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Title: Havana: A Swagger Family Novel (Earl Swagger) by Stephen Hunter, William Dufris ISBN: 1-59355-171-1 Publisher: Brilliance Audio Pub. Date: 14 October, 2003 Format: Audio CD Volumes: 5 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.39 (36 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: The genesis of Castro's Cuba
Comment: The inordinately talented Stephen Hunter again resurrects his sharkskin tough, Marine Medal of Honor winning Arkansas state policeman Earl Swagger, in his latest novel, Havana. Swagger is hoodwinked into serving as the bodyguard for local congressman Harry Etheridge who is heading a governmental investigation in corrupt 1952 Cuba.
Swagger, in reality, due to his extensive and decorated police and military background is recruited by CIA number two man in Havana, Walter "Frenchy" Short as an assassin. Short, of questionable moral character had been partnered with Swagger during his previous exploits in cleaning up the unbridled town of Hot Springs. His target is the brash, verbose, narcissistic young lawyer Fidel Castro.
Other forces were operative in the unscrupulous Cuban government headed by Batista. American gangsters headed by Meyer Lansky were reaping in profits from gambling, drugs and prostitution and therefore at odds with Castro's revolutionary ideas. The Communist presence was also at work, lead by seasoned Jewish revolutionary Speshnev. He was assigned to nuture and coddle the inexperienced Castro and mold him until a worthwhile puppet for Moscow.
Swagger, with CIA backing, was forced to act within the morass of varying dangerous factions whose goals were vastly different.
Hunter with an appealing blend of fiction and historical fact creates a descriptive and intriguing story that whets the appetite for more adventures starring the Swagger family.
Rating: 4
Summary: Strong entry in Earl Swagger series
Comment: In an afterword, Hunter explains that he got the book from his well known editor, Michael Korda. Korda gave it to him in four words: "Earl Swagger in Havana." This allows Hunter a rich set of characters to draw on, such as Castro and Meyer Lansky. It also allows him to throw Swagger into a multi-sided situation -- the CIA and Cuban government, the gangsters with ties to both the CIA and the Government but pursuing their own interests as well, and the Soviets, with their interests in creating unrest. Castro plays an important role as a bumbling revolutionary with a gift for speechmaking, some courage and not much else (I doubt that this is an accurate picture of Castro). Swagger is brought to Cuba on pretext, as a body-guard for a ridiculous Congressman and his aide -- the real reason is that the CIA wants to have Swagger kill Castro.
What follows is typical Hunter, gun battles with the weapons described in detail; Hunter's odd ability to create tension by describing events out of chronolocial order (you'll read a vague description of what happened, followed by a flashback that shows what actually happened); and Earl Swagger's ability to one-up any man around him. John Wayne would have loved to have played this character.
There's more humor in this book than usual; an argument between between the terrified Congressman and his even more terrified aide when under fire had me laughing out loud. Castro is also a subject for many jokes, although whether this is deserved or not I can't say. Hemingway makes a brief, but disastorous cameo that unfortunately is in keeping with his behavior, particularly at that time.
I find Earl Swagger a more interesting character than his son, Bob Lee, who was the subject of Hunter's first three novels in the Swagger series. Bob Lee was laconic to the point of making Clint Eastwood in his early westerns sound like a chatterbox. Earl is not much more talkative, but our knowledge of his hard life (see Hot Springs) and his desperate hope that his son will have an easier life (of course he won't) gives him more depth than one would expect for a thriller hero. There is also the knowledge that, unless Hunter engages in a major rewrite of history, that he does not have long to live. Hunter killed off Earl Swagger in 1955 in his first appearance, Black Light.
For those who have read other Swagger books, you will find Hunter reusing to good effect a character from prior books. Frenchy Short is back, and is as devious and crooked as ever. He hero-worships Earl but doesn't hesitate to try to have him killed to serve his own purposes. The Congressman who Earl acts as a bodyguard for is Harry Etheridge. At a later point, Etheridge tells Earl that if Earl signs on the CIA their boys can be friends (the chronology on this won't work but Hunter has admitted that to revising the chronology between books). In fact, Etheridge's son will be the cause of Earl's death and will be involved in trying to kill Bob Lee. Finally, a Soviet spy named Pashin has the same last name as a former spy about to become President of Russia in A Time to Kill, but different first name. However, the character in Havana claims to have many relatives in Soviet intelligence, so maybe they are related.
I'm no gun expert, but did spot a couple of small mistakes Hunter makes. Frenchy Short inexplicably switches guns within a few pages -- Hunter is always very specific about the guns his characters carries. Also, a Russian involved in the Spanish Civil War contempously compares Sherman tanks to the German tanks he saw in Spain. Hunter is thinking of the Panther and Tiger II tanks used by Germany at the end of World War II; those used in Spain may have only been equipped with machine guns.
While I gave this book four stars (it would have been 3 and half if Amazon allowed this), I have to wonder what Hunter will do next. A fourth Earl Swagger book will be hard to write; Hunter's done about as much with this character as he can. It may be that he goes to a stand-alone book like Dirty White Boys orginally was (it was later written into the Swagger books in a way that explains the great Lamar Pye's gunfighting skills. Too bad about Lamar; he's my favorite Hunter character of all time). In any event, I look forward to whatever Hunter produces next. He's shown a sure sense when to move on, as he did when he wrote the first real Earl Swagger book Hot Springs, one of his best.
Rating: 3
Summary: Please, let Earl rest in peace.
Comment: Earl Swagger is dead. His death is described in one of Hunter's earlier, and much, much better books. Please, Stephen, let the poor guy rest with dignity.
I am a big fan of Stephen Hunter's previous books. This one is definitely the worst in his impressive run, starting with "Dirty White Boys." The author really needs to find some fresh characters and stories, and not continue to rehash the same old.
The book flowed well, but the main character seemed very uncomfortable in his own skin. Definitely not the Earl Swagger of the previous books, but a twisted carricature of himself, constantly wondering what the hell he was doing in that novel. Uncharacteristically of Hunter, the supporting characters are quite weak and undeveloped. Castro himself is portrayed as a babbling megalomaniac idiot, which, whatever you may think of him, is certainly not the case.
Overall, the book was a dissapointment.
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