Havana : An Earl Swagger Novel (Earl Swagger Novels (Paperback))

Rating:
Summary: Trying to hard
Review: I've been reading Hunter for years and this is the first time I've been disappointed by one of his books. There's just to much cute about the characters and what they say and do. I especially found Short and Speshnev to be below his usual standards. As a film critic Hunter should know better then to write about "B Movie" characters. Most appalling was his portrayal of Meyer Lansky. Meyer was a gangster, not some ones
wise old granddad. (Note to SH.. Lansky would never call anyone a "schmata" a rag, he'd call him a "gonif" which is a crook.)
It was a poor end for a great series.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite of All the Swagger Books
Review: Medal of Honor winner Earl Swagger is recruited to be the bodyguard of self-important Congressman, "Boss" Harry Etheridge, who is going to Cuba supposedly to check out vice and criminal activity at Guantanamo. But the real purpose of the trip is to con Earl into killing Fidel Castro, who has been making speeches calling for the overthrow of the Batista regime.

Meanwhile, the Russians have released prisoner Zek 4715, a veteran of military campaigns in Spain and Germany, known as Speshnev to protect the young firebrand.

Speshnev is a Soviet version of Swagger, even to the point of living by a code of honor. In fact, in my opinion, Speshnev kind of steals the show. He has the perfect opportunity to kill Swagger in a Cuban jail, but he protects him instead, can't kill an unarmed man, don't cha know.

Fans of the Swaggers, Earl and Bobby Lee, have come to expect a lot of violence in the service of justice and they won't be disappointed here, though HAVANA isn't quite as bloody as past Swagger stories. Also Hunter seems to flesh out his characters a little more in this novel, making them more human. I thought about this book for quite a bit after I finished and I have to say this is my favorite book in the series and I am eagerly waiting for the next one.

Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

Rating:
Summary: The genesis of Castro's Cuba
Review: The inordinately talented Stephen Hunter again resurrects his sharkskin tough, Marine Medal of Honor winning Arkansas state policeman Earl Swagger, in his latest novel, Havana. Swagger is hoodwinked into serving as the bodyguard for local congressman Harry Etheridge who is heading a governmental investigation in corrupt 1952 Cuba.

Swagger, in reality, due to his extensive and decorated police and military background is recruited by CIA number two man in Havana, Walter "Frenchy" Short as an assassin. Short, of questionable moral character had been partnered with Swagger during his previous exploits in cleaning up the unbridled town of Hot Springs. His target is the brash, verbose, narcissistic young lawyer Fidel Castro.

Other forces were operative in the unscrupulous Cuban government headed by Batista. American gangsters headed by Meyer Lansky were reaping in profits from gambling, drugs and prostitution and therefore at odds with Castro's revolutionary ideas. The Communist presence was also at work, lead by seasoned Jewish revolutionary Speshnev. He was assigned to nuture and coddle the inexperienced Castro and mold him until a worthwhile puppet for Moscow.

Swagger, with CIA backing, was forced to act within the morass of varying dangerous factions whose goals were vastly different.

Hunter with an appealing blend of fiction and historical fact creates a descriptive and intriguing story that whets the appetite for more adventures starring the Swagger family.