The Quick and the Dead [Hardcover]

Randy Lee Eickhoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 23, 2005

Vietnam, 1966. Benjamin Wingfoot is the leader of a Special Operations Group stationed deep upcountry. He's taken on plenty of dangerous missions, but something about his latest assignment doesn't sit well with him. Summoned back to Saigon, "Wingo" is ordered to kill a local bar girl suspected of spying for the North--and make it look like the routine murder of a prostitute.
Right away, he suspects that there is more to this mission than he is being told. War may be hell, but, as Wingo struggles to uncover the truth amidst the corruption of wartime Saigon, he soon learns that even darker trials await him--and that the price of holding onto his soul may be more than any one man can endure . . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A decorated Vietnam veteran, professor of ancient Greek and of Gaelic, and author of 15 novels, Eickhoff returns with an affecting, sometimes brutally graphic Vietnam thriller. Benjamin "Wingo" Wingfoot leads an experimental special operations team deep into the upcountry to raid Vietcong attempting to move arms through the mountains into Laos. Summoned to CIA headquarters in Saigon, Wingo is ordered to assassinate a young Vietnamese prostitute suspected of spying for the North. Although he is hardened to killing, the spuriousness of the assignment troubles him, and he eventually decides to refuse the order. But before Wingo can report his decision, the woman is found horribly mutilated; despite his denials, the CIA abandons him to Vietnamese authorities. Convicted and sent to infamous Poulo Condore Island (the Nam equivalent of Devil's Island), Wingo escapes and returns to Saigon determined to find and kill the party responsible for framing him. The trail eventually leads to political ambition and treachery at the highest levels. Eickhoff delivers the requisite exotic underworld and taut tough-guyness with an authentic sense of detail, alienation and danger.
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* For Benjamin Wingfoot, a Native American who'd once dreamed of teaching on the reservation, Vietnam in 1966 is a 24/7 miasma of heat, death, and behind-the-lines action. After months of combat up-country, Wingo has been given a new assignment: assassinate a Saigon prostitute named Lisa Lee. He can pick the time, the place, and the method; the only caveat is that it cannot appear political because, of course, it is. The girl is killed but not by Wingfoot; however, the Saigon police seem to know more about his mission than even he was told. As he struggles to clear himself, he learns how deeply corrupting the war has become. It takes all his intelligence and willpower to keep moral rot out of his soul. Eickhoff, who served in Vietnam, is the rare writer who can translate the fear, adrenaline rush, and amorality of combat to the page. His novel can be enjoyed both as a war story and a mystery, but it will resonate most as a modern Heart of Darkness. Outstanding. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (June 23, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765307766
• ISBN-13: 978-0765307767
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #654,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Blanc, Despain, Catlin...WHO?, July 19, 2006

By 

L. Lewis - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Quick and the Dead (Hardcover)

I don't know what C.Blanc, R.O. Despain, and Alan C.
Catlin think they are doing with their reviews of
Eickhoff's work, But their reviews remind me of
someone who is a wannabe reviewer and doesn't have the
intellectual capacity to be one. Unfortunately,
comments like these idiots are unwarranted. THE QUICK
AND THE DEAD is a wonderful read and, from others with
whom I have shared the work, seamless and flawless.
Several other reviews have praised Eickhoff for his
accuracy and truthfulness as a storyteller. Blanc,
Despain, and Catlin appear to be looking for works to
denigrate through their stupidity

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book!!, April 4, 2006

By 

Lisa E. Oleary (IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Quick and the Dead (Hardcover)

I guess I like cliches. I thought this book was extremely well written. I have a friend that was a LRRP in Vietnam around 1971 and read him parts of the book. He always complains if things are not accurate or real, in books that are about the Vietnam war, and he also liked this book. I didn't notice the inconsistencies the other reviewer wrote about so it didn't bother me. I just loved the way the author wrote. I felt like I was there. He puts so much emotion behind the story. The feelings that he writes about on killing and fear agree with other books I have read and veterans that I have talked to. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in war or Vietnam.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars apocalypse redux, January 30, 2006

By 

Alan C. Catlin "catman" (new york) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Quick and the Dead (Hardcover)

Somewhere in this derivative but, vivid novel, is a great movie. Too bad that movie has already been made by someone else. Whole scenes are lifted from The Director's Cut of Apocalypse Now! He even resorts to using dialogue directly from his source. Am I the only one who noticed this? Catman