In 1955 Arkansas state trooper Earl Swagger dies in a shootout with Jimmy and Bub Pye, two armed robbers. At least for forty years that is what Bob Lee Swagger, son of Earl and decorated Marine sniper believes. Reporter Russ Pewtie's family has also been traumatized by the Pye family when Jimmy's son Lamar almost kills Russ' father who is an Oklahoma state trooper. Russ wants to write a book about the connection and talks Bob Lee into returning to Arkansas to help him research. But when they get there they find that someone is stalking them and trying to prevent them from digging into Earl Swagger's death.

I've been reading Stephen Hunter novels for years and have yet to find a bad one. His characters are interesting and well drawn. And he really knows his weaponry. I've really enjoyed the Bob Lee Swagger books and would recommend all of them. To really enjoy this series it would probably be best to start with Point of Impact and then read Dirty White Boys and finally this one. However they're all good and capeable of standing on their own.

Black Light completes the Bob Lee Swagger trilogy which began with Point of Impact, followed by Dirty White Boys. Hunter knows his guns and his characters. The dialogue seems true to place and time, and race relations as they existed in 1955 Arkansas have been portrayed in the context of the time. This book tells the story of Bob Lee's father, Earl, and his death during a gunfight with two young fugitives. The story shifts from 1955, when Earl was shot, to the present as Bob Lee and a young writer try to ferret out the mysteries surrounding Earl's death. They are assisted by Sam, the eighty-six year old lawyer who also appeared in Point of Impact. Sam is refusing to go gently into old age, and struggles mightly with bouts of forgetfullness.

I love Stephen Hunter, and had this been written by a lesser writer I would have been very impressed. Since it WAS written by Hunter, I have to say that I thought it was not quite up to the quality of the first two books in the trilogy. It seemed more hastily written and errors such as aging a character only one year in twenty-seven months were distracting to me. Dirty White Boys is still my favorite, but this is a worthy conclusion to the Swagger trilogy.

Stephen Hunter has done it again. He has brought back Bob Lee Swagger. A sniper who can be a killing machine. Black Light and Point of Impact are my two favorites of his books. I did not want to put the book down. Bob Lee goes back to Blue Eye, Arkansas to find out about the death of his daddy. His dad, Earl, was a state trooper and killed in the line of duty or was he murdered????? When Bob starts asking questions people come after him and his friends. A lot of action and an ending that will surprise you. A great finish!!!!!!! If you like a lot of action and suspense you will like this book.

From the first line of Dirty White Boys, it's obvious this book is not for everyone. It is full of incredible violence, bloodshed, and profanity. It also has a peculiar raw power. Ruthless Lamar Pye, his mentally handicapped cousin Odell, and a spineless intellect named Richard Peed have broken out of prison, murdering three people on their way. Bud Pewtie, an Oklahoma State Trooper, is already deep in a relationship with his partner, Ted's, wife when he and Ted are called to help search for the convicts. Inevitably, the two groups meet. Ted and Bud encounter far more than they're ready for, but so does Lamar, and the result is ... Dirty White Boys.

Stephen Hunter did a remarkable job with this book. It is very well written, fast-paced, and absorbing. It is not without flaws -- I found the brief paragraphs from Odell's perspective hard to believe at best, and from my experience working with mentally handicapped people, I know they can often tell right from wrong as well as the rest of us, even if they go about it a bit differently -- still, the characters in Dirty White Boys are not stereotyped. The bad guys are not all bad, the good guys not all good, and the results are woven seemlessly together.

An excellent read.

This was the first Stephen Hunter novel I read and it immediately made me go out and get as many of his other books as I could find. This is a riveting story that thrills and entertains without falling into the usual cliches so many other authors resort to.
There is a razor sharp line that divides the good guys from the bad guys. At times you don't know who to root for. If you are new to Stephen Hunter, I envy you. Although his books are good enough to read more than once, there is nothing quite like reading a great book for the first time.
Let me give you a bit of advice: some of Hunter's earlier works were very disappointing. I guess he was still trying to find his voice. Avoid TAPESTRY OF SPIES. THE SECOND SALADIN and THE MASTER SNIPER are good but don't compare to his later work. The DAY BEFORE MIDNIGHT was very good and I highly reccomend it. I suggest reading the following in this order: DIRTY WHITE BOYS, POINT OF IMPACT, BLACK LIGHT, A TIME TO HUNT. Enjoy!!

This is one of the most intense thrillers I've ever read, a perfect blend of dark humor, wild action and edge-of-your-seat suspense. Hunter creates three dimensional characters - his good guys have flaws and his bad guys have virtues - and this seems to have disturbed some other reviewers on this page. I wouldn't have it any other way. The world is not black and white. Why should our crime fiction be? I have known people just like many of the characters in this book. As extreme as the action gets, the personalities involved remain completely credible. Hunter is a master of mayhem and a canny observer of human nature. His books are always complex and loaded with fascinating detail. DIRTY WHITE BOYS is one of his best.

Stephen Hunter's book first attracted me because of the blunt manner in which he confronts America's obsession with violence, as characterized by the movies we love. This initial fondness for his boldness soon drifts away, as I read his various selections on individual movies.
I think Hunter misses the point; he does not understand the contradictions he forms in his numerous, faulty reviews. He criticizes such films that deal with cruel portayals of violence, yet he seems utterly captivated with documentaries of real-life American crime.
His harsh undermining of "Unforgiven" leaves me with several questions. How can someone so opionated with violence on-screen by so opposed to a movie that is so blatantly a cry against violence? Did Hunter miss the point? Does he think Eastwood's character is supposed to be likeable?
Hunter nearly ruins his book in one line: "it wasn't even a good picture" (referring to "The Deer Hunter"). He claims that it was a horrible portrayal of racism and an ultimate "technical blunder." Yet, Hunter deals with this movie in a mere four lines, while giving the gun selection of the cast in "The Wild Bunch" several pages.
The one highlight of the book is the epilogue, a haunting look at Hunter's father. This portrayal of a "Father of Darkness" is where Hunter's talent as a writer truly shows through. It is a shame, then, to remember the precedeing 380 pages after reading this troubling portrait.

This book gives a a short look at some of the most controversial movies Hollywood has made. It separates movies into different categories like action-adventure, film noir, horr, war, etc., so you can expect what you are about to read. Finally, it asks a question: If our nation is against violence so much, why are we supporting movies that contain so much of it?
I enjoyed reading Violent Screen somewhat. It showcased a few of my favorite movies such as Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dongs, and my all-time favorite, True Romance, all directed by Quentin Tarintono. But I got bored by reading about movies I can't stand like Born on the Fourth of July and Scarface. Author Steven Hunter also included reviews of movies like Thelma and Louise; that confused me. I didn't feel that it was violent or controversial enough to be featured in this book. Atfer reading other reviews, such as that of Romeo Is Bleeding, I wanted to see the movie as soon as possible.
Overall, I found Violent Screen a mediocre book. I enjoyed reading about some of my favorite movies, but flipped the pages of the ones that bored me. There were a few movies that made me wonder why they were even in the book. I enjoyed reading Hunter's opinions. Part of the "fun" of this book was seeing what he thought about my favorite movies. I agreed with the author about half of the time, but you are not always supposed to agree with a movie review. Also, I found the book to be a bit too long. If I were to recommend this book to someone, it would be to a person who likes violent movies. Anyone else should stay as far away as possible.

America is often seen by the world as a society that glorifies violence, as demonstrated by our movies. This book takes on that topic head on. The reviews themselves are very helpful. Some movies receive praise, others the opposite. Violent movies expose our flaws and show our conscience. Read this book if you are interested in good movies.

By the way, it takes about a minute to read each vignette. This makes for good bedtime reading or for the subway--anywhere that you have only a short amount of time to read.

If you've already read Tapestry of Spies, then you've already read this book. I will start by saying that this book is not a typical Stephen Hunter book. It is nothing like the fast paced Point of Impact or The Day Before Midnight. It is in fact a great mystery story with little action. The plot is amazing, but requires some knowledge of WWII politics in order for it to gell in ones mind. If you don't know anything about WWII, this book may appear to have a paper thin plot. The ending is indeed a surprise greater than any other endings of his books, even more so than Time To Hunt. If you are a Stephen Hunter zealot or love mysteries, then by all means, read this book. If, however, you do not love Stephen Hunter and think that Point of Impact was ok, then perhaps this book is not for you.

I f you actually look at your own reviews I used to live in 7687 and played with Jr. Just to say espaniol es un inteligente lingue pero el salvador es bueno. y en S padre the skys are beautiful in Jan. Love ya BJBarber Comm.

I am a huge fan of the swagger series (both earl and bob) and i was really let down by this book. the writing was trite, the characters lifeless, the ending stupid and predictible, the story-line unrealistic. hunter's forte certainly is not ww2....it is puzzling to me that a man who can write books as good as pale horse coming and point of impact, wrote this mediocre fluff.

Murder, conspiracy, Nazis, and guns. If any of those words spark a flame of interest in your mind Master Sniper is a must read. Master Sniper is a novel of twisted murder conspiracies, evil bad guys, and any good novel isn't great without a World War II setting. I personally would recommend this book to any action book fan. This is by far the best book ever written by Stephen Hunter. Set back into the time of Nazi Germany, when Hitler and swing music were dominating the planet. In a German concentration camp a Jewish poet is being held captive, working 16 hours a day just to stay alive. One night they are led into a field in the heart of the Black Forest in Germany. One by one the Jewish prisoners are being sniped. The poet realizes what is happening and tries to escape. He succeeds. In London an American Sargent discovers a new weapon that can snipe better than any other weapon known to man, and with it the Germans can snipe even Eisenhower himself. But the target isn't Eisenhower, it's some one bigger the Eisenhower. Through out the story Leets, the American Sargent discovers more than he ought to know about the Reich. I personally would recommend this book to any one who loves to read historical fiction. I was first drawn to this book because it sounded like an action thriller that would sustain me through an 8-hour long plane ride. Then when I had read it I realized that it had more depth. This is the best novel ever written by Stephen Hunter. There really aren't many details about the book that are bad. Some good parts about the book are that one, the book is realistically placed (in time, setting, and character opinions.) in relation to the time period. In Conclusion, this book is a great, must read novel that deserves five out of five stars.

Master Sniper

Murder, conspiracy, Nazis, and guns. If any of those words spark a flame of interest in your mind Master Sniper is a must read. Master Sniper is a novel of twisted murder conspiracies, evil bad guys, and any good novel isn't great without a World War II setting. I personally would recommend this book to any action book fan. This is by far the best book ever written by Stephen Hunter. Set back into the time of Nazi Germany, when Hitler and swing music were dominating the planet. In a German concentration camp a Jewish poet is being held captive, working 16 hours a day just to stay alive. One night they are led into a field in the heart of the Black Forest in Germany. One by one the Jewish prisoners are being sniped. The poet realizes what is happening and tries to escape. He succeeds. In London an American Sargent discovers a new weapon that can snipe better than any other weapon known to man, and with it the Germans can snipe even Eisenhower himself. But the target isn't Eisenhower, it's some one bigger the Eisenhower. Through out the story Leets, the American Sargent discovers more than he ought to know about the Reich. I personally would recommend this book to any one who loves to read historical fiction. I was first drawn to this book because it sounded like an action thriller that would sustain me through an 8-hour long plane ride. Then when I had read it I realized that it had more depth. This is the best novel ever written by Stephen Hunter. There really aren't many details about the book that are bad. Some good parts about the book are that one, the book is realistically placed (in time, setting, and character opinions.) in relation to the time period. In Conclusion, this book is a great, must read novel that deserves five out of five stars.

-Sean Villard

I concur that this is not the most exciting book Stephen Hunter ever wrote. And also that this is MUCH better than "Spanish Gambit".

It's not as good as "Master Sniper", but that shouldn't be interpreted as a recommendation for that THIRD of Stephen Hunter's three 'learning novels'.

Your Stephen Hunter collection isn't complete without these 3 novels, so go ahead and buy them. Keep them by your bed to read when you need to go to sleep because you want to get up early in the morning. Works for me.

Do NOT keep any of the Bob Lee Swagger/Earl Swagger books in the same room where you're suppose to be sleeping. They call you in the middle of the night, you find yourself turning on the bedlight, clamping reading glasses to bleary eyes, and reading just ONE more chapter before I go back to sleep, honest!

Jerry the (Yeah, but it's never just one, is it?) Geek

PS: Hunter's single non-Swagger novel that I can recommend is The Day Before Midnight. Store that with Bob the Nailer books; it's non-putdownable.

It's also one of his first novels, and at the time it
might've rated a little higher. However, he has far superior
offerings to acquire and digest before manically buying this
one to meet your Stephen Hunter fix.

Oh, that was just me.

Well, here's a nifty clue: not a sniper book.
And another: not "Dirty White Boys" either.

I am the person who earlier marveled that Hunter's best book was out of print. I almost didn't take my copy of the book back to the Library. It is a book that you can open to a page and begin re-reading it and just enjoy the flow of words and the great deal of humor Hunter puts into the story. I laughed and laughed as the author lampooned many of our sacred Cows in the intelligence community. The story is excellent and I wanted it not to end. I felt I had lost a couple of friends when it did, but now in May,1998 I will see them again.

Unlike the other Stephen Hunter books which I picked up and couldn't put down, this one I put down and couldn't pick up. Finally, on a long business trip, this was the last bit of reading material I had left.

In this book, there are too many characters and plots going on at the same time, and none are handled well. There are bits in the book that have no relevence later, and I wonder why they were added except to increase word count.

I do not recommend that you buy this book. Instead, buy "Hot Spring" or like me, wait until it is released in paperback, as I thoroughly enjoyed the series about Earl and Bob Lee Swagger

I believe that Hunter has acknowledged that this book was a big mistake on his part. I never knew much about the details of the Spanish Civil War, and while I am not sure if I know now, I feel I learned a little from this book, which is something at least.

In this book, he is writing from a point of view of a character that he doesn't identify with very well, and his I think readers have a hard time identifying with him.. Some of the elements of a good Hunter novel are there, but most are lacking.

The ending of the book was truly miserable as well, and pretty much destroyed what little sentiment I had built up for the characters while reading..... Was he depressed when he wrote this book? It is not the worst book I have ever read, but there are much better books, Hunter and non-Hunter, to read out there. If this had been by another author I might have given it a 3, but I know Hunter is capable of far better. I felt I wanted to read all of his books.. now I am pretty sure I could have safely skipped this book.

I found this book by chance at a hotel when I was 14. Someone left it there, I never heard of Hunter before but I read it anyway. It was quite good. Juilan being gay was a nice suprise and I think the reason why people fail to like this book is becuse they say they don't like the story, or it's not up to par. Well this isnt a typical thriller, I normaly read fantasy, but even I can tell that this historical fiction is clearly NOT about the story. It's about Robert, Juilan and Sylvia, even Levitsky and Mink. It's a about hate and love and respect. Between people. It's a chartcter study. And it's very well writen. Good work Mr.Hunter I'll be sure to read more of your books in the future. Nice poetry, Im a poet myself and thats another reason I liked the book. And for the critics who are Hunter fans, mabey this just isnt your type of book. But it IS very good.

i'm rating this book at 2 stars mainly based on its age. it holds little value now for most unix security curious admins. however, looking through it again i realize that it hits most of the basics (at the time) well. it covers filesystem and access security reasonably well, and the example code is reasonably correct in spirit, if not always in practice.

of historical value only, not reccomended.