MWSA Review
Sometimes we are compelled to fight evil. To do so we must become evil at times. This novel is about the risk of becoming that which you confront.
Free Fire Zone by Dennis Maulsby is a complex novel. It is a combination thriller, literary fiction and science fiction. The novel speaks to the pain of war and the horror observed therein and the inner battle the warrior fights to resist becoming what he has to be on the battlefield. Maulsby addresses the demons created by PTSD, but he brings his demon to life, imbuing it with personality and power beyond any description I've read before. One does what one must in war in order to survive and support his warrior brothers. There is heart-rending, heart-changing danger in doing that. Maulsby tackles the topic head on, breathes life into it, even if it makes a reader uncomfortable. This mature audience reading for sure.
Review by Mike Mullins, MWSA Reviewer
Author's Synopsis:
In his ecstasy of power, he is mad for battle …
Pure frenzy fills him. — Achilles in the Illiad.
Welcome to the Free Fire Zone, also known as a free kill zone. In Vietnam, it was enemy territory, all the friendlies and neutrals moved out. Anyone found in such an area was considered hostile, a legitimate target that could be killed on sight, no questions asked. Each of the sixteen stories in this book originate from this zone, any subject, any genre fair game.
Free Fire Zone is a book of linked short stories, each introduced by a poem. Arranged in chronological order, seventeen stories follow the life of Lieutenant Rod Teigler, from his combat experience in Vietnam through a civilian life plagued with a re-wired brain. A mind now shared with an alternate berserker personality struggling to become dominant.
ISBN/ASIN: 987-1-63275-082-2
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Genre(s): Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fantasy/Sci Fi
Number of Pages: 252