The Gun Seller (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Imagine that you have to break someone's arm..." (more)
Key Phrases: brown raincoat, shit bastard, Sarah Woolf, Alexander Woolf, Graduate Studies (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

British actor and comedian Hugh Laurie's first book is a spot-on spy spoof about hapless ex-soldier Thomas Lang, who is drawn unwittingly and unwillingly into the center of a dangerous James Bond-like plot of international terrorists, arms dealing, high-tech weapons, and CIA spooks. You may recall having seen Laurie in the English television series Jeeves and Wooster; Laurie played Bertie Wooster, the clutzy hero of the P.G. Wodehouse comic novels that originated those characters. The lineage from Wodehouse's Wooster to Laurie's Lang is clear, and, if you like Wodehouse, you'll probably love The Gun Seller. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA. A delightful first novel by the British actor, comedian, and author of the television series "A Bit of Fry and Laurie." In this spoof (of sorts) of the spy genre, Laurie's appealing turns of phrase will grab readers from the first paragraph. Thomas Lang, formerly of the Scots Guard and currently a freelance bodyguard/man for hire, is offered an assassination job. He indignantly refuses, attempts to warn the victim, and is soon embroiled in undercover work for the British government, CIA operatives, arms dealers, and terrorists. Those who enjoy action or spy novels will be swept along in the events. Although somewhat convoluted, the plot is so punctuated with bursts of sly humor that readers won't mind a bit of confusion. The author pokes gentle, good-natured fun at the foibles and characteristics of British and Americans alike, as well as his hero, bureaucrats, terrorists, diplomats, and just about everyone else. In a tone reminiscent of Lawrence Sanders's "McNally" series (Putnam), the light, frothy humor is infectious. A quick read, with an engaging, capable hero and lots of plot twists, for YAs looking for something pleasantly different.?Carol DeAngelo, formerly at Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067102082X
• ISBN-13: 978-0671020828
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (133 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,972 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

141 of 164 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A promising first novel--think Wodehouse writing James Bond, February 17, 2003

By	Glen Engel Cox "www.engel-cox.org" (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I was trying to be pithy when I said to Jill that the difference between English and American comedians is that the English ones write their own material, for books by comedians are becoming quite common on both sides of the Atlantic. Their is a difference, however, and it is in the "type" of books that the two nationalities differ in: American comedians write up their monologues in a collected set of essays (Jerry Seinfield's Seinlanguage, Bill Cosby's books, Rita Rudner's I'm Naked Under My Clothes, Paul Reisner's book), whereas English comedians write novels (Python's Terry Jones and his books for children, Stephen Fry, and the case in point). I attribute the difference to education. Your typical American comedian skipped university to work through the comedy club circuit, hoping for that gig on the Tonight Show to make a break, get their own HBO special, then maybe movies or TV. British comedians typically begin in the comedy glee club of their universities (I believe it's the Cambridge "Footlights", or is that Oxford? As an American, I can't keep them straight, which is to Americans like saying I can't tell the difference between a Yankee and a Southerner), spend years as bit actors in off-West End productions, until finally they get picked up for a movie or a starring spot in their own West End revue. The British, thus, tend to be grounded in the literature of humor, rather than just the anecdotal type so favored by the Americans. Of course, I'm making this up out of whole cloth without bothering to do a spec of research, so I wouldn't base a thesis on it.

Hugh Laurie should be recognizable to you from his role as Bertie Wooster in "Wooster and Jeeves" (shown in American on Masterpiece Theater), as well as his supporting roles in the British comedy series "Blackadder" (a personal favorite), the Kenneth Branagh movie "Peter's Friends," the Ang Lee/Emma Thompsom collaboration of Austen's "Sense and Sensibility," and the recent dreadful live-action remake of Disney's "101 Dalmatians." The Gun Seller is his first novel, and after the Disney movie, I think he should chuck the acting business and go into writing full time, because he shows extreme promise as an author. Imagine Wodehouse deciding that he wanted to write a James Bond novel, and you've got some idea of what The Gun Seller is like.

The plot, which is actually more important here than it is in most modern comic novels, concerns Thomas Lang, ex-officer of the Scots Guard, who finds himself approached in Holland and asked to murder a man for an obscene amount of money. His sense of honor not only has him turn down the offer, but when he returns to England, he sets off to warn the man that someone is offering money for his death. In the best tradition, complications ensue, including the British Secret Service, the young daughter of a wealthy American businessman, an art gallery, the military-industrial complex, a terrorist organization called "The Sword of Justice," and a "kick-ass" helicopter.

Laurie is extremely witty, and chuckling at the language in this book should be expected. Take, for example, the typical description of the attractive woman--every spy and detective book seems to have one, right?--and how Laurie makes it unique:

"She came towards me and stopped. She was shorter than she'd looked on the other side of the room. I smiled again, and she took a cigarette from the packet, but didn't light it. She just played with it slowly, and then pointed a pair of green eyes at me.

I say a pair. I mean her pair. She didn't get a pair of someone else's eyes out from a drawer and point them at me. She pointed her own pair of huge, pale, grey, pale, huge eyes at me. The sort of eyes that can make a grown man talk gibberish to himself. Get a grip, for Christ's sake."

I like the way he is able to be self-referential without breaking the flow of the paragraph.

This book also has one of the best last lines I've read in a long time, making an ironic point that is quite amusing and yet also draws up the story in a conclusion. I liked this book a lot, and hope to read more by Laurie in the future.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a great book/ 1st or otherwise, January 4, 2006

By	E. Kleine "hiikew" (Eastport, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you like Hugh Laurie on "House" you'll love him as a writer. This is a witty, satirical send up of the spy novel and Thomas Lang is as refreshing and interesting a character as any today. He's a world wise, and somewhat weary, hero whose biting insights and view of life reflect the best and funniest in all of us.

Laurie has a great gift for dialogue and a flowing, almost stream of consciousness narrative style. It's a Great Book first or otherwise. Did I mention Exciting?

58 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read, June 5, 2005

By	Severen (USA) - See all my reviews

I discovered Hugh Laurie on the TV series "HOUSE". After I found out he had written a novel I had to read it. And I wasn't disappointed!! What a funny, witty, exciting novel!

Thomas Lang, a sort of bodyguard-for-hire, turns down a job to assassinate an American businessman, which leads to all sorts of trouble involving beautiful women, the CIA, helicopters, and terrorists. Wow!

Hugh Laurie has a great way with words. One tiny quibble--Laurie is British and the novel is of course full of British slang, some of which I don't understand. But hey, you can't win them all. I hope Hugh Laurie comes out with another book soon!