The 47th Samurai: Bob Lee Swagger, Book 4

Great action, thoughtfully delivered. Swagger is unbeatable. Highly recommended.

ordered on Friday, delivered on Saturday, book as described, what more could I ask for.....

Great read based on a modern setting of the 47 Ronin of Ako. Good, well researched detail on Japan and their swords. A few minor errors (confusion between gendaito and shingunto for example). A quick read of the original text will reval a lot of hidden references in the climax of the book (google 47 Ronin). I really enjoyed it and finished it in a single day.

Having just read this for a second time, I feel that this book has possibly been unfairly received. it may not be the very best thatMr Hunter has written, but it is enjoyable and builds to a satisfying climax. I certainly enjoyed reading it for the second time more than the first, so it might be that this is a "grower"

I don't think many people are reading this book properly as Stephen Hunter goes through great pains to to explain and show that Swagger does not become a 'world class swordsman in a week'(a common misconception in the reviews). Indeed most of the fun of the 47th samurai is seeing how Bob Lee applies his survival instincts (his trickery!) to sword fighting. Having said that I ought to point out that the fight scenes are not as lucid or even understandable as the usual Hunter gunfights, owing to the complex maneuvering of bodies and blades- it does make for some pretty dense reading.The plot itself is another tongue in cheek rework of a classic (like Pale Horse coming) and it does lack the sober storytelling of say, Time to hunt. In my opinion this is a disadvantage since the extreme violence is at odds with the humorous dialogue and characterisation but some people may enjoy it.Overall its a good (but not great) book.Big rant:As to the comments regarding a 'decline' in Hunter's work, I wholeheartedly disagree since the 47th Samurai is proof that Hunter still has a imaginative approach to his work and is not insulting his readers with barrel-scraping, regurgitative pulp like some authors do *cough* Lee Child *cough*.For those of you who keep on comparing his recent novels to previous works; there is no need to be so narrow minded when an author experiments with new ideas, the 47th Samurai is a good read and if you have read any of Hunter's early work you would know that he is capable of far worse. So stop whining. Please.

Having read all of Stephen Hunter's novels, I was very much looking forward to reading this one and enjoyed it very much when I did. However, as I am over sixty myself and reasonably healthy and active, I was pretty amazed at BLS's capabilities and the astonishing prowess with which he handled himself at his age! The unusual aspects to the previous novels have been concerned with Bob's ability as an ex-sniper, whereas this novel required no such background for the hero and I would have preferred Hunter to have chosen a new, and younger, hero for this story.

This is the first novel I read from this author. I picked it up at a book stall while travelling and could not put it down.The story develops well and provides an interesting insight into Japanese society. Hunter has the gift that you can easily build a picture in your mind of what happening in the story.The story swtiches between the past and present and is interwoven with japanese saga's and culture. The main character, Bob Lee Swagger, is a man of little words but plenty of honour and action.I imagined him being like the lone rider that Clint Eastwood depicted so well in many of the spaghetti westerns in the 70s.I found it a good read and will definately buy more books from this author.

In "The 47th Samurai" Hunters shows the courage of genius as he punches through the envelope again. He's basically combined the modern high-test (and testosterone) thriller with the classic samurai movies of the great masters. The result is wholly original--he's the rare thrillerist who doesn't write the same damned book over and over. Swagger goes to Japan to return a lost family relic to its rightful owners--the relic is a sword his own father took on Iwo Jima and the family is the family of the man his father may have killed. What nobody knows is that the sword is more than an heirloom, it's a treasure of the nation, and when yakuza interests learn of it, they will do anything to acquire it. Soon Swagger is hunting--and being hunted--in the Tokyo underworld by a yak killer who fancies himself the last great swordsman. Instead of gunfights, Hunter gives us swordfights that are violent poetry--truly unforgettable. At the same time, he's cleverly building his narrative out of samurai history, recreating some of the great moments in that bloody tapestry. Altogether a great performance!