Black Light (Bob Lee Swagger)

Some negative reviews have called 'Black Light' predictable, racist and violent. Yeah, what's your point? Look, this is a book in Stephen Hunter's 'Bob Lee Swagger' series. Swagger is an ex-Marine sniper in the south. He hunts bad guys. Violent? I should HOPE so! In Black Light, Hunter's hero--Bob Lee Swagger-- is helping the search for clues regarding his father's death. (His father is ANOTHER S. Hunter major character, Earl Swagger). This journey bounces the reader from 1955 to the 1990s effortlessly, telling two stories at once and builds an excellent little mystery while keeping action junkies on the edge of their kindle. As he so often does, and does so well, Hunter reprises characters from past novels. It's like running into old friends (or enemies, as the case may be), but knowing these recurring characters is NOT a prerequisite for enjoying any of the Hunter novels. The plot? It's the 1990s, and a young reporter sets out to find who, back in 1955, murdered Arkansas State Trooper (and national celebrity) Earl Swagger. And WHY? The would-be author enlists the help of Earl's son Bob Lee, and from there... the action doesn't stop until the last page. At the risk of sounding sexist, this IS a "guys book." It has guns (lots of them), violence and much bloodshed. And, yes, it IS as predictable as any action novel or film. But is that always bad? The PLOT isn't predictable, there were plenty of twists and turns. But the genre itself is surely lends itself to predictability. One negative review called Black Light "racist." It isn't. It might upset our sensibilities to hear even the good guys use racist language from the 1950s, but that's just the REALITY of the times, location and the folks with whom we are dealing. Can't deny it...I thoroughly enjoyed this Bob Lee Swagger outing. But then, I've enjoyed all the adventures Hunter has taken me on. If you're a first time Stephen Hunter reader, many will recommend "Point of Impact", but I started with Hunter's 'stand alone' novel "Dirty White Boys"...which, as it turns out, is more tied into Bob and Earl Swagger than meets the eye. Predictable, violent, down and dirty. Stephen Hunter may not be great literature, but he can write some damned entertaining books that men will love.

I definitely enjoy this book and if you like the Bob Lee Swagger stories, this is as good as it gets. I won't say that the story is flawless as there's certainly a few "give me a break" scenarios that invite disbelief. So I took a star 🌟 off for that.... But having said that, this series is one that I've enjoyed so far. Though I do worry about how real the next book can come off, obviously putting Swagger in another dangerous position without inviting an inevitable "how could he possibly find himself in another dangerous scenario" kind of argument.

I have just recently discovered the author, Stephen Hunter. Not sure how I overlooked him for so many years. And I do not recall exactly how or where I came across his name. However I am glad that I did. I read Point of Impact (excellent), then immediately started Black Light (also excellent). And now, am about to start the next one in the Bob Lee Swagger series. I never saw the Wahlberg motion picture, Shooter, based on the first book, though I heard it was good. I doubt it can compare with the Bob Lee Swagger Point of Impact novel, however. A two hour movie just cannot do justice to the quality and complexity of a good book. I have noticed in recent years, the trend toward developing books into tv series, instead of movies, covering one book each season, such as the Reacher series on Prime Video. Definitely an improvement over major motion pictures, IMHO. Perhaps Stephen Hunter's books will one day be developed into a tv series. I wish you Happy Reading! 📚

This story was interesting to me for several reasons. The first reason is that the locations in this story some of which are real places in Arkansas are known to me from living in Arkansas and that was half the fun in this book. To read about places that you have heard of makes the story more real to the reader. Although some locations are fictional it was fun going over the event in my mind. The second reason was the characters in this story seemed to come alive as you read. of course you are supposed to like the main character and his friends, but even some of the minor characters have you rooting for them also. My final reason for rating this book 5 stars is it was not just an action story but it was a mystery that needed to be solved and that was what I liked best. A lot of mysteries don't give you the reader all of the facts so you can solve the mystery of the story. That is not the case here. I found that the further I got in this story the more clues I had and the more I wanted to solve the mystery. I can't wait to pick up another Bob Lee Swagger story to read.

Got him some in the end. Dirty ole hero. Good read. Can not wait to start book three and see what kind of shenanigans are next.

First off, I have to say that I really enjoyed the book. Typical of Stephen Hunter books, I read it in essentially two 'sittings' which means that I stayed up and read almost all night. If I have anything to offer as a complaint it would be that I like to read a series through from beginning to end, The charachters and situations develop and build upon the previous books but I can't find anything like a chronilogical listing for the Bob Lee Swagger series and other than short mentions hadn't read any of the Earl Swagger series but this book really fits into both with a lot of the 'time' spent in the past developing(?) the character of Earl (Bob's father for those who haven't read any of the books - this is not a spoiler, knowing that won't spoil any suspense). For anyone who is not OCD about chronography like me, pick up this or anyone of Hunter's books and enjoy! I'd welcome anyone who could offer a propper chronology of the novels, date of writing doesn't seem to relate to when in Bob's life the story takes place.

Steven Hunter never disappoints

Once again Mr Hunter and Mr Swagger do not disappoint good story well paced enough action and a little twist at the end Bob Lee deserves more movies and a better TV series I will start book number 3 now.

Diese Bob Lee Swagger Reihe ist wunderbar! Angefangen mit dem ersten Buch und nun weiter und weiter bis alle durch gelesen sind. 1 A Ware und vor allem sehr sehr interessant geschrieben. Leicht verständlich, trotz englischer Sprache. TOP!

Great service book as described

Al pari di Point of impact anche questo fa tenere il fiato sospeso in piú punti del testo specie nel duello tra i due snipers, quello vecchio ed esperto ma ormai stanco di simili azioni, e quello piú giovane e con piú esperienza d' azione. Galland5:-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-)

Great read and well thought out.