanish news agency.  Did reporting work at the Sun-Sentinel and was editor of the Latin American pages at the Miami (Nuevo) Herald, both in South Florida.  His reporting travels include the US, Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, the entire Antilles, South America, Spain and Asia. Matos has graduate studies on US-Caribbean history, with a minor an Asian studies at the University of Puerto Rico. Also did mass media undergraduate studies. A Vietnam veteran, he was wounded in action as a combat medic. Has edited five non-fiction books on media history and taught multimedia narrative for some 20 years. He is now a cyber-chronicler and literary writer for the Web.

DISCLAIMER 1

Many images in this digital novel were culled from thousands of primary sources, the result of 50 years of research by the author about the Vietnam conflict. Websites, letters, pamphlets, news clips, academic studies, military reports, and the author’s personal archives. Too many images are by anonymous creators. Additionally, edited to be illustrative or in line with the content. Since this book is not a commercial venture, the author decided it was not fair to credit some and not others. If someone needs to be credited or wants their image removed, notify the author at pennylit.org@gmail.com and we will comply. 

DISCLAIMER 2

Digital literature is a risky proposition. Typing fingers are seldom fast enough for the keen celerity of a computer’s electronic mind. Words come out bungled or comically autocorrected.   Sometimes, the machine decides to alter text or it’s  formatting according to some programmer’s hidden algorithm.  Thus, don‘t judge this opus too harshly for any accidental typo or slightly stilted grammar.  Do suggest corrections politely.  I will promptly fix and follow all sound advice.  Even better yet, seek enjoyment in what is said between the lines.  

DISCLAIMER 3

This literary work is copyrighted. It is free to read but use of its content for other purposes requires authorization from the author. CONTACT: pennylit.org@gmail.com. Thank you.

.