Comments on: 2008 – Night of Thunder

By: Dan Kristensen

Dan Kristensen — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 12:35:06 +0000

Having just finished “Night of Thunder” i found myself thinking it was one of the better Bob Lee Swagger novels since Point of Impact. However, there was on thing i never could understand. If “Point of Impact” was set in 1992 and “Night of Thunder” in 2008/2009 how come Nikki is 24 years old?

anyway, despite this little part nagging at me, i’ve truly enjoyed this novel.

By: CGCronin

CGCronin — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 04:54:31 +0000

Inbred pedophile hillbillies? NASCAR? C’mon Mr. Hunter, you’ve done so much better in the past. The baddies in this book are more suited to the dreck William J. Johnstone writes in his “Ashes” series than a Bob Lee Swagger novel. And, maybe I’m “misremembering” things, but when did Bob lose the ability to use contractions?
I understand that the lowest common denominator has money also, and may actually buy and read your books, but as for me, for this book, I am disappoint.

By: Denny Symes

Denny Symes — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 15:14:58 +0000

“I consider Lee Child’s “Jack Reacher” novels to fit nicely into the same category. Reacher is also ex-military (Former MP Major) who wanders around the country with only a toothbrush and the clothes on his back, as luggage. He’s kind of a voluntary homeless guy hero, who finds himself in all sorts of situations requiring kicking ass and taking names. Almost over-the-top, but it works. A fascinating aspect of Child’s work is that he gets the military aspects so right, in both the theory and practice. Lee Child’s a Brit, and a former TV guy, but he understands the US Army’s soul so well, and he gets the hardware right, too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Child”

As a former MP, I can tell you not only does Child NOT get the military aspects right, but he can’t even get the military hardware right, which is easily researched. Child does not hold a candle to Hunter.

By: Mike Horan

Mike Horan — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:22:39 +0000

Just finished reading I Sniper, an entertaining and exciting read. My only criticism, perhaps a small one, is when he refers to Bob Lee’s father, Earl Swagger,as a Medal of Honor winner. Most veterans I know, including several MOH persons, believe that “winner” is incorrect. The correct manner of referring to these heroes is “recipient”of, or “Awarded” or “earned” the Medal of Honor. This was not a contest to see who could win the MOH. This is a small, but significant point. Keep’um coming Mr. Hunter, I love each and every one.

Mike Horan
C Recon, USMC, 1963/64

By: Bill_E_8

Bill_E_8 — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:32:28 +0000

Just finished the “I, Sniper” novel, and to put it into one word, excellent! Couldn’t put it down and ended up staying up ’til the early morn’ reading the whole thing. I can say that Stephen Hunter has a new fan and I’m excited to read his earlier novels as well!

By: Charlotte Mahoney

Charlotte Mahoney — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:52:56 +0000

Thank you so much, I love them all. I don’t care about guns, or war, but the Swagger books are fascinating. I’ve read them and reread them, and this seems like a chance to thank you. I’m rereading Night of Thunder right now.
Did I say Thank You?
Charlotte

By: Jenny

Jenny — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:09:53 +0000

NIGHT OF THUNDER. I read the book, my first introduction to Stephen Hunter. I sent a copy to my nephew in the Army in Iraq, and gave my copy to his dad, my brother, after I had finished reading the book. We all enjoyed the story. I am looking forward to finding more of the Stephen Hunter novels.

By: Linda Perkins

Linda Perkins — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:46:28 +0000

I am almost finished w/Night of Thunder and found that the novel is THIN–THIN–THIN. Bob Lee is too good to be fooling around with a NASCAR drama, daughter or no daughter. I first was hooked when I read Time To Hunt. I read every word and read the book three times. I find myself skimming and not at all involved in Thunder. The Grumley's are more interesting than Bob Lee. This novel is mundane and not up to par.

By: George Serdes

George Serdes — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:59:04 +0000

On page 42 the landmark to his daughter's apartment is a Wal-Mart, but when he returns to the apartment (about page 313) it's a Kmart. That rather surprised me, since I'd have thought that if any company was going to be bought out by the other, that the reverse would be the case… still and all, this was a great book – a lot of fun reading.

By: Jim Wilson

Jim Wilson — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:18:12 +0000

I just finished Night of Thunder, and was blown away by it. It's the first Stephen Hunter novel I've read. He skates the fine line between realistic action and over-the-top characterization. It worked well for me, though, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of his work. I must confess, I missed most of the typos and errors because I was ripping through it so fast. But, it did occur to me, in passing, that 1/4 pound seemed pretty damn' heavy for a .50 cal AP round. That seems more like I'd expect a 20mm cannon round to weigh, although I could be totally wrong about that guess. Stephen Hunter is an excellent thriller writer, and this novel passes my "one-year-cycle" test. My favorite books in my permanent collection are so good that I can read them once a year, and enjoy them as much as the first time. I want to add the rest of his work to the permanent collection. Dan Brown doesn't come close to passing that test. I gave away his Da Vinci Code (a gift) in hardcover, after the first reading, and I donated to charity his two previous works in paperback. Another favorite, for similar reasons, is Carol O'Connell's "Kathleen Mallory" series of novels. If you like Hunter's work, you also will probably like O'Connell's: Close to over-the-top, but not quite. Another character aspect similar to Bob Lee Swagger, is that Mallory is quite capable of doing her own killing, and doesn't require the acquaintance, for plot purposes, of a friendly psychopath, as in the "Spenser" or "Elvis Cole" series of thrillers. Mallory's her own damn' psychopath, when she needs to be. http://www.dancingbadger.com/carol_oconnell.htm I consider Lee Child's "Jack Reacher" novels to fit nicely into the same category. Reacher is also ex-military (Former MP Major) who wanders around the country with only a toothbrush and the clothes on his back, as luggage. He's kind of a voluntary homeless guy hero, who finds himself in all sorts of situations requiring kicking ass and taking names. Almost over-the-top, but it works. A fascinating aspect of Child's work is that he gets the military aspects so right, in both the theory and practice. Lee Child's a Brit, and a former TV guy, but he understands the US Army's soul so well, and he gets the hardware right, too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Child I'm really looking forward to the rest of Hunter's catalog, as I've read all of O'Connell's and Child's work again recently. With those three, I could maybe reduce the size of my library considerably. Of course, I'd need to replace a lot of my James McClure novels. He's the exception, in that I love his work, but I keep giving his books away. I'm in the film/TV business, and when I meet a talented young director, or smart young producer, I always give them a McClure novel to consider for a film project. His novels take place in South Africa during the apartheid period ('60s-'70s). They're buddy novels about two homicide cops- Kramer and Zondi, an Afrikaaner and a Bantu, who are as close as the traditional fictional American detective teams, but can't appear to be real friends because of the racist policies of the SA government and national culture, which adds a whole other dimension to the characterization, in addition to really good "who-dunnit" plotting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_H._McClure