Rating: 
Summary: Dirty White Boys
Review: This book was so good that it just about consumed me on a vacation in Colorado last summer. It still haunts me in a pleasant sort of way, and certainly turned me on to the power of Stephen Hunter as an author. He weaves his books together in a way that will quickly have you hunting for the next one. I run into guys that have read his stuff, & we just smile with the knowledge we've shared a powerful experience in realism by reading his books. Speaking as a southerner, Stephen Hunter nails the culture as few writers today can achieve. Be forewarned, it's strong medicine. He takes you right to the scene of the crime.
Rating: 
Summary: Powerful & Original
Review: A lot of thought and detail has gone into this novel. Throughout the book details large and small add real credibility to the story. Most of us would never consider robbing a bar and if we did we would never think of the clever tricks Stephen Hunter comes up with. The characters are well developed and interesting. We are taken inside a brutal prison and into the mind of what hollywood would paint as simply a bad man or psychopath and actually see parts of his character to respect! The only thing that prevents the book from being perfect is a couple of loose links. They almost feel like coincidences that go against the grain for the rest of the books down to earth, give no quarter style. The tracking down of Lamars car and hide out stick out in my memory. Even with this critisisum I still found the book hard to down and rate it very highly.
Rating:
Summary: Started me on Stephen Hunter
Review: I loved this book, characters who were believable, evil yes, but I could see them as I read the book. The next book I read was one of the Bob Lee Swagger books, don't remember which one, but I shot through those like wildfire. I was an army sniper for a while in Vietnam. Hunter does a very good job of setting Bob Lee for his shots. Can't wait for the next book. Whether it be a Swagger or not.
Rating:
Summary: ...on the Loose
Review: Bud Pewtie, aveteran Oklahoma law enforcer, is faced with many decisions that affect his life. When three, highly armed convicts escape from the penitetiary, all Oklahoma is in a state of shock. Bud and his partner Ted are forced to encounter the three men. The encounter ends fatally. With the three convicts raising havoc in the South, Bud is now all-alone in the fight. His former partner's widow Holly distracts him. Bud and Holly become an item and Bud's wife and family find out. Mewanwhile the convicts attempt to maintain a low profile. They track Bud down and Bud is forced to meet the convicts again in a shootout because they have Holly. Who will live? This book is a well-written piece of work. Hunter leads the reader on a wild goose chase. The chase is filled with vivid imagery and in-depth characters. Teh book does a good job of covering both sides of the story. It was a great book for a strong-stomached person. The imagery is sometimes hard to grasp. I recommend this book to all those who love action.
Rating:
Summary: Five stars for pure entertainment value
Review: I read this book when it first came out in paperback, and all I really remembered about it was that it was REALLY engaging. I recently (March, 2001) re-read it, having forgotten practically everything that happened in it, and it was just as enthralling. It was absolutely hypnotic, just grabs you from the FIRST page, and does not let go until the end. I have not read the other novel, apparently the pre-cursor to this, Point of Impact, so I don't agree that you have to have read it to understand this one. But I will definitely look for another Hunter novel after reading this one. It's not deep, it's not poetry, but for sheer entertainment, it's great. Something in between fluff ("summer" novels) and "literature." My only complaint is that I read it too fast, since it was so good.
Rating:
Summary: THE WHITE BOYS ARE REALLY DIRTY!
Review: Read the above for the highlights of what the book is about. I was a little turned off by the bad.. things at first. The book will hold your attention. Bud Pewtie is very human, he has faults like a lot of us. He really tries to make things right. The Pye boys are really nuts, but Lamar is a smart nut. A lot of violence, if you don't like that there is no reason to start this book.
Rating:
Summary: Full Bore Action
Review: This is my favorite Stephen Hunter novel. I read it at a time when I had also just finished a Jim Thompson novel and this book fit in nicely. I was also living in Lawton Oklahoma (where most of the action takes place) at the time which made it fun to see the names of streets and places I had been. There is one major inconsistancy in a plot point. It involves tattoo parlors in Lawton which anyone familiar with that area will pick up on right away. It doesn't really matter but for the research Hunter seemed to do on the area it makes you wonder why he wrote it the way he did. The action itself is interesting enough but I thought the characters were what drove the story. Doug Pewtie is a believable character trying to deal with several problems, personal and professional at the same time. He isn't necessarily a hero but he's trying to do the best he can (by the end anyway). Lamar Pye is a mean S.O.B. with no redeeming social values but not a cartoon villian. He has his motivations. Stephen Hunter seems to have drawn on psychological profiles of hard cases. The story was simple but an excellent read. I would recommend it to any one into Jim Thompson or Elmore Leonard style stories.
Rating:
Summary: A solid thriller with moments of greatness
Review: This was my first Stephen Hunter book & I read it because Stephen King listed it in "On Writing" among the best books he'd read over the last three or four years. "Dirty White Boys" is grippingly paced, best read in one or two sittings to get the full effect of the fast-paced action. Lamar Pye, Bud Pewtie and Richard Peed are extremely well drawn for such a fast-paced book. I found Odell unconvincing, even a bit silly. Among the lesser characters, I especially liked Lt. C.D. Henderson. What bothered me about an otherwise fine violent action thriller was having my willing suspension of disbelief so exploited at times, especially over the issue of Bud Pewtie's considerable injuries & his repeated ability to get back up & plunge into another fight, which reminded me of bad horror movies where the bad guy keeps getting back up again and again every time we think he's dead. That said, the book is thoroughly entertaining if you don't mind violent sociopathy.
Rating:
Summary: One Hell of a Ride!
Review: Hunter creates bold, interesting characters that pull the reader through the story like an express train. Dirty White Boys is my favorite of the Hunter novels with Point of Impact being the second. Could not put Dirty White Boys down!
Rating:
Summary: A life sentence.
Review: A personal note: the last time I directed a play, I started by reading the opening paragraph of "Dirty White Boys" to the cast. I told them that I wanted the opening of the play to be as powerful as the opening of this exceptionally good book. Even if he never writes anything else, Stephen Hunter will be well satisfied with the fact that he has written the perfect opening to a book. In those twenty-some lines, I learnt all about Lamar Pye, and what makes him tick. What comes after is just as powerful: a beautifully crafted story, moving swiftly from one intense point of interest and drama to another. Nowhere is there a false note: the people who populate these pages are vivid, understandable, and real. It's a story of the loyalty of a man who would be called crazed and evil by society, as well as being a story of betrayal by people we would be proud to call neighbour. I am a major Stephen Hunter fan. (I even log on to find his movie reviews at the Washinton Post site). He is a major power in popular American writing. Ignore him at your peril: I would siggest that, as time goes by, his stories of the tough, uncompromising men and women of the U.S.A's south west will be considered classics. "Dirty White Boys" is his best book so far. But any book of his will be worth three times the purchase price. And here's the kicker: Hollywood will leave it alone. It doesn't have a Hollywood ending - and, anyway, the story's just too big for Hollywood's usually pallid and thin canvas. Nonetheless, it'd make a brilliant film. Who's gonna do it for us?
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