Let Bob Lee Swagger Retire

Hunter retired from the Washington Post last July. This book feels like it was dashed off from notes found in the bottom drawer while cleaning out his desk. There are glaring editorial mistakes (e.g., in the first paragraph, the gun is knocked from the bad guy's hand and lands several feet away; in the next paragraph, the officer takes the same gun out of the bad guy's hand). Since I do not have a hard copy of this book, I cannot tell for certain whether this reading is truly unabridged. At several points the plot skips, or characters disappear without explanation, never to return. As a result, the book sounds like a poor abridgement. Of course, it may just be poor editing. This book has none of the immediacy or sharply-drawn characters of Hunter's best work, "Point of Impact" and "Black Light." The Bob Lee Swagger of this book is but a faint, false apparition of the BLS in "Point of Impact." Read POI and see whether you can imagine that character hanging out at a NASCAR race. Hunter should have allowed BLS to retire after "Time to Hunt" and invented new characters or continued to flesh-out Earl Swagger instead of subjecting the noble BLS to such humiliation. Buck Shirner was the wrong choice to read this book. I do not know Shirner's ethnicity, but his voice has a distinctly Native American intonation and cadence inappropriate for southern good ol' boys like BLS and the Grumleys. This is not intended as a criticism of Shirner as a reader. His voice is mismatched to the material. (Imagine, say, Burt Reynolds reading Patrick O'Brian.) Will Patton or Jay O. Sanders would have improved the listening experience, but neither could have saved this book from itself. It pains me to criticize Hunter's work so harshly; he has been one of my favorite authors and I have all of his books. This one should never have been released.

12 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Terrible book; stupidly, unrealistic dialogue;

What disappointed you about Night of Thunder?

Story is bad; characters are not believable; dialogue is third grade; protagonist is unrealistic

Would you ever listen to anything by Stephen Hunter again?

Not sure; I enjoyed some of his other books but this one was terrible. It is like he decided he could make money putting just any junk out and sell them just based on his reputation.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

none

Any additional comments?

want my money back on this one

3 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Take a pass

This book was horrible. I have enjoyed other Stephen Hunter novels, but I couldn't finish this one. I listen or read the Swagger series because I enjoy the sniper aspect, and have always seen Hunter as the Clancy of sniper novels, but this one was like watching the Silver Surfer on a boogie board. The narrator made me think he would break out at any moment and say "Looks like them Duke boys have gotten themselves into a mess again." Wow this book sucked.

5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

earlier books were better

read all of stephen hunter's earlier books and found this one unsatisfying. started off well, and the initial premise
kept me going, but the story diverted. i started tuning out
at the end. got tired of the reader. a little too folksy for me.

8 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

disappointed

disappointed , plot was goofy, don't waste your time or money. narration was very good

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

Not the best Hunter novel.

Would you try another book from Stephen Hunter and/or Buck Schirner?

Yes, I had and I will again. I love the Lee Swagger character and the almost-Eastwood nature of Schirner's rendition, which is perfect for the role. However, I couldn't keep my attention on the story line and I was disappointed by the Hollywood style ending.

Would you be willing to try another book from Stephen Hunter? Why or why not?

Yes, but I will select with caution.

Have you listened to any of Buck Schirner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Good as always.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Not at all.

Any additional comments?

This seems like a script for a cheesy blow-em-up movie, Hunter can do better.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

You go, Bob Lee!!!

We love Bob Lee Swagger. Despite his age, he still gets his man or should we say men. Devoted to his family - and tough as nails on top of it.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Not the best Bob Lee book

This was entertaining but I didn't feel it was as engaging as other Bob Lee stories. I can appreciate that this was a venture into new territory but I think that the other books are better.

Not impressed..

I usually like these stories but was disappointed with this story. Hunter's portrayal of southerners, Nascar fans, and Christians for that matter, is like listening to MSM's idea of something they know nothing about. I'd skip this one..

This was an awesome book

this was a fantastic book that kept you as a listener extremely intrigued I would recommend this book to anybody who follows the series.