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Title: Havana : An Earl Swagger Novel by Stephen Hunter ISBN: 0-7432-3808-7 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 07 October, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.41 (34 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: Havana by Stephen Hunter: Audio Book
Comment: I have been a big fan of Stephen Hunter novels for several years. Most of them I've listened to as audio books. The dialog and voice characterizations by Beau Bridges have always been superb and the plot riveting. However, for the audio book Havana, Stephen Hunter must've been asleep at the wheel! The dialog is inane, uninspired and unimaginative. I don't know whether Stephen Hunter wrote the audio book dialog or if it was transcribed by another but it is pitiful. William Dufris as the reader does a poor job at best of voice characterizations and only shows glimpses of getting it right. Castro is portrayed as a whiney and unintelligent buffoon. I can't even begin to think why Hemingway was even mentioned in the book. Frankly, it was a chore to get thru it(unlike all the others which were superb). I hope that Beau Bridges is brought back to read these books again and Stephen Hunter throws himself back into his work. I would have to imagine that the hardback version of the novel is better but I would not recommend the audio book.
Rating: 4
Summary: My first Swagger novel; a great ride
Comment: This was my first experience with Stephen Hunter's fiction writing and with Earl Swagger, and I didn't come away disappointed. Hunter has created a simple, but loveable character in Earl Swagger who -- in his simplicity -- is probably everything that young men aspire to become: A hero. Hunter does a great job of creating a hard-boiled good guy who isn't ham-fisted or cliched. An admirable task.
More than that, Hunter has carefully and successfully walked the tightrope of writing a fictional story using a historical character as an integral figure in the plot. When a lesser author attempts this task, the effort often comes across as forced and incredible, forcing the reader further outside of the imaginary world that's been crafted. Here, however, Hunter's use of Fidel Castro blends perfectly with the story at hand and lends a true depth to the plot.
Prehaps the only shortcoming of this book is that the plot elements are entirely predictable and ordinary. That is not to say that the story itself isn't wonderfully entertaining, only that there wasn't an element to the story that threw me for a loop or kept me on the edge of my seat. In a way, that's perhaps appropriate for a story starring a character that's a wonderfully straightforward as Earl Swagger. The rich characterization makes up for any shortcomings in originality of plot.
Rating: 5
Summary: A STRONG VOCAL PERFORMANCE
Comment: Listeners can almost taste and feel the hustle of 1950s Havana in these superb vocal characterizations rendered by voice actor William Dufris. A master of phrasing and intonation he brings vibrant life to this powerful story.
Hero Earl Swagger, topnotch gunfighter and former Marine Medal of Honor recipient, is as tough as they come. He'll need all the strength and prowess he can muster when the government asks him to protect a Congressman whose mission it is to check on purported wrong doings at an American naval base.
Remember, this is Havana in the 1950s - Fidel Castro is in power, gang lords thrive, and every stripe of criminal activity is taking place. Rather than doing much investigation our Congressman seems more intent on sampling all the temptations Havana has to offer, little knowing that Swagger also has a mission - to dispose of Castro.
Stephen Hunter writes as strongly and chillingly as he did in "Hot Springs" and "Pale Horse Coming." William Dufris is his vocal equal.
- Gail Cooke
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Title: Last Car to Elysian Fields: A Novel by James Lee Burke ISBN: 0743245423 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 30 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Persuader: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child ISBN: 0385336667 Publisher: Delacorte Press Pub. Date: 13 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Avenger by Frederick Forsyth ISBN: 0312319517 Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books Pub. Date: 30 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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Title: The Hanged Man's Song by John Sandford ISBN: 0399151397 Publisher: Putnam Pub Group Pub. Date: 10 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: Split Second by David Baldacci ISBN: 0446530891 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 30 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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