Customer Reviews

I, Sniper

5 star:		(80)
4 star:		(51)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

I, like many others, gave up on Stephen Hunter. His last few books have left something to be desired, though, in all honesty, a lukewarm effort by Hunter is better than the best efforts of several celebrated authors. I Sniper is a return to the old Hunter. Fast paced, well developed plot, great characters, and suspense squared, I Sniper might make your palms sweat.

The story begins with the assassinations of four prominent and rapidly aging Viet Nam anti war protestors. One, Joan Flanders, a Jane Fonda knock off, is killed on the second page. The others happen in quick succession leaving the reader wondering where the story is going.

As the book moves on, the FBI feels the killer has to be a Viet Nam vet with an axe to grind and a very specific set of skills. The list of prospective suspects isn't that long and the authorities settle on Carl Hitchcock. But Hitchcock throws them a curve when he commits suicide. Bob Lee Swagger, a Hunter regular, doesn't believe that Hitchcock was the culprit and for reasons of his own decides to prove it but eventually finds himself in the real killer's sights

Hunter takes his shots (no pun intended) at the New York Times as well as the antiwar protestors as well. Interesting!

I Sniper won't disappoint the reader. With a mix of international intrigue and just plain down to earth imagination, Hunter delivers big time.

A five star read for sure.

Is it "great literature"? No. Is it a puzzling whodunnit? No. Is it a classic Bob Lee Swagger tale?

Most definitely.

The top Vietnam War Marine sniper, Carl Hitchcock, seems to have gone off the rails, murdering liberal icons from the Vietnam era and ultimately taking his own life.

Enter aging Rusted Knight on Tired Steed Bob "The Nailer" Swagger, himself one of the top Vietnam Marine snipers, who doesn't believe Hitchcock could come so completely unglued, and who decides to look into the affair with the help and sanction of his FBI compadre Nick Memphis.

Swagger puts his life at risk - as usual! - to probe for the truth, coming up against political hacks, rogue killers, and a self-indulgent billionaire intent on burying the investigation in order to protect their own agendas.

This is a fun book chock-full of figures who will be easily identifiable to those of us who lived through the Vietnam Era, especially if you're a "gun guy" and/or a veteran yourself. Hunter clearly takes delight in skewering the liberals of the era (and those of the modern era), as well as paying homage to the real heroes.

Carl Hitchcock (Carlos Hathcock, the actual top Vietnam Marine sniper); "Hanoi Joan" Flanders ("Hanoi Jane" Fonda) and her ex-husband T.T. Constable ("T.T." as in Ted Turner), the "Times" (as in "New York"), several others. Part of the fun in the book - if you're a conservative - is in identifying the characters and enjoying this device.

Another thing that appeals to me is that Bob Lee doesn't suffer from Peter Pan Syndrome by seeming to be immune to the realities of advancing age, a shortcoming in several other series, most notably Burke's Dave Robicheaux and Crais's Elvis Cole characters (as much as I love those books). In both those series, the central characters are also Vietnam vets, but neither seems to age, somehow. That war ended for the US in 1975 with the fall of Saigon - almost 35 years ago - and even then we had very few troops in-country, and those were pretty much all in Saigon. That means that even the youngest person alive today who could have possibly been there would be at least 53, and the reality is that if the character saw field combat he'd be even older, as we stopped ground operations in 1972. We vets are a graying bunch. No matter how much I'm still a stud in my mind's eye, every time I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror, I'm reminded of the harsh reality of the situation!

So, if you want to read a fun book with lots of action, suspense, gun stuff, and conservative politics, this book's for you!

Bob Lee Swagger is back in the game and Stephen Hunter is at the top of his form. One of Bob Lee's fellow snipers is the prime suspect in a series of horrific shootings and the press and the public want him brought down. No need for jury and judge. The guy is guilty: Just put him away!

The deal is, the whole thing just doesn't sit right with Bob Lee. Once again, it's time to hunt. From the opening pages of this latest Hunter work to the edge-of-your-seat ending, readers are in for a fast, furious and violent ride. The characterizations are vivid and entirely believable. Bob Lee looks at things as black or white, but much of this story is colored in shades of gray. Things are not always what they seem, or are they?

As usual, Bob Lee is operating on his own much of the time. He's working for the good guys but they don't always see it that way. Some of the good guys actually may be bad guys. The opposition includes at least one very likable assassin. He even fools eagle-eye Bob.

Hunter is right on in development of his characters, and the gunfights and other action scenes are superbly believable. There is much in the story line that should please many, many Vietnam veterans. Members of the so-called gun culture will be delighted, and rightly so.Hunter gets guns right!

I like to ration myself to a chapter or two a night of Hunter's new works, stretching out the pleasure they bring for as long as possible. Sometimes I even manage to do that for two or three evenings. Impossible with "I, Sniper"! I went to bed, picked it up, read two chapters, got out of bed, went to the study and, several hours later, finished it.

Now I can take it again, a chapter or two a night.

Thanks, Hunter, but why couldn't the book have been published in time for Christmas gifts?

Bob Lee Swagger fights to clear the name of a fellow soldier-in-arms and faces off against one of his most ruthless adversaries yet. See further synopsis' above.

Overall I enjoy all of Stephen Hunters novels. They include the super tough and aging sniper Bobby Lee Swagger. This guy can get out of any predicament. I like this because it's meant to be escapist fiction and Hunter does a fantastic job in this genre. It seemed to get a bit overly detailed when it came to snipers and their weapons but I guess you have to expect that since it seems to be the author's expertise. Still a fast-paced and satisfying thriller.

I liked it,I enjoyed the story but it seemed that the "Hunter Magic" was just missing from this one.

I might use the term "plodding" but it's not really. I have read many worse books than this but coming off reading Havana and Pale Horse not to mention Point of Impact, this seemed formulaic to me, less imaginative than Hunters past works.

Yes it had all the elements of a Bob Lee story but the spice was just not there. It seemed liked Bob Lee was just going through all the standard motions following the script . Maybe Hunter has taken this genre as far as it could go with his previous works, but he needs to come up with a new view of Bob Lee, something different. The formula just feels to me to be repetitive and worn out.

I'm ready for a new Earl story, even half as good as Hot Springs.

The "sixties" are long gone... and yet the images and memories of hippies... free love... and the mistreated Vietnam era vets (of which I am proudly one) come back to life... as four "sixties" anti-establishment major and minor icons are all murdered in a way that could only have been accomplished by a highly skilled and trained sniper. With the largest "LITERARY-WINK" imaginable the author names one of the victims Joan Flanders. (Hint 1: JF same initials as Jane Fonda) Joan is an aging Hollywood star (Hint 2: Just like Fonda) whose Father was a Hollywood star (Hint 3: Henry Fonda) and Joan/Jane made a fortune as an exercise guru (Hint 4: Jane... but I think you're getting the point by now!) and during the Vietnam War had "her picture taken in the gunner's chair on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft battery" and was known as "Hanoi Joan". (*BULL'S-EYE BY THE AUTHOR*) There's so much more... but I have to share one more non-spoiler *WINK* by the author: Her ex-husband is T.T. Constable (T.T. get it? Ted Turner) who just like Turner is a billionaire mogul and made his money the same way the real Turner did including colorizing old films.

The FBI handles the case and it literally solves itself when all evidence leads directly to the corpse of suicide victim Carl Hitchcock who "was the most famous sniper in America." (Note: in real life Carlos Hathcock II was the king of all American snipers with NINETY-THREE-CONFIRMED KILLS-IN-VIETNAM.) In charge of the FBI team working the sniper case is Nick Memphis who is receiving immense pressure from the top brass in D.C. including the puppets controlled by billionaire T.T. Constable. (Wink! Wink! Ted Turner). Before Nick will close the case he asks old friend former Marine and ace sniper Bob Lee Swagger to look at the evidence. Swagger finds an anomaly that no one else would have ever found and the case is kept open. From that point on the action and intrigue is non-stop. What is so uniquely mesmerizing is that even though the crux of the crime is present time... the background information regarding the individual snipers in this tale... and there are others besides Swagger and Hitchcock (homage to Hathcock)... shine a positive light on a select few that have not been praised high enough. Men such as these have literally changed the way most of our wars are fought. The author also dissects the modern media regarding leaks and non-verified information... along with big wallets influencing the news. The author seamlessly weaves a path from today's headlines to Vietnam and back without ever missing a beat. He even intricately involves "water-boarding" with views from both sides of its use. This book is a breath of fresh air as the protagonist has aged the way real people actually age and he still gets the job done even if he creaks and aches along the way.

Bobby Lee Swagger is off the chain in this amazing government conspiracy epic. A must have for suspense lovers and gun aficionados alike. If you saw the movie Shooter with Mark Warlburg than you'll love this book, and if you haven't, read the book first then go rent it.

This was my first Stephen Hunter novel and it was a blast.

Those who experienced the Vietnam Era, are familiar with firearms, watched Westerns growing up and enjoy Marty Robbins songs, you will probably enjoy this book immensely.

Supporting characters were mostly drawn from the real world. The background information provided was so close to actual events at times I wondered why he even bothered to use fictional names.

Looking forward to reading some of the previous "Swagger" novels. If they are half as good as this one, I'll still enjoy myself.

I have really enjoyed the Bob Lee Swagger series, as well as several others of Hunter's work. This book is a success in the "mindless read, go ahead and shoot 'em up" perspective. Other than that, it felt a little too "connect the dots" without quite enough coherence. I more than once felt that there was a goal involved (crank out a book) and then a start and beginning were decided, a few decent scenes constructed... and the rest was just kind of pieced together.

The "good guys" vs. "Liberal Media" started to feel a little hamhanded after awhile as well. It felt like Hunter approached a lot of Black and White hotbutton issues and tried to just invert the colors, rather than try to explore the greys that'd make the reader think. Either you'll agree wholeheartedly with the perspectives explored, or disagree violently- but I felt that could have been a lot more subtle morality that could have been explored.

Overall, I read it cover to cover in a few days- but I don't expect to fondly recall this one as I do some of his other books.

Re: Kindle Version: The Font seemed a little 'big' and wouldn't resize as I expected- except for some block quotes or headlines, which were rendered ridiculously tinily. Something doesn't seem quite right in the current format.

fair story, good mystery with plenty of twists & turns but again a book where 350 pages would of been fine & the ending is way out there in fact has 2 endings as if one wasn't enough. I think Hunter's best books are behind him. Fair read but there are times where I felt like putting it down...