Time to Hunt

Rating:
Summary: Hunter at his best, even with a slow first half.
Review: All the Bob Lee Swagger books have that gritty realism feel about them, and even though Time To Hunt dwells too much on the East coast, the plot elements do (finally) come together. Although I know many fans will not enjoy the Vietnam Sierra-Bravo-Four Sniper team sequence which dominates the middle of the book, I found it fascinating. I've never been thrilled with flashback books, but this one has Bob the Nailer, so I muddled through it. With the exception of Swagger and Donnie Fenn, all the other characters in the book were kind of shallow, and you never really got a feel for them. I would have liked to have gotten more into Bonson and Solaratov especially. But overall, I give this book Five Stars, simply because I've yet to find this hard-hitting, pot-boiling action anywhere else with a few exceptions.

Rating:
Summary: Suspense as taut as a tripwire.
Review: Do the Kirkus people ever READ the thrillers? Donny Fenn was killed in May, '72, not 1965 (a key point in the story). Similarly, Bob the Nailer did not drop from a helicopter, nor did anyone call him a "sacred killer." Anyway, don't stop reading this one after the seemingly "too neat" wrap-up. (How Bob Lee Swagger can top that last astonishing shot is anybody's guess). It's a cliche, but this one will "blow you away." Sorry to split hairs, Mr. Hunter, but their is no such thing as a "Homo Sapien" Principally, because Sapiens is an adjective meaning 'wise' or 'knowing' which refers to the genus name, 'Homo' (man). I direct this to the author because, although Bob the Nailer may "talk like Gomer Pyle," we know that he is too bright to make a mistake like that one.

Rating:
Summary: Needs a little kick start but still a riveting read
Review: I discovered Hunter long before he published in hardback form and was an instant fan. His Swagger trilogy has been excellent with the tale terminating in this work. Although a split personality of a novel, it still ties everything together nicely and keeps the reader entertained. This book is more "male" oriented than previous works and one that my wife did not enjoy as much his others. If you're new to Hunter, you've found a bonus of great entertainment in all his novels.

Rating:
Summary: I wish I'd liked this as much as I'd expected to.
Review: I've read all of Hunter's "Bob the Nailer" books and, until this one, would have rated them all solid 10's. The problem with "Time to Hunt" is that it doesn't become a Hunter-type thriller until a little more than half-way through; until then, it's a very different kind of book. Two different books, in fact: a long section about U.S. soldiers in America during the late Vietnam era is followed by a longer section in Vietnam, including a shot-by-shot description of a firefight that seems to go on longer than the Tet Offensive. Frankly, however well written those sequences are, they're not what I love Hunter for. Other difficulties I had with the book were that Bob's suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder seems far too facile (and too easily shaken); and the "big revelation" at the end just isn't all that revelatory, but rather feeds into a common brand of U.S. paranoia. But the second half of the book is Hunter at the top of his game, where he seems to dwell naturally. And even his Vietnam sections have the smell of utter authenticity-- so much so that it was shocking to read in his afterword that Hunter never saw action there. I think I'm going to reread POINT OF IMPACT...

Rating:
Summary: Holds your attention from start to finish.
Review: "Dirty White Boys" was my initial Stephen Hunter read. I then went back and started chronologically. By the time I got to "Point of Impact" I trusted Mr. Hunter. Therefore I did not get distressed with the arcane and detailed info on rifles, ballistics, shooting etc. that began "Point of Impact". I was rewarded with a wonderfully rich character in Bob Lee Swagger. "Time to Hunt" completes the Swagger trilogy. Again, rich characters whose flaws make them oh so real and compassionate. It is a thriller of the nth degree. As in the previous Swagger stories the true villan is in doubt until the final pages. Then you have to go back and reread the last half dozen or so pages, just to make certain you read it correctly. Mr. Hunter writes with conviction and makes you find time to drop what you should be doing and get back to his book

Rating:
Summary: Bob the Nailer kicks butt once again!
Review: Stephen Hunter is the Grisham of the military fiction genre. I love Bob Lee Swagger, and every adventure of his has lots of action, and is complex, fast paced and exciting. I thought Hunter's last book, Black Light, was great, but this one is even better! And his writing isn't just for guys. Mr. Hunter, please keep writing Bob the Nailer stories - I'm a female fan who loves them!!

Rating:
Summary: Bob "The Nailer" At His Best Again!
Review: Hunter has another smash bestseller featuring Bob Lee " The Nailer" Swagger. Be sure you have a lot of free time when you start Time To Hunt book because once you do you'll be hooked. Time To Hunt has it all--great plot, interesting characters, lots of action and surprises, etc., etc., etc. One of the most interesting aspects of this book is how Bob Lee became "The Nailer" in Vietnam. Just when you think Bob Lee has suffered enough and deserves to enjoy the rest of his life in peace, Hunter comes up with another traumatic adventure for him. While I don't know what, if anything, Hunter has in store for Swagger, I can't wait to read it. Now, do yourself a favor--but a copy of Time To Hunt as soon as it comes out, cancel all plans and prepare yourself for a real reading pleasure.

Rating:
Summary: Another treat for Hunter fans!
Review: Bob Lee Swagger in another sniper duel. The story alternates Bob Lee's hunt for the sniper targeting himself and his family with his service as a Marine sniper in Vietnam. Hunter maintains the suspense throughout, making this a page-turner you just can't put down.

Rating:
Summary: Another great Bob Lee Swagger story
Review: This one has everything: a look into the past of Donny Fenn, who was wounded in 'Nam, returned to CLUSA and assigned to Eighth and I in Washington, D.C., for funeral ceremonies and riot control duty (controlling peaceniks on the rampage); Donny and Bob Lee on sniper duty when he (Donny) is sent back for another tour, as Bob Lee's spotter, and the results are great adventure; and then we are brought up to date with the current adventure with the past in the background to give it context.

There are actually at least two stories here, that overlap and are connected. The plotting is superb and complex, as is usual for Stephen Hunter. Also as usual, the research effort shows in the final product. One of Hunter's strong points is his encyclopedic knowledge of modern firearms and ballistics, all very accurate--unusual in a novelist, most of whom don't know the receiver of a rifle from the butt plate.

Hunter is also wonderful at breathing life into his characters. One female critic complained because his protagonist, Bob Lee Swagger, always comes out on top. But, how would SHE write the story? Have the author kill his hero in the first chapter, thereby reducing a 600 page novel to a 50 page short story?

Critics!

This is a writer who knows how to tell an adventure story, keeping his audience in suspense all the way, and making a satisfactory ending. The kind I like.

I've ordered four more of his other titles.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre, USN (Ret)
author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books!
Review: In the prolog of this book, there is a very startling development. Bob Lee Swagger is shot in the chest by a sniper while out horseback riding with his wife and daughter. The reader is drawn into the following story, eager to discover what led to this devastating outcome. The story centers on the war in Vietnam and the peace demonstrations in Washington DC. Then the scene shifts to Washington DC and the post-war political intrigue. Bob Lee Swagger is looking for answers while his life is being threatened. There are several twists and surprises in this story. Just when the reader thinks he has it all figured out, the story takes a whole new direction. Things aren't settled until the very last page. A lot of edge-of-your-seat suspense and well-plotted action. Never a dull moment.