The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: Snake45 on January 01, 2011, 02:06:43 PM
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(Looked twice and couldn't find any other threads on this. If I missed something, sorry, please redirect me.)
Anyone else read Dead Zero yet? Finished it last night. First-rate, RIPPING good yarn, right up there with Point of Impact and Time to Hunt. I liked Hunter's new narrative style, too--thought it was faster and easier to read. And I liked the fact he didn't put poor old Bob Lee through any impossible heroics or ordeals, torture, or anything of that kind this time.
Only one teeny-tiny little technical error: Sixth Air Force never flew over Europe in WWII, they guarded the Panama Canal and searched the Carribbean for nazi U-boats.
Great story, well told. First-rate. Very Most Extremely Way Excellent (Snake's highest rating).
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I picked it up a couple weeks ago, and it is on the "too read" pile with several others and a couple other of Hunter's. As I sort through my Hunter shelf, does anyone know (stupid question with Bane reading this) the order these books were written? Of those I've read there are times I realized I am out of order, and it gets cleared up a story later.
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This is the order they were published in, not the chronological sequence.
* 1980: Master Sniper
* 1982: Second Saladin
* 1985: Target
* 1985: The Spanish Gambit
* 1989: Day Before Midnight
* 1993: Point of Impact
* 1994: Dirty White Boys
* 1996: Black Light
* 1998: Time To Hunt
* 2000: Hot Springs
* 2001: Pale Horse Coming
* 2003: Havana
* 2005: American Gunfight
* 2007: The 47th Samurai
* 2008: Night Of Thunder
I Sniper
Dead Zero
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Just finished it a couple of minutes ago. Started on it late this afternoon.
Great story telling. Will make a great movie.
Stephen Hunter hits a home run!
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Let's see if I can put them in chronological order of the Swagger(s) saga. I didn't read them in order so I might have some errors here. Feel free to correct me.
Master Sniper (only peripherally related to the Swagger tales)
47th Samurai (back story only)
Hot Springs
Havana
Pale Horse Coming
Dirty White Boys
Black Light (half the story)
Point of Impact
Time To Hunt
Black Light (other half of the story)
The 47th Samurai (main story)
Night Of Thunder
I Sniper
Dead Zero
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Let's see if I can put them in chronological order of the Swagger(s) saga. I didn't read them in order so I might have some errors here. Feel free to correct me.
Master Sniper (only peripherally related to the Swagger tales)
47th Samurai (back story only)
Hot Springs
Havana
Pale Horse Coming
Black Light (half the story)
Point of Impact
Time To Hunt
Dirty White Boys
Black Light (other half of the story)
The 47th Samurai (main story)
Night Of Thunder
I Sniper
Dead Zero
That is the only change I would make to Snakes list. "Dirty White boys" is not a Swagger novel but that and "Hot Springs" supply the background for "Black light".
The other books not included in Snakes list are not Swagger novels though a couple of characters from "Master Sniper" and "Spanish gambit" appear in later books.
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I think you're right, Tom. I was thinking DWB was an Earl Swagger book (I only read it once, some time ago), but I guess it was just back story to the Earl part of Black Light.
I think that characters from Spanish Gambit and Day Before Midnight appear in very minor roles in some Swagger book or other, but they're not really important in any way to the main Swagger canon, so I didn't put them on the list. ;)
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Spanish Gambit introduced the Russian from "Havana" who dies toward the end of one of the most recent books, ("I Sniper" IIRC )
Master Sniper introduces the CIA guy who is the station chief in "Havana".
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Just finished it a couple of minutes ago. Started on it late this afternoon.
Great story telling. Will make a great movie.
Stephen Hunter hits a home run!
Damn Sam!!! Late this afternoon to mid evening - Where did you take your sped reddin course?
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Spanish Gambit introduced the Russian from "Havana" who dies toward the end of one of the most recent books, ("I Sniper" IIRC )
Master Sniper introduces the CIA guy who is the station chief in "Havana".
I do believe you are correct.
I could have sworn there was one familiar name in Day Before Midnight, but I can't recall right now who it was. ??? ??? ???
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Damn Sam!!! Late this afternoon to mid evening - Where did you take your sped reddin course?
Off topic but worth mentioning. I needed three extra English credits to graduate high school. There was this weird course called "advanced reading". No idea what it was, but it fit my schedule and seemed easy so I took it. It was part SAT prep on the reading comprehension parts as well as the logic puzzels. The other half though, was speed reading. The idea is you look at whole pargraphs and read diagonally in a X shaped pattern.Then you pause and comprehend and move on to the next one Damned if it doesn't work and was about the most valuable HS class I ever took. Downside? I can burn through a $10 novel in a couple of hours. :-\
FQ13 who could have used a class in advanced spelling I know. ;D I'll check out the books. I'm always looking for a good read.
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FQ, Stick with the Swagger novels, the others are pretty much "formula" action/ adventure".
Dan Brown is the same way, his books about Robert Jordan ("DaVinci Code","Angel's and Demons", and "The Lost Symbol" )are interesting, but his other 2 are much less so.
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FQ, Stick with the Swagger novels, the others are pretty much "formula" action/ adventure".
Dan Brown is the same way, his books about Robert Jordan ("DaVinci Code","Angel's and Demons", and "The Lost Symbol" )are interesting, but his other 2 are much less so.
Oh, I dunno. I thought Day Before Midnight was a ripping good story, even with no Swaggers in it. Spanish Gambit, not so much. Dirty White Boys was pretty good but I read that before I got into the whole Swagger canon, and might not like it as much now. :-\ Master Sniper was good except I just couldn't buy into the idea that an MP44 would make a suitable 300-400 yard sniper rifle. :-\
Brown's book about the fossil entertained me just fine. Was his other one about computers, or some kind of supercomputer? If so, I liked that one, too. If not, I've got him mixed up with somebody else's books. ??? ??? It's hell gettin' old sometimes, but the alternative is even worse. ;)
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Snake, I'm not saying they are "Bad", (except "Spanish Gambit", even with the reasonably accurate Spanish Civil war setting it took me 2 tries to get through that ;D ) just not as good as their "signature" series.
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I could have sworn there was one familiar name in Day Before Midnight, but I can't recall right now who it was. ??? ??? ???
Wikipedia to the rescue!
Time to Hunt, the third of the Bob Lee Swagger novels, includes a small role for Dick Puller, a main character in The Day Before Midnight.
Dick Puller! :o Who else but Hunter could get away with a name like that! ;D
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;D
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Steven Hunter books are my favorites..
Marshal is reading it now..never looks up and is totally engrossed in it.
so .. of course I say.. "what you want for supper"..
I get......." uh huh...sure hon.. thats fine.."
I say.." I'm getting ready to go outside and do something..you coming in a while?"
he says.." uh-huh.. ok.."
I say.. " I've got on something soft and pretty.."
he mumbles.." uh-huh.. thats nice"
I say.." I have whipped cream and strawberries... and I'm going to bed... are you interested?"
he barely mumbles without looking up .. .. " uh-huh.. sure.. thats real nice hon"..
sighhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!
Steven Hunter 1
Teresa 0 ::)
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Teresa, count your blessings. At least you're competing with Stephen Hunter, and not Rachel Hunter. ;) ;D
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Well, I am reading as fast as I can.... ;D
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Well, I am reading as fast as I can.... ;D
QUIT TYPING!!!
Your wife is in the bedroom with strawberries and whipped cream, and you set down the book to talk to us ???
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I finished it yesterday. LOVED IT! Outstanding. Don't how many more Bob Lee books there will be but now Hunter can transition into a Ray Cruz series. If you haven't read it yet you should, soon.
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In one of his interviews he mentioned the possibility of using Swaggers daughter to continue the series, following her part in "Night of Thunder".
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In one of his interviews he mentioned the possibility of using Swaggers daughter to continue the series, following her part in "Night of Thunder".
That's where I thought he'd be going with Dead Zero, too, but he went a completely different way. Won't say more. ;)
I suppose at some point Hunter will kill off poor ol' Bob Lee, and I expect that what happens about that will be a ripping good yarn, too.
Stephen Hunter is THE MAN! "There is no something else, there's only something less." ;)
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I'm starting it tonight.. Marshal is gone for 4 days to the Ruger Factory in Prescott.. and he left his book here.. I will have it done by the time he gets back ( hopefully).. ;)