Rating: 
Summary: Odudua may be close
Review: One thing for sure Stephen Hunter always pleases. I enjoy a novel that is close to true history and Havana is. I was at Gtmo and stood that famous inspection by Castro when he came out of the hills after ousting Batesta. Seems he poisoned our water a few weeks after that. CIA will always remember that won't they. I found Havana to be pretty much as I remembered it back then although I was only there twice before it was closed to us. Anyway back to the story, another great one and I will always look forward to each as they arrive on the scene.
Rating: 
Summary: Average Hunter
Review: See book summary above.I find myself drawn to Stephen Hunter and have always liked the Swagger novels. This one is a little different as it takes place mostly in Cuba. The action is here, as is Earl Swagger and his penchant for getting in trouble, and when the odds are mostly against him he still seems to come out on top. Quite a hero.
This is not my favorite Hunter novel but it was still exciting to read. Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Comic book sans pictures
Review: Silly and sophomoric "guy" writing; needs to study John D. McDonald or even Donald Hamilton to see how it's supposed to be done.
No character development, absurd plotting, cardboard hero and cheesy action. Give it a rest. There are so many superior books and authors who do this sort of thing. It gets a star for the jacket design alone.
Rating:
Summary: A Captivating Adventure
Review: Stephen Hunter has a great knack for country attitudes, good shooting, complex stories and politics.
In "Havana" Hunter captures a moment in time when Castro is just emerging (the Yankees having failed to offer him a $500 signing bonus) and Batista is back in power with the help of the American mob.
Just as in "Hot Springs" where Hunter resurrected the great pre-Las Vegas center of gambling and prostitution (matched in that era only by Youngstown), here he reminds us that Havana in the early 1950s was a city of power seekers, tourist pleasures and American and Cuban mobster domination and corruption.
He weaves together a brilliant Soviet agent, Earl Swagger (hated by the Soviet system for his individuality and protagonist of almost half Hunter's novels), the CIA, the American mob, Fidel Castro and the Cuban secret police into a wonderfully complex and constantly intriguing story.
His characterizations of a young Castro are worth the entire book: "Speshnev looked hard at him and, try as he could, only saw a familiar type, thrown up by revolutions and wars the world over. An opportunist with a lazy streak, and also a violent one... No vision beyond the self, but a willingness to use the vernacular of the struggle for his own private careerism." (p. 101)
"He does carry on don't he? He reminds me of a movie star. They get famous too young and they never recover. They always think they're important." Earl Swagger on young Fidel (p 319)
Whether for fun or learning or both, this is a worthwhile novel.
Rating:
Summary: 2 1/2 Stars -- Fair At Best!
Review: Stephen Hunter has been one of my favorite authors since his book, The Day Before Midnight, and I've loved all of his Swagger books, particularly those featuring Bob Lee Swagger. However, Hunter's latest, Havana, was a major disappointment to me. The plot - about the CIA's recruitment of Earl Lee Swagger to Havana to assassinate Fidel Castro - is very simplistic and predictable. The characters are poorly developed and one-dimensional, including some real-life people who appear in this book, such as Fidel Castro, Meyer Lansky and Ernest Hemingway. Even Earl Lee Swagger is not as interesting as in Hot Springs and Pale Horse Coming. Unlike the non-stop excitement and action that permeates all of Hunter's previous books, the suspense in Havana is much more tepid and very sporadic. Very little in the way of suspense really happens until the last 75-100 pages and even then, as I mentioned, you'll probably be able to predict most, if not all, of what eventually occurs. I know that criticizing this book will probably generate many "unhelpful" votes from Hunter's many fans who are not willing to accept that one of his Swagger books could be deserving of less than 4 stars. However, I'm willing to take this risk since my primary concern is to spare you from - or at least prepare you for - a sub-par performance from Hunter. Hopefully, this review is helpful to you in deciding whether or not you want to read Havana.
Rating:
Summary: Solid Hunter
Review: Stephen Hunter is a special writer. There really are few like who can mix such murderous violence and mayhem with extremely taut and complex storylines. You never feel really "dirty" when you read a Hunter novel, as the massive amounts of shooting and gunplay always seem to have a classy edge to them, an inner elan that seems to justify the amazing body count in some abstract way. Hunter's most popular series, that dealing with the Swagger clan, has always managed to cling to a polite sense of literature while blasting away at all villains, evildoers whom Hunter writes so well. Havana is no exception, as the adventures of Earl Swagger continue in bloody fashion, albeit in a far away place. While this book was not Hunter's best, nor is it perfect, it carries on the Swagger tradition very well. Havana in 1953 is a novelists dream. Hot weather, mobsters, sunglasses, communists, CIA, tons of petty criminals, rogue cops, tin pot dictators.....there's no limit to what a talented writer can do! The raucous town has not seen anything yet however, as Earl Swagger comes to town, charged by politicians in Arkansas to protect a congressional delegation. His protectee soon turns out to be a raving alcoholic with a penchant for Cuban street women, an inclination which brings Earl into various violent disputes. His savior, so to speak, comes in the form of the nefarious Frenchy Short, a shadow character that has plagued the Swaggers in numerous ways. Frenchy is the conniving assistant CIA man in Havana, who plots and schemes with various thugs to keep the island, now controlled by American corporate interests, a peaceful and safe place. In order to do this, Frenchy needs someone to be killed, and from experience, he knows Earl is the perfect man for such jobs. Earl's communist foil comes along in the form of KGB agent Speshnev, a calculating clandestine warrior who is given a protection mission as well. He is to guard and cultivate a young revolutionary by the name of Fidel Castro, who is beginning to let his presence be known. Frenchy is very interested at seeing Speshnev fail, and sics a somewhat blinded Earl on him. Through a series of encounters, the two cold war guns begin to learn respect for each other, which leads to a very interesting dynamic by the end of the book. Bordering the main plotline is a violent bunch of subcategories, as the various forces inhabiting Cuba make their own moves. The most entertaining of these are the adventures of Franky Carbine, a jittery but ruthless mob enforcer, and his partner in crime Ojos Bellos, a horrifying and violent secret police officer. The two psychopaths engage in missions for themselves and for Franky's boss, Meyer Lansky. Of course, the island is not big enough for everyone, and the trail of death the two leave will lead directly to Earl. This book does a lot of things right. The characters, as a whole, are just amazing. Earl is his solid self, while we are introduced to wild and entertaining characters such as Ojos Bellos, who is one of the best villains Hunter has ever thought up. What stood out for me along the lines of character development was Frenchy Short, who has always been one of the most fascinating characters in the Swagger novels. Here, Frenchy is described in his pure blue collar fanatic manipulator self, one that we have only peaked at before. He is probably the best part of the book. The settings are wonderful, the atmosphere, the shootouts, and the writing are great. The reason why I did not give this book a five star rating is that I felt Hunter tries to throw a few too many storylines into one book. It gets a little silly at points, and some scenes seem kind of devoid of reality. The characterization of Fidel Castro was a bit too comical for my tastes, especially since the likes of Frenchy Short are trying desperately to kill him. For long time fans of the Hunter books, there are plenty of clever little allusions to future events in the Swagger universe. There is not a serious Hunter fan alive who will not raise his eyebrows in dark humor as Earl hopes that his boy Bob Lee will never have to pick up a gun in violence. It lends to the almost Greek tragedy that we all know is coming, and gives us a clearer vision of Earl himself.
Rating:
Summary: The Sheriff goes to Havana
Review: The gist of the story is that Earl Swagger is tapped by the CIA to go to Cuba and assassinate an up and coming firebrand named Fidel Castro. We know that never happened, but Hunter weaves a skillful tale around historical fact and good speculative fiction. Stephen Hunter does a great job of recreating Cuba before the commies took over and describes the interwoven world of secret policemen, Russian Spies, American Spies and Italian gangsters. Earl has his struggles, but he is the moral force we came to know in HOT SPRINGS. While this book is not PALE HORSE COMING (how many books like that does a writer have inside of themselves), it is another great read from an extraordinarily gifted author. I have no idea why anyone would give this book less than five stars. Pick it up today.
Rating:
Summary: Restrained by facts
Review: The history limits what Earl can do, but the trip is entertaining and informative about Cuban history. Where can Hunter go now? If Bob Lee had kids, would one have followed him into the service and some adventures in the recent past?
Rating:
Summary: The genesis of Castro's Cuba
Review: The inordinately talented Stephen Hunter again resurrects his sharkskin tough, Marine Medal of Honor winning Arkansas state policeman Earl Swagger, in his latest novel, Havana. Swagger is hoodwinked into serving as the bodyguard for local congressman Harry Etheridge who is heading a governmental investigation in corrupt 1952 Cuba. Swagger, in reality, due to his extensive and decorated police and military background is recruited by CIA number two man in Havana, Walter "Frenchy" Short as an assassin. Short, of questionable moral character had been partnered with Swagger during his previous exploits in cleaning up the unbridled town of Hot Springs. His target is the brash, verbose, narcissistic young lawyer Fidel Castro. Other forces were operative in the unscrupulous Cuban government headed by Batista. American gangsters headed by Meyer Lansky were reaping in profits from gambling, drugs and prostitution and therefore at odds with Castro's revolutionary ideas. The Communist presence was also at work, lead by seasoned Jewish revolutionary Speshnev. He was assigned to nuture and coddle the inexperienced Castro and mold him until a worthwhile puppet for Moscow. Swagger, with CIA backing, was forced to act within the morass of varying dangerous factions whose goals were vastly different. Hunter with an appealing blend of fiction and historical fact creates a descriptive and intriguing story that whets the appetite for more adventures starring the Swagger family.
Rating:
Summary: this one is bit weirdly and poorly written
Review: the whole writing form and type of this novel is kinda weird, and not too seriously written, sometimes even read like a comic book, very hollow, so terribly constructed like salsa dancing, simply horrible. unlike before, i just failed to read along word by word, sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph, 'cause this time, hunter seemed to have alienated himself and earl swagger from the depth of a great personality and great novel, and he's tried too hard to mimic cuban atmosphere but failed so miserably and so pathetically, well, i have to take a long sigh to this comic book. hunter's writing style this time is not as attractive and absorbing as before, 'cause i've found myself leapfrogged and skipped over paragraphes, sometimes even pages and tried very hard to land on the more readable parts. i just don't know but only feel this havana is definitely a letdown and well, i just turned all my watches and clocks backward one hour, and i really don't wish that hunter would turn this great 'earl swagger' saga backward too much, and next time, sir, pls don't take any suggestion or direction from your editor who should read your creation afterwards instead telling or suggesting where your hero and story should be landed beforehands. Landing on the salsa island is an awful decision, might be only better suggestion on hawaii. i just wish that i didn't pick this one up and read it. i definitely will not include it in my collection. bad, very bad after taste. sigh.......
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