By Mushroom Montoya
Publisher: Independently Published
It is no secret war is filled with atrocities. The book, Viet Nam Body Count, is a fictional novel; although, the main character in this novel is based on the author’s actual experience as a sailor who served two tours in Vietnam aboard the U.S.S. Trippe and the U.S.S. Truxton.
This book is not your typical wartime novel in regards to triumphant wins, successful defeats, or special missions. Rather, the book has a moral and spiritual overtone.
The book is centered on Mushroom’s fictional account in Vietnam aboard the U.S.S. Trippe for roughly three months in 1972. Aboard the ship, Mushroom is given an instant education about the atrocities of war, the egos of his higher ranking shipmates, and is faced with the test of not letting his moral compass sink into the depths of the ocean floor.
The very first scene opens and Mushroom is waiting for an answer at his discharge hearing. Immediately before the answer is revealed, Mushroom begins to reflect, and thus the story begins. The first scene of war is heart wrenching and left me speechless. Four innocent young boys are killed, and though I’ll spare the details, Mushroom masterfully conveys his shipmate’s nonchalant attitude about this atrocity.
As the story progresses, the main character soon discovers the captain’s need to increase his dead body count, as the one he currently has, is not where he wants it to be. The captain, who is heartless, will stop at nothing to push this count in his favor in the hopes of advancing his career–even if that means killing innocent people. The captain soon decides that blowing up a Catholic church will help him get the count he so desires. The character is then faced with the moral dilemma of finding a way to stop it, especially after he finds out the captain moves the date of the bombing to ensure that the church is filled to the maximum with people. So does the main character successfully stop the bombing? I won’t spoil the ending; however, it’s one that is dramatic, haunting, enlightening, and thought-provoking.
While all this is happening, the character faces many obstacles aboard the ship; a racist captain, the pull of wanting to be back home with his young son and parents, the fact that he could be tried for treason, letters sent to him by friends educating him about the war, his wanting to become a priest, and haunting visions of a Vietnamese lady who comes to him while meditating.
Quite frankly this book was a page turner. I could not put the book down because it is that good. Each character was well developed and moved the plot along nicely. Mushroom has mastered the craft of writing. This book is one that will continually haunt me for some time to come. All the characters were well developed and Mushroom drew me further and further into his story with each stroke of this pen. It’s a must read and a masterpiece! Should be on a Best Seller list for sure. I look forward to more work from him.
Source: Book was provided by author for review. It was reviewed by Corina Martinez Chaudhry.
