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Charlie Hardie #3
Point & Shoot
FUN & GAMES AND HELL & GONE COME FULL CIRCLE IN THE HARDIE SERIES' ASTONISHING CONCLUSION.
Charlie Hardie finds himself in a steel box, tubes and wires attached to his body, trapped inside a satellite parked in orbit 500 miles above the Earth. He's got a year's supply of food, air, water, and no communication back to Earth, and must complete his 12 months' duty or his wife and son will have an "accident."
But when someone all-too-familiar docks on the satellite, informs Hardie he's sitting in a veritable zero-G vault containing the world's most dangerous secrets, and forces a crash-landing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Hardie must decide whether he's come face-to-face with the partner he needs to save his family--or with his nemesis. After years of exile, Hardie's arming up....and heading home.
Charlie Hardie finds himself in a steel box, tubes and wires attached to his body, trapped inside a satellite parked in orbit 500 miles above the Earth. He's got a year's supply of food, air, water, and no communication back to Earth, and must complete his 12 months' duty or his wife and son will have an "accident."
But when someone all-too-familiar docks on the satellite, informs Hardie he's sitting in a veritable zero-G vault containing the world's most dangerous secrets, and forces a crash-landing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Hardie must decide whether he's come face-to-face with the partner he needs to save his family--or with his nemesis. After years of exile, Hardie's arming up....and heading home.
250 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2013
22 people are currently reading
439 people want to read
About the author
Duane Swierczynski
524 books915 followersDuane Swierczynski is an American crime writer who has written a number of non-fiction books, novels and also writes for comic books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
June 6, 2013
With his Charlie Hardie trilogy that started in Fun & Games, continued in Hell & Gone and now concludes in Point & Shoot, Duane Swierczynski has successfully created a perpetual momentum machine that feeds off it’s own outrageous plot twists and increasingly crazy action to the point where it becomes self-sustaining in defiance of every rule of physics and literature that dictate it should have long ago exploded in the faces of its readers, killing or maiming them all.
It’s impossible to recap this without spoilers, and spoilers should be avoid at all costs. So suffice it to say that it’s about a guy named Charlie Hardie who once did some work for the Philadelphia police department before tragedy had him change careers to being a drunken house sitter. Then fate had him cross paths with a vast conspiracy known as the Accident People. This is the group behind almost every shady death of a celebrity or politician.
Charlie fouled up one of the AP’s plots and his life has been a hellish nightmare of being used in their increasingly elaborate schemes with interludes of occasionally breaking free to try and stop then and invariably trigging more of their wrath. Here at the end of the road, Charlie is confronted with yet another mind blowing twist as well as an insane escape situation and then a desperate road trip to try and protect his wife and son.
The thing about these books is that they’re just flat out fun. The increasingly convoluted conspiracy plot and over-the-top action should make them ridiculous, but Swierczynski makes it work by just showing a relentless balls-out commitment to piling blocks of batshit insanity on top of batshit insanity to the point where there’s this giant pyramid of blocks of batshit insanity standing there. Yeah, it’s made out of batshit insanity, but it’s still a pyramid. And it’s glorious.
Review of all three books also posted at Kemper's Book Blog.
It’s impossible to recap this without spoilers, and spoilers should be avoid at all costs. So suffice it to say that it’s about a guy named Charlie Hardie who once did some work for the Philadelphia police department before tragedy had him change careers to being a drunken house sitter. Then fate had him cross paths with a vast conspiracy known as the Accident People. This is the group behind almost every shady death of a celebrity or politician.
Charlie fouled up one of the AP’s plots and his life has been a hellish nightmare of being used in their increasingly elaborate schemes with interludes of occasionally breaking free to try and stop then and invariably trigging more of their wrath. Here at the end of the road, Charlie is confronted with yet another mind blowing twist as well as an insane escape situation and then a desperate road trip to try and protect his wife and son.
The thing about these books is that they’re just flat out fun. The increasingly convoluted conspiracy plot and over-the-top action should make them ridiculous, but Swierczynski makes it work by just showing a relentless balls-out commitment to piling blocks of batshit insanity on top of batshit insanity to the point where there’s this giant pyramid of blocks of batshit insanity standing there. Yeah, it’s made out of batshit insanity, but it’s still a pyramid. And it’s glorious.
Review of all three books also posted at Kemper's Book Blog.
January 4, 2016
[7/10]
* * * * for the whole trilogy
After having some explosive "Fun & Games" in L.A. fighting a band of secretive paid killers, tough boy Charlie Hardie is sent first to Hell () and later he is simply Gone from the face of the Earth (). Charlie Hardie is now thoroughly pissed at the secret clique that keeps trying to either kill him or mind-control him. It's time in this last (latest?) installment of the trilogy for Charlie to "Point & Shoot" with all guns until either the playing field is clear, or Charlie himself is dead. Because this time the Organization has gone too far : they are threatening his family, the wife and son that Charlie had abandoned to keep them safe from the troubles that cling to him like bees to honey.
This isn't going to have a happy ending
- Morgan Freeman, Se7en
Duane Swierczynski is probably my favorite new writer of action-packed, adrenaline filled thrillers. I have compared the first book in the Charlie Hardie series with the movie francise "Die Hard", and the rest of the series did not disappoint me, keeping the flip dialogue sharp, the bullets flying and the plot twists on speed dial. Numerous pop culture references, like the quote above, point out to the source of inspiration of the series in action movies and crime novels. Swierczynski has absorbed them all, and is taking the game now to the next level. Some readers might be tempted to call it "jumping the shark", but IMHO some of the best action flics all use 'over-the-top' plots and slightly ridiculous super-villains. Yes, the Charlie Hardie books are scripted to extract the most out of every set piece, but the same could be said of the James Bond, Mission Impossible or Jason Bourne blockbusters. I am dropping these big names here because I honestly think that Charlie Hardie could give these big boys a run for their money. He's tough, he's quick with the sarcastic repartees, he's a regular Joe fighting a big time conspiracy and he would make a great action hero on the silver screen. Please just don't mention this to Silvester Stallone, Steven Seagal or other has=beens. We need a fresh face to play the character.
You might have noticed I am talking in general terms about the whole series, instead of focusing on the last installment. One reason is to avoid spoilers, since this third book returns to a lot of the issues opened in the first episode, we see several returning characters, and a big twist happens very early in the proceedings (). The other reason is the structure of the series, which resembles more a single story split by the publisher into three parts (much like Peter Jackson did with the Hobbit). I read the books a few months apart, but I believe they work better read in quick sequence, since they are so fast paced that I actually felt let down when I finished each separate episode much too quick. To be honest, I also liked the first book better than the next two. I'm not saying the sequels were bad, but they do feel sort of forced and less exuberant that the debut.
Overall, the Charlie Hardie trilogy is a great choice for readers interested in popcorn-fun, action packed crime stories. Personally, I believe three books are enough and am not much tempted by an eventual sequel. But I am adding other Swierczynski books to my waiting list : "The Blonde" and "Expiration Date"
* * * * for the whole trilogy
After having some explosive "Fun & Games" in L.A. fighting a band of secretive paid killers, tough boy Charlie Hardie is sent first to Hell () and later he is simply Gone from the face of the Earth (). Charlie Hardie is now thoroughly pissed at the secret clique that keeps trying to either kill him or mind-control him. It's time in this last (latest?) installment of the trilogy for Charlie to "Point & Shoot" with all guns until either the playing field is clear, or Charlie himself is dead. Because this time the Organization has gone too far : they are threatening his family, the wife and son that Charlie had abandoned to keep them safe from the troubles that cling to him like bees to honey.
This isn't going to have a happy ending
- Morgan Freeman, Se7en
Duane Swierczynski is probably my favorite new writer of action-packed, adrenaline filled thrillers. I have compared the first book in the Charlie Hardie series with the movie francise "Die Hard", and the rest of the series did not disappoint me, keeping the flip dialogue sharp, the bullets flying and the plot twists on speed dial. Numerous pop culture references, like the quote above, point out to the source of inspiration of the series in action movies and crime novels. Swierczynski has absorbed them all, and is taking the game now to the next level. Some readers might be tempted to call it "jumping the shark", but IMHO some of the best action flics all use 'over-the-top' plots and slightly ridiculous super-villains. Yes, the Charlie Hardie books are scripted to extract the most out of every set piece, but the same could be said of the James Bond, Mission Impossible or Jason Bourne blockbusters. I am dropping these big names here because I honestly think that Charlie Hardie could give these big boys a run for their money. He's tough, he's quick with the sarcastic repartees, he's a regular Joe fighting a big time conspiracy and he would make a great action hero on the silver screen. Please just don't mention this to Silvester Stallone, Steven Seagal or other has=beens. We need a fresh face to play the character.
You might have noticed I am talking in general terms about the whole series, instead of focusing on the last installment. One reason is to avoid spoilers, since this third book returns to a lot of the issues opened in the first episode, we see several returning characters, and a big twist happens very early in the proceedings (). The other reason is the structure of the series, which resembles more a single story split by the publisher into three parts (much like Peter Jackson did with the Hobbit). I read the books a few months apart, but I believe they work better read in quick sequence, since they are so fast paced that I actually felt let down when I finished each separate episode much too quick. To be honest, I also liked the first book better than the next two. I'm not saying the sequels were bad, but they do feel sort of forced and less exuberant that the debut.
Overall, the Charlie Hardie trilogy is a great choice for readers interested in popcorn-fun, action packed crime stories. Personally, I believe three books are enough and am not much tempted by an eventual sequel. But I am adding other Swierczynski books to my waiting list : "The Blonde" and "Expiration Date"
November 3, 2018
This is the slam-bang finale to Duane Swierczynski’s Charlie Hardie trilogy! At this point, if you thought that Swierczynski had already put ex-badass/house sitter/super-prison escapee Hardie through every insane situation his twisted mind could think of, you will discover immediately how wrong you were when the book opens with Hardie stuck on a satellite in freakin’ outer space. When a familiar face visits the satellite, this sparks Hardie on one last adventure to finally defeat the shadowy organization that’s been plaguing his life once and for all.
This whole series of books have been a joy to read because of Swierczynski’s sheer audacity in storytelling and his talent for riding the line of absurdity and almost never falling off into silliness. And although it’s not as well-structured in its approach and some of the ideas don’t land as well as the other books, this is still a fun conclusion to a series and a story featuring not only a man having to confront an unstoppable organization but a man having to confront himself ;).
This whole series of books have been a joy to read because of Swierczynski’s sheer audacity in storytelling and his talent for riding the line of absurdity and almost never falling off into silliness. And although it’s not as well-structured in its approach and some of the ideas don’t land as well as the other books, this is still a fun conclusion to a series and a story featuring not only a man having to confront an unstoppable organization but a man having to confront himself ;).
May 9, 2014
The Charlie Hardie series of books (Fun & Games, Hell & Gone, Point & Shoot) are packed with non-stop action and feature a protagonist in Charlie Hardie who is essentially The Expendables rolled in to one man, or John McClane and Bryan Mills teamed up inside one body to take down an entire worldwide conspiracy and save his family. It's batshit crazy and oh so good, as Hitch once said "A far-fetched story must be plausibly told, so your nonsense isn't showing." and Duane Swierczynski does everything he can to tell an insanely far-fetched story as plausibly as possible. You'll believe a man can fly.
Opening every chapter with a quote from popular culture, proving that for every situation there's a great movie reference to be found Swierczynski has created what is essentially an pulp-action fanboy fantasy in the same vein as the ultra nerdy science fiction novels Redshirts and Ready Player One but, and this is the most important aspect, done it to near perfection with a straight face rather than relying on its gimmick.
In this third wild thrill ride instalment we join Hardie aboard a satellite in low Earth orbit, a prisoner of The Cabal and a guard of their most precious information. Remember, the trick is to hide the nonsense, and by this time in the narrative Swierczynski has you sold on the insanity so you can just get behind Charlie Hardie as he sets off on yet another mission of escape and revenge. It's brutal and bloody and so much fun, with plot points seemingly pulled out of his ass or liberally borrowed from some of the greats of the genre. He makes everyone else who writes this stuff seem positively tame and horizontal in comparison.
For a tantalising glimpse of everything you're missing by not reading these three books, I made a list of all of the movies referenced at the start of each chapter: http://boxd.it/dL0a
"I wanted a symphony of powerful men...of lonely women...of thick necked losers...of human ships that crash in the night." - Stallone
Opening every chapter with a quote from popular culture, proving that for every situation there's a great movie reference to be found Swierczynski has created what is essentially an pulp-action fanboy fantasy in the same vein as the ultra nerdy science fiction novels Redshirts and Ready Player One but, and this is the most important aspect, done it to near perfection with a straight face rather than relying on its gimmick.
In this third wild thrill ride instalment we join Hardie aboard a satellite in low Earth orbit, a prisoner of The Cabal and a guard of their most precious information. Remember, the trick is to hide the nonsense, and by this time in the narrative Swierczynski has you sold on the insanity so you can just get behind Charlie Hardie as he sets off on yet another mission of escape and revenge. It's brutal and bloody and so much fun, with plot points seemingly pulled out of his ass or liberally borrowed from some of the greats of the genre. He makes everyone else who writes this stuff seem positively tame and horizontal in comparison.
For a tantalising glimpse of everything you're missing by not reading these three books, I made a list of all of the movies referenced at the start of each chapter: http://boxd.it/dL0a
August 22, 2016
This is such a fun trilogy with a completely over-the-top, convoluted plot overall, but so what?! A ride....across the universe and across the U.S. with Charlie Hardie is nothing but fun. Recommended for anybody tired of reading reasonable and sensible thrillers :D
April 4, 2013
Charlie Hardie is back from being in Hell and Gone surviving Fun and Games.
A simple battle plan point and shoot.
Gone from his family eight years and floating watching over earth. Guarding an ultra-sceure facility plantside is his new job not by choice.
His only connection to his family, courtesy of The Accident People, is a hidden daily video feed of his family at home, he has served eight months and with only a few months left all he wants is to be out of his coffin sized life back home with the denizens of earth.
An unkillable man inside an unbreakable vault. Lets hope for everyone’s safety Charlie Hardie stays locked up otherwise The Accident People will regret having a man like Charlie hungry for retribution free. Especially a man who went through Project Viking.
They the Accident People, also known as The Cabal, have him guarding the most dangerous piece of information in the world so dangerous to keep on earth they felt the need to have it in outer-space. When the job is done they will have him set free, so they promise. If the job is not done or he breaks free they will have his family killed. Any breakout will have a series of rapid, breakneck paced events unfold in order to have the matter under control and his family safe. Then there is the question of this very important and dangerous item he is guarding, where is it kept?
So as you can see Charlie Hardie is up against it, the test of his life and his family yet again in the balance. The story does not let down in momentum and has you with many possible outcomes in mind. The only key to pulling this remotely off may be himself in more ways than one.
Sparse, solid word play in dialogue and sentences, a story with a visceral edge that will hook you from the get go, a solid thrill ride with some dark humor.
Check out thefirst, second and
third installments, all great thrillers.
A simple battle plan point and shoot.
Gone from his family eight years and floating watching over earth. Guarding an ultra-sceure facility plantside is his new job not by choice.
His only connection to his family, courtesy of The Accident People, is a hidden daily video feed of his family at home, he has served eight months and with only a few months left all he wants is to be out of his coffin sized life back home with the denizens of earth.
An unkillable man inside an unbreakable vault. Lets hope for everyone’s safety Charlie Hardie stays locked up otherwise The Accident People will regret having a man like Charlie hungry for retribution free. Especially a man who went through Project Viking.
They the Accident People, also known as The Cabal, have him guarding the most dangerous piece of information in the world so dangerous to keep on earth they felt the need to have it in outer-space. When the job is done they will have him set free, so they promise. If the job is not done or he breaks free they will have his family killed. Any breakout will have a series of rapid, breakneck paced events unfold in order to have the matter under control and his family safe. Then there is the question of this very important and dangerous item he is guarding, where is it kept?
So as you can see Charlie Hardie is up against it, the test of his life and his family yet again in the balance. The story does not let down in momentum and has you with many possible outcomes in mind. The only key to pulling this remotely off may be himself in more ways than one.
Sparse, solid word play in dialogue and sentences, a story with a visceral edge that will hook you from the get go, a solid thrill ride with some dark humor.
“The Cabal…oh, they had so many names. When Hardie first encountered them, he knew them as the Accident People who worked for the Industry. Back then they’d nearly killed him…but he’d hurt them bad, too, scuttling a deal worth billions and really pissing them off. So much so that the incident (a) stole five years of Hardie’s life, and (b) stuck him in a secret prison and forced him to be the warden. Needless to say, this really pissed Hardie off. So when Hardie finally busted out he set out to destroy the three known members of Secret America—which is what the inmates in that prison called the Industry.
But when Hardie asked the nice lady he almost shot in the face what they called themselves, she chuckled and said, “Call us the Cabal.”
“Six years ago, the lawyers who ran the Accident People were a group of problem solvers, working in secret for the most exclusive and powerful clients in the world. (Usually, huge corporations.) Over the past few years, however, they’d evolved to become the powerful, with their claws sunk deep into the U.S. government at the highest levels.”
Check out thefirst, second and
third installments, all great thrillers.
May 2, 2013
"The trick to becoming someone else isn't selling it to others. Most people don't look too closely. The trick is selling it to yourself."
Those are words spoken by Charlie Hardie. Well, the other Charlie Hardie.
Over the past 8 years, Hardie has been through a lot. After giving up the cop-life and becoming a house sitter in California, Hardie had his first encounter with The Cabal (or The Accident People or Secret America). Since then, he's been beaten up, murdered (and un-murdered), tossed in a maximum security underground prison and finally, shot into space,. Yes, you read that right. This time around, Hardie is forced to confront his most unexpected foe yet – himself.
You see, Hardie isn't nicknamed Unkillable Chuck because it's cute. Charlie is seemingly unable to die. Throughout the first two books, Hardie appears to be just a guy with a string of good luck that barely makes it through deadly situation after deadly situation. In Point & Shoot, Swierczynski maps out a bit of a back story showcasing just how Hardie can repeatedly avoid the grave. Swierczynski's reasoning was definitely needed given the sheer amount of punishment he's subjected Hardie to this time around. I'm not even sure Wolverine could walk away from this beating – both physically and mentally.
Taking nothing away from Fun & Games or Hell and Gone but Point & Shoot takes the cake in this series. Considering that franchises – be they books, movies or television – can start to show signs of wear and tear as they get older, it's not often that they can only get stronger. Whether it’s the characters that he's created over three books and their interactions with one another or the insane situations Charlie Hardie has to get out of, Swierczynski has developed one of the most entertaining series out there.
Like its predecessors, Point and Shoot shares the same frenetic action and abrasive dialogue that we've come to know and love with this series. However, that’s not unusual when it comes to Swierczynski. His previous novels Severance Package and The Blonde, just to name a few, are both high octane reads that barely give you enough time to catch your breath between action sequences.
It’s sad to know that we've seen the last of Charlie Hardie but with a writer as talented as Swierczynski, I'm sure he's got other stories swimming around in his head. I doubt we'll have to wait long before he throws another great novel or character our way.
Also posted @ Every Read Thing
Those are words spoken by Charlie Hardie. Well, the other Charlie Hardie.
Over the past 8 years, Hardie has been through a lot. After giving up the cop-life and becoming a house sitter in California, Hardie had his first encounter with The Cabal (or The Accident People or Secret America). Since then, he's been beaten up, murdered (and un-murdered), tossed in a maximum security underground prison and finally, shot into space,. Yes, you read that right. This time around, Hardie is forced to confront his most unexpected foe yet – himself.
You see, Hardie isn't nicknamed Unkillable Chuck because it's cute. Charlie is seemingly unable to die. Throughout the first two books, Hardie appears to be just a guy with a string of good luck that barely makes it through deadly situation after deadly situation. In Point & Shoot, Swierczynski maps out a bit of a back story showcasing just how Hardie can repeatedly avoid the grave. Swierczynski's reasoning was definitely needed given the sheer amount of punishment he's subjected Hardie to this time around. I'm not even sure Wolverine could walk away from this beating – both physically and mentally.
Taking nothing away from Fun & Games or Hell and Gone but Point & Shoot takes the cake in this series. Considering that franchises – be they books, movies or television – can start to show signs of wear and tear as they get older, it's not often that they can only get stronger. Whether it’s the characters that he's created over three books and their interactions with one another or the insane situations Charlie Hardie has to get out of, Swierczynski has developed one of the most entertaining series out there.
Like its predecessors, Point and Shoot shares the same frenetic action and abrasive dialogue that we've come to know and love with this series. However, that’s not unusual when it comes to Swierczynski. His previous novels Severance Package and The Blonde, just to name a few, are both high octane reads that barely give you enough time to catch your breath between action sequences.
It’s sad to know that we've seen the last of Charlie Hardie but with a writer as talented as Swierczynski, I'm sure he's got other stories swimming around in his head. I doubt we'll have to wait long before he throws another great novel or character our way.
Also posted @ Every Read Thing
March 1, 2016
Every so often, I’ll discover a writer whose voice hits me like a spike of adrenaline, and reinvigorates my own work. Duane Swierczynski is one of those writers. Within a few pages of Fun & Games – the first in his Charlie Hardie trilogy of crime thrillers – I knew that not only was I in safe hands, but I was reading something fresh. Swerzy’s style is the perfect marriage of stripped-down prose and screenwriting I’ve encountered, Elmore Leonard meets Shane Black. I’ll admit, I was slightly disappointed by the second installment in the Hardie series – if only because the story didn’t go where I wanted it to, but hey, it ain’t my book – so I dragged my heels to this final part, and I’m sorry I did, because it’s an awesome conclusion, with a premise so batshit insane I’m still snickering at Swerzy’s audacity. If you haven’t read this guy before, rectify that shit immediately. The Charlie Hardie series is a great place to start.
May 5, 2013
Update:
I'm giving this third in the series a 3 star rating for several reasons (Yes I liked the first two better). Switching back and forth between third and a somewhat convoluted second person viewpoint, Duane introduces a substitute Charlie Hardy, who is the primary in this story. The second person viewpoint was distracting and it made me wonder who the hell was doing the narration. Furthermore, within the context of "show, don't tell"...there was way too much telling. I liked the series because I liked Charlie...but if Charlie's a small portion of novel then why should I care, right?
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Duane Swierczynski's debut into a three part series detective thriller comes across like a fine cabernet (and I went into it with only one bottle left). What happens is you savor the taste. In this case, I read Fun and Games and the second installment Hell and Gone in the Charlie Hardy mystery series knowing I'd have to wait until 2013 for the third installment.
For fans of Donovan Creed (by John Locke) you'll likely enjoy Swierczynski's Charlie Hardy series, whose books by the way are better than Swierczynski's stand alone novels (at least the two stand alone books I've read). The plot is captivating, very creative, sharp edged and unusual to say the least. Like Locke's hero Donovan Creed, we're thrown into a world that lies just below the reality we all know. Unlike Creed who lives outside of society, our tragic hero Charlie Hardy does not belong in that world and he is in for a rude shock starting with the first few pages of the first book. From that point on, the reader is in for a fast, easy ride down Swierczynski's lane...the plot never once letting up, not even as you reach the last words in each novel.
Come to think of it, it might be better to say that reading Swierczynsk's first two series novels is like reading chapters one and two of a three chapter single novel...each flowing into the other at the exact spot where the latter left off (something you don't see often from authors).
So, take a swig of Swierczynski's Cabernet, let this pulp writer give you an unkillable hero and then let the wine slide smoothly down your throat. You won't regret it.
As usual with series novels, if you've read my Charlie Hardy review, you've read 'em all. Assessment: damn, I wish I didn't have to wait until 2013. But, I've pre-ordered the third in the series so I know it's coming...:-)
May 21, 2013
Charlie Hardie is as resilient as they come. He’s had to endure gross physical pain in order to protect his family from the Accident People and fend off a larger Secret America organisation which threatens to tear the fabric of reality as he knows it. Once again confined to a small space and segregated from those he loves, Hardie is teased with a glimpse of his family via a satellite picture beaming images from earth direct to his outer space prison. It keeps him sane – to a degree.
Tasked with guarding some precious piece of information, all Hardie knows is that outer space is the only way to keep the information secure with him the permanent custodian. Day bleeds into day, night to night, the mundane chipping away at his mental state. SSDD until an unexpected visitor crashes his solitude and Charlie comes face to face with a more disturbing form of reality then he could have ever imagined.
POINT & SHOOT, the third (and hopefully not final) pulp in the Charlie Hardie series is a hell of a book. Swierczynski crafts a fun pulply tale that’s outlandish yet disturbingly plausible. As Hardie does everything imaginable to protect his wife and teenage son from his mysterious adversaries, the reader is enveloped in the story, feeling every inch of pain along with Charlie.
What makes this series great is the length Swierczynski goes to in order to maintain diversity. Accident People in FUN & GAMES, an underground prison in HELL & GONE, and an outer space experience in POINT & SHOOT. The one constant being good writing ad engaging storytelling.
Side note. I couldn’t help but think Swierczynski incorporated a little bit of Bloodshot (Valiant comics) into Charlie Hardie in POINT & SHOOT.
Tasked with guarding some precious piece of information, all Hardie knows is that outer space is the only way to keep the information secure with him the permanent custodian. Day bleeds into day, night to night, the mundane chipping away at his mental state. SSDD until an unexpected visitor crashes his solitude and Charlie comes face to face with a more disturbing form of reality then he could have ever imagined.
POINT & SHOOT, the third (and hopefully not final) pulp in the Charlie Hardie series is a hell of a book. Swierczynski crafts a fun pulply tale that’s outlandish yet disturbingly plausible. As Hardie does everything imaginable to protect his wife and teenage son from his mysterious adversaries, the reader is enveloped in the story, feeling every inch of pain along with Charlie.
What makes this series great is the length Swierczynski goes to in order to maintain diversity. Accident People in FUN & GAMES, an underground prison in HELL & GONE, and an outer space experience in POINT & SHOOT. The one constant being good writing ad engaging storytelling.
Side note. I couldn’t help but think Swierczynski incorporated a little bit of Bloodshot (Valiant comics) into Charlie Hardie in POINT & SHOOT.
May 20, 2013
I loved the first two books in this series and his writing is still spot on, but I had a problem with the whole premise at the very beginning of the book.
Once I got past that and into the meat of the story it returned me to the things I loved about the first two books. Good clean, crisp writing and a character I really enjoy reading about.
With the ending, I'm not sure where we are going from here. I'll check out the next installment but I'm hoping we go back to the first two books in terms of storyline.
Once I got past that and into the meat of the story it returned me to the things I loved about the first two books. Good clean, crisp writing and a character I really enjoy reading about.
With the ending, I'm not sure where we are going from here. I'll check out the next installment but I'm hoping we go back to the first two books in terms of storyline.
May 10, 2013
How do you describe a wild carnival ride?
This was the most fun read I've had since the last Duane Swierczynski novel I tore through.
I absolutely loved this series.
Start with the 1st book (FUN & GAMES), then read the 2nd book (HELL & GONE) and then read this.
They're worth every dime they'll cost you.
Your children will thank you for reading the Charlie Hardie series.
This was the most fun read I've had since the last Duane Swierczynski novel I tore through.
I absolutely loved this series.
Start with the 1st book (FUN & GAMES), then read the 2nd book (HELL & GONE) and then read this.
They're worth every dime they'll cost you.
Your children will thank you for reading the Charlie Hardie series.
August 12, 2013
Absolutely crazy storyline but what a highly entertaining series of books this was. Well worth a look for anyone who fancies some "fun and games" in their reading ! Hope that there are more of these to come -when your hero's known as "Unkillable Chuck" (and also has a "chip off the old block" son) reckon that there's some definite scope for keeping the series going surely ?
August 5, 2013
I'm not wasting my time. Far too many good books out there to read.
If I want sci-fi, there's plenty to read.
Might read the last few chapters before I turn in to library though, just because. Glad I borrowed it...I would be doublypissed mad had I bought it.
If I want sci-fi, there's plenty to read.
Might read the last few chapters before I turn in to library though, just because. Glad I borrowed it...I would be doubly
March 22, 2018
"Are you asking me about the end game? Here's my take on it: The Cabal knows the end of the world is coming. I don't mean rapture, or a giant rapture, or a giant asteroid, or an ice-age, or any of that Roland Emmerich shit. I'm talking about the fall of civilization. The explosives were planted during WWII, and everything's about to go up. The Cabal exists for one purpose only: to be the winners. That means having available resource at their disposal, no matter what. They don't care if the public doesn't like it, or revolts, or camps out in front lawn singing kum-ba-fuckin'-yah. It doesn't matter. They are the ants scrambling up the boots of a soldier.
Hardie saw the fringes of Salt Lake City on the horizon.
"You must be great fun at parties."
Hardie saw the fringes of Salt Lake City on the horizon.
"You must be great fun at parties."
April 28, 2013
“Unkillable” Charlie Hardie is the most abused protagonist in the annuls of adrenaline pumping hyper-violent Mayhem Fiction (a genre I just coined for this review). In Fun & Games and its sequel Hell & Gone, Hardie, unknowingly evokes the ire of the Accident People, a group bent on the black-ops puppetry of murder and world domination and, in the space of 608 pages, he is shot repeatedly, stabbed, sprayed with death mace, body bagged, caged in a secret maximum security prison, and fired off into space. Yeah, things are pretty tough for Charlie Hardie who just wants save his family from the numerous barbs and arrows of the Accident People.
In this final installment, Point & Shoot, Swiercyznski demands that we suspend our disbelief long enough to bring Hardie home. By which I mean bring him back to earth. Literally. After all, the last we saw of Hardie, he was babysitting a satellite in low-earth orbit from inside it. I’d love to hint at how Hardie gets down, but that’d be telling. I do promise that if you can sit back and enjoy the implausible, you will see a master storyteller tie up dozens of loose ends like a stripper with a cherry stem.
What I appreciate about Mayhem Fiction is that it reads like a blood-soaked Looney-tunes episode; characters are demolished and torn asunder, but manage to survive because, hell, it’s fiction and they never really existed. What Swierczynski does in Point & Shoot, is expand the narrative a bit resolving arcs and sub-plots which most other authors would allow to flap wildly in the breeze. In most cases I’m content to go from A to D and skip rationale for an author’s best violence, but Duane isn’t prepared to let us leave Hardie that easily. Instead, we find out things that, if I told you now, men in masks would drag me from my slumber and beat me mercilessly. The one I will share is a particularly heartwarming scene where Hardie empathetically converses with a massive irradiated cockroach. It works and it is wonderful.
If you’ve read the previous books, this is the finale you couldn’t see coming: I’m quite convinced that most of the events were chosen via those paper fortune telling games elementary kids play. If you are just now checking out the trilogy, strap yourself in for 800 pages of raucous and improbable nonstop character abuse and thrills to make every other adrenaline pulp adventure seem like young adult fiction.
In this final installment, Point & Shoot, Swiercyznski demands that we suspend our disbelief long enough to bring Hardie home. By which I mean bring him back to earth. Literally. After all, the last we saw of Hardie, he was babysitting a satellite in low-earth orbit from inside it. I’d love to hint at how Hardie gets down, but that’d be telling. I do promise that if you can sit back and enjoy the implausible, you will see a master storyteller tie up dozens of loose ends like a stripper with a cherry stem.
What I appreciate about Mayhem Fiction is that it reads like a blood-soaked Looney-tunes episode; characters are demolished and torn asunder, but manage to survive because, hell, it’s fiction and they never really existed. What Swierczynski does in Point & Shoot, is expand the narrative a bit resolving arcs and sub-plots which most other authors would allow to flap wildly in the breeze. In most cases I’m content to go from A to D and skip rationale for an author’s best violence, but Duane isn’t prepared to let us leave Hardie that easily. Instead, we find out things that, if I told you now, men in masks would drag me from my slumber and beat me mercilessly. The one I will share is a particularly heartwarming scene where Hardie empathetically converses with a massive irradiated cockroach. It works and it is wonderful.
If you’ve read the previous books, this is the finale you couldn’t see coming: I’m quite convinced that most of the events were chosen via those paper fortune telling games elementary kids play. If you are just now checking out the trilogy, strap yourself in for 800 pages of raucous and improbable nonstop character abuse and thrills to make every other adrenaline pulp adventure seem like young adult fiction.
July 18, 2013
Duane Swierczynski is a writer you should read without expectations, because whatever you think his novels are going to be, chances are that he'll operate completely outside the paradigm you've thought of. POINT & SHOOT is the logical sequel to FUN & GAMES and HELL & GONE, yet it's a whole different animal species. You won't understand a damn thing about it (or at least you won't appreciate), if you haven't read the previous two novels.
THAT said, it's about 250 pages of absolute ruckus. If you thought Charlie Hardie had seen everything and lived through hell, think again. This is another ballpark of crazy. From having a fist fight in a spaceship with his body double to rampaging through the U.S, causing chaos and destruction, it's a lot of fun. Swierczynski is busy wrapping up many loose ends in this novel (and does it beautifully) and ends up mangling his narrative a little. I doubt POINT & SHOOT will become a proper introduction to Charlie Hardie, but it'll give his fans a satisfying conclusion.
THAT said, it's about 250 pages of absolute ruckus. If you thought Charlie Hardie had seen everything and lived through hell, think again. This is another ballpark of crazy. From having a fist fight in a spaceship with his body double to rampaging through the U.S, causing chaos and destruction, it's a lot of fun. Swierczynski is busy wrapping up many loose ends in this novel (and does it beautifully) and ends up mangling his narrative a little. I doubt POINT & SHOOT will become a proper introduction to Charlie Hardie, but it'll give his fans a satisfying conclusion.
July 31, 2016
Best use of 2nd Person narration I've ever seen. Others have recapped this series better than I can--especially considering it's been a couple of years since I read it--but I still remember how effectively Swierczynski used that POV. It's weird, it's edgy, it's wild and different.
Kind of how the entire trilogy could be described...
Kind of how the entire trilogy could be described...
February 6, 2024
Outrageously absurd. The final book of the trilogy has Charlie in space “house sitting” a satellite when his biometric double appears on a food drone resupply. Then it’s a race home to Philadelphia for the final shootout. This whole series could be thought of as Kill Bill meets Austin Powers. It ends with the prospect of yet more adventures for Charlie but it appears that after ten years that’s not happening.
June 7, 2013
HEY YOU! Are you looking for something cool to read? Well have I got some good news for you! I just finished reading Duane Swierczynski’s latest novel “Point & Shoot” and I loved it. It’s like a carefully crafted cocktail of the best elements from 70′s and 80s action films, classic conspiracy stories like “The X-Files” and “The Parallax View,” and the awesome mind bending trippy twists of the films of writer/director Duncan Jones. Sound good? Great because now I have even better news. “Point & Shoot” is the concluding volume in a trilogy of novels starring police consultant, turned house sitter, turned target of a shadowy conspiracy Charlie “Unkillable Chuck” Hardie. So if you haven’t read the first book in the “Fun & Games” go do so now. Don’t worry we’ll wait.
Okay. You’re back. That was fun wasn’t it. How’d you like the ending? Don’t worry it’s picked up in book two of the series “Hell & Gone.” You should really go read that too. It’s cool, we’ll wait.
See what I mean? Wasn’t that cool? Okay now that you’re caught up I can elaborate on my thoughts on “Point & Shoot” because I try to keep my reviews spoiler free, but I don’t think we can talk about this novel without understanding the context of the other two and what they’ve done to Charlie Hardie. So that being said you have been warned. THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD FOR “FUN & GAMES” AND “HELL & GONE.”
“Fun & Games” and “Hell & Gone” came out within a few months of each other and “Point & Shoot” was supposed to follow shortly after, but because the life of a professional writer can become very complicated and some stories demand extra care readers had to wait an extra year for “Point & Shoot,” but as I indicated above the wait was worth it.
“Point & Shoot” picks up right where the agonizing cliff hanger of “Hell & Gone” left us with Charlie Hardie trapped in space aboard a satellite and forced to do the bidding of his enemies, the shadowy conspiracy known as the Cabal, in the hope that they’ll leave his ex-wife and son alone. Swierczynski makes you feel Hardie’s loneliness right away.
Then suddenly someone is knocking on the door of Hardie’s satellite. I can’t say much about Charlie’s rescuer without spoiling some fun and very swierczynskicool reveals. What I can say though is this is where a large part of the novel’s fun and trippy head twists come from. The first quarter of the book is almost a psychedelic sci-fi movie as you watch Hardie and his would be rescuer interact.
What goes up must come down though, and in the second quarter of the book that’s the satellite that Hardie and his rescuer were on. Once the Satellite crash lands “Point & Shoot” transforms into another fun genre that Swierczynski expertly handles, the buddy action pic and road movie combo. Imagine a blending of “Midnight Run” and conspiracy films and you’ll get an idea of the fun of this sequence.
Hardie and his rescuer are on a cross country trip to save Hardie’s family from the Cabal and their foot soldiers, the assassin army known as the Accident People. So the final half of “Fun & Games” is a bloody, action packed thriller as Hardie and his rescuer battle some old enemies in an attempt to save his family.
Those old enemies include Mann, the one-eyed Assistant Director of an Accident People cell that Charlie first matched wits with back in “Fun & Games.” She’s as delightfully evil as she was in that book and in “Point & Shoot” we get to see how she’s haunted by her failures with Charlie in the first book. We also to catch up with Factboy, Mann’s amusing information specialist and Abrams and Doyle the remaining heads of the Cabal, both of whom have physical and mental scars from their battles with Hardie in previous books.
Old friends come back as well like Hardie’s FBI contact Deacon Clarke. In the second half of “Point & Shoot” we get to see some scenes from his perspective and get to appreciate how competent and resourceful he is. Plus we get more with Hardie’s ex-wife Kendra and more with his son CJ. Both are interesting characters. And of course Charlie Hardie himself remains a fascinating and fun character especially in light of all that’s happened to him.
So with old enemies and old friends coming back, and events escalating, it feels like everything is coming full circle in “Point & Shoot. With “Fun & Games” and “Hell & Gone” the writer built a fun and exciting trilogy with an amazing character. And in “Point & Shoot” the writer brings that trilogy to a hell of close.
May 12, 2013
After the greatness that was Hell and Gone, I expected the final installment of the Charlie Hardie trilogy to be at least a bit of a letdown. While the novel did live up to that expectation, it was still pretty good. It was just what we’ve come to expect from both Charlie Hardie and author Duane Swierczynski. It was full of death, destruction, and mayhem. And though the particulars of the ending were not surprising, the details of how we got there were.
Only two negatives about the book for me. Unfortunately, they were both rather big. First, I felt denied a proper resolution for Mann. I’m sure plenty of other readers disagree, but I felt cheated. That left a bitter taste in my mouth. Huge disappointment.
The other negative was the large amount of recaps. I know and expect that series contain brief expositions of what happened in previous books. I don’t always like it, but it’s fine. Point and Shoot had a lot of them, and they were not brief. Usually, the recaps are sprinkled near the beginnings of books. Not this time. It felt to me as if they grew more frequent the further along the book went. It threw off the rhythm of my reading and took me out of the story on a few occasions.
So while the story was fine, I was left a little displeased. All in all, it was an OK, but not really satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
Only two negatives about the book for me. Unfortunately, they were both rather big. First, I felt denied a proper resolution for Mann. I’m sure plenty of other readers disagree, but I felt cheated. That left a bitter taste in my mouth. Huge disappointment.
The other negative was the large amount of recaps. I know and expect that series contain brief expositions of what happened in previous books. I don’t always like it, but it’s fine. Point and Shoot had a lot of them, and they were not brief. Usually, the recaps are sprinkled near the beginnings of books. Not this time. It felt to me as if they grew more frequent the further along the book went. It threw off the rhythm of my reading and took me out of the story on a few occasions.
So while the story was fine, I was left a little displeased. All in all, it was an OK, but not really satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
May 3, 2013
Unputdownable. It's not a literal term. Otherwise we would be walking around covered in books, which would make it kinda difficult to eat, sleep, and, well, do just about anything.
But...
Figuratively speaking, Duane Swierczynski's Point & Shoot definitely fits the bill.
Picking up exactly where Hell & Gone left off, the latest Charlie Hardie adventure is a rocketing thrill ride of non-stop craziness.
Fun & Games (the first Charlie Hardie book) was a fast paced thriller.
Hell & Gone (book number two) was an action packed mind game.
Point & Shoot...well, Point & Shoot is a bizarro, buddy road tripping, action adventuring, identity swapping, serial killering, conspiracy filled masterpiece.
As always, Swierczynski's writing is as sharp as a scalpel. With just a few words, he is able to bring each character to life. The dialogue crackles, and the action bursts from the page in a cloud of gun powder and blood. (Again, I'm speaking figuratively. Literally, well, that would be rather gross.)
For anyone looking for a well written, thrilling, breathtaking story, I highly recommend Point & Shoot. I do suggest you read the first two books. Not just to get the whole story, but because they are all fantastic fiction.
But...
Figuratively speaking, Duane Swierczynski's Point & Shoot definitely fits the bill.
Picking up exactly where Hell & Gone left off, the latest Charlie Hardie adventure is a rocketing thrill ride of non-stop craziness.
Fun & Games (the first Charlie Hardie book) was a fast paced thriller.
Hell & Gone (book number two) was an action packed mind game.
Point & Shoot...well, Point & Shoot is a bizarro, buddy road tripping, action adventuring, identity swapping, serial killering, conspiracy filled masterpiece.
As always, Swierczynski's writing is as sharp as a scalpel. With just a few words, he is able to bring each character to life. The dialogue crackles, and the action bursts from the page in a cloud of gun powder and blood. (Again, I'm speaking figuratively. Literally, well, that would be rather gross.)
For anyone looking for a well written, thrilling, breathtaking story, I highly recommend Point & Shoot. I do suggest you read the first two books. Not just to get the whole story, but because they are all fantastic fiction.
June 23, 2013
I absolutely love Duane Swierczynski's books. They're incredibly fun and just a complete joy to read. Yes, they're over the top and yes, they strain credulity to the breaking point, but I can guarantee that you won't care. You'll be too busy racing through the book to find out what happens next.
Based on the ending in this book, I'm hoping that there will be another book (and another and another and another).
Since this is the third book in the series, I've become very invested in Charlie Hardie's life and attempts to (a) stay alive and (b) keep his estranged family alive. And this book turned it up a few notches and, again, seemed to make it nearly impossible for Charlie and his family to...well, not die. But of course when you're dealing with "Unkillable Chuck," as he has apparently been dubbed, things are never as simple as you'd think.
Like all of Swierczynski's books, there is a lot of violence in this one so if you're a sensitive reader, be aware. But again---so, so fun.
Highly recommended.
Based on the ending in this book, I'm hoping that there will be another book (and another and another and another).
Since this is the third book in the series, I've become very invested in Charlie Hardie's life and attempts to (a) stay alive and (b) keep his estranged family alive. And this book turned it up a few notches and, again, seemed to make it nearly impossible for Charlie and his family to...well, not die. But of course when you're dealing with "Unkillable Chuck," as he has apparently been dubbed, things are never as simple as you'd think.
Like all of Swierczynski's books, there is a lot of violence in this one so if you're a sensitive reader, be aware. But again---so, so fun.
Highly recommended.
June 3, 2013
Even by Duane Swierczynski standards, the Charlie Hardie books are ridiculous. They push the upper limits of credulity and the lower limits of literary acceptability. Definitely a guilty pleasure, and one that I've enjoyed in the past. But with Point and Shoot, I felt like most of the pleasure was gone, and I was just left with the guilt. Throughout the first half of the book, I toyed with quitting. By the second half, I was reasonably engaged but it couldn't make up for my overall disappointment. Kudos to Swierczynski, however, for a decent ending. My advice: if you want a good guilty pleasure, read The Wheelman, Severance Package and maybe The Blonde, but skip the Charlie Hardie series...
August 27, 2019
Why you may ask. Why would you read the third book in a series when book two was so far fetched. I foolishly purchased book 2 and 3 after I read and really enjoyed book 1. So, I was stuck. After the crazy secret agency and prison in the 2nd book you would think things couldn't go more bizarre. Oh, you would be wrong! Now good old Charlie is in a satellite orbiting Earth. I still like his character and stuck with the outlandish storyline til the bitter end.
August 8, 2018
A great first book in a trilogy followed by a terrible second and a “meh” third. The reality is that this should have been one book at best, and that’s it, but like so much in Hollywood, the author seems to have chosen a money-grab over art. I really wish I had simply put down the first book and left it there...
December 19, 2015
Excellent romp though the surreal spy world Duane Swierczynski has created. I will definitely be looking for more by this author.
December 29, 2015
Having just reread Fun and Games and Hell and Gone, I decided to finish the trilogy this time. I'm glad I did. What a wild ride! Talk about a willing suspension of disbelief!
January 22, 2016
The first book was exciting, the second claustrophobic, and this one just went off the rails, and not in a good way.
August 2, 2016
This book was just as ridiculous as the other two in the series. More so even. And, it was just as fun.
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