Stephen Hunter's Books

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rugerlvr wrote in this post in the "No Country for Old Men" thread:

You know, I had just been reading a bunch of Stephen Hunter books right before I saw this, and I couldn't help drawing a parallel between Jones, and Earl Swagger. I've never read Cormac McCarthy, but it makes me want to read some.

Frankly I think Black Light, the first sequel to Point of Impact would make a fantastic movie, and might seem quite similar to No Country, at least with the right director.
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Which caused me to post this list of Hunter's books and the order I think they should be read. No, it's not the order he wrote them, but it follows the time line. The books "Hot Springs" and "Havana" would make great period movies. "Pale Horse" was a little hinky when Hunter brought out the old time gunnies.


Stephen Hunter's Books
Master Sniper
Second Saladin

Earl Swagger
Hot Springs
Pale Horse Coming
Dirty White Boys
Havana

Bob Swagger
Point of Impact
Black Light
Time to Hunt

​
 
Great books all, and not to niggle but... that's the point of this thread, right?

I recommend reading the Second Saladin last... you'll appreciate karma catching up with "Frenchy" Short better if you read Hot Springs, Havana, and Black Light first.

I've read all of them twice except for Dirty White Boys, Master Sniper, and Black Light.
 
Don't forget the latest: THE 47th SAMURAI. It's a Bob Lee book, and it would make a most wonderful movie, in my opinion.

A great read. I've not been disappointed in anything by Hunter that I've read, including AMERICAN GUNFIGHT.

He's kind of like Flannery O'Connor meets Ernest Hemingway meets John Milius. Heck of a combination.
 
You can read THE DAY BEFORE MIDNIGHT anytime. I believe it was his first novel and is a decent Cold War terrorism yarn about an attempt to take over a nuke missile site in the central US.

I see that a new Bob Lee story is coming in Sept. titled NIGHT OF THUNDER. No plot synopsis yet on Amazon.
 
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Point of Impact will always be my favorite--and for two reasons.

One, I'm a veteran who as part of the job, had to go behind the lines. Hollywood and fiction makes it look glamorous. It's not. It's a pucker factor of the likes you can't imagine. Hollywood and fiction also make it look like you're respected and admired by you fellow sailors, soldiers and airmen. You're not. You scare the hell out of them because each time you come back, you're a little more different from them; pretty soon they have a hard time relating to you.

Hunter captures that perfectly in the Bob Lee Swagger character, and more importantly, is able to capitalize upon what and how guys like Swagger feel and how easy, at times, it is to exploit them.

Second reason the book will always be my favorite is that I met Mr. Hunter when I was in federal law enforcement and reading that very book. It was a chance meeting and I was impressed with his patriotism, sincerity and appreciation of those who put themselves in harm's way.

Jeff
 
I though Hunter's depiction of Elmer Keith, Auddie Murphey, and the others was just fine- an interesting speculation. From what i have read bout Keith and Murphy he got inside them pretty well. I know the other men but not with the same insight. This tweaking history is fun stuff. "Havana" and the young Fidel got me womdering what young Fidel was like in reality. I question that he is a dumb as portrayed by Mr. Hunter in the book.

Hunter's Earl Swagger character takes me back to what I recall "Lawmen" being about in my youth- serious, dedicated, humorless men that small boys looked up to in wonder. That is a long way from the ham fisted, club footed, dim bulb thunderdunks in uniform we sometimes encounter nowadays. To be fair there were always dopes on the public payroll, I guess the media today tends to keep them a the focus of attention.
 
Don't forget the latest: THE 47th SAMURAI. It's a Bob Lee book, and it would make a most wonderful movie, in my opinion.

A great read. I've not been disappointed in anything by Hunter that I've read, including AMERICAN GUNFIGHT.

He's kind of like Flannery O'Connor meets Ernest Hemingway meets John Milius. Heck of a combination.
Click to expand...

47th Samurai is indeed a good one, just like the others. I was a little put off reading it's description on the book's dustcover (how can a book about Japanese swords be any good?) but indeed it was a good butt-kicking Swagger book after all.
 
I just finished "Havana" and I really enjoyed it. I know a lot of Hunter fans don't care for it for some reason, but I liked it.

I read "The Master Sniper" when it first came out and no one had heard of Stephen Hunter and it stuck with me. I found it again years later and reread it and enjoyed it just as much. I think it's my favorite book of his.
 
I love Hunters books, and have read all of them. The Swagger books and Dirty White Boys multiple times, but I hated everything about the movie "Shooter". It did everything wrong.
 
He's as great a movie reviewer as he is a writer--I think he actually got a Pulitzer as a movie critic. In his reviews, he points out gun errors as much as we do.
 
Wow. Somebody used one of my posts to start a thread. Color me flattered in a strange way.

I'm in the middle of Hot Springs right now. Great great stuff.
 
I read constantly, and Hunter is my favorite contemporary author. I got hooked when I picked up my dad's hard cover Dirty White Boys that he didn't want me to read because it was a bit much for a kid. I read that behind his back, and then years later he was borrowing my signed copy of Pale Horse. I have a particular love for Hot Springs, since I went to high school in Hot Springs and met my wife there. Some of the buildings in the book are still there.
 
I don't think they are the best books in the world or anything but most if not all of them are well worth reading especially if you like guns.
 
Currently working on the 47th Samurai... Bob Lee's aging, but aging gracefully, demons and all.

Simply, and with honor.

One thing that I noticed in this book, that I don't think I saw in the first dozen or so from Hunter is a tendency to demonize the weapon - then again, in the context of the society, that may actually be a concept. I may mail the book to a friend who is a gun writer/photographer from Japan.
 
dirty white boys is pretty intense

hot springs is good as well

i like Earl Swagger better i think a movei set back then woudl be awesome.

set in the 40's arkansas ? with teh gangsters ?

very cool.

who cold play Earl ?
 
I love 'em all, but as much as I love Bob Lee I like "Pale Horse Coming" the best and would REALLY like it to be made into a movie.

I just read "Hot Springs" so now I have to read PHC again. :)
 
I am a fan of Stephen Hunter's books but I have to say that i found i did not enjoy The 47th Samurai. I just did not find it believable that he could become as proficient with the sword as quickly as he did. The artificial hip plot device was so transparent i knew it would have a pivotal-no pun intended- role in the final fight.
I know it is fiction but it just did not work for me this time out which is a shame because i always look forward to a Swagger book.
Andre
 
I'm in agreement that "47th Samurai" isn't my favorite, but it's still decent. I really liked Dirty White Boys, very intense, but Pale Horse Coming is BY FAR my favorite.

Modern-day cowboys, I think most of us have daydreamed of that.

Hot Springs is cool because of the BAR usage, and Earl's actions.

Anyways, he is one of my favorite writers, and I look forward to his new book.
 
"I just did not find it believable that he could become as proficient with the sword as quickly as he did"

thats the thing, boblee DIDNT become some musashi, he was told that from the start. he did however understand the maxim of musashi "the way of the warrior is the resolute acceptance of death" to a point.

bob laid his life before kondo and knew he would most likley die by his hand, he went anyway.

my favorite thing about both boblee and earl was that they are both so human, not some unstopable machines like jason bourne or something.
 
Earl is one of my favorite fictional characters, right up there with Mike Hammer, Solomon Kane, and John Carter.
 
BTW gents, White Boys is not an Earl story. Main character is very Earl-like, but it's not Earl. Characters name is Bud. Probably a pre cursor character for Hunter which lead to Earl, at least that was my impression. Hunter has never written a bad book, but 47th was my least favorite I have to say. Finally, A book I don't see mentioned is Tapestry of Spies, another fine early Hunter book.
 
I really liked his books.

Especially "Point of Impact."


Which got turned into the movie "Shooter" with Mark Wahlberg.


Not as good as the book, but still one of my top 5 favorite movies.
 
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