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58th out of 100 books
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Night Of Thunder (Bob Lee Swagger #5)
"NEW YORK TIMES" BESTSELLING AUTHOR STEPHEN HUNTER RETURNS WITH HIS MOST RIVETING BOB LEE SWAGGER VOLUME TO DATE.
Talk about a ride
Woe unto he 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 S
...moreHardcover, 400 pages
Published
September 23rd 2008
by Simon & Schuster
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“Night of Thunder” (2008) takes place in Bristol, Tennessee, just before the big Bristol NASCAR race. Pam and I visited the Bristol track a few years ago on vacation. It’s truly an amazing track, and I could only imagine the excitement around the race. This book brings out that excitement.
Stephen Hunter has written three books starring Earl Lee Swaggard, a WW2 Medal of Honor winner and southern sheriff. He’s a fine creation, as hard as they come, maybe as tough as Jack Reacher. But Hun...more
Stephen Hunter has written three books starring Earl Lee Swaggard, a WW2 Medal of Honor winner and southern sheriff. He’s a fine creation, as hard as they come, maybe as tough as Jack Reacher. But Hun...more
Stephen Hunter- Night of Thunder (Pocket Star Books 2009) 3.75 Stars
NASCAR is coming to Britsol, but reporter Nikki Swagger is not interested in NASCAR, she is hunting down a lead on a meth lab. She is following up on the lead when she is run off of the road, in an attempt to kill her. She is now in the hospital. Not sure when she will awake from her coma, Bob Lee Swagger is digging into just who may have wanted his daughter dead. He won’t stop until he brings the guilty to justice, ...more
NASCAR is coming to Britsol, but reporter Nikki Swagger is not interested in NASCAR, she is hunting down a lead on a meth lab. She is following up on the lead when she is run off of the road, in an attempt to kill her. She is now in the hospital. Not sure when she will awake from her coma, Bob Lee Swagger is digging into just who may have wanted his daughter dead. He won’t stop until he brings the guilty to justice, ...more
Bob Lee Swagger is one tough fellow. If you saw the film "Shooter" then you know that he is an expert sharpshooter from a long line of action heroes.
Bob's daughter, Nikki, is an investigative reporter. She winds up in an auto accident that is suspicious in nature.. and from there, Bob Lee comes in and starts his own investigation.. slowly uncovering... ????
Okay.. I'll stop there, excpet to remind you that the cover of the book shows a Nascar racing car and t...more
Bob's daughter, Nikki, is an investigative reporter. She winds up in an auto accident that is suspicious in nature.. and from there, Bob Lee comes in and starts his own investigation.. slowly uncovering... ????
Okay.. I'll stop there, excpet to remind you that the cover of the book shows a Nascar racing car and t...more
One of the problems that I have with thrillers of a certain vintage of long term authors is that we know that the main character is not going to die. SO you need to suspend your basic disbelief. This is not to say that authors do not kill off major characters -- wives being the most useful apparently.
In this latest thriller from Stephen Hunter, Bob Lee Swagger's daughter is injured in traffic hit and run while investigating the meth trade. Swagger, a sniper and ex Marine, and a fig...more
In this latest thriller from Stephen Hunter, Bob Lee Swagger's daughter is injured in traffic hit and run while investigating the meth trade. Swagger, a sniper and ex Marine, and a fig...more
Our main character, Bob Lee Swagger, has done it all: fought samurai, other master snipers, and a variety of hitmen. So what is left? "Night of Thunder" offers up a group of backwoods hillbilly's, a corrupt deputy, and a hitman that kills people by running them off the road with the stolen car of his choice. Shouldn't be a problem for Bob the Nailer, and it isn't. It is too damn easy, and that is why the action seems boring and irrelevant. There are couple of quick shoot outs (because ...more
I read this a while ago, and forgot to add it to my post. I don't remember how I selected it, but I do remember that I enjoyed it. Bob Swagger, the unassuming guy with a hero's past tries to save his daughter and find out what happened to cause her crash. Not all is as it seems, and even though he was a Marine Sniper, Swagger has quite the knack for seeing things others missed in an investigation. He also has driving skills (as does his daughter). Oh, to be a Swagger where the gun and driving ge...more
Although this book had some slightly surprising twists in the end and the action sequences were terrific they were far and in between. The first three quarters of the book dragged a lot and I had a hard time reading them. The book does get better towards the last quarter of the book so I would still recommend reading it. After reading several of Stephen Hunters novels I like the ones with Earl Swagger far better. I have a hard time buying into the Bob Lee Swagger character and to me he seems ...more
Forced off the road and into a crash that leaves her in a coma, barely clinging onto life, journalist Nikki Swagger had been investigating reports of a crystal meth super lab in sleepy Tennessee, when she found herself inadvertently peeling back the layers on a huge conspiracy. Bob Lee Swagger is worried. As a former Marine Corps sniper, he's picked up more than his fair share of enemies that have a sever addiction on revenge and he senses that something isn't right. Unconvinced by the Sheriff'...more
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What goes well with a NASCAR 500 mile race, you ask? Why, Stephen Hunter figured it out jest fine. You need a big ole gun fight with a brigade of real nasty bad guys and just one good guy, if that good guy is Bob Lee Swagger. You see, these big old bad guys think they are Big Jim “Walker” Grumleys. But they musta not listened to the whole song on the radio when Jim Croce came on, cause they missed the unplugged version’s last chorus:
“You don’t tug on Superman’s cape
You don’t sp...more
“You don’t tug on Superman’s cape
You don’t sp...more
I wouldn't say that Stephen Hunter has lost his edge, only that he's indulging himself. His new Bob Lee Swagger book isn't a patch on the old ones – Dirty White Boys; Point of Impact; Black Light; Hot Springs; etc. The previous one – The 47th Samurai – was evidently inspired by his interest in Samurais, and in the acknowledgements to Night of Thunder he confesses that this one was engendered by NASCAR. Hunter's got a Pulitzer prize, he can write whatever he wants but this book is a dud.
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According to my colleague, I'm not allowed to use the term "dicklit" anymore and instead must use the more prosaic "manfiction" to describe the type of book that has big boys with big cars with big engines and big guns with really big explosions. Bob Lee Swagger's daughter is a reporter hot on the trail of a meth ring, when she is forced off the road in a murder attempt and ends up in a coma. Swagger is an ex marine sniper and all-around badass who is not going to take this l...more
Mary Menzel
added it
Stephen Hunter's right-wing thriller series continues with an adventure set against the backdrop of NASCAR -- lots of southern-fried atmosphere, and in addition to the usual loving detail of weapons and ammo that you can expect in a Swagger novel, there's lots of good stuff about driving and vehicles. I am a helpless admirer of this series and keep thinking that it is male porn -- the hero is so far beyond the masculinity of a normal guy, he must fulfill some secret wish of the male reader. I ...more
I love Stephen Hunter's novels, especially the Bob Lee Swagger ones and this one doesn't disappoint. It's not quite up there with Time to Hunt but it's a solid book through and through. Bob Lee takes on redneck thieves, killers and drug deals who tried to take out his daughter. There's a nice NASCAR undercurrent running through the book and it's hard to put down read.
Great action/mediocre plot. Good gun details. Truth is I like the character of Bob Lee Swagger. He is an epic warrior, and I like it.
I do have to say that getting inside the head of a pedophile was really disturbing, and I wish Hunter had not included that aspect. I read this book for entertainment purposes, not psychological understanding. I do not want to go there.
I do have to say that getting inside the head of a pedophile was really disturbing, and I wish Hunter had not included that aspect. I read this book for entertainment purposes, not psychological understanding. I do not want to go there.
Stephen Hunter's Swagger family characters are all wonderful archetypes. They get results. This is a lightweight one compared to some of his other books, but still fun to read. Nikki Swagger as daughter gets introduced in the story. I am sure that we will read more about her in the future. Oops, I gave it away - she survives this story.
This is an older Bob Lee Swagger scoring points for those of us from his generation. The setting of the novel is the area of Tennessee which includes Bristol and its famous racetrack, at least famous if you're a NASCAR fan. Ironically, I read this book the week before thie 2011 race, which enhanced the experience.
Greg - these Swagger novels buy Stephen Hunter are really good. They made a horrible movie about one of them last year with Marky Mark in it. Despite that you should try them. If you go in order they are better though.
I was expecting more Swagger and less NASCAR, and the pacing was extremely uneven, but those and other quibbles were wiped out by my (somewhat embarrassing) delight in total NASCAR mayhem.
Because I love Micheal Connelly, Lee Child and David Baldacci, goodreads recommended I try Stephen Hunter....Wow, thanks goodreads, I think I just hit the jackpot.
In the past, Hunter couldn't write fast enough to quell desire for his Swagger series (Earl and Bob Lee). Now retired from his full-time job as an award-winning critic at the Washington Post, Night of Thunder comes quick on the heels of The 47th Samurai.
Bob Lee comes to the rescue of his daughter, Nikki, who bulls her way into a developing caper. Bob Lee shows up, sans weapons, but quickly gears up with the latest in firearms technology and gets the bad guys.
The twist in this book i...more
Bob Lee comes to the rescue of his daughter, Nikki, who bulls her way into a developing caper. Bob Lee shows up, sans weapons, but quickly gears up with the latest in firearms technology and gets the bad guys.
The twist in this book i...more
Bob Lee Swagger comes to the NASCAR race in Bristol, TN after his daughter nearly dies from her car shoved off the road. Meth superlab, souped up cars, guns galore, and detective sleuthing are rolled up into one gritty story.
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If you like Stephen Hunter and the "Bob the Nailer" books you will enjoy this one. Its written a little differently, but an enjoyable read.
Another Bob Lee Swagger book according to Hunter's standard formula. If you like his other books, you'll like this one. Good for an escape book.
Tom Hicks
added it
One of his best. They don't call him Bob the Nailer for nothing. Excellent book and look forward to his next one. Highly recommended.
real book.
race car stuff with bob's grown daughter.
the grumlys are a wonderfully wicked crowd.
makes for fun reading.
race car stuff with bob's grown daughter.
the grumlys are a wonderfully wicked crowd.
makes for fun reading.
The Bob Lee Swagger series is just outstanding. I think Bobby Lee can take care of Mitch Rapp and Jack Reacher.
The stakes are high - and personal because this time, Swagger's daughter's life is at stake. Forced off the road and into a crash that leaves her clinging to life in a coma, Nikki Swagger had begun to peel back the onion of a Southern Fried scandal. Corrupt constabulary, meth lab crackers, and deranged evangelicals rear their ugly heads and when Swagger picks up where Nikki left off, his swift sword of justice is let loose. All of it is set against the backdrop of the excitement and insanity tha...more
Fast read. Seems that Bob Lee is speaking worse "Southern" than ever before, but still love him even with a phoney accent.
Another good entry in the Bob Lee Swagger series, though not as interesting or engaging as "The 47th Samurai."
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Stephen Hunter is the author of fourteen novels, and a chief film critic at The Washington Post, where he won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
More about Stephen Hunter...
Stephen Hunter is the author of fourteen novels, and a chief film critic at The Washington Post, where he won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
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