From Booklist*Starred * Time is taking its toll on Bob Lee Swagger: He was an old man in a dry month . . . hard, stoic, isolated, unmelted. The former sniper has been out of the game a long time, and, sadly, nothing has ever replaced what hes appalled to call the killing fever. Then his friend Kathy Reilly, Moscow correspondent for the Washington Post, sends Bob an e-mail asking for his help in researching a story about legendary WWII Russian sniper Ludmilla Milli Petrova, whose name mysteriously disappeared from the historical record around 1945. Why was she expunged from both German and Russian records? Will Swagger help Reilly track the story? Of course he will, and so begins a remarkably textured novel that jumps between the war and the present, slowly unraveling Millis past while Swagger and Reilly discover that, even 70 years after the fact, there are still people who dont want the story told. Hunter does a wonderful job of moving between and ultimately connecting his multiple story lines, and he peoples the stage with at least a dozen memorable characters, from Milli and her cohorts through the Nazis who hunt them, and, of course, to Swagger himself, an ever-more-complex character as he ages. Perhaps most memorable of all, though, is Hunters vivid re-creation of the carnage on the Eastern Front, where, as Milli notes, the Russians only advantage over the Germans was numbers: If they kill us five to one, we bring six to one . . . we shall prevail because, all things being equal, we can outbleed them. --Bill Ott Absorbing . . . You dont have to be a fan of military action fiction to enjoy this. (Publishers Weekly)Hunter knows his hero like a brother: righteous character firmly set, crafty intelligence thoroughly hidden, stone-cold willing to take the shot if a bad actor must die. . . . Swagger displays mighty tradecraft [and] Hunter loads up a whole magazine of action, double-dealing and gun porn. (Kirkus s)A remarkably textured novel. . . . Hunter does a wonderful job of jumping between and connecting his multiple story lines, and he peoples the stage with at least a dozen memorable characters, from Mili and her cohorts through the Nazis that hunt them, and, of course, to Swagger himself, an ever-more-complex character as he ages. Perhaps most memorable of all, though, is Hunters vivid re-creation of the carnage on the Eastern Front, where, as Mili notes, the Russians only advantage over the Germans was numbers: If they kill us five to one, we bring six to one . . . we shall prevail because, all things being equal, we can outbleed them. (Booklist)Given the return of the Russians to bad-guy status, this book couldnt be more timely. But any Swagger tale is a treat, especially one as layered and nuanced as this one. Hunter remains the absolute master of the action thriller and this is a terrific tale from a wondrous storyteller. (Providence Sunday Journal)My favorite thriller author [] fun to read. (The Herald-Dispatch)About the AuthorStephen Hunter has writteneighteen novels. The retired chief film critic for The Washington Post, where he won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Criticism, he has also published two collections of film criticism and a nonfiction work, American Gunfight. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland. how do i create a web form Sniper's Honor (Bob Lee Swagger)
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. YET ANOTHER MASTERPIECEBy BigDrumDaddyHaving read every one of Stephen Hunter's novels - and being a HUGE fan of Bob Lee Swagger - Mr. Hunter's novels just seem to get better and better. And while each has their own flavor flair, they all possess a quality that only Stephen Hunter can impart. Bob Lee Swagger will indeed go down as a hero for the ages - and Stephen Hunter's unceasing knowledge of firearms and shooting, and the history and mystique therein is beyond reproach. Of course, being on good terms with many of the finest shooters - and firearms media types - on the planet doesn't hurt either. Nor does having a genuine love of the history, tradition pursuit of the shooting sports - or being a pretty good man with a gun himself. It was said that Hunter's previous novel would be his last regarding Bob Lee Swagger - a thought which left me both speechless and saddened for days. But I'm overjoyed to see that wasn't the case, Swagger is in fine, if somewhat muted form, this time out. I'm just not sure the world is ready to do without the likes of Bob Lee and all that he represents to so many is us out here in the hinterlands. And while I realize it must be tough for an aging Bob Lee to continue to find interesting adventures to tell, I truly hope Stephen Hunter finds a way to do so. And for those of us who've made our living looking through a scope on over watch in some foreign land, Bob Lee reminds us what it's like as we age and our talent knowledge require constant updating - even as we too wonder if it was all worth laying it all on the line for a system and a nation that increasingly seems as if it couldn't care less - even as we continue to practice our craft in ways big small in the name of justice. You taught us well Gunny Swagger. And to Stephen Hunter, God bless you for bringing him to us.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great Read, but Hunter has been Better!!By Mayumi WesemannI am a HUGE Stephen Hunter fan and have read all of his books. This book is about Bob going off on another of his dern-fool crusades, and a parallel story about a female Russian sniper from World War II. As with all of Hunter's books, the characters are terrific, the plot is brilliant, dialog is brilliant, there is some terrific gun-play, and its a great read from start to finish. If any other author inventing any other character would have put this book out, it would likely have been the best book that author ever wrote. However, this is Stephen Bleeping Hunter, so the book has to be first rate to get the 5 stars. Yes, there was some terrific scenes of great violence, but not enough of the signature gunfights for which Hunter is so brilliant. Yes you HAVE to read it, but no its not in Hunter's top tier. I guess its tough now that Bob is so old for the old coot to do too much butt kicking - kind of like Liam Neeson in the last Taken movie.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Hunter does not disappoint!By CustomerSnipers Honor is another page-turner from the master of modern shootist fiction. Hunter returns to the waning hours of WWII Germany and the German military that was the context of his initial novel, The Master Sniper. This time its the Ostfront and Luftwaffe Fallschirmjaeger that populate the core narrative. Hunter is known for his historical and technical exactitude, and in this effort he does not disappoint.Snipers Honor is a fast-paced novel in which the story takes us from the American West to Russia and Ukraine andwell, youll find out where in a final twist. On the way we feel the savage cold of Stalingrad and the nave bucolic beauty of the Carpathian Mountains, and grow familiar with men and women thrown into a barbaric, titanic struggle for world domination, and men determined to keep an ugly dream alive. Hunter takes us to a place where we can smell the blood and taste the smoke with an unflinching honesty. We are taken on a journey of twists and turns that gives us surprises that are as honest as they are unexpected.Its a difficult task for any author to keep a character fresh through a long series of novels, for example those that portray the history of Bob The Nailer Swagger and his family. Hunter manages to give us a Swagger that rings true for those who have followed him through the long series of novels wherein The Nailer is the central character, starting with our introduction to him in Point of Impact. Yet, for those who meet Swagger for the first time in Snipers Honor, Hunter fills the richness of Swaggers character with an economy almost startling in its effectiveness. We know The Nailer, his tired, yes, jaded outlook on life in the first few pages after he enters the narrative; we also know the excitement and energy that is galvanized by a new challenge, a quest for justice of a kind for a forgotten kindred spirit warrior. The reader wants to know this man.If we can distill Bob Lee Swaggers essence to a single word, its honor; Snipers Honor.