Rating: 
Summary: A Different Kind of Earl Swagger Story
Review: If, like me, you've been following the Swaggers, father and son, then you have been eagerly awaiting HAVANA. I couldn't wait to set eyes on pages, because I have to admit that I like the way Stephen Hunter serves up his violence. Straight forward and justly deserved. The Swaggers are no nonsense guys who are firmly rooted with a morel code that brooks no nonsense. Mess with them and bad things happen to you.I grabbed a Carib (Caribbean beer), pretzels and a cigar, then went out on my girlfriend's patio to wile away a Sunday with old friend Earl. However before I'd finished the first page I knew I was delving into a different kind of Earl Swagger story. At first the book seemed kind of choppy, jumping between a botched mob hit in New York, a Siberian gulag, a tennis court in Cuba and Swagger's home in Arkansas. And the characters seemed to be more defined. I read slowly, wondering what was happening, what was Hunter doing to me. But by the time Earl got to Cuba I'd been sucked deep into the story and was reveling in the kooky and kinky characters. There is absolutely no other living author that could have made me buy into the Russian hit man Speshnev, or the stupid, idiotic Castro pictured in the novel, but Hunter makes you believe. And even though Earl shares more of the pages with others than in past Swagger stories, I didn't mind, because when we got Earl, we got the guy we know and love. Hunter may be evolving, but thankfully, Earl is still Earl and HAVANA, though different, is I believe, the best Swagger story yet. Jack Priest, Writer from the Darkside
Rating:
Summary: Top notch thriller!
Review: In 1953 Cuba the rise of a young Castro would upset the interests of the U.S. Blue chip corporations, the Mafia, the CIA all have a piece of the action and like the status quo. Ambitious Arkansas politicos recruit WWII Medal of Honor winner Earl Swagger to eliminate the Castro problem. Earl is the ultimate tough guy---fearless, fierce, highly decorated---a violent man at home in a violent world---Earl always seems to be looking for a war. He is also a decent man haunted by his warrior past, full of self-doubt, misjudgments and flaws. Speshlev, the highly competent Russian intelligence agent dispatched to control and educate Castro is a match for Earl---seemly keeping Castro one move ahead. In this epic of good vs evil, is Earl being betrayed from within---are ally and enemy who they appear to be? Surprisingly complex relationships between the Mafia, the CIA, the Russians and big business make it impossible to know friend from foe. Is anyone in cold war Cuba who they appear to be? Stephen Hunter's picturesque period detail, unforgettable characters in vivid settings, biting dialogue, believable violence and stunning reversals bring this sweeping story with multiple themes to life. A superbly paced, powerful narrative, Stephen Hunter's "Havana" is explosive, fascinating and tantalizing. It will shock, excite and enthrall you.
Rating:
Summary: powerful historical thriller
Review: In 1953, the don't say his name boss arrives in Havana with a dossier on a charismatic threat to the currently American supported dictator. He orders Roger St. Johns Evans and Walter Short to eliminate Fidel Castro before he causes problems like regime changing and Communist government building. Walter suggests they use Earl Swagger of Arkansas on the assignment. The Boss sends a loyalist to Siberia to reassign 4715 from the North Pole road building to mentoring Castro in Cuba. Speshan takes a shower for the first in seemingly centuries before, he, the former and perhaps future 4715, travels to Havana to indoctrinate Castro. Though he only wants to go hunting with his son, when the Feds come recruiting, Earl accepts the mission and journeys to Cuba. However, nothing is quite like it seems and instead of a simple job, Earl is caught in global politics with little hope of expediting himself from this mess. This is a powerful historical thriller that brings to life the era just before Castro takes over Cuba. The story line is fast-paced and filled with action, but contains much humor (Bill and Ted?). Earl is a great protagonist who also serves as a role model for a caring nurturing yet all male man. Stephen Hunter escorts readers back five decades in Havana in a numero uno tale. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Strong entry in Earl Swagger series
Review: In an afterword, Hunter explains that he got the book from his well known editor, Michael Korda. Korda gave it to him in four words: "Earl Swagger in Havana." This allows Hunter a rich set of characters to draw on, such as Castro and Meyer Lansky. It also allows him to throw Swagger into a multi-sided situation -- the CIA and Cuban government, the gangsters with ties to both the CIA and the Government but pursuing their own interests as well, and the Soviets, with their interests in creating unrest. Castro plays an important role as a bumbling revolutionary with a gift for speechmaking, some courage and not much else (I doubt that this is an accurate picture of Castro). Swagger is brought to Cuba on pretext, as a body-guard for a ridiculous Congressman and his aide -- the real reason is that the CIA wants to have Swagger kill Castro. What follows is typical Hunter, gun battles with the weapons described in detail; Hunter's odd ability to create tension by describing events out of chronolocial order (you'll read a vague description of what happened, followed by a flashback that shows what actually happened); and Earl Swagger's ability to one-up any man around him. John Wayne would have loved to have played this character. There's more humor in this book than usual; an argument between between the terrified Congressman and his even more terrified aide when under fire had me laughing out loud. Castro is also a subject for many jokes, although whether this is deserved or not I can't say. Hemingway makes a brief, but disastorous cameo that unfortunately is in keeping with his behavior, particularly at that time. I find Earl Swagger a more interesting character than his son, Bob Lee, who was the subject of Hunter's first three novels in the Swagger series. Bob Lee was laconic to the point of making Clint Eastwood in his early westerns sound like a chatterbox. Earl is not much more talkative, but our knowledge of his hard life (see Hot Springs) and his desperate hope that his son will have an easier life (of course he won't) gives him more depth than one would expect for a thriller hero. There is also the knowledge that, unless Hunter engages in a major rewrite of history, that he does not have long to live. Hunter killed off Earl Swagger in 1955 in his first appearance, Black Light. For those who have read other Swagger books, you will find Hunter reusing to good effect a character from prior books. Frenchy Short is back, and is as devious and crooked as ever. He hero-worships Earl but doesn't hesitate to try to have him killed to serve his own purposes. The Congressman who Earl acts as a bodyguard for is Harry Etheridge. At a later point, Etheridge tells Earl that if Earl signs on the CIA their boys can be friends (the chronology on this won't work but Hunter has admitted that to revising the chronology between books). In fact, Etheridge's son will be the cause of Earl's death and will be involved in trying to kill Bob Lee. Finally, a Soviet spy named Pashin has the same last name as a former spy about to become President of Russia in A Time to Kill, but different first name. However, the character in Havana claims to have many relatives in Soviet intelligence, so maybe they are related. I'm no gun expert, but did spot a couple of small mistakes Hunter makes. Frenchy Short inexplicably switches guns within a few pages -- Hunter is always very specific about the guns his characters carries. Also, a Russian involved in the Spanish Civil War contempously compares Sherman tanks to the German tanks he saw in Spain. Hunter is thinking of the Panther and Tiger II tanks used by Germany at the end of World War II; those used in Spain may have only been equipped with machine guns. While I gave this book four stars (it would have been 3 and half if Amazon allowed this), I have to wonder what Hunter will do next. A fourth Earl Swagger book will be hard to write; Hunter's done about as much with this character as he can. It may be that he goes to a stand-alone book like Dirty White Boys orginally was (it was later written into the Swagger books in a way that explains the great Lamar Pye's gunfighting skills. Too bad about Lamar; he's my favorite Hunter character of all time). In any event, I look forward to whatever Hunter produces next. He's shown a sure sense when to move on, as he did when he wrote the first real Earl Swagger book Hot Springs, one of his best.
Rating:
Summary: A Worthy Addition to the Swagger Legacy
Review: It's 1953 and Earl Swagger, now a sergeant in the Arkansas State Police, is persuaded to hire on as a bodyguard for Congressman "Boss" Harry Etheridge on a visit to Cuba, but unknown to him he is being lured to the island to assassinate the young and troublesome Fidel Castro, who is going about making speeches about Cuba for Cubans. This is bad for the CIA, the Mafia, Big Sugar and Big Rum, all who want to maintain the status quo. The Russians decide to send a man to cozy up to Fidel, to give the young man advice, to teach him and to protect him. And the Castro painted in this story, a guy who never baths, who smells, who is referred to as "Greaseball," who flies of the handle, who is impulsive and stupid to boot, needs all the advice and protection he can get. Speshnev, Castro's Russian advisor, was pulled from an Artic Gulag for the job. He's a battle hardened veteran of Germany and Spain, but he's also an ironic wisecracker who goes his own way, lives by his own code, much like Swagger. And Earl, in addition to pulling the Congressman's fat out of the fire over a misunderstanding with a lady of the evening, also defends a woman against a drunken Earnest Hemingway, has a gunfight in a porno theater and has to deal with a deadly scalpel wielding torturer. It seems to me that Mr. Hunter has written an espionage novel ala the kind I used to read thirty years ago, only he's taken the genre to a whole 'nother level. HAVANA is a terrific book, a great story and a worthy addition to the Swagger legacy. Ken Douglas, Underpaid Writer
Rating: 
Summary: Not his best
Review: Let me qualify my title by saying that if I hadn't read all the previous Swagger novels by Hunter, I probably would not have been disappointed with this one. It is a good book unto itself but not nearly as good as his previous efforts which have somewhat spoiled me I guess. The action here as well as the plot and character development isn't up to the same level that I am used to from Hunter. Every other book I have read by him took effort to put down, not so here. That being said, I did enjoy the book, and Earl and Bob Lee are still the ultimate multi-layered, flawed heroes, and getting to know them alone is worth the price of admission. I anxiously await Mr. Hunter's next installment in the series.
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Summary: A STRONG VOCAL PERFORMANCE
Review: Listeners can almost taste and feel the hustle of 1950s Havana in these superb vocal characterizations rendered by voice actor William Dufris. A master of phrasing and intonation he brings vibrant life to this powerful story. Hero Earl Swagger, topnotch gunfighter and former Marine Medal of Honor recipient, is as tough as they come. He'll need all the strength and prowess he can muster when the government asks him to protect a Congressman whose mission it is to check on purported wrong doings at an American naval base. Remember, this is Havana in the 1950s - Fidel Castro is in power, gang lords thrive, and every stripe of criminal activity is taking place. Rather than doing much investigation our Congressman seems more intent on sampling all the temptations Havana has to offer, little knowing that Swagger also has a mission - to dispose of Castro. Stephen Hunter writes as strongly and chillingly as he did in "Hot Springs" and "Pale Horse Coming." William Dufris is his vocal equal. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite of All the Swagger Books
Review: Medal of Honor winner Earl Swagger is recruited to be the bodyguard of self-important Congressman, "Boss" Harry Etheridge, who is going to Cuba supposedly to check out vice and criminal activity at Guantanamo. But the real purpose of the trip is to con Earl into killing Fidel Castro, who has been making speeches calling for the overthrow of the Batista regime. Meanwhile, the Russians have released prisoner Zek 4715, a veteran of military campaigns in Spain and Germany, known as Speshnev to protect the young firebrand. Speshnev is a Soviet version of Swagger, even to the point of living by a code of honor. In fact, in my opinion, Speshnev kind of steals the show. He has the perfect opportunity to kill Swagger in a Cuban jail, but he protects him instead, can't kill an unarmed man, don't cha know. Fans of the Swaggers, Earl and Bobby Lee, have come to expect a lot of violence in the service of justice and they won't be disappointed here, though HAVANA isn't quite as bloody as past Swagger stories. Also Hunter seems to flesh out his characters a little more in this novel, making them more human. I thought about this book for quite a bit after I finished and I have to say this is my favorite book in the series and I am eagerly waiting for the next one. Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne
Rating: 
Summary: Down side to pre-quels
Review: My major problem with this book is that it ultimately paints a very nasty and all too true picture of our government. To begin with we know before we even get started that Earl Swagger will be dead within a year of the end of the story.
We've known this since the first book about him, but it has become very dark and murky. A Southern Congressmen went to some murky figures in the intelligence community to have Earl murdered before he can discover that the senator's son and future vice presidential hopeful. What he did not know was that the CIA wanted him dead already and the congressman had only become a lifelong pawn to them,
It's just too much like real life. I read for pleasure but there is no pleasure in having the fact that the scumbags win out in real life, not the good guys.
For those of us who've seen the fact that the politicians ignore intelligence in favor of popular answers and who see that the only things that the CIA has probably suceeded in was the murder of one president, his brother, a civil rights leader and the end of a splinter group southern democrat's attempts to unseat Richard M. Nixon, it's just plain depressing.
Rating:
Summary: A little dull and predictable
Review: Not Hunter's best work by far. It seemed to be a book with no purpose. The life of Earl Swagger didn't change much due to the actions taken in the book and you feel as though the whole book ought not to have happened at all. Disappointing.
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