AN HONORABLE ENDEAVOR

For the past 40 years, a miasma left over from the Vietnam War has hung over the U.S., due in part to uncertainty about whether any soldiers were left behind. Thanks to Stephen J. Holowid's narration, the war-weariness of many characters achingly comes alive in this sterling production of Clark's novel. Twenty years after the war, a Special Forces soldier who was left behind uncovers a barracks of American prisoners of war and liberates them. Two Vietnam War veterans, in country to recover military remains, get caught up in this unhinged soldier's well-intentioned but dangerous mission, with politicians from both sides obstructing the small group's dash to freedom. The characters' equal measures of desperation, hope, and doubt come through effectively, thanks to Holowid's deft vocal inflections. D.E.M. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2015]