The Spad Driver

Book excerpt: The Spad Driver is a work of fiction portraying the world of a young American sailor who finds himself at war not only with a determined North Vietnamese enemy, but also with a complex assortment of characters involved with a drug ring. The story centers on Dan Roberts, a pilot who enters the Vietnam War with little idea of the actual realities of battle. As Roberts grows to understand the true nature of death and conflict, he finds himself questioning the war itself and the loyalties of his fellow sailors when he is assigned the investigation of the disappearance of a young man named Franklin. During the investigation he uncovers a series of duplicitous characters involved in drug dealings. He soon finds his life threatened by unknown forces, while he tries to overcome the dangers of war. The author contrasts Roberts' investigations with the battles he encounters as he simultaneously faces the overwhelming threat of air combat, the insidious plot of the drug ring and his own personal problems. While focusing on the interactions of the sailors with one another, the author introduces several diverse characterizations. Timothy Bryan and Bobby Thomas are two men close to Roberts but suspected of questionable motives and Peter O'Leary, a sympathetic friend, who is revealed to be responsible for Franklin's death. Ultimately, Roberts must overcome multiple betrayals. The core of The Spad Driver is the description of the complex world that the characters inhabit. The story focuses on the meaning of the Vietnam War through Roberts and the character of Major Nguyen Binh, a disillusioned North Vietnamese intelligence officer, and concludes with the President of the United States reacting to the harsh realities of war.