Customer Reviews

Walking K

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Despite some overdrawn scenes early on when the narrator, a former POW named Slaughter, a negotiator in Hanoi at the specific request of the Vietnamese, is taken under guard to a rundown building where his former Captain, still a prisoner after more than 20 years, is dragged into his presence in chains. Walking K by Wes DeMott soon calms down and takes on a more believable tone.

The Vietnamese reveal that they still hold 22 more American prisoners, to be released only upon the granting of most favored nation status by the US. Slaughter must get them out or die trying.

The pace of the read accelerates as he reports what he's learned to his boss, the Secretary of State - who despite Slaughter's statements seems anxious to deny the possibility of any prisoners remaining alive.

The Department of Defense too, and maybe even the White House, play their own private hands, and everyone Slaughter goes to flatly rejects the possibility that Americans might still be held prisoner.

Slaughter is a hard one, though, completely honest and sincere. With live-in psychiatrist Laura, who once cured him of the nightmares only now beginning to haunt him again, on his side, he's not backing down, no matter what. Slaughter knows the response to his refusal to desist might be terminal, and begins to take precautions. Sure enough, he's fired. Soon, his bank accounts, credit cards, driver's license all disappear. So far as officialdom is concerned, he never existed. Slaughter must hurry. There will be an assassin too. He's out of time.

At this point, the reader is totally immersed in author DeMott's story. What began with difficulty is now a roaring juggernaut. I won't spoil the ending, but men who like hard-as-nails adventure will share my enthusiasm for this work.

Art Tirrell is the author of The Secret Ever Keeps

After quitting on the last "thriller" I was reading, this book was quite a welcome surprise. It pulls you in on the first page and it doesn't let you go until the conclusion. The characters are exciting, very real and believeable and easy to relate to. I found myself siding with Slaughter's cause, admiring his courage and rooting for him in the end. Without giving away the plot, it disturbed me very deeply and made me question the line between DeMott's fiction and reality. The writer came across as a very credible source, although the book jacket did not mention him as a former POW. I have already bought his second book, Vapors. I'll review it when I'm finished. You shouldn't miss Walking K. Hope DeMott does well. Be cool.

Wes Demott has written a great book and that is all there is to it. Wes Demott is also my neighbor but that is not why i am writing this review. I remember when he was writing this book i always want to read it but i was to young. I just finished it after a couple of weeks and absolutely loved it. I am yet to read Vapors and hope that he will write again. So overall i am just telling you to READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rare is the book that combines non-stop action and ompelling story lines to evoke true emotion. But Walking K does just that thanks to the talented hand of Wes DeMott. From the opening scenes and our heroe's tortured past, to the horrific dilemna and hitman confronting him, Jacob Slaughter faces his past and future with the US government hot on his heels and the issue of Vietnam POWs once again rearing its ugly head. Not only can we empathise with Slaughter's twisted nightmares in a POW camp, we can sense his knawing need to right the injustice of those left behind and the intense heat from a bomb blast meant to silence him. Slaughter is truly a man alone set out to free those the government says is dead and in the process, his soul. The characters are real, emotions raw, the action non-stop and the hale-Mary pass delivers. Walking K is an exciting and thrilling ride through the political and emotional landscape.

WALKING K is a very well-written, action-packed, emotionally-suspenseful book that kept me on edge from the beginning to the end. Everything is so vivid you feel you are a part of it. It is a "food for thought" eye-opener into behind-the-scenes struggle for power. I found "both sides of the coin" so to speak - One side being man's inhumanity to man for power and money and the other side being loyal, selfless commitment to help fellow-man. It brought tears of sadness and tears of joy! I hope WALKING K becomes a movie. I also understand Wes DeMott's book Vapors is going to press soon. Really looking forward to it.

This is a slightly altered excerpt from my column in the STAR-ADVOCATE, March 18, 1998;

WALKING K is a thriller that I couldn't put down, except for rude interruptions such as dinner and taking out the trash.

The story opens with the protagonist, a Foreign Service Officer and former P.O.W., visiting Hanoi at the request of the Vietnamese government. It seems that Hanoi is seeking Most Favored Nation status, and their agent presents our hero with a bargaining chip. As he is led into the depths of an ancient, molding building, an ugly sensation of deja vu grows with each step. He is confronted by a terrible spectacle: his old cell-mate, still in captivity, broken in body but not in spirit. And there are 22 others.

I won't give the plot away. But consider the ramifications that would follow such an event, and then pick up a copy of Wes DeMott's Walking K. It will last longer, and generate a lot more goose-bumps than the pittance you were going to blow for dinner out.

This book did what most don't - grabbed me at the first line and refused to let me go. The characters were amazing, especially for genre fiction, and I really came to care about them. I cried at the end, and have never done that before in this type of novel. The subject matter of this political thriller seemed to be something the author had actually experienced, and cared deeply about. I read where he'd been an FBI agent. Anyone know more about this writer? Anyone know of other books by Demott? I'd like to know the titles and read them. Has he he been around for awhile?

From the first few pages this book hooks you. I really loved the lead character, especially his name "Jacob Slaughter". Great story, it really sucks you in. I just hope none of that stuff really happens. Wes should be writing screenplays.

Walking K is one of those books I read in one sitting, it was almost impossible to put down. It takes a strong hold of your emotions from the very beginning. After, I went back and read some of the best parts again. It was disappointing to run out of pages. DeMott's characters come to life with such vivid intensity. They are real people. It is obvious the Vietnam conflict meant a lot to this author, as his writing reflects his feelings and frustrations on the POW situation. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Walking K, and I am looking forward to reading more of DeMott's writing.