Customer Reviews

Wild Country

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I was watching television and I saw an ad for ING. When I did, what came to MY mind was "Dean Ing, he wrote the Systemic Shock trilogy. I have not seen my copies since I got out of the army in 90. I know there were 3 books, I wonder if there were more? I need to get on Amazon and order them right now."

Kinda funny but true. 24 years after the story began and 15 after I lost my copy I know the names of the books and the author and I am ordering them right now. Just how many books can YOU say that about?

If you like post holocaust techno-thrillers with well thought out sci-fi, genuine Texas drawl, and a hero who is half James Bond and half James Bowie buy these 3 books. No, I am not going to spoil the stories by telling you ANYTHING ELSE.

Thank You
David Morris

All right, the disclaimers first. The narrative voice in this book is definitely male. There is machismo everywhere and a lot of excess in the characters. The Texan accent is very accurate and (given that it's set in a post-apocalyptic future) very strong.

This the third book in a three-part story covering the life of Ted Quantrell, a man with the most incredible set of reflexes in Wild Country (the Southwest United States). Set in the years after a dictatorial regime had been removed from power, Wild Country is quite capable of standing alone, but I recommend Systemic Shock and Single Combat, as many stories in the series come to a resolution in this book.
In short, illegal drugs are being funneled into the U.S. by a mastermind skilled not only in the world politics of drug running, but also in self-preservation. Old Rule 1: the good guy is only as interesting as the bad guy, this guy makes the hero look good. He is efficient and ruthless, and utterly charming. Taking parts of the ride from the nemesis perspective is not only enlightening, but entertaining.
Ing does a magnificent job of capturing the essence of many Texas legends, creating a cast of players that are not only entertaining, but utterly believable (if you've ever lived in Texas, that is) and lovable. The action scenes were very clear, giving me a great visual of the events and clearly defining what was happening.

There are moments of philosophical discussion, done in plain ol' Texas talk, that aren't at all tasking to read. The overall tone of the book is a rough-hewn western that happens to have science fiction elements built into it, and never does the science take a front seat to the story.

If you like Louis L'Amour, Robert Jordan's Conan series or just enjoy an action-read now and then, I recommend this book for you.

The last in the series, unfortunately, Wild Country is a well written and tight story of cultural adjustment, near anarchy, and the heavy hand of government and its effects on America after a national near death experience.

Our hero, an early super soldier, converted into a Texas Ranger substitute, is everything you want in a guy to watch your back in a bar fight or other festivities. The bad guys run the gambit: spooks, smugglers, careerist lawmen , and even old fashioned Western desperadoes. This book is not so much technothriller as a genre busting modern Western set in another timeline. There are even strong female characters and significant wild life......

Heck, there is even a reasonable discussion of drug prohibition and its effects

Ing must have spent some time around Texans and what Texans' call the Hill Country. He gets the culture right and shows the good and bad in the codes that some of the old ranching families still try to follow today and how that culture might transfer or perhaps revert under pressure.

The background of drug smuggling and counterintelligence makes this book timely. If you can adjust to the changes in technology that occurred during the time Ing set this trilogy, and if a hefty dose of old West virtue and vice backstopped by modern gunfight or two appeal to you, then this well written page turner might just fit your holster, pardner. Read the entire series.