Profane Men brings the dark, creative, visionary energy of Slob, Chaingang, and other works by Rex Miller to a story set in Vietnam during the late 1960s. There have been many tales written about that troubled and troubling era, and Miller’s popular fiction work is clearly informed by personal experience relating to the war. In fact, this novel is filled with apparently autobiographical touches (the central narrator character has a developing career in broadcast radio, among other things). A rootless young man drifting through life faces the likelihood of being drafted and decides to choose his own destiny, seeking a way to avoid becoming cannon fodder. Unfortunately for him, he finds himself thrust into some of the worst corners of Vietnam, working with a team of assassins tracking a pirate radio broadcaster who seems to be supplying intelligence to the Viet Cong. And then things get complicated . . .
