Rating: 
Summary: Yes, he uses real people in his tale!
Review: Shooters who have read their work will recognize the real gun writers that Stephen Hunter patterns some of his characters after in this tale. Most are dead now, and at least one escapes me. Elmer Keith, Bill Jordan, Jack O'Connor, Ed McGivern, well-known gun writers and experts all, and Audie Murphy, actor and decorated warrior, are easily recognized by their physical descriptions, as well as the false names assigned to them, and in many cases their real-life predilections and stomping grounds fit the bill.
The character known as "Charlie" escapes me, but given his loud-mouthed bragging about how many men he has killed, I doubt that he is based on any real person at all. He does not fit anyone with whom I am familiar, and so I suspect that he is pure Hunter fiction. If not, he is lawsuit bait, and I hope I never meet his real-life counterpart.
This is another fine action thriller by Hunter using a couple of his protagonists from other stories, Earl Swagger, an Arkansas Marine, fresh out of WWII, and Sam Vincent, a former State Prosecutor.
This story, a little different from Hunter's usual fare, develops the old Yankee theme about the abysmal cruelties suffered by blacks in the deep South; in this case, Mississippi. Like most such tales, it is considerably overdrawn, and in fact a caricature of the real South, in which, in fact, I, an Oregonian, lived for a couple of years in the mid-'thirties. (By the way, Mr. Hunter, an accurate colloquial rendition of New Orleans in the local patois is more like Nyaw'luns, than the N'Awleens you seem to favor in this book, at least as I remember it from my youth).
I am awed by Stephen Hunter's genius when it comes to spinning a tale. Usually he does not let political correctness intrude and spoil the story. In this case he comes close, but the story survives. He knows more about firearms than the average fiction writer. Whether his knowledge is simply derived from reading gun magazines, or whether from some actual experience with firearms, it is difficult to tell. As for his knowledge of prisons and prison routine, I can tell you he has a lot to learn, speaking from twenty years experience on the subject.
What he describes here is a caricature about as accurate as a political cartoon compared to reality, even in the deep South of the 'thirties, where I saw my first chain gang working on a highway shoulder with balls and chains on their ankles under the shotgun of a cracker guard. But, this is a common fault of screenwriters as well. Most prison movies (Cool Hand Luke, The Longest Yard, The Shawshank Redemption, Escape From Alcatraz, etc., etc.), where the American public gets most of its information about prisons, unfortunately, tend to show the inmates as poor, misunderstood, or even innocent victims of the brutal "guards." It is disheartening to the men who work the toughest beat in law-enforcement to see themselves portrayed thus year after year, by Hollywood's mythmakers.
But, in this story at least. it all comes under the heading of "poetic license." There can be no doubt that Stephen Hunter is an exceptionally fine writer in his genre, who holds his audience spellbound. I love to read his stories, and hope he writes many more and lives a long, highly productive, successful life. I'm not even miffed by his cracks about the Navy (from Earl Swagger's mouth). I served with the Marines (TAD) for a year in China, even wore their uniform, and have great respect for them, myself.
Joseph (Joe) Pierre, USN (Ret)
Rating: 
Summary: 3.75 Stars - Inventive if formula driven suspense
Review: Earl Swagger is immersed in the deep south investigating Thebes Penal Farm - an all negro penal ranch, set against the backdrop of the murky 50's and racial divisions of the Southern US. Accepting that our hero is of almost superhuman prowess wears a little thin after a while, as he continually weathers horrific mistreatment at the hands of the villians, and stills comes out on top. This aspect aside, this is better than an average, and by no means dime store drivel. I am new to Mr Hunters writing and what first appeared as something of a tome at over 550 pages actually flew quite quickly, and bobs the reader along at a steady pace. Some interesting twists in the plot and excellent character development without being over descriptive more than adds to the flavor, and the end result is a pleasing read. Not one that will live in the memory for many years I felt after finishing it, but certainly worth a look, and a great vacation or travel companion. Enjoy
Rating:
Summary: Dy-no-mite
Review: As with all of Stephen Hunter's Swagger books I've read, this was great, great, great, This is certainly not a 'guy' thing. I'll read this book again.
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