Stephen Hunter's Books

[scaatylobo]

Annoyed

Just finished "Soft Target" and sent him a E mail telling him that I did NOT appreciate his anti-gun rants about rifles I own and want an American to own [ if they wish ].

He was on the Outdoor channel and I actually thought he was pro-gun.

But his writing about the 'nasty' AK-74 and how horrific it was,REALLY put me off.

But I did not realize that he was a reporter for the Washington papers for most of his life.

That is about as liberal as one can get.

 

[JFrame]

Just finished "Soft Target" and sent him a E mail telling him that I did NOT appreciate his anti-gun rants about rifles I own and want an American to own [ if they wish ].

Wow -- I have to say I am REALLY surprised to read this.

Guns play a major role in all of Hunter's novels, and he depicts how some of them have more potential for lethality than others -- but in all my readings, it seems that he has always made it clear that the guns are themselves inanimate objects, and it is the people using them that make them tools for either good or evil.

As noted previously, Hunter's capacity at the WaPo is as a film critic, and occasional editorial columnist providing a conservative slant (a refreshing change of pace for a paper which I agree is generally a leftist rag).

Not that I wasn't going to read it anyway -- but now I really need to read Soft Target to see what you might be talking about.


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[Madcap_Magician]

His latest, Soft Target, was disappointing as a quality book, but still a fun read.

He's chosen to make some very thinly veiled political jabs in his last few that detract from his work, I think. I agree with his opinions, but he could be more tactful or subtle about it.

 

[rodregier]

In my reading of "Soft Target", I didn't perceive him demonizing any particular firearm model. He described them as tools in the hands of both the good guys and the bad guys. He was careful to draw the distinction between full and semi-auto variants of the AK47, while a poorer/anti-gun writer would have glossed over that detail...

 

[MK11]

Yeah, I think scaatylobo is readying WAY too much into it, or just confusing Hunter with other authors. I think that note might have given Hunter a good laugh. Scaatylobo, just curious, who do you think the police commander was modelled on?

But then, I also saw a comment on Amazon saying the negative reviewers must be racist because the protagonist is part Filippino. I think it's Hunter's worst book, but it's also provolked some of the funniest responses.

 

[wgp]

Best writer there is at incorporating guns into his stories. My vote for his best book is Dirty White Boys. He can turn a phrase like few other authors.

 

[Madcap_Magician]

Hot Springs and Dirty White Boys were hands-down two of the best crime fiction books ever written. Everything since the original six books has gone downhill slowly. Soft Target was good red meat for conservative gun owners, but as a book, it sucked. Plus, it was only 250 pages long! His earlier ones were 600+.