Point of Impact
by Stephen Hunter
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Book Reviews of Point of Impact
Book Review: The real thing
Summary: 5 Stars
Stephen Hunter's "Point of impact" is the first in the Bob Lee Swagger series. Bob Lee is, no doubt, an excellent character. Hunter made him completely believable, and that's the most important thing about a good character. A Vietnam veteran, Swagger now lives in peace at his reclused home in rural Arkansas. Bob Lee is an experting in snipe shooting, general weapons and living in isolation. Suddenly, a shadowy military organization lures him into advising them how to catch another sniper, who may try to kill the president at a speech. Bob Lee is framed, and, wounded, has to run to save his life; only one man can help him: an FBI agent, on leave, himself an ex-sniper, living with the ghosts of his past mistakes. The story is not new, it has been used for a long time. However, Hunter's easy writing, believable characters, fast-paced pursuits, and, most of all, the tense moments of sniper action make this a great book. What's best, Stephen Hunter has (so far) written six books featuring the Swagger family. From what I've read on other reviews, each one of them is great. Hunter has accomplished what all thriller authors want, but few are able to do: an action thriller filled with enjoyable characters, with a touch of psycholgical warfare thrown in the middle.
I'll surely read other books by Stephen Hunter.
Grade 9.0/10
Book Review: This is a Very Solid Action Thriller
Summary: 4 Stars
POINT OF IMPACT is the first novel I've read by Stephen Hunter, the Pulitzer-prize winning film critic for THE WASHINGTON POST. It's a very solid read, esepcially if you're a gun officiado.
This novel in many ways reminds me of the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child. Bob Lee Swagger, the hero of this novel, is a veteran of the Vietnam War who is also the ultimate loner and tough guy. Swagger finds himself framed for a murder he doesn't commit, and is forced to go on the lam. The rest of the book deals with his efforts to prove his innocence, and take vengenance on the powerful people who set him up.
Hunter is a good writer, and he knows how to write an excellent action scene. Some of the gun fights in POINT OF IMPACT are really impressive. Like most action novels, the plot is unbelievable and much of the characterization is two-dimensional. Hunter also throws in far too much technical information about guns and ballistics -- I personally found all this data rather dry and unncessary to the storyline. Still, after a slow start, this novel becomes quite exciting to read, and Hunter knows how to tell a compelling story with heroes you can root for.
Overall, POINT OF IMPACT is a really good action novel, and I look forward to reading more of Hunter's work.
Book Review: Excellent, but a bit too Hollywood
Summary: 4 Stars
I've read three Stephen Hunter novels now, and in some ways, this is the best. I just couldn't put it down for two days running.
I admire Hunter's sense of technical detail and the twists and turns of his breakneck thriller plots. He knows his characters through-and-through, the world they inhabit and the nefarious forces that are aligned against them (and against "good" in general).
The novel reminded me of Rambo, but the conflict is a bit more complicated and the forces of evil in the U.S. intelligence community are more horrifying than what Stallone's character faced.
The only problem I had with this novel is that Bob Lee Swagger is too much the superman. He can do anything, overcome any odds and vanquish any and all foes. It's classic good prevails over evil, and that makes the otherwise smart, gritty novel too Hollywood for me. If the protagonist is never really in danger of losing, there isn't any jeopardy. The tension comes across as false, because the stakes are never so high that anyone could perish (as you would see in the novels of Cormac McCarthy or James Ellroy). Good triumphs over evil, hooray, but in the real world things can be much different.
Book Review: The lone gunman--except now, you're rooting for him!
Summary: 5 Stars
Bob Lee Swagger is not a man to mess around with. He was a military sniper, with the second highest number of kills in Vietnam. Then he came home to a country that shunned sniping, and he went into seclusion in the Arkansas mountains.Now he's been called out. A shady government conspiracy wants to use him in an assassination--as the fallguy. And when Swagger does indeed fall for it, lured into a trap, he promises his tormentors will pay...with their blood...
Helping him is FBI agent Nick Memphis, who's just recieved his third strike. An odd pair, but together, they must unravel a far-reaching conspiracy...and bring vengence upon those who deserve it.
"Point of Impact" was the first Stephen Hunter novel I read. It got me hooked on his writing, though few other novels lived up to it ("Dirty White Boys" was pretty good, if I recall correctly). This novel is a thriller of the highest caliber (no pun intended). It's about a proud Southern gunman pushed to the limits...the one spot where you DON'T want him to be! This is a terrific, suspenseful book, and if you are a fan of thrillers and haven't read it yet, then you absolutely must.
Book Review: A rare treat for action thriller fans
Summary: 5 Stars
I first picked up Point of Impact second hand from my girlfriend, who had never read it. I was a fan of Tom Clancy for the technical aspects of his books, but his prose, his sometimes paper thin characters, and under-edited morality tales often left me flat. Stephen Hunter showed me that you could write an exciting thriller, filled with action, that has good characterization, and doesn't resort to threatening the destruction of the world (or at least the US) in order to build tension.
Hunter's prose is uncluttered and direct, but his details are lavish. I understand from some shooter friends of mine that some of the technical details in the book are a bit of a stretch (like welding a firing pin...), but they were for the most part impressed with the technical accuracy of the book.
I liked this book so much, that I have become a hard core Hunter fan. If you like action thrillers, you probably will too.
This book WAS slated to become the movie "Shooter" in 2001, with Tommy Lee Jones as Bob Lee. However, talks on the project broke down and I do not know the status of it at this time. I will be there opening weekend when it does.