Down in Laos

Down in Laos is a superbly written war story set in Southeast Asia during the seizure of USS Pueblo, the Tet Offensive, and the Battle of Khe Sanh in 1968. It is a classic suspense, action-thriller about a naval ship, an air wing, and a pilot who is shot down and becomes a prisoner of the Pathet Lao.
Down in Laos is not a tiny story. Mr. Partel not only entertains his readers in page-turning style, he leaves them a little smarter about the world. His self-described genre—journalistic fiction—provides the latitude to bring observations and ideas to the attention of the reader. So when downed navy pilot, Lt. Campbell, becomes a prisoner of war brutalized at the hands of the Pathet Lao, his plight parallels the Book of Job and subtly provides a comparison of Western Civilization with totalitarian states that lack a moral compass. And Mr. Partel’s sense of history does not ignore the social issues of the mid 1960’s in military and civilian life, and in the tradition of South Pacific, Down in Laos touches on these issues briefly but deftly.
This is authentic historical fiction about the naval air war in Southeast Asia for avid military readers. And for readers who want the historical background and the social context reminiscent of Patrick O’Brian’s naval novels of the Napoleonic Wars, they will find this tradition carried forward 150 years as USS Ticonderoga, Attack Carrier 14, succeeds the frigate in this well-written yarn of modern naval fiction.

— Navy Log Books