The Old Man's Trail: A Novel about the Vietcong

The recent restoration of relations between the U.S. and Vietnam may spur interest in Campbell's debut novel, which deals with the journey of a North Vietnamese supply platoon down a torturous 650-mile trail. Campbell, a retired Marine colonel who served in Vietnam, tells the story through the eyes of combat-hardened platoon leader Pham Van Duan, who must lead a band of new recruits, laden with critical cargo, to the end of the trail. Along the way, the soldiers encounter dangerous terrain, jungle predators, shortages of food and medicine--and the hovering presence of the American enemy. Campbell is a competent storyteller who observes most of the standard war novel conventions, including an emphasis on action at the expense of character development. This slows the story, especially in its first half, as the drama of the platoon's difficulties barely balances a multitude of stereotypes and overly familiar scenes. The novel's latter half, however, races along after an American attack traps Duan and his charges between a group of deadly U.S. planes and regular North Vietnamese forces seeking to shoot them down. Throughout, Campbell offers an excellent analysis of tactical issues, and with richer characters the novel might have been a genre standout; in any case, it's of note as one of the few books to tell of the Vietnam war from the other side. (Sept.)