2008 - Night of Thunder
From the inside dust jacket:
Talk about a ride!
Woe unto him who crosses Bob Lee Swagger, especially when his daughter’s life is at stake. Forced off the road and into a crash that leaves her in a coma, clinging to life, reporter Nikki Swagger had begun to peel back the onion of a Southern-fried conspriacy bubbling with all the angst, resentment, and dysfunction that Dixie gangsters can muster. An ancient, violent crime clan, a possibly corrupt law enforcement structure, gunmen of all stripes and shapes, and deranged evangelicals rear their ugly heads and will live to rue the day they targeted the wrong man’s daughter. It’s what you call your big-time bad career move. All of it is set against the backdrop of excitement and insanity that only a weeklong NASCAR event can bring to the backwoods of a town as seemingly sleepy as Bristol, Tennessee.
A master at the top of his game, Hunter provides a host of thrilling new reasons to read as fast as we can. When Swagger picks up peeling where his daughter left off, and his swift sword of justice is let loose, we find a true American hero in his most stunning action to date. And - in the form of Brother Richard, a self-decreed “Sinnerman” out of the old fire-and-brimstone tradition - Hunter offers up his most diabiolical, engaging villain yet. A triumph of story, character , and style, Night of Thunder is Stephen Hunter at his very best.
October 14th, 2008 at 5:35 am
Usual great Hunter book–but way too short!! Still not up to level of “Pale Horse” or “47th Sam” Typo/error on page 125: Usual older .45 LC lead bullet weight is 255 grains–not 230 grains as printed–proofreader may have confused earlier ref to 230 grain 45acp “hardball” bullets–very easy to do!! Already waiting for the next great Hunter book–keep ‘em coming!! dmd
October 17th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Another great Stephen Hunter novel, but with a slip-up. There doesn’t appear to be a ‘6.7 liter Hemi’ with 500hp. There are 5.7 and 6.1 liters available, but neither with 500hp. Whether you were aware or not, it seems to this reader that you believed there to be only one NASCAR race in Bristol when, in fact, there are both the April and August races. There is also an NHRA drag race in May. All bring millions of dollars to the Bristol area.
November 3rd, 2008 at 6:49 am
On page 235 he speaks in Vietnamese to the 14 year old girl. He says, “Can on co em. co that gan da va su can dam cua co da cuu sinh mang chung toi”. Can anyone translate that? I’ve used the internet translators and it translates “Cán ơn have children. co thắt liver and skin character of the students pelt brought them toi ” Which doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:39 am
Congrats to Mr. Hunter for another slam-bang exciting Swagger story. Being just a little older than Bob Lee, I get a lot of vicarious thrills from all his adventures. Two little problems with “Night of Thunder”: 1. From page 3 as Sinnerman pushes his Dodge: “It was late, it was dark, it was quiet . . .”. Then on page 4: “. . . great whiz of dust white in the headlamp beams. . .”. And on page 5 as the action shifts to Nikki: “She knew she had to be wary, as it was full dark . . .”. But then on page 85: “The accident was at 7:35 P.M., according to the clock in the Volvo.” Perhaps the author had a sub-plot where someone altered the clock, but if so, that thread was abandoned. In that part of the world in August, 7:35 P.M. is broad daylight. 2. I can’t find where anyone from Bristol believes they are in the Shenandoah Valley. Perhaps some locals do, and I can’t find them. But go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Shenandoah_watershed.png
which shows that the watershed of the Shenandoah ends about 200 miles northeast of Bristol; the geological valley ends about 170 miles from Bristol, and the cultural valley ends about 130 miles from Bristol, in Roanoke. No big deal, but the four mentions of the action’s being in the Shenandoah Valley were kind of grating. But these notations are insignificant compared to the overall integrity of the production values of the story. I very much hope that someone will make a really good movie from it.
November 19th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Night of Thunder was both a good read and disappointing. I have come to expect precise, well structured writing and NoT did not live up to expectations. It seems as if the publisher was pushing for a new product and this was the rushed result. The action sequences were amazing as usual and it was nice to revisit old “friends” from previous novels. I realize that all stories cannot live up to 47th Samurai or Pale Horse, but this was A ball to their Major League.
November 29th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
I think Mr. Hunter has come through again for us this time, and we have not seen grumley’s since earl shot them up in Hot Springs. Bob put them down hard just like his father, and only complaint was once it got boiling it was over thanks again.
December 9th, 2008 at 6:22 am
3 words. I loved it. of course it couldnt live up to hot springs and Point of Impact but it was still great. i also agree with Michael. the book did seemed rushed and without that rush it could of had a bit more action 9even thought there was plenty).
December 9th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Another great Hunter book. Bob Lee is getting old, but still the best. In the book one of the Grumley’s was named Vern Pye. This name rang a bell and I kept waiting for Hunter to tie it in to a previous book, Dirty White Boys. The main character in that book was a Lamar Pye, about as bad a character as they come. I seem to remember Hunter hinting that Lamar may be the illegitimate son of Earl Swagger. I’m surprised that a tie-in wasn’t done in Night of Thunder, as it would have made the story even better. Imagine Bob Lee related to the Grumleys. Would make for another whole book.
December 29th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
I found a translation of the Vietnamese that occurs on page 235 - here it is:
“Thank you lady! You was really brave and your courage saved our lives.”
This is a good story… I’m not quite through with it yet. Had to take a break to find the translation. But sadly, the book is riddled with errors, typos, at least one confused conversation in which the speakers are somehow switched. On page 225 is says 650 grains is “quarter-pound,” but 650 grains is only 0.0929 lb.
And many more, including stuff mentioned already by others.
Nice work, Mr Hunter - but your proofers and editor(s) fell down on the job. Next time, though, let’s do a better proofing job. I’m willing to help out in that area…