White Star [Paperback]

James Thayer (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Pan Books (1995)
• ASIN: B001KOB3R4
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)

More About the Author

I served as a physician in the British Army during the Boer War. Wait. Sorry. That was Arthur Conan Doyle. I was raised in Spokane, and went to school in Pullman and Chicago. My wife Patti, our two daughters, and I live in Seattle. I'm trying to learn to play the tenor saxophone, but Coleman Hawkins needn't be looking over his shoulder. I teach novel writing at the University of Washington extension school, and maintain a blog about fiction writing (www.novelpro.net), where I discuss writing techniques each day.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read, as good as Stephen Hunter, May 4, 1999

By 

David Henderson (Provo, UT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: White Star (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm not a huge gun person, but I've enjoyed most of Stephen Hunter's books as well as White Star. It ranks up there with my favorite Hunter book, Point of Impact.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Game of Death, February 16, 2001

By 

Ayman (Sydney) - See all my reviews

This review is from: White Star (Mass Market Paperback)

Owen Gray is a retired Sniper who was known as the "White Star" back in Vietnam. Gray now lives at home with a family of three children whom he has fostered. Trusov is also an expert Sniper from the same era, and draws Gray into a game of death. Soon, professional hits are carried out on people close to Gray, and he is pushed to pick up his weapon once again and plunge into action. Trusov runs the show until both snipers are alone, left to settle the score man to man. Thayer hasn't done a bad job, some reviewers have put his novel down by saying there's no touch of reality, but putting those aside; it is a decent and enjoyable action/adventure story with a few thrills added in. There are also some truly interesting points and details about the methods of professional sniping. The ending is brutal and long, concerning the final shoot-out, but it doesn't seem to ruin anything at all. In fact, being fond of action novels, I found it entertaining- although I do realize it was hard to believe that some of those things would happen the way it was portrayed. Still, a great way to fill in your time!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Unrealistic and totally unbelievable., January 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: White Star (Mass Market Paperback)

James Thayer has clearley not spent too much time in the woods, if ever at all. As an avid outdoorsman, I find his depiction of the wilderness contradictory at best, and unrealistic at worst. Apparently the author knows nothing of firearms, specifically military firearms. His description of the story's hero, Owen Gray, holding the WOODEN stock of a modern Marine Corps M40A1, is laughable, as all current USMC sniper rifles have composite stocks. Finally, none of the characters are believable or even sympathetic. Don't waste your time on this one. If you want to read an excellent fictional book about a former Marine sniper, check out Stephen Hunter's Point of Impact. If you want to read about the real thing, check out "One Shot, One Kill", which is about Gny, Sgt. Carlos Hathcock, an American hero from the Vietnam war, with 93 confirmed kills.