Point of Impact
by Stephen Hunter
List Price:
Our Price: $3.98
You Save: $4.01 (50%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Stephen HunterEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1993-12-01
ISBN: 0553563513
Number of pages: 592
Publisher: Bantam
Book Reviews of Point of Impact
Book Review: Great Plot, Unusual Hero, and Unique Delivery
Summary: 5 Stars
I had read this book a long time ago and picked it up to reread after watching the movie "Shooter" and recognizing the obvious basis. The movie left me so unsatisfied, I was compelled to pick it up again and I am glad I did.
The first time I read Point of Impact, I was overwhelmed with the obvious knowledge base of shooting the author had and the terrific plot which captivated me from the beginning. It held me throughout to a GREAT, climactic ending. Details like precision shooters using single stage reloading presses for rifles and progressive for handguns were details that either revealed extensive research or practical knowledge. Either way, it created a credibility I could not ignore! I could not overstate the impression I had of Stephen Hunter as an author that could write action fiction, but, also, understood the military and civilian worlds of precision shooting with a certain expertise that could not be contrived. For instance, Hunter displayed a background of reloading, from the aficianado standpoint, that established a realism to the story, uncommon in the fiction world. Suffice it to say, I was enamored with this book, this story, this hero, and, finally, this author!
This recent revisit to the book heightened certain attributes I found in Point of Impact, but dulled others. Are there mistakes? Yes. This time around, I recalled the story line, so I was more focused on some of the details, particularly, following my read of some of the reviews and critiques made here. Let me state, they do not compromise my earlier impressions. There are a few instances where there are mistakes in continuity or detail. I won't go into them as the non-reloader/precision shooter/recreational shooter might not notice them, however, Hunter could have used a good "expert" to review the details for mistakes. There are several, like when Bob Lee Swagger fires successive shots in an exchange that goes from shot(pellet) to slugs (with the same shotgun), or when the "hold" for windage was reversed on a shot (why a sniper was using a hold for a one-shot mission when he had a Unertyl scope is beyond me, anyway). There was a mistake in the ballistics, critical to the storyline, that should have been corrected too, although, just referencing the correct bullet head would correct it. Bottomline, when crucial to the story, Hunter pulls some obscure details that impress rather disappoint!
To the story: the reader will be introduced to a new type of military hero: Bob Lee Swagger. He is a flawed man, yet has human characteristics that demand respect and, eventually, awe! He becomes embroiled in a complicated plot that seems insurmountable. Yet, this former Marine will have you cheering for him on every page. The plot itself is intriguing and believable. Certain events have been compiled from recent decades to provide that realistic basis. This isn't a yarn of constant scenarios that defy reality. Even the skills of Bob Lee Swagger have been gleaned from history. It is one heck of a ride with an ending that will satisfy!
One note: Don't be dissuaded from reading Point of Impact if you have seen the movie "Shooter". The movie, although being based on the book, contains little of the plot intracies or hold true to the basic plot structure. The movie was extremely lacking. Extremely. The casting, was misapplied as well.
Finally, although I love POI, it isn't Hunter's best. Read Master Sniper for a great WWII mystery/adventure!
Summary of Point of Impact
He was one the best Marine snipers in Vietnam. Today, twenty years later, disgruntled hero of an unheroic war, all Bob Lee Swagger wants to be left alone and to leave the killing behind.But with consummate psychological skill, a shadowy military organization seduces Bob into leaving his beloved Arkansas hills for one last mission for his country, unaware until too late that the game is rigged.
The assassination plot is executed to perfection?until Bob Lee Swagger, alleged lone gunman, comes out of the operation alive, the target of a nationwide manhunt, his only allies a woman he just met and a discredited FBI agent.
Now Bob Lee Swagger is on the run, using his lethal skills once more?but this time to track down the men who set him up and to break a dark conspiracy aimed at the very heart of America.
Action & Adventure Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Action & Adventure Books
Polar Shiftby Paul Cussler Clive & Kemprecos
Penguin; Published: 2007; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.30
The Call of the Wild (Children's Classics)by Jack London
Penguin Audio; Published: 1997-08-01; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $11.00
Pelican Briefby John Grisham
Trafalgar Square; Published: 1993-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.19
Price in other shops:
Stardustby Neil Gaiman
HarperCollins; Published: 2008-12-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.84
Price in other shops:
Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1)by Neal Stephenson
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2004-09-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.22
Price in other shops:
Sandstormby James Rollins
Harper; Published: 2005-04-26; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.50
Price in other shops:
No Man's Landby G.M. Ford
William Morrow; Published: 2005-06-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.50
Price in other shops:
Forever Odd - Signed Proofby Dean Koontz
Bantam; Published: 2005; Paperback; Book
Preyby Michael Crichton
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2003-08-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.95
Sharpe's Waterloo (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #20)by Bernard Cornwell
Harpercollins; Published: 1998-01-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.96
Similar Books and other products
Pale Horse Comingby Stephen Hunter
Pocket Star; Published: 2008-08-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.39
Price in other shops:
The Master Sniperby Stephen Hunter
Island Books; Published: 1996-06-02; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.94
Price in other shops:
The Day Before Midnightby Stephen Hunter
Bantam; Published: 1989-12-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.98
Price in other shops:
Dead Zero: A Bob Lee Swagger Novel (Bob Lee Swagger Novels)by Stephen Hunter
Pocket Star; Published: 2011-08-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.39
Price in other shops:
The 47th Samurai (Bob Lee Swagger Novels)by Stephen Hunter
Pocket Star; Published: 2008-11-25; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.56
Price in other shops:
Dirty White Boysby Stephen Hunter
Dell; Published: 1995-11-05; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.39
Price in other shops:
Black Lightby Stephen Hunter
Island Books; Published: 1997-04-07; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.74
Price in other shops:
Time to Huntby Stephen Hunter
Island Books; Published: 1999-04-13; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.75
Price in other shops:
Night of Thunder: A Bob Lee Swagger Novel (Bob Lee Swagger Novels)by Stephen Hunter
Pocket Star; Published: 2009-09-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.05
Price in other shops:
I, Sniper (Bob Lee Swagger Novels)by Stephen Hunter
Pocket Books; Published: 2010-09-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops: