Adria Carmichael: Review of “The Siege of An Lộc”

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Adria Carmichael is the author of the highly addictive Juche series of dystopian novels set in the totalitarian nation of Choson, a very realistic fictional portrayal of North Korea. She has completed the first three books, which are currently available on Amazon, and is working on the fourth in the series.

Following is Adria’s review, posted on Goodreads, of my second novel “The Siege of An Lộc”:

Having grown up with movies and TV series about the war in Vietnam from a US perspective, it was truly enlightening to read a book on this topic from another perspective, written by a South Vietnamese native who himself had to flee to America when his country was invaded by the north.

The book is part love story in the midst of a devastating war, and part history book with detailed accounts of the two-month long siege of the small, but strategically important city of An Loc. For me, it was the stories about the people fighting for their lives and freedom that captivated my interest, and I have to admit that I skimmed though some of the lengthier descriptions of military events that were not directly connected to the main story. The characters were fantastic though, and I followed their struggles and development with great interest.

Love was at the heart of the story, and I liked that the book kept me rooting for the sweet but fragile romance between the protagonists Trung and Ly that started so innocently in a restaurant in Saigon and then continued down into the muddy trenches of An Loc under the constant enemy bombardment that gradually turned the city into dusty piles of rubble.

Another aspect that fascinated me was the contrast between the self-image of the northern army and the view of the people of the south. While the north portrayed themselves as “liberators” coming to the south to free their brothers and sisters from the evil puppet regime that was holding them in its clutches, the South Vietnamese saw them as nothing other than an invading army whose only interest was to subjugate them, and not minding to kill hundreds of thousands of people in the process. The contrast became abundantly clear when the author let us follow North Vietnamese soldiers who entered An Loc expecting to be met by cheering masses of people greeting their liberators with flowers and praise, but found nothing but petrified people fleeing for their lives at the sight of them. Very well portrayed.

At the very end of the book (and this is not a spoiler for this story) I must admit I was very surprised by a sentence saying that the protagonists will face even greater hardships three years later… and then the book ended. This statement made me incredibly curious and made me to wonder if there is a sequel on the horizon.

Book Review from France

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A few weeks ago, a friend of mine who lives in Paris sent me an email about “The Siege of An Lộc”, my second novel published a year ago. I have translated his email below and also included his original in French.

oOo

I read your book “The Siege of An Loc”. I finished reading it a long time ago, but I was too perturbed by the events related to Covid to give you my impressions.

I loved both of your books [“Village Teacher” and “The Siege of An Loc“] and I think that one of these days someone will put the two on the silver screen since you provided sufficient historical details as well as details on military operations to transform both novels into love, historical, and action movies.

“The Siege of An Loc” is particularly captivating from beginning to end. From the start, I rediscover the ambiance of Saigon with its sunny mornings and rainy afternoons, with people rushing to find temporary shelter when the monsoon rain occurs. Then the trip toward Xa Cam makes me relive my bus rides in Viet Nam.

“The Siege of An Loc” is a beautiful love story, but to me personally it is also a tribute to the brave soldiers of the armed forces of the Republic of Viet Nam, to the Regional Forces, to the people who fought against the deluge of fire from North Vietnamese artillery and tanks.

The description of the main characters under your pen is genial, with each having their own unique trait. I have a lot of sympathy for Lieutenant Trung, the charming, gentle but courageous and willful Ly, and the valiant Captain Nam, as if they were real life persons. I also like the young girl Ut who scrambles amid the ruins of the city to gather information for Trung and collect those provisions which fell into enemy zones.

Through Dung and Thu, it’s the success of the “Open Arms” program. One could imagine the two brothers [Trung and Dung] fighting in the same battlefields without knowing they are brothers, but you have skillfully spared us that painful situation.

It is very touching toward the end when their family is reunited in Saigon, and the families of the tailor and Ut are resettled and life begins a new. It is truly a happy ending, thank you Hien.

You deserve a big thank you for having articulated our deep gratitude toward the soldiers, the men and women who have defended our freedom.

oOo

“J’ai lu ton bouquin The siege of An Loc (le siège de An Loc). J’ai terminé la première lecture depuis longtemps mais j’étais trop perturbé par des événements liés au covid pour te donner mes impressions.

J’ai beaucoup aimé tes deux livres et je pense qu’un jour quelqu’un mettrait les 2 livres sur l’écran car tu donnes suffisamment de détails historiques, des détails des opérations militaires pour en faire des films d’amour, d’histoire et d’action.

The Siege of An Loc est particulièrement captivant du début jusqu’à la fin. Dès le début je retrouve l’ambiance de Saigon ‘sáng nắng chiều mưa’ avec des gens qui se précipitent vers un abri de fortune quand survient une pluie de mousson. Et le trajet en car vers Xa Cam me fait revivre des voyages en ‘xe đò’ au Vietnam.

The Siege of An Loc c’est une belle histoire d’amour mais pour moi personnellement c’est un hommage aux courageux soldats de l’armée VNCH, de la force régionale, à la population qui ont résisté au déluge de feu créé par l’artillerie, des tanks des nord-viêtnamiens.

La description des personnages principaux sous ta plume est géniale, chacun a un trait de caractère spécifique. J’ai beaucoup de sympathie pour le lieutenant Trung, la charmante, douce mais courageuse et volontaire Ly et le vaillant capitaine Nam comme s’il s’agissait de vrais gens. J’aime aussi la petite Ut, elle se débrouille bien dans les tas de ruines pour donner des informations à Trung et récupérer les approvisionnements mal tombés.

À travers Dung et Thu c’est le succès du programme ‘chieu hoi’. On peut imaginer les deux frère qui s’affrontent au champ de bataille sans savoir qu’ils sont frères mais tu nous as habillement épargné cette situation douloureuse.

C’est très touchant quand finalement la famille se retrouve à Saigon, les familles du tailleur, de be Ut…s’installent ailleurs et la vie reprend. C’est vraiment un happy end, merci Hien, merci pour les deux livres.

Tu mérites un grand remerciement car tu as exprimé notre profonde gratitude envers des soldats, des hommes et femmes qui ont défendu notre liberté.”

The Siege of An Lộc – New Review by Meta

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The war between North and South Vietnam.

All I ever had known about it that it was a very unpopular war as far as the USA was concerned.

This book tells us how the People of South Vietnam fought to keep their country free from the Communists in North Vietnam.

It looks to me that South Vietnam governed their country with respect of their people who did not want to fall under the Communist regime of North Vietnam.

They fought valiantly and courageously with the help of the Americans and succeeded until the U.S withdrew from it all and left them to fall in the hands of the Communists who received all the help they needed from Russia and China.

It broke my heart to read how it ended.

The Author is very knowledgeable about the various battles and regiments involved with the Siege of An Loc.

It is so well written it kept me spellbound.

I am recommending this book whole heartedly.

The above review was written by Meta on 20-Feb-2021 at Goodreads.com: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55120699-the-siege-of-an-l-c?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=NjAvvL3zm3&rank=1

Book Reviews – The Siege of An Lộc – 2

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Following are three new reviews of my book, “The Siege of An Lộc”. The first review was posted on Amazon after the reviewer purchased an additional item to bring his total to $50 as required by Amazon. The second one was posted on Amazon without any problem. The third one was emailed to me yesterday and it is published here only.

Qnbui, from New Jersey, October 22, 2020.

“The defense of An Loc beginning in April 1972 against successive waves of communist attacks was valiantly carried out by the South Vietnamese soldiers with the US assistance from the air. The people of South Vietnam are always grateful to the soldiers for their heroic sacrifices and will never forget this epic victory. “The Siege of An Loc” will help us remember.

Battles around An Loc, in neighboring towns and airports, along Highway 13, and details of military planning and deployment of troops – based on historical facts – are well described in “The Siege of An Loc”. The novel vividly recounts the atrocities of war, the vast destructions of the town, the huge sacrifices of soldiers, the great sufferings of ordinary people, the relentless efforts of communist troops to take over An Loc, and the active participation of the people in the collective defense of their hometown. A teenage girl, the noodle street vendor of Chinese descent, volunteered to assume the task of intelligence gathering for the regional forces.

Against this painful background of death, destruction, and sorrow bloomed a beautiful love story between a young talented lieutenant of the regional forces and a Saigon University student coming home to her family rubber plantation near An Loc for the spring break.

Also there is a stunning story of defections of 2 communist soldiers to South Vietnam through the Open Arms program, and a moving reunion of 2 brothers, a young officer in the South and a teenage soldier coming from North Vietnam. A lot of families were separated after the 1954 Geneva Agreement, part of the family going South and part remaining in the North.

Different events are recounted in different chapters, but there is always a smooth transition between them. There is a happy note at the end of the book, after so much sorrow and pain, for the young couple, the tailor family, the street vendor family, and others, all settling down in Xuan Loc, a neighboring town. Three years later, war erupted again all over in Xuan Loc and this attested to the futility of the war with millions of people dead on both sides and a waste of precious time and resources. The final result of the war during all these years was the firm imposition of the Marxist doctrine on the society, a philosophy so foreign to the Vietnamese tradition and culture.”

___________________________________________________________________

rustytreasure, from New Jersey, October 28, 2020

The struggles of a people trying to get by when their country, culture and economy are under relentless attack by outside forces as well as from within. This novel accurately reflects the history and cruelty of this war as well as the hope of a hard working people at the time. A love story, a history, a lesson in family values. I could barely put it down.

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Perilla, from New Jersey, November 2, 2020.

“I have just finished this new book last night.  I really like it.

The author knows his materials, from the rubber business to different types of weapons to the relevant geographies, sequence of events, the Stieng minority people….. and a lot more which I forgot to jot down as I was reading.  Interesting tidbits on Van Cao (my favorite composer), “Hundred Flowers Campaign”, and Shostakovich (!).

The main challenge is to weave a love story with the documented war events; this is done seamlessly.  The chance meeting of two people sheltering from the rain seems natural enough, could be drawn from the author’s personal experience (?). There are tender moments in the midst of the destruction, and there is no lack of subtle humor.

One could imagine the antagonists — ideological and romantic — are destined for a well-choreographed, mano-a-mano climactic fight, but the sudden resolution is a pleasant surprise — one needs not bother any longer with such a character.

Through it all I can sense the author enjoying the act of writing — power to him and he should definitely continue to write.”

Book Reviews – The Siege of An Lộc

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As a follow-up to yesterday’s post of Amazon’s review policy, I asked and received the approval of two readers of my new book, “The Siege of An Lộc”, to post their reviews here, in chronological order.

Don Chalfant from Santa Barbara
“I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Siege of An Loc! I wasn’t expecting Ri to meet his end in the manner it happened! I read several chapters and then summarized them for my wife. Both of us were aware of what was happening in Vietnam during the late 60’s and early 70’s…but only in a vague sense. So much of the media’s coverage was slanted and agenda-driven. Your inclusion of the north’s propaganda versus reality paints a much truer picture than what we received in the news. Such a heartbreaking time! The research on the events must have been a mixed blessing to the author…finding out specifics yet having to relive difficult and painful memories. He certainly included lots of details! I had a somewhat hard time tracking all the various military divisions and companies and the like, including the various weapons and tanks–even with the “simplification” of terms mentioned at the beginning of the book—but thoroughly appreciated the inclusion of accurate information! This book is great for anyone interested in the events of 1970’s Vietnam.”

H.P. from Seattle
“Honestly, I don’t really like to read war stories, having lived through the Vietnam War. However, when in May this year I was introduced to the digital version of “The Siege at An Loc” by Nguyễn Trọng Hiền, whose first novel “Village Teacher” (2012) I enjoyed tremendously thanks to his artistic style, characters development, as well as the romantic plot against the background of Vietnam’s then capital of Huế in the late 19th century, I wanted to know how the author went about dealing with this much-written-about war, especially this particular front of An Loc about which I had read so much.

Before long, I was drawn into the story at the very first chapter as the author introduced the two main characters who ran into each other as both sought refuge from a tropical downpouring under the veranda of a coffee shop. They parted after the brief encounter during the rain — he, a student/soldier stationed in An Loc who was back to Saigon to pick up his class materials from the Saigon University and now returned to his unit, and she, daughter of a plantation owner in An Loc. From there, the author introduced us to an An Loc under siege by fierce North Vietnamese forces into which the only way in or out was by air amidst webs of fires from the grounds; and to a host of skillfully-described characters both good and bad. Using the same artistic skill, densed with reasearch materials yet explained in plain terms weaving smoothly into the novel narrative. I found myself absorbed in the plot, worried along with his characters despite the fact I already knew the outcome, that South Vietnam forces finally liberated An Loc – just as I had been with his first novel, “Village Teacher.”

The author’s second novel came to me as we have been in this Covid-19 pandemic lockdown on and off and on again for a good six months and continuing. I couldn’t help feel a great admiration for his achievement while we – at least I – keep on wondering when we’d be out of this realistic siege. Thank you.”

Book Reviews – Amazon Policy

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As many of you know, I recently self published a second novel, The Siege of An Lộc, on Amazon. As an independent author, I rely on word-of-mouth advertising and reader reviews published on Amazon to promote my books. My first book, Village Teacher, garnered 22 reviews, all positive. My second book so far has zero review on Amazon. I have now found out why.

Amazon has been plagued by fake reviews from companies and individuals selling their products on Amazon. There appears to be companies that hire people or even review mill companies to write fake reviews to promote their products on Amazon, without having purchased or even used those products. It got to the point where customers have complained that reviews on Amazon are unreliable if not outright misleading.

So, a few months ago, Amazon instituted a new policy which requires people who post a review to have purchased at least $50 on Amazon over the previous 12 months. Reviewers who try to post and do not meet this new requirement get this message:

“To contribute to Customer features (for example, Customer Reviews, Customer Answers, Idea Lists) or to follow other contributors, you must have spent at least $50 on Amazon.com using a valid credit or debit card in the past 12 months.”

Two readers of The Siege of An Lộc have contacted me and told me that even though they like it, they are unable to post a review because of Amazon’s new policy. One person had another member of the family purchase the book. The other person did pay for the book with a credit card but did not meet the $50 minimum requirement (my book costs $25.99).

While I understand why Amazon has such a policy, I think it is unduly harsh for independent authors like me who are not well known at all. I am not trying to mass market a consumer product through fake reviews in hope of amassing millions. I don’t have the means to run expensive campaigns to advertise my books. If people are like me, unless I know an author well, I would hesitate to buy a book that has no review and would prefer to wait until at least a handful of reviews are published before making a purchase.

I went to Amazon’s site to complain about their new policy but I did not find any place to do so. If you have any suggestion, please comment below.

Published: The Siege of An Lộc

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My new novel, The Siege of An Lộc, has finally been published on Amazon in a print version and a Kindle version. You can search for it on Amazon, or just click here.

I think that most of you will enjoy reading this book and will find it informative and worthwhile. If you do read it, I would be grateful if you would review it on Amazon or make a comment on this WordPress blog page.

Print edition.

Kindle version.