The American War by Don Meyer

When the author contacted me asking if I would review this book, he provided the following blurb:

In the summer of 1969 elements of the 101st Airborne went back to the A. Shau Valley in South Vietnam.

In the summer of 1864 the 10th Vermont, part of General Ricketts' Third Division, marched into the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.

Sam Kensington was there at both campaigns.

OK, you got my attention.  I would say 75% of the review requests I receive are fantasy, horror or mystery based.  It seems to be the go-to genres for independent authors.  Unfortunately, though, these are not my go-to genres.  But I do enjoy a good history-based story so I agreed to review The American War by Don Meyer.  Mostly I wanted to see how Meyer would pull this story off and make it believable - how a soldier could be in both wars, 100 years apart.

I included the above author's blurb solely for the fact that he could do a much better job summarizing his novel than it turns out I can.  Sadly, I did not finish the book.  As much as I tried to, I could not engage in the story.  I don't particularly like modern day wartime books or movies, especially those based on the Vietnam War.  Perhaps they are just too grim and depressing for my tastes. 

If the majority of the story had actually taken place in the Civil War era, I may have found the book more enjoyable.  However, it appears the lead character, the above Sam Kensington, is firmly rooted in the Vietnam War era and only dreaming that he is in the Civil War.  And the two events are somehow connected via a gun.  So Meyer only gives us glipses and snapshots of the Civil War.  Pity, because I lost interest fast.

It's clear Meyer did his research on both wars - perhaps, I suspect, might have even been in the Vietnam War himself and even at the particular campaign featured in the book.  He has a near encyclopedic knowledge of the everyday life, mannerisms and language of the American soldier in the Vietnam War.  And he handles the colloquial switch well between the two eras.  He isn's using the same voice for the two different time periods.  His voice changes according to the timeperiod and I find that to be the mark of an above average writer. 

Still, however, I could not bring myself to finish the book.  I have many, many books on my library's to-read shelf - both of my own choosing and those I am obligated to review for authors and publishers.  I don't have time to slog through a book that isn't catching my fancy.  And if you, dear reader, are anything like me, it takes me ten times longer to read a book I'm not enjoying than one I am loving.  It's harder to pick the book up and it's harder to stay focused on it.

I am giving The American War two bows - not because it isn't well written but because it just wasn't my cup of tea.  I beleive I will pass it on to someone who finds war novels more enjoyable than I.

*In accordance with FTC guidelines, I must disclose that I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for a review posted here on my blog.