Stephen Hunter

Last updated

Stephen Hunter
Born (1946-03-25) March 25, 1946 (age 77)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Occupation
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Northwestern University
Period1971–present
Genre Thrillers
SubjectFilm, handguns
Notable works Point of Impact (1993)
Notable awards Pulitzer Prize for film criticism

Stephen Hunter (born March 25, 1946, Kansas City, Missouri) is an American novelist, essayist, and film critic.

Contents

Life and career

Hunter was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. His father was Charles Francis Hunter, a Northwestern University speech professor who was murdered in 1975 by two male prostitutes. [1] His mother was Virginia Ricker Hunter, a writer of children's books. After graduating from Northwestern in 1968 with a degree in journalism, he was drafted for two years into the United States Army. He served in the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment in Washington, D.C., a unit that has both operational and ceremonial missions, the latter most notably being the guard force for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He also wrote for a military paper, the Pentagon News. [2]

He joined The Baltimore Sun in 1971, working at the copy desk of the newspaper's Sunday edition for a decade. He became its film critic in 1982, a post he held until moving to The Washington Post in the same function in 1997. In 1998 Hunter won the American Society of Newspaper Editors Distinguished Writing Award in the criticism category, and in 2003 he received the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. [2] He accepted a buyout from the Post in 2008. [3]

Hunter's thriller novels include Point of Impact (filmed as Shooter ), Black Light and Time to Hunt , which form a trilogy featuring Vietnam War veteran and sniper Bob "the Nailer" Swagger. The story of Bob Lee Swagger continued with The 47th Samurai (2007), Night of Thunder (2008), I, Sniper (2009), Dead Zero (2010), The Third Bullet (2013), Sniper's Honor (2014) and G-Man (2017). The series has led to two spin-off series: Hot Springs , Pale Horse Coming , and Havana form another trilogy centered on Bob Swagger's father, Earl Swagger, while Soft Target (2011) focuses on Bob's long-unknown son, Ray Cruz.

Hunter has written three non-fiction books: Violent Screen: A Critic's 13 Years on the Front Lines of Movie Mayhem (1995), a collection of essays from his time at The Sun; American Gunfight (2005), an examination of the November 1, 1950 attempted assassination of Harry S. Truman; and Now Playing at the Valencia (2005), a collection of pieces from The Washington Post. Hunter has also written a number of non-film-related articles for The Post, including one on Afghanistan: "Dressed To Kill—From Kabul to Kandahar, It's Not Who You Are That Matters, but What You Shoot" (2001). [4]

Hunter is a firearms enthusiast, well known in the gun community for firearm detail in many of his works of fiction. He himself shoots as a hobby, saying "many people don't understand, shooting a firearm is a sensual pleasure that's rewarding in and of itself." [5]

In an interview with NPR on February 16, 2011, Hunter defended the public availability of high-capacity magazines after the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others. He also said that it was not clear whether the 33-round magazine used by shooter Jared Lee Loughner played a part in the shooting. [5] He had previously written in The Washington Post that extended magazines are particularly valuable to women and the elderly, who he said could use them effectively as an alternative to semi-automatic rifles or shotguns. He points out that "women generally don't care to put in the training needed to master [rifles and shotguns]. Nor can the elderly handle [long guns] adeptly." [6]

Works

Novels

Bob Lee Swagger series:

  1. Point of Impact (1993)
  2. Black Light (1996)
  3. Time to Hunt (1998)
  4. The 47th Samurai (2007)
  5. Night of Thunder (2008)
  6. I, Sniper (2009)
  7. Dead Zero (2010)
  8. The Third Bullet (2013)
  9. Sniper's Honor (2014)
  10. G-Man (2017)
  11. Game of Snipers (2019)
  12. Targeted (2022)

Earl Swagger series:

  1. Hot Springs (2000)
  2. Pale Horse Coming (2001)
  3. Havana (2003)
  4. The Bullet Garden (January 24, 2023 [7] )

Ray Cruz series:

  1. Dead Zero (2010)
  2. Soft Target (2011)

Stand-alones:

Short stories

Non-fiction

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sniper</span> Highly trained marksman

A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision rifles and high-magnification optics, and often also serve as scouts/observers feeding tactical information back to their units or command headquarters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollow-point bullet</span> Empty tipped expanding bullet used for controlled penetration of solid objects

A hollow-point bullet is a type of expanding bullet which expands on impact with a soft target, transferring more or all of the projectile's energy into the target over a shorter distance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D.C. sniper attacks</span> 2002 series of coordinated shootings in the Washington, D.C. area

The D.C. sniper attacks were a series of coordinated shootings that occurred during three weeks in October 2002 throughout the Washington metropolitan area, consisting of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, and preliminary shootings, that consisted of murders and robberies in several states, and lasted for six months starting in February 2002. Seven people were killed, and seven others were injured in the preliminary shootings, and ten people were killed and three others were critically wounded in the October shootings. In total, the snipers killed 17 people and wounded 10 others in a 10-month span.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.50 BMG</span> Rifle cartridge designed by John Moses Browning

The .50 BMG, also known as 12.7×99mm NATO, and designated as the 50 Browning by the C.I.P., is a .50 in (12.7 mm) caliber cartridge developed for the M2 Browning heavy machine gun in the late 1910s, entering official service in 1921. Under STANAG 4383, it is a standard service cartridge for NATO forces, as well as many non-NATO countries. The cartridge itself has been made in many variants: multiple generations of regular ball, tracer, armor-piercing (AP), incendiary, and saboted sub-caliber rounds. The rounds intended for machine guns are made into a continuous ammunition belt using metallic links.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlos Hathcock</span> United States Marine Corps Sniper

Carlos Norman Hathcock II was a United States Marine Corps (USMC) sniper with a service record of 93 confirmed kills. Hathcock's record and the extraordinary details of the missions he undertook made him a legend in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was honored by having a rifle named after him: a variant of the M21 dubbed the Springfield Armory M25 White Feather, for the nickname "White Feather" given to Hathcock by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.22 Long Rifle</span> Common ammunition cartridge

The .22 Long Rifle, also known as the .22LR or 5.6×15mmR, is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of firearms including rifles, pistols, revolvers, and submachine guns.

Gun fu, a portmanteau of gun and kung fu, is a style of sophisticated close-quarters gunfight resembling a martial arts battle that combines firearms with hand-to-hand combat and traditional melee weapons in an approximately 50/50 ratio. It can be seen in Hong Kong action cinema, and in American action films influenced by it.

<i>Dirty White Boys</i> Novel by Stephen Hunter

Dirty White Boys is a 1994 crime thriller novel by American author Stephen Hunter. It covers the escape of convict Lamar Pye and two accomplices from a penitentiary in Oklahoma, and highway patrol officer Bud Pewtie's attempts to track them down.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fast draw</span> Ability to quickly draw a handgun and accurately fire it at a target

Quick draw, also known as quick draw, is the ability to quickly draw a handgun and accurately fire it upon a target in the process. This skill was made popular by romanticized depictions of gunslingers in the Western genre, which in turn were inspired by famous historical gunfights in the American Old West.

<i>Quigley Down Under</i> 1990 western film by Simon Wincer

Quigley Down Under is a 1990 western film directed by Simon Wincer and starring Tom Selleck, Alan Rickman, and Laura San Giacomo.

<i>Point of Impact</i> (Stephen Hunter novel) 1993 conspiracy thriller novel

Point of Impact is a 1993 thriller novel by Stephen Hunter.

<i>Shoot Em Up</i> (film) 2007 film by Michael Davis

Shoot 'Em Up is a 2007 American action film written and directed by Michael Davis. It stars Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Monica Bellucci, and Stephen McHattie. The film follows Smith (Owen), a drifter who rescues a newborn from being killed by assassin Hertz (Giamatti) and his henchmen. Smith flees from the gang, enlisting the help of prostitute Donna Quintano (Bellucci) to keep the baby safe as he unravels the conspiracy.

Bob Lee "the Nailer" Swagger is a fictional character created by Stephen Hunter. He is the protagonist of a series of 12 novels that relate his life during and after the Vietnam War, starting with Point of Impact (1993) up to the most recent Targeted (2022). Swagger is the protagonist of the 2007 film and the 2016 TV series Shooter, each based on Point of Impact. Hunter has said that Swagger is loosely based on Carlos Hathcock, a U.S. Marine Corps Scout Sniper.

<i>Black Light</i> (novel) 1996 thriller fiction novel

Black Light is a 1996 thriller novel by Stephen Hunter. It is the second novel in the Bob Lee Swagger series and the sequel to Point of Impact.

<i>Time to Hunt</i>

Time to Hunt is a 1998 thriller novel, and the third in the Bob Lee Swagger series by Stephen Hunter. In narrative sequence it is preceded by Point of Impact and Black Light.

<i>Shooter</i> (2007 film) 2007 American action thriller film by Antoine Fuqua

Shooter is a 2007 American action thriller film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by Jonathan Lemkin, based on the 1993 novel Point of Impact by Stephen Hunter. The film follows Force Recon Marine Scout Sniper veteran Bob Lee Swagger, who is framed for murder by a mercenary unit operating for a private military firm. The film also stars Michael Peña, Danny Glover, Kate Mara, Levon Helm, and Ned Beatty.

<i>I, Sniper</i>

I, Sniper is a novel by Stephen Hunter, published by Simon & Schuster in 2009. It is Hunter's sixth novel whose hero is Bob Lee Swagger, a U. S. Marine Corps sniper who first appears in Point of Impact which is partially set in the Vietnam War. It is tenth in order of publication and sixth in the chronology of the character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silencer (firearms)</span> Device which reduces sound intensity or muzzle flash on a firearm

A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a muzzle device that suppresses the blast created when a gun is discharged, thereby reducing the acoustic intensity of the muzzle report and jump, by modulating the speed and pressure of the propellant gas released from the muzzle. Like other muzzle devices, a silencer can be a detachable accessory mounted to the muzzle, or an integral part of the barrel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long range shooting</span>

Long range shooting is a collective term for shooting disciplines where the distance to target is significant enough that shooter has to put effort into calculating various ballistic factors, especially in regards to the deviating effects of gravity and wind. While shooting at shorter ranges, a shooter only has to slightly adjust the sights to compensate for limited bullet drop at most, but when the range is extended, wind drift will be the first factor affecting precision to the extent that it must be taken into serious account. Some would argue that long range shooting starts where assessment of wind, distance and various atmospheric conditions are equally important for the results as pure shooting skills - meaning that even if one conducts a technically perfect shot, the shooter will miss the target because of incorrect calculations, neglecting to take some elements into consideration, or merely due to unpredictable downrange conditions. It is widely accepted within interdisciplinary circles that for a standard rifle firing full-powered cartridges, "long range" means the target is more than 600 m (660 yd) away,, while "extreme long range" is generally accepted as when the target distance is more than 1,000 m (1,100 yd) away from the shooter.

<i>Shooter</i> (TV series) American television drama series

Shooter was an American drama television series based on the 2007 film of the same name and the first three novels in the Bob Lee Swagger series by Stephen Hunter. The show stars Ryan Phillippe in the lead role of Swagger, a retired United States Marine Corps Scout Sniper from MARSOC living in seclusion who is coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to kill the President. USA Network picked up the pilot in August 2015 and ordered the series in February 2016.

References

  1. Wendel, Tim (May 1, 2008). "Gunslinger Stephen Hunter". Washingtonian . Retrieved February 20, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Burger, Jim (March 2009). "Drinks, Shoots, and Seethes". Baltimore . Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
  3. Romenesko, Jim (May 23, 2008). "WP names many of the 100+ staffers taking paper's buyout". Poynter.org. Poynter Institute . Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  4. Hunter, Stephen (November 26, 2001). "Dressed To Kill—From Kabul to Kandahar, It's Not Who You Are That Matters, but What You Shoot". The Washington Post . Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Conan, Neal (February 16, 2011). "Tucson Shooting Renews Gun Control Debate". NPR . Retrieved February 20, 2011.
  6. Hunter, Stephen (February 6, 2011). "Why 33 rounds makes sense in a defensive weapon". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
  7. The Bullet Garden. January 24, 2023. ISBN   978-1-9821-6976-3.