Not Point of ImpactOctober 25, 2008 I think many people (like me) will buy this book thinking it is a continuation of a Bob Lee Swagger novel like Point of Impact. You will really be dissappointed unless you are studying Japanese swords or Japaneese terminology or culture. It takes way too long to get to the action. Sorry!
The Sword might be sharp, but this novel is the dullestSeptember 26, 2008 After reading this novel I can only surmise that the author was paid according to the number of words written. He managed to stretch a mediocre yarn to "yawn" lengths. We are even given page after page of the Japanese version of "The Karate KId" (remember that one?). Then there is the endless gushing about the behavior of men of honor, bravery, duty, ad nauseum. At times such filler makes one forget just where the storyline is headed. Of course what REALLY annoys me is that I just kept on reading this thing long after I had given up hope for it.
A worthy sequelSeptember 23, 2008 I enjoyed this latest Swagger novel. It was fun and credible, but not the sort of book that you would like to red again and again. Still, it was worth buying. No regrets.
I Hate to Give This Book 2 StarsSeptember 20, 2008 I am a big fan of Stephen Hunter and his Bob Lee Swagger series. I would give most of them 5 stars. I saw Shooter on TV last night and remembered how much I enjoyed that book and how quickly I read it.
This book took me over a month to finish. The premise is that Bob Lee (after a week of acquaintance) got so close to a Japanese family, that he sought revenge after they were all killed. I don't see Bob Lee that way. I see him as a tough guy who lets few people in but when he does he is loyal to the end. When this is explained it is too late to make the book believable.
The book talked endlessly about sword fighting and the Japanese expressions for all the cuts that I found myself skimming all those parts just to see who survived so I could continue with the book.
The plot was not engaging and I found that I did not "connect" with Bob Lee as I had in the rest of the series. I had read some reviews that were not flattering but I ignored them. Wish I had taken them to heart and at least waited for the paperback. I won't be buying his next one in hardcover.
An entertaining book by Stephen HunterAugust 28, 2008 February 1945. Iwo Jima island, Japan. Captain Hideki Yano was a captain of the 145th Regiment, Kuribayashi's 109th division, Japanese Imperial Army, defending a bunker on Suribachi's northwest slope. He was ready to die for the Emperor and for his country. Earl Swagger was a first sergeant, attached to Able Company, 28th Regiment, United States Marine Corps. It was the company's turn to lead an assault on Yano's well-designed and well-defended position. Able company was lead by captain Culpepper, a college boy, who didn't know what to do. He'd used family connections to get himself a combat command. So sergeant Swagger was sent from headquarter to support him. Swagger was a strange man. He was from nowhere. He had nothing to share with his comrades, no stories, no hometown, no families, nothing at all. But he was a great Marine. He led a group of Marines to get close to the blockhouse. They tried to flank and surprisingly attack it. However, they were ambushed by Yano and everybody but Swagger were killed. Swagger somehow survived and got a gun and continued his mission. He didn't hesitate for a second. He got into the blockhouse and killed everybody inside. Captain Yano could have killed him but for some unknown reasons he did not and accepted his death. Captain's Yano sword was given to captain Culpepper as a war trophy. After the war, Culppeper returned the sword to one of Earl's sisters.
Today. Crazy House, Idaho, United States. Earl's son, Bob Lee Swagger, nearing sixty, was a United States Marine Corps sniper. He was a loner and very tough guy, who'd served in Vietnam 3 times. He was retired and living in the American West with his wife and their daughter. But he usually spent his time alone. One day, a Japanese colonel named Philip Yano came to see him. Yano was a very good man. He was a retired paratrooper serving in the Japanese Self-Defense Force. He asked for the sword, which would have great meaning to him and his family. Bob also knew the sword should have been returned to its place of honour with the family of the man who had carried it and died with it. So he made a promise that he would do his best to find the sword.
Having found the sword from his aunt, Bob flew to Tokyo. He was warmly welcomed in Yano's family. Together they discovered that this sword had a great value. It was one of the greatest Japanese relics. It was actually the blade used by the great Oishi in the attack of Forty-Seven Ronin against Lord Kira.
Today. Tokyo, Japan. Miwa was the president of the AJVS, the All Japan Video Society, the biggest industrial group for dirty movies. He was in that position for sixteen consecutive years. However, his position was threaten and he needed something great to make him a hero. If he got that legendary sword, he would become the Great man of the People, who could not be replaced. So he demanded his greatest swordman, Kondo. And in just one day, the whole Yano family were wiped out.
So Bob returned to Tokyo again to seek revenge and justice...
The story is very interesting but unbelievable. How could a 60 year old guy with no prior experience master the art of sword fighting in a week? How could that guy defeat and kill many experienced Japanese swordmen, including the great Kondo, who'd won the All Japan Kendo championship (well Bob also fought 6 swordmen in the same time)? Why didn't Bob, a great sniper, use a rifle? The ending is surprising, albeit a bit weak. However, as I said, this book is very entertaining. And I believe that the author has done a good research in swords and Japanese culture. The sword fightings are vividly described. A good book.
