Comments on: 2003 – Havana

By: Eric Harper

Eric Harper — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 18:09:46 +0000

Now we just need a story that deals with Frenchy! HAVANA would seem to suggest that there is more to Earl’s finale in BLACK LIGHT than meets the eye. And Hunter has demonstrated, with “Casey at the Bat,” that he is comfortable returning to characters after a long hiatus.

By: Havanaman

Havanaman — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:29:02 +0000

I have lived in both Santiago and Havana plus the usual 10 or so All-Inclusives from one end to the other and I can tell you this great book was well researched. Familiarity with geographical references enriches the reading experience dramatically (I am Canadian, can go there freely, sorry) and I could taste the places described.
Also, the historical data and sequencing allowed for an actual scenario as portrayed in the book to have been feasible, if not downright likely given the climate of the time, allowing for the manipulations vital to the fictional story. Castro indeed had a thousand fortuitous ducks line up for him to get where he did…
Anyway, this book was a favourite with me, read them all 10 times and Havana may only fully resonate with the Kooba familiar.
Man, renting a pink 1959 Caddy ragtop with driver and cruising the Malecon with a cold Chrystal or 10 and a long lean 20 year old Chica beside me…
Ummmm.

By: George Piliev

George Piliev — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 19:51:31 +0000

Mr. Hunter,

To impress someone, who grow up on Russian classical literature is very difficult. Mr. Hunter – You did it with success. It is great pleasure to read your books.
You are great maestro.

With respect,

George Piliev

By: Imjin138

Imjin138 — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 01:25:42 +0000

I enjoy the Earl Swagger novels more than the Bob Lee ones. I hope to see a new Earl novel soon, I have just re-read Havana and loved it when i am finished I will re-read Hot Springs.

Personally I enjoy them all

By: Count Stagger

Count Stagger — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:20:49 +0000

This was a cracking novel. While the Bob Lee books are superb, I think I prefer those with Earl and the idea of Earl in Havana was a great one.

For a writer who’s not exactly a member of the socialist party, Hunter wrote about Castro and Batista reasonably fairly and didn’t try to pretend that pre-revolutionary Cuba was a nice place to be. This allowed some fairly nasty villains for Earl to come up against, especially Ojos Bellos, a particularly memorable torturer.

Recommended as always.

By: G. Jones

G. Jones — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 00:49:05 +0000

As Pete states above Stephen Hunter’s work is “unputdownable”!

By: G. Jones

G. Jones — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 00:45:03 +0000

I am fairly new to Mr. Hunter’s work,& I love everything I’ve read, I started at the beginning, & just finished Havana. Every time I finish one of his books I think it’s his best work, until I start the next one. I would like to see another Earl novel in the future!

By: pete ryder

pete ryder — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 03:06:22 +0000

I don’t agree with Tim Warner’s comments, above.
As with every other Stephen Hunter work I have read I have found it unputdownable, to the point where I will wake at 3AM and continue reading, profound in the insights into human relationships, father-son in particular, contained in the novel, complex, and in places very funny indeed.
A brilliant work among many by a brilliant writer, with a very refreshing lack of political correctness.

By: dave pyatt

dave pyatt — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 02:28:01 +0000

Interesting to see Frenchy Short, as a now CIA agent after he launched his career in “Hot Springs”. If one has read “Black Light” before or after, you realize Bob Lee runs across Frenchy’s name in investigating the sniper shooting of his father. Frenchy was running some ops in Vietnam and was known for his use of the .38 Super. Another cross over character is the official KGB man in Havana who runs Sphesnev. He later appears in “Time to Hunt” as the shadowy person associated with Ward Bonson. Julie Fenn sees his face on a remote farm and decades later is targeted by Bob’s Soviet sniper nemesis. Mr. Hunter is the only author whose books I have read at least twice (all of them).

By: tim warner

tim warner — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:35:34 +0000

I am finding Havana to be terribly slow-going compared to all the others I have read. I put Stephen Hunter at the top of my list as a true craftsman in the field of fiction, but I have to confess that I am somewhat disappointed by Havana. Was he having some difficulties in his life at the time of writing Havana which may have distracted him? I am certainly not complaining. I have noticed however when I taste the best in anything (i.e. Stephen Hunter’s other books)it is difficult to settle for less than the best when I know it’s available!