The Master Sniper

very good

Love these books

great read..

Good read

Although I've been reading Hunter's film reviews in my local paper for years, I've never picked up any of his books. However, I have a soft spot for WWII-based thrillers, so when I stumbled across this first book of Hunter's (originally published in 1980), I figured I'd give it a whirl. Set in the waning weeks of the war in Europe, the story concerns a top-secret Nazi plan to use their top sniper and a special weapon to eliminate a mysterious target. Meanwhile, an OSS small-arms analyst in London is given a scrap of information to check out, a tiny thread that he can't stop pulling on, which slowly but surely puts him on the trail of the German plot. The book then follows a fairly conventional thriller trope, as the Allied team races against the clock to stop the Nazis before it's too late.The resulting narrative has the unevenness you might expect from a first novel. Some sequences are quite good, and some are really flat, some characters are decent developed, others are stiff. For example, the description of the battle in Russia that turned the German sniper into a hero is outstanding. But there is an extended section in the middle about an exhibition tennis match one of the supporting characters in involved in which has nothing to do with anything. Parts of it are wildly over sentimentlized, while others are distinctly cold-blooded. The plot also relies entirely upon a ridiculous coincidence which brings the American analyst into contact with the one person who can provide him with several crucial pieces of information. Another big disappointment is the revelation of the target for this elaborate plot, which left me entirely underwhelmed. On the whole, I suppose it's a serviceable WWII-thriller, but nothing worth seeking out unless you're a fan of the genre. It does have enough bright parts to make me interested in checking out one of Hunter's later books to see if he's ironed out the wrinkles in his writing.Note: The secret weapon at the heart of the story is basically an infrared night-vision device heavily based on the real "Zielgeraet" system developed for the Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle and really deployed sometime in late 1944, early 1945.

Slow but gets good about the middle to end

aRRIVED IN GOOD CONDITION. gIVES A VERY GOOD FEEL OF THE CONFLICT IN VIETNAM.

Qui saltiamo come si suol dire " di palo in frasca" : da uno scenario immerso negli ultimi attimi della seconda guerra mondiale con finale tragico (la morte del cecchino Repp) all' episodio conclusivo del volume "black light" Abbinamento dei due momenti perfetto o con pochissime esitazioni.Galland5:-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-)

Stephen Hunter made a giant leap forward when he introduced Bob Lee Swagger in Point of Impact. His characters became more human, deeper, conflicted, and interesting. His plots became more complex and his ability to lay them out in an understandable way improved. Stephen Hunter became, far and away, the best thriller writer out there.Stephen Hunter wrote The Master Sniper before he wrote Point of Impact and I read it after I read all of his books involving the Swaggers. Having read the reviews, my expectations were lower. Perhaps because of that, I was pleasantly surprised. It was a good story and you can see Hunter's writing developing into what came out later. The protagonist is a bit dry and dull, perhaps intentionally so, similar to Bud Pewtie in Dirty White Boys (Wow, what a great book that is!).If you are a Stephen Hunter fan already, read it and enjoy it, just don't expect the same level as his subsequent books. If you are new to Stephen Hunter, start with Point of Impact and follow the books in order they were published and then go back to the Master Sniper.

僕の専門は　正法眼蔵なんですが　　ハンター　おもしろい　　テレビシリーズもあるようで

Unlike many of the other reviewers who appear to have read a Bob Lee Swagger novel before this one, this is my first Stephen Hunter novel. I have a few of the Bob Lee Swagger novels on my reading list, but I prefer to read an author's debut novel before anything else they write, and The Master Sniper is Hunter's debut novel, published in 1980. As such, I don't have the complication of expectations for this story as compared to a Bob Lee Swagger story.I thought the main plot of this story was excellent. It's near the end of WWII and the Germans have developed the first infrared weapon targeting system. The story's protagonist, Captain Jim Leets, is assigned to: 1) find and understand the technology, 2) find the German Lt. Colonel Repp who is the master sniper and who will be using this new technology, and 3) identify and save the person(s) the master sniper is planning on killing with this new technology. The premise is quite believable, more than enough to keep me engaged in the story.I also enjoyed the diversity of characters. The author did an excellent job of balancing the positive and negative in each character, thus making each one come off as authentically human. I thought the character, Shmuel, was excellently presented.The romance subplot involving Susan seemed distracting to the story. I usually enjoy the romance subplot, but this one didn't resonate with me. Maybe because the situation was a bit too WWII cliché... married woman, husband halfway around the world, seeks companionship with local military guy, feels guilty... but doesn't. I really wasn't interested in the outcome of the romance, which is why I say it distracted from the story rather than enhancing it. A quarter of the way into the story, I found myself wishing Susan would get killed by a German V2 rocket or transferred back to the States so that Captain Leets could find a better girlfriend who wasn't such a downer.The whole tennis-thing with Roger seemed oddly included, but it did accomplish a little character profiling... although I didn't think it added that much to the ending. Roger was a minor character throughout the story who ended up playing a major role in the climax. I guess Roger's "larger role in the ending" could have been predicted--based on the number of words given to him--but it didn't feel right to me. Oh well, no big deal.It was a good story, not great but good.

I first read this book in the early 80's strictly by chance. I picked it off the paperback shelf at a bookstore because I liked the title. I enjoyed the book and it stuck in the back of my mind. Recently I recalled the story but I didn't remember the title or the author. I have pretty good Google-fu and soon found what I was looking for. Bought it for my kindle and enjoyed it even more than the first time. Then I found out about Bob the Nailer and have read several of those tales. I liked the WW2 weapon technologies Hunter wrote about in Master Sniper and it opened the door to further my interest in WW2 history. Great read and I highly recommend.

A very good action book, especially if you like WWII stories & snipers!The story starts a little slow, flipping back and worth between the German sniper Repp and the American officer Leets and his British counterpart Outhwaithe, but kicks into high gear and never lets up a few chapters in.This novel was Stephen Hunter's 1st book, written in 1980. For a 1st novel, its excellent.The story / plot of this book is amazing,once you find out what Repp's mission is, it will blow you away, this book should have been a movie long, long ago.The Germans have a new weapon "Vampir (Vampire)", a highly sophisticated nightvision apparatus that attaches to a rifle, allowing the shooter to work at night and "Vampir" shoots a special 100 % lead round that makes very little sound when fired. Their is only one "Vampir" and the Germans have got their best man for the job, a German named Repp "der Meisterschutze (The Master Sniper)" as fellow Germans and the Jews know him. Germany is losing the war and its almost over, but Repp has one more mission to complete, a mission that could change the world.An American officer named Leets has a hunch that something big is about to happen, he just doesnt know what or who it is, yet!Good action, great characters and great storytelling from Stephen Hunter!"Dirty White Boys" by Stephen Hunter was entertaining, I think "The Master Sniper" was a little better. Can't wait to read "Point of Impact" next!

Of all Stephen Hunter books, I could not even finish this one. Terrible. Read about a third and was still wondering when we were going to get to the plot, person, story whatever. I am just glad I had read every other book S. Hunter wrote and couldn't put them down because had I read this one first I would never have read another of his works.

I have read all of Stephen Hunter's books, good and bad. This one is the worst of all of them. I am glad I read it decades after he wrote it or I would never have read any of his others. In this book he tries to be too "literary" with formal phrasing, cute names, stereotypical characters (I think Susan should have been named Muffy or Bunny). I would rate this as one of the two worst books I have ever read (right up there with Neal Stephenson...hmmm, similar name, you don't think it's the same guy do you?). Skip this book and read Mr Hunter's other writings. A couple were bad (not as bad as this book), most were very, very good. I am glad Mr Hunter got his act together and changed writing styles.

This is a story set during World War II and is about a German sniper, a secret sniper rifle, a last after war mission for the sniper and three allies that try to stop him. This is not nearly as good as the authors Bob Lee Swagger books. I found it interesting but not a book that I felt I had to stay up late reading.

I'm a huge Stephen Hunter fan; I discovered him through the Bob Lee Swagger books. When I ordered this one I didn't realize it was one of his earlier books (1980) but was not disappointed. The writing is good, economical but has a few twists that are telegraphed pretty early that you wouldn't see in his later productions. Very good book, enjoyed it immensely sitting by the pool.

I am a HUGE Stephen Hunter fan, but there were times with Master Sniper that I was seriously wondering if the same guy responsible for Bob 'The Nailer' and Earl Swaggert had actually had anything to do with this book. The characters seemed flat and the story slow and convoluted, ending anticlimactically in a forest showdown in post-war Switzerland.Looking forward to many more in the Swaggert family series, though.

This is a story that is captivating from the first page to the end. The Germans create a rifle system that has infrared capabilities and the SS hatch a plan to murder Jewish children. It is spellbinding.

The reader needs to stay alert for changes of scenes. They change sometimes seemingly in mid sentence. The search, the technology, the sociological Times were fascinating. I enjoyed the read.

Stephen Hunter paints a vivid visual picture of his characters and their settings and ties them all together one piece at a time keeping the chapters in chronological order as he gives you the information needed and lets the characters and the story unfold in your mind as you read on. Sometimes I had to go back to look at something I may have glossed over and cement the importance of the facts in my mind but it is very easy to do. I like how he takes factual historical events and weaves his story within that framework, giving you the opportunity to say "what if". I read a later work of his and wanted to go back and see what his early works were like and I am not disappointed.

Very detailed. A little slow in some spots but as the story develops it hooks you By the end you’ll be reading avidly. I’ve liked all of Steven Hunter’s books that I’ve read.