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Summary: Another good entry in the Swagger series
Review: Hot Springs, Arkansas. 1946. The most wide open town in the United States. The mob owns the police, the judges, and the politicians. Gambling, girls, whatever a man wants is freely available. But a newly elected prosecuting attorny decides to change that. He hires Earl Swagger, newly discharged Medal-of-Honor winner and legendary FBI man D.A. Parker to clean up the town. But Earl Swagger still carries emotional baggage from the war and even further back from his mean drunk of a father. Does Earl have a death wish as he leads ever more violent raids with reckless disregard? And now that the mob is throughly aroused will they bring in outside "hitters" to take Earl and DA Parker down?This is the prequel to a few of Mr. Hunter's books, namely Black Light, A Time to Hunt, and Point of Impact. These other three books chronicle the life of legendary Marine sniper, Bob Swagger. Bob's father, Earl, is touched on briefly in those books but Hot Springs is Earl's own story. Like all of the Stephen Hunter books I've read, this one was fast-paced and gripping. It wasn't quite as techincal as his previous books and there was a little more humor in this one. I didn't find it quite as strong as the Bob Swagger books but it is still a very good read. I'd recommend it highly. The reader may also want to read the Bob Swagger books first, but it really isn't necessary to enjoy this one. Another good book from a very good writer.
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Summary: A Very Enjoyable Crime Novel
Review: This is only the second book I've read by Stephen Hunter, after _Point of Impact_, but it was another winner. The book mixes real history and characters with fictional characters to great effect, something along the lines of what Max Allan Collins does in his Nate Heller mysteries. Set in the post-WWII years in the corrupt town of Hot Springs, Arkansas, Hunter succeeds in creating a real page-turner, as we follow the adventures of Earl Swagger, a depressed war hero with something of a death wish, as he puts together a group of young lawmen to weed out the corruption. The group is something like the Untouchables--young, single men gathered from police forces around the country so that they will not be compromised by local connections. The scenes of the group's training are among the best in the book, along with the action sequences wherein they bring down a number of casinos. This isn't a perfect book by any means: Hunter really strains sometimes to tell his story and there are a lot of very awkward sentence constructions. He isn't entirely successful in bringing the historical characters--Bugsy Siegel, Virginia Hill, etc.--to real, believable life. And, as in the Bob Lee Swagger books, there's a bit too much attention to the guns and the gunplay for any but the firearms-obsessed, which Hunter appears to be. Still, this was a very fast-moving and enjoyable book and I'd recommend it.
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Summary: Would Make a Good Movie!
Review: Not as good as Point of Impact, but still a very good read and gets better as it motors along. Would make a good movie!
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Summary: Entertaining Read
Review: I feel a little out of my depth in reviewing this book. I have no experience with guns, gunfights, or gangsters, but I do know an entertaining read when I come across one and this was great entertainment. Earl Swagger, just home from fighting in WWII, heads up a team of men reminiscent of the "Untouchables" to clean up the town of Hot Springs, Arkansas which is rife with gangsters, gambling and prostitution. Earl is a somewhat dark character except when he is doing his job...training his team of law enforcers and taking out bad guys. When he is in his element, he is downright jovial. Earl's wife, June, is less well developed and the author made some errors in writing about her pregnancy and delivery (A face down presentation is normal. A face up presentation would be a problem. And, as any woman who has given birth could tell you, ten centimeters is the magic number for cervical dilation, not twelve to fifteen.). But since this is, in large part, a "guy book", these errors do not distract from the major story line. There is plenty of exciting action to keep the reader interested. I have been a fan of Stephen Hunter's since "Black Light" and I enjoy his writing style very much. This is a very good addition to the Swagger saga.
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Summary: Great Prequel to the "Bob the Nailer" Books
Review: Stephen Hunter has hit another homer with HOT SPRINGS, a novel that is a variation on a theme given to his previous readers in POINT OF IMPACT, TIME TO HUNT and DIRTY WHITE BOYS. Instead of another outing with "Bob The Nailer" the master sniper readers have read about in previous novels, we get a rich text that tells the story of his father, Earl Swagger. Throughout this book, fans of Hunter's previous tales will find the origins of the myth that surrounds Bob Lee Swagger. Earl Swagger is a WW II vet whose heroism and battlefield prowess earned him a Medal of Honor at Iwo Jima. As this book opens, he is receiving that medal from President Harry S Truman. However, the former Marine 1st Sgt has already been medically retired and is having difficulty readjusting to civilian life and a peacetime America. He also has a pregnant wife and is wondering what to do when he is given the opportunity to become part of something big. He is hired by an ambitious Arkansas prosecutor who wants to rid the town of Hot Springs of all its corrupting influences and the criminals who make their livings preying on the vices and weaknesses of others. Earl and the famous FBI agent, D.A. Parker are hired to form a special team, a strike force to break up the gangster stranglehold on the town. Earl, who has had no sense of purpose since the end of the war initially becomes the drill instructor for the ad hoc team of 12 police officers from all over the country. While part of the plan is to rid Hot Springs of vice, the other part is to train these 12 policemen in modern methodologies so that they can go home and spread the experience around among their fellow officers back home. Hunter does a fine job describing each of the personalities of the lawmen and also introduces historical figures such as Bugsy Siegel, Virginia Hill, Mickey Rooney and a assorted mix of backwoods moonshiners, bushwackers and inbred rednecks. Earl and D.A. Parker teach the young lawmen all the tricks of the trade in order to make them more effective and keep them alive. His Marine Corps tactical expertise comes into play during every operation the group undertakes. Along with his urban combat worries, Earl is forced to deal with the legacy of his father, a former Polk County Sheriff who was gunned down while Earl was off fighting WW II. A WW I hero himself, he was brutal to his two sons. As a result, Earl ran away from home to join the Marines and his younger brother hanged himself in 1942. When Earl comes home from the war, an out-of-work hero, he has no family left but his young and pregnant wife. Hunter captures all of the flavor of 1946 Arkansas. One can see, feel and live the time, before air conditioning existed, when segregation was still the law of the land and the races did not mix in rural southern America. The author also paces this story at a moderate pace. He keeps the reader wanting more, without rushing his story or the characters and it follows a logical flow that adds to the enjoyment. As readers familiar with Hunter's Bob Lee Swagger books will realize as they read, Earl is a principled AND heroic figure. He is the type of man who met every challenge placed before him without complaint or hesitation. He is what we don't find too much of in America anymore. He is a proud man, a heroic figure who will not be put upon, maligned or otherwise mistreated. It is obvious after reading this book, that Bobby Lee Swagger is his father's son. It is not necessary to have read Hunter's earliest works to appreciate HOT SPRINGS. However, if you have, you will appreciate this book all the more because you will be able to make the inevitable comparisons between father and son. If you haven't read the others first, that's okay, too. Once you have read HOT SPRINGS, you'll want to read about Bob the Nailer, if for no other reason than to see what kind of man Earl Swagger raised. I recommend this book to Stephen Hunter's existing fans and to those who haven't discovered him. Once you read HOT SPRINGS, you'll want to read the rest of the Swagger Saga. Paul Connors
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Summary: The way it was then.
Review: This novel was a story of a place, a man, corruption in the forties USA (gangsters), movie stars and young misfits chosen for 'raids' on casinos in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Garrison Keillor made the remark while doing his radio program from Hot Springs that it is the buckle on the Bible Belt. Read this and find out why. I knew nothing about the gambling there. But, growing up poor in the South, I had no interest in throwing away money. Still don't. Mr. Hunter brings to life the many celebrities I've heard of who went there to entertain the rich and famous who gambled away the nights; I was shocked to learn that fellow Tennessean Dinah Shore was involved. She with the squeaky-clean image. He entertains and teaches us all about weapons, crime in the war years (did the Great Train Robbery actually take place there in the rail yard of Hot Springs?), and putting foolish young men in danger of rapid death. He brought to life the actual gangsters who were involved in forming the gambling industry in this country. I hope he goes on to reveal all the secrets of how Las Vegas was built; now that I know about the corrupt politicians who accepted payoffs in that hillbilly state, I want to learn more. Not that I will become a gambler. I'm too old for that.
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Summary: More of that great Swagger action!
Review: This book is a prequel to the novel 'Point of Impact' which centered around Bobby Lee Swagger. 'Hot Springs' instead focuses on Earl Swagger, Bobby Lee's father. Earl Swagger has just returned from WWII where his valor in combat earned him the Medal of Honor. He returns to Arkansas where he grew up and tries to settle down with his young, beautiful and now pregnant wife and live a normal life. But the Swagger blood doesn't appear to be able to thrive unless it is in peril and before long, Swagger is working for an Arkansas D.A. to build a fighting unit to wipe out crime in the gangster controlled gambling town of Hot Springs. Like all of the Swagger novels, this book is filled with great combat scenes and tactics as well as extensive details on firearms. Set in 1946, the novel also paints a very vivid portrait of vice and the power of gangsters to control a city or even a state. If you enjoyed the other Swagger (Bobby Lee) novels, this newest turn will not disappoint you. If you have never read a Stephen Hunter novel, welcome and get ready for a good old fashion good guys with guns versus bad guys with guns book you will enjoy.
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Summary: Might have been a good comic book
Review: Let's be honest: S. Hunter may be a proficient professional writer with a commercial following, but this book is... The mob characters are all paper-thin cliche figures. Earl Swagger dominates every physical encounter with the powers of a super hero. The writer takes an interesting subject - Hot Springs - and turns it into cheese. Are all Stephen Hunter's books designed for an adolescent male mentality like this one? This was my first. It will be my last.
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Summary: The entire Swagger family proves to be tough-as-nails
Review: I suppose that it only makes sense that Hunter give us some more info on his favorite character, Bobby Lee Swagger, by doing a book on his father. After all, Bobby Lee's life was pretty full and he did deserve a break. So this story is about Earl Swagger, the tough marine who fathered Bobby Lee. Earl has recently left the army after getting being awarded the Medal of Honor and is at a lost of what to do. He quickly finds himself recruited though to work for an ambitious prosecutor to clean up the town of Hot Springs from the mob controlled casinos and whore houses. The book does an excellent job of giving us more depth on all the characters from the previous Swagger novels by filling in an interesting and realistic family history. At the same time, we get to enjoy a story that stands by itself, that includes a lot of action with a Mob-centric theme and that keeps our avid interest throughout the book. About the only negative that I had was that the book is set in the 1940's; I enjoy stories set in current day and not "period" books. However considering that this is about the father of a current day character, it had to be set in the past.
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Summary: A bit disappointing...
Review: I'm a big Stephen Hunter fan and have enjoyed most of his previous books. It was a disappointment, therefore, to find that this novel was not up to the standard of his usual works. The outstanding flaw with this story is its one dimensional villains, a bunch of mobsters who are straight out of some cheesy Mafia movie. The most interesting thing about lead criminal Owney Maddox is that he occasionally affects an English accent. Add to the cliched mobsters some cliched hillbilly muscle and the story has some real problems. Earl Swagger is an interesting enough character, although in certain ways a little too perfect. Yes, he can be a drunk and a bad husband, but in a fight, he is so utterly superior that it reduces some of the suspense. Hunter is a great writer (usually) and he can even make this weaker effort exciting at times. The second half of this book in particular has some good moments. Nonetheless, this book would not be a good introduction to Hunter's works, and I cannot recommend it to anyone other than his usual fans.
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