First came the man: a young wanderer in a fatigue coat and long hair. Then came the legend, as John Rambo sprang from the pages of "First Blood" to take his place in the American cultural landscape. This remarkable novel pits a young Vietnam veteran against a small-town cop who doesn"t know whom he"s dealing with - or how far Rambo will take him into a life-and-death struggle through the woods, hills, and caves of rural Kentucky.