Binding: Audio CD
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781423369561
Edition: Unabridged
Format: Audiobook
ISBN: 1423369564
Label: Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged
Languages: Array
Manufacturer: Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged
Number Of Items: 8
Publication Date: 2008-10-01
Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged
Release Date: 2008-10-07
Studio: Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged

Woe unto him who crosses Bob Lee Swagger, especially when his daughter's life is at stake. Forced off the road and into a crash that leaves her in a coma, clinging to life, reporter Nikki Swagger had begun to peel back the onion of a Southern-fried conspiracy bubbling with all the angst, resentment, and dysfunction that Dixie gangsters can muster. An ancient, violent crime clan, possibly corrupt law enforcement, gunmen of all stripes and shapes, and deranged evangelicals rear their ugly heads, and will live to rue the day they targeted the wrong man's daughter. It's what you call your big-time bad career move. All of it is set against the backdrop of excitement and insanity that only a weeklong NASCAR event can bring to the backwoods of a town as seemingly sleepy as Bristol, Tennessee.
A master at the top of his game, Hunter provides a host of thrilling new reasons to listen as fast as we can. When Swagger picks up where his daughter left off, and his swift sword of justice is let loose, we find a true American hero in his most stunning action to date. And --in the form of Brother Richard, a self-decreed "Sinnerman" out of the old fire-and-brimstone tradition -- Hunter offers up his most diabolical, engaging villain yet. A triumph of story, character, and style, Night of Thunder is Stephen Hunter at his very best.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Better
Comment: After the last stupid Samurai novel, it was hard to have any hope. But, I did. Bob the Nailer and Earl mean a lot to mean because I feel so close to them. This latest novel isn't the best, but it's better. I haven't finished the book yet because I'm trying to pace myself. One chapter a night. Maybe that says something important. I don't want it to end. Even if it's not what I had hoped for. At least Bob has guns again.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Night of Thunder
Comment: Not Hunter's best. Loved Point of Impact and Time to Hunt. Have been disappointed in his books since. Think I will stay with the Vince Flynn books or try and get a hold of the old Matt Helm books.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Mr. Hunter's Aim Seems a Bit Off
Comment: In this latest addition to the Bob Lee Swagger series the ex-Marine's daughter has been run off the road in Bristol, Tennessee, and she is in a coma. Bob Lee is afraid that somebody may have tried to kill his daughter to get back at him for some of his past deeds.

When Bob arrives in Bristol he begins poking around in his direct manner and finds that his daughter may have stumbled on some big conspiracy on her own. The bad guys decide they need to eliminate Bob Lee as well as his daughter. Bob the Nailer's usual sort of mayhem ensues.

It also happens to be race week in Bristol when Bob Lee arrives. Mr. Hunter spends some time trying to convey the crazy atmosphere of Nascar week and the nearly religious fervor of race fans.

I count "Point of Impact" and "Time to Hunt" as two of my favorite books I have ever read and I always hope for the best when Mr. Hunter rolls out a new novel, but the last four Swagger entries just haven't been as good as Mr. Hunter's previous efforts.

Maybe it's just me, but in "Night of Thunder" the dialogue just seems "off"...like Mr. Hunter has lost his ear for the spoken word. The characters from the south usually, like Bob Lee, speak in single syllable words. They all kind of sound the same and then one character will suddenly spew out a philosophical monologue worthy of a Rhodes scholar. (There is one point where Mr. Hunter even seems to realize this and makes fun of this tendency as if to excuse himself.)

Then there are the usual giant leaps of intuition and amazing coincidences that happen in almost all action novels. There are just so many of them that it seems like a bit of a cheat in "Night of Thunder."

I don't mean to sound like I didn't enjoy the book, but it is really is one of the worst Swagger novels. "Night of Thunder" is just okay and should only be read by the most die-hard Stephen Hunter fans.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Decent book..
Comment: Others have commented extensively on this book, so to recite the plot is pointless at this time.

This is a pretty good book,especially if you have been following the Bob Lee Swagger series. Hunter set the bar so high with his previous books that the tendency is to be overly critical of this one. A three-star rating is a fair one, but it is good to follow the career of Bob the Nailer. Worth buying if you're a fan.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Bob's BAAACK
Comment: I also had problems with Hunter's last entry in the Swagger saga, and just had "problems" with a sword swinging Bob Lee, but it was still a good read.

Happily, Bob the Nailer is back in "Night of Thunder".
While not quite up to some of the last entries, it does bring us back the Bob we all love...the gunfighter.
And Bob does it so well.
With a host of a vicious but not too smart criminal family, Bob has his work cut out for him.
You'd think that coming from the same general area in Arkansas, they would have heard of the famous Bob Lee and backed off.
Fortunately for our entertainment, they didn't, so Bob backed them off.

I'm not sure where Hunter is going to be able to go with the Swagger series, since Bob Lee is simply getting a little old, and he killed off Earl Swagger in the early 1950's.
This constrains Earl Swagger stories, because you can only pack so much into the few years between the end of WWII and Earl's death in that cornfield in the 50's.

Like many, I'm getting rather impatient waiting for Hunter and a Swagger to finally deal with Frenchy Short.
I think it's past time for a show down before Short himself is simply too old.

So, while it may not be on a level with "Point of Impact", "Night of Thunder" gives us the Bob we love.... the silent hunter of men.
Fortunately for us, the Bad Guys never figure out that they should NEVER mess with a Swagger.

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