The Belly of the Beast is the second book in the Chasing Romeo series by Kregg P.J. Jorgenson - a fast-moving, action-packed military story that explores the exploits of Company R-Romeo, one of the daring long-range elite recon teams to serve in the Vietnam War. Follow this team of heavily armed and rucksack-laden Lurps dressed to look like green Gumbies in a Marshmallow Forest as they take impossible risks and daring adventures. Every moment is dangerous, any position uncertain, as a slight movement can bring them face-to-face with the enemy patrol. They face both the Vietnamese patrols as well as natural enemies like mosquitoes, leeches, and the heat that is searing. This is a harrowing tale of military grit, perseverance, courage, and unflinching nerves in a war that gets more dangerous every single day.

This is a wonderfully written military thriller that is as captivating as it is entertaining. Kregg P.J. Jorgenson writes about war in a way that unveils its horrors and presents the dangers that face the characters. Characters like Staff Sergeant Ben Carey and Luis ‘Louie’ Hernandez are deftly written and I adored the way the author writes about the psychological state of the characters. The setting is detailed, exploring the inhospitable terrain, the natural elements that contribute to the hardships faced by these warriors, and the rainforests that are, in themselves, a force of nature to deal with. The writing is cinematic, hugely descriptive, and some of the descriptions are terrific. The author brings to life the experience of the Vietnam War in The Belly of the Beast and unveils both the humanity and the courage of those involved in a way that is irresistible. It is disturbing and spellbinding, one of the greatest tributes of those who fought in a war that couldn’t be won.

In The Belly of the Beast by Kregg P.J. Jorgenson, the “beast” is a mountain in Phuoc Long Province during the Vietnam War, and the “belly” is a labyrinthine tunnel system created eons before during the many wars in the nation’s past. Mr. Jorgenson wants to give as much credit for bravery and heroism to Army Ranger Lurp Teams, long-range reconnaissance patrols, made up of specially trained combat soldiers parallel to Navy SEALs but not having received the notoriety. Jorgenson gives us the story in brilliant and agonizing detail with both the overall scope and the down and dirty (not to mention bloody). He puts us there, moment by moment, not only against the enemy Viet Cong and North Vietnamese but with the ants, termites, spiders, snakes, mosquitoes, leeches, heat, darkness, booby traps, horrible rations, terror, courage, and, yes, heroism.

I’ve read a lot of war stories, but nothing like The Belly of the Beast by Kregg P.J. Jorgenson. Without any wasted lines, he immerses us in a six-man team being dropped into the enemy-occupied, jungled mountainside to trace the movements and find the hiding places of the wily North Vietnamese and Viet Cong. We learn how the U.S. Lurps move and what they carry. We learn their tactics, jargon, and their horrendous obstacles. The action is suspended to show us the TOC (Tactical Operations Center) as a new team is formed and sent out with a first-time 2nd Lt as an FNG (I’ll leave the definition unsaid). Along with these two teams struggling in the field, we follow a Lurp on R&R in Bangkok, almost inch by inch with him finally blowing up his hotel room. Then we continue the ordeal of Sgt. Thomas trapped and assumed dead in the pitch black, damp, “belly of the beast.” If you are into action and guts, you won’t be able to put this book down. The Belly of the Beast by Kregg P.J. Jorgenson is as vivid as war gets without being there.