1989 – The Day Before Midnight
This was the first of four books Hunter wrote for the Bantam publishing company. This was also the first of Hunter’s books made into Audio. From the hardcover dust jacket:
The countdown to midnight begins on a winter dawn. Doors burst open in the Hummel family home in suburban Maryland and commandos brandishing Uzi submachine guns rush inside. As his wife and children watch in horror, Jack Hummel, the local welder, is whisked away.The reason for Hummel’s abduction soon becomes clear: A sophisticated paramilitary assault team has taken control of the nearby South Mountain MX missile site. But the launch key rests within a vault behind a half-ton titanium block. Hummel must utilize his expertise to cut through the block to the key. By midnight South MOuntain will be fully operational – and the nuclear missile will be armed and ready to wreak destruction.
Where? And why? Who are these men who want to turn that key? Above all, who is the mastermind who has mounted such a staggering takeover of America’s most secret missile site?
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December 17th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
This was my first Stephen Hunter book and became an instant addict. With the recent success of 'Shooter' with Mark Walhberg, I cannot understand why this book in particular has not been made into a movie. Damn, it almost could be another piece of the Die Hard series.
January 7th, 2010 at 4:38 am
The book was really intresting, but I didn’t understand one thing. The black tunnel rat in the end said that he can’t read, but always remembered the phrase he had read in jail. How that can be?
March 13th, 2010 at 7:17 am
This was my first Stephen Hunter book. How did I get here? I saw “Shooter” on DVD, and found out it was based on “Point of Impact”, by Stephen Hunter. In the bookstore, I couldn’t find “Point of Impact”, so I bought “The Day Before Midnight.” I was hooked without mercy in this thrill-ride of a novel. Looking forward to going through the catalog of Hunter books!
February 22nd, 2011 at 4:00 pm
This is the best book of the bunch still, I think. The Swagger novels are fantastic, there is no wrong answer but, this book grabs you and the tunnel rat character was fantastic. I wouldn’t mind seeing him again.