Customer Reviews

White Star

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

I read the book White star by James Thayer.
A cram course in the art of killing. The best against the best in a compelling yet thoughtful thriller that draws you through a labyrinth of deceptions until the explosive climax. Two snipers in a dual where only one survives. Owen Gray, worlds best sniper, who killed 97 soildiers in Vietnam, against Nikolai Trusov, son of Victor Trusov who put 88 Nazi soliders in his crosshair and pulled the trigger. Nikolai lived all his life with sniping in mind and hes out to prove he's the worlds best. If there was a squad of fast-paced action writers, James Thayer whould without a doubt be the leader.
" We know how good Nikolai Trusov is because we've seen him do his work. And the Russians confirm how talented he was in Afganistan. So it has to be me." this quote touched me because Owen, the american sniper, said he was ready to dual against Nikolai by himself to save other peoples lives. James Thayer writes fiction and makes it sound so real, right at the barrier of unreal fiction. Which makes it the most exciting book you can read with out being too unrealistic. This book is definatley not for people under the age of 13, because it is very graphic writin and Thayer makes it sound so real.

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!

White Star is a first rate action tale that plunges into the psyche of the military sniper, and the special skills that are required to be the best. Owen Gray is a legendary sniper who made a name for himself in the Vietman War. Now, as an assistant state attorney in New York, he's put his past behind him, along with a dark secret. Gray is drawn back into his former profession, when bodies begin falling around him as the result of a very efficient sniper. With the help of an NYPD detective, and a beautiful FBI agent, Gray realizes that the sniper, a renegade Russian, is drawing him into a one-on-one duel. Gray must not only confront the Russian sniper, but his own personal demons as well. Mr. Thayer has crafted an engrossing story with rich characters, and a description of the climactic confrontation that will have you smelling pine needles, hearing the wind as it wafts through the forest, and cringing as bullets whiz by your head. This is grand story telling in the tradition of Alistair MacLean. You will not only enjoy White Star, you'll savor it.

This book proves the saying 'don't judge a book by its cover'.

This is a great book with great scenario. Thayer tried very hard as his THE PURSUIT, and became mature a lot! A lonely human hunter against a twist-minded head hunter. Great shooting scenes even better than Hunter's POINT OF IMPACT(his only good one so far). But Thayer needs to replace his editors to make him even greater. Here are some parts that should be deleted or shortened as much as possible:1)Page 81~82's 1/2 page:Delete! 2)Page214~217 completely delete! 3)P.219 delete the first upper paragraph; 4)page220,delete "What's in it?" Coates asked...to "not bad." it's meaningless blabs! 5)Completely delete page237~248's first upper para.;6)revised P.267,since it was ridiculous that how could the so experienced Russian guy not noticed? 7)Check P.280 & P.335, if the Right arm is right; and the middle para.of P.335., it seems wrong. 8)Most important, please revise the scene when these guys stormed that house whose owner was absent. That scene was so poorly constructed that leaked like sift! Other than these shortcomings, this could be included in my MUST READ AND MUST KEEP LIST!!!

James Thayer has here one of the best action-suspense novels of 1996. White Star contains some of the most intense,graphic action and palm-sweating suspense ever written in a high speed tale of revenge and redemption. The facts about the trciks and trades of the sniper are astoundin

Owen Gray is an assistant prosecutor who also happens to be an ex-ace sniper with the Marines. But Gray hasn't picked up a rifle in ten years and has no desire to. Suddenly, people near Gray are being assasinated and Gray discovers it's really him the sniper is after. The mysterious sniper is trying to force Gray into a man-to-man showdown that Gray has no other choice but to accept.

I never really believed in the Owen Gray character. For an ex-Marine sniper with 96 confirmed kills he just seemed to wimpy to me. But I could have lived with that. The thing that really destroyed my belief in this book was the duel. The two snipers get shot, burned, stung by wasps over 400 times, but just keep trucking along. The author seems to believe that by piling more and more debilitating wounds on these two that he's upping the suspense. Actually, all he's doing is making it more cartoonish until it gets to the point where it's not believable. It's easy to see that people who write like this have never seen the real affects of gunshot trauma.

My recommendation? Read Stephen Hunter's "Point of Impact", "Black Light", or "The Master Sniper" if you really want to see how this idea works in the hands of a good writer.

A nail biting tale of expertise, tension and political intrigue.

James Thayer gives the layman an insight into the fascinating world of the professional sniper, the humanity, rivalry, and fierce competition for perfection between these unique, international government sanctioned 'Hitmen' and their egotistical need to leave a calling card for their counterparts.

In this crash course on the fine art of killing, the reader learns the finer technical details of assuring the One Shot-One kill policy so necessary to insure not only the reputation and longevity of these warrior's individual careers, but survival itself.

A fast-moving thriller that keeps one rivetted right through to the "explosive climax"

White Star is one of the best books I have ever read. Action, suspense and even a little of that mushy stuff. Very clean and enjoyable read.