Night of Thunder: A Bob Lee Swagger Novel (Bob Lee Swagger Novels) [Paperback]

Stephen Hunter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 29, 2009 | Series: Bob Lee Swagger Novels

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR STEPHEN HUNTER RETURNS WITH HIS MOST RIVETING BOB LEE SWAGGER VOLUME TO DATE.

Talk about a ride!

Woe unto he who crosses Bob Lee Swagger, especially when his daughter's life is at stake. Forced off the road and into a crash that leaves her in a coma, clinging to life, reporter Nikki Swagger had begun to peel back the onion of a Southernfried conspiracy bubbling with all the angst, resentment, and dysfunction that Dixie gangsters can muster. An ancient, violent crime clan, a possibly corrupt law enforcement structure, gunmen of all stripes and shapes, and deranged evangelicals rear their ugly heads and will live to rue the day they targeted the wrong man's daughter. It's what you call your big-time bad career move. All of it is set against the backdrop of excitement and insanity that only a weeklong NASCAR event can bring to the backwoods of a town as seemingly sleepy as Bristol, Tennessee.

A master at the top of his game, Hunter provides a host of thrilling new reasons to read as fast as we can. When Swagger picks up peeling where his daughter left off, and his swift sword of justice is let loose, we find a true American hero in his most stunning action to date. And -- in the form of Brother Richard, a self-decreed "Sinnerman" out of the old fire-and-brimstone tradition -- Hunter offers up his most diabolical, engaging villain yet. A triumph of story, character, and style, Night of Thunder is Stephen Hunter at his very best.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Near the start of Hunter's cartoonish fifth Bob Lee Swagger thriller (after The 47th Samurai), Nikki Swagger, the series hero's journalist daughter, is seriously injured when a hit man runs her car off the road in Tennessee hill country. Despite Swagger's fears that the legion of enemies he's made over the years are responsible for the attack, the former marine leaves Nikki vulnerable to another attempt on her life in the hospital where she's being treated—an attempt foiled only by chance in the nick of time. Such plot-driven implausibilities are rampant as Swagger investigates his daughter's recent assignments, which lead him to drug-running along the Tennessee-Virginia border and to a NASCAR event. At the violence-filled conclusion, one of the supporting characters, in keeping with the book's overall arms-length relationship with realism, says, In some perverted way, I think everybody who didn't die or lose their business kind of enjoyed it. Hunter fans may feel similarly. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Bob Lee Swagger is back, but he’s hurting. That last scrape he got into with the samurai (The 47th Samurai, 2007) left him with bum legs, nightmares, and white hair. But it’s no country for old men when Bob’s daughter, Nikki, now an investigative reporter in Tennessee, is nearly killed by a psycho called Sinnerman, whose weapon of choice is his car. Hunter’s premise this time encompasses not only the inevitable showdown between Bob and a purely evil adversary (think Gary Busey as Sinnerman), but also the wacky world of NASCAR. It’s race week in Bristol, Tennessee, and as Bob attempts to figure out who attacked Nikki, he smells a plot afoot to disrupt the event. All the story lines come together around a degenerate evangelist who doubles as the patriarch of a legendary redneck crime family, the Grumleys (a wildly bent version of Grandpappy Amos and the Real McCoys). Hunter comes close to going over the top this time (the inevitable cataclysm at the NASCAR event is a pyrotechnical extravaganza as campy as it is violent), but he grounds the craziness with his characteristically precise prose, detailing not only the firepower used by Bob and his adversaries but also the cars they drive. NASCAR fans are sure to have a high old time with this novel, and if longtime Swagger followers feel a bit uncomfortable with the cartoony element here, there are more than enough signature Bob Lee moments—a hard man forced to be hard—to keep their blood roiling. --Bill Ott --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star; Reprint edition (September 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416565140
• ISBN-13: 978-1416565147
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,969 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen Hunter won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism as well as the 1998 American Society of Newspaper Editors Award for Distinguished Writing in Criticism for his work as film critic at The Washington Post. He is the author of several bestselling novels, including Time to Hunt, Black Light, Point of Impact, and the New York Times bestsellers Havana, Pale Horse Coming, and Hot Springs. He lives in Baltimore.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

102 of 111 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Night of Blunders is more like it, October 15, 2008

By 

Colin P. Lindsey (Manchester, NH) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night of Thunder: A Bob Lee Swagger Novel (Bob Lee Swagger Novels) (Hardcover)

Stephen Hunter has long been one of my favorite writers but he is sorely trying my patience after his last two releases. His first book or two, back in the eighties, I'm thinking The Master Sniper, were OK, but then he wrote the first Bob Lee Swagger book, Point of Impact, and it, and everything that came after until 47th Samurai, was six star genius. In fact, Stephen Hunter became my favorite writer, even edging out James Lee Burke, and Hunter's novels Dirty White Boys and Pale Horse Coming are two of my favorite books ever. I bought half a dozen copies of Pale Horse Coming so I could give them as treasured presents to my brothers and friends. Then came 47th Samurai, a ridiculous excuse for a book in many ways, and ruined what had been a run of stupefyingly good books for many years. I'll forgive an author, particularly Hunter, for a bad book once, but with the release of Night of Thunder, I have to say I am officially ticked off and offended.

This book would have been a three star book if it had been written by a new author, but for a talented veteran like Hunter, this is one or two star fare at best and I can't help but feel betrayed. Why are so many good writers releasing such sub-par books in the last two years? Where is the pride one should have in accomplishment? Is it just about money now? This feels a little like finding Shakespeare cranking out harlequin romances simply because it pays better. Shame on Stephen Hunter for foisting this pap on us. The man who writes Pale Horse Coming should have more pride than to publish a book like this.

In Night of Thunder, Bob Lee's oldest daughter is forced from the road in attempted vehicular manslaughter in Tennessee and is in a coma. Bob goes to investigate and ultimately finds a clan of Arkansas criminals trying to commit a heist at a Nascar race. They tried to kill his daughter to keep the plan from coming out so Bob gets to shoot them all by the end of the book. So what is bad about this book? Everything. Bob Lee has gone from a three-dimensional complex and cunning character to a cartoon, the villains are also cartoonish and speak in some kind of argot which is supposed to be Southern but which isn't. They don't use contractions and speak long convoluted sentences beyond their intellectual capability. The plot is direct, simple and ultimately cartoonish too. So no character development, stupid unbelievable villains, lame plot. Can you tell I'm upset? I've purchased every Stephen Hunter novel the day it was released in hard cover for the last ten years. No more. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. If you want a great "guy" reading experience go back to Point of Impact and start reading forward from there. Stop when you get to 47th Samurai and do not read it. It will ruin all the wonderful times you had up until then. Certainly do not bother with Night of Blunders. I think Hunter needs to stop writing about the Swaggers now and move on. I hope he writes a new novel that restores my faith in him, but I will wait for paperback for his next book and check the reviews before I even buy that. This book is strike two for Hunter, and if his next book is strike three then I am done.

47 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Painful to Read, October 9, 2008

By 

D. Keith (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night of Thunder: A Bob Lee Swagger Novel (Bob Lee Swagger Novels) (Hardcover)

I'd like a refund for this book as well as the 47th Samurai. Never again will I read a Stephen Hunter novel and at one time, he was my favorite author. I've read everything that he has published and unfortunately, his work of late has been very disappointing. He has done a great disservice to both his fans and the great Bob Lee Swagger.

Night of Thunder had more holes in it than a Bob Lee target at 50 feet. The plot had potential with a gang of mountain men trying to kill Nikki, Bob Lee's daughter. However, the characters were just plain boring and the dialog was senseless. The local Sheriff was a retired Army Ranger Colonel. The hillbilly gang was from Polk County and Hot Springs, Arkansas. The detective was a champion marksman. How would they have not heard of the Swaggers? References to NASCAR and the Bristol motor speedway were just plain wrong.

I'm sure it took me longer to get through it than it did for Mr. Hunter to write it.

40 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bob is back, just not 100%..., September 27, 2008

By 

Where did all the Lee Marvins go? "jb2008_1" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night of Thunder: A Bob Lee Swagger Novel (Bob Lee Swagger Novels) (Hardcover)

Being an avid Stephen Hunter fan since reading Point of Impact, I found the caricature that is Bob Lee to be a fascinating and welcome resurgence to the long forgotten "real man's" hero.

Since Hunter missed the mark on the last few books--namely The 47th Samurai--I have been waiting for Hunter to return to his forte, namely the ability to write a tightly woven story intertwined with realistic gun fights. To my surprise Night of Thunder attempts to bring back Bob Lee and all his skills to once again amaze the reader.

I don't want to waste your time going over the story but I will address a few points that stopped me from giving this book a better rating.

1) It is very difficult to not compare Hunter's latest books against his 2 pinnacles of achievement: Dirty White Boys, and Point of Impact. Each of those novels contained an excellent story, properly edited, and allowed you to fall in love with the protagonist and antagonist. It just seems that Hunter hasn't been able to achieve that kind of storytelling in his latest books.

2) While Bob Lee has returned in this novel, I felt separated from who he is and what he has become. The author has left holes in the story that the readers are supposed to fill in with what we know of Bob Swagger. I think Hunter needs to return to the basics and write about Bob Lee so anyone can pick up the book with as little confusion as possible and read on.

3) The plot of this book seems a little childish, and the enemies as well as the people Bob bumps into along the way are nothing more than mere words on a page. I do not connect with any of them, and I certainly feel they could have been better written (those of you who have read Dirty White Boys know what I am talking about).

Lastly, maybe it is time for Hunter to retire Bob and find another anti-hero. I, along with many of you would mourn the loss of Bob the "Nailer" but I also hate to see Mr. Swagger driven through terrible plot twists that only make sense in the story due to the author placing much of the story telling burden on Bob.

Anyway, I give it 3 stars. I wanted to give it 4 as at times I felt like I was reading the old Bob Lee books, but the story lacks any real appeal. I will give Hunter a decent pat on the back for continually trying to bring Bob back; I just keep waiting for a good story to go along with it.