Hunter Books

How far would you go to reach that golden ring? Would you push another child off the carousel? As Jason strives for the Golden Fleece, he does more than mythology has led us to believe. In Matthew L. Hunter's version of the tale, "Jason and Medea: A Whirlwind of Ruin," we finally see the whole story...or at least Hunter's imaginative adaptation.

Dear old King Pelias sends his nephew Jason off on a quest to return the Golden Fleece to his kingdom with a promise that if he does so, the throne will be his. In the next breath he has Jason's father Aeson killed. And thus begins the violent acts of lust for power in this tale. Jason and his Argonauts are not the things of film and cartoon that recent history has depicted. The crew is brutal and vicious at every obstacle, Jason heartless in his quest. Mythology continues to accompany this version of the Fleece seeker, while the author's imagination fills in many gaps to the classic tale.

In a unique form of style, not quite novel and not quite play, Hunter offers a "mind-play" for the reader to envision the acts as they occur. This style is fluid and refreshing to this reader, while others may find it hard to follow. His writing is crisp and precise, evoking the images to appear in the mind's eye, the emotion to choke the throat. A very well done piece of work!
Review by Heather Froeschl.

As much as we all remember the old film "Jason and the Argonauts" from our childhood, this reality-based retelling, with none of the supernatural excesses, beckons us to reexamine what we know about ancient literature, and what we can learn from it. Written in an unusual "mind-play" style, it is intended as the author puts it, to be "a film to run behind the eyes." Filled with pathos, metaphor, and stark violence, Jason and Medea forces us to examine human kind and what motivates us to do good or evil. Of particular note are the monologues, which display a subtle form of brilliance seldom seen in modern literature. I found myself reading a few of them over and over.

Great book. It held the suspense and the urge to continue on. It had an interesting begginning so readers would not make false judgements about the book. Matthew deserves credit for being imaginative beyond just the surface. This book makes you think even after you have finished reading it !

King Pelias sends his nephew Jason on a quest to find and bring back the Golden Fleece; though in truth the uncle prefers his relative never to return. Some of the greatest heroes accompany him on this dangerous journey of the Argo. On the way the crew brutalizes anyone in their path as they devastate Lemnos, slaughtering the men and using the women.

When they reach their destination, Jason realizes that the only way he can take the Golden Fleece is with the help of King Creon's daughter Medea. He seduces her to betray her father by assisting him in taking the Golden Fleece. Out of love for Jason, she helps him achieve his objective and later kills for her beloved who betrays her love.

This is an excellent filling of the gaps of Euripides' Medea. The story line paints a more complete picture of the woman who commits monstrous atrocities out of love for Jason. The heroic Argonaut is actually less sympathetic in Matthew L. Hunter's delightful take as he is manipulative and once he achieves his desire abandons the woman who gave away her life for him. This is a great rendition of the classic.

Harriet Klausner

Tackling some of today's most pressing issues through an ancient story,
'Jason and Medea: A Whirlwind of Ruin' tells a tale of love, adventure and
violence against a backdrop of philosophy and mythology.

Author Matthew L. Hunter prefaces his novel by acknowledging that many
readers will already be familiar with his title characters through film,
television and opera. He says the full myth is a dark tragedy, which he has
used to explore predestination, personal responsibility, racism, sexism,
crime, violence and ethics.

The book certainly delves into these murky waters, giving the reader a
chance to see humanity at its ugliest, most passionate and most loving.
Innocent men, women and children are murdered and betrayed while sympathetic
characters are the perpetrators of these crimes.
In a format Hunter calls a mind-play or a film to run behind the eyes,
'Jason and Medea' follows in the footsteps of the great Greek plays which
made the story famous.

Expanding on the substance of the myth - wherein Jason and his Argonauts
journey to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece and win back the kingdom of
Iolcus from Jason's Uncle Pelias, which he ultimately succeeds in doing with
the help of Medea - Hunter fleshes out the tale in a way that allows readers
to come to their own conclusions about what motivates the characters in
their actions.

Full of adventure and intrigue, 'Jason and Medea' will bring different
reactions from different readers. As a woman, I was fascinated by the female
characters of Polymede, Hypsipyle, Chalciope and, of course, Medea. Hunter
explores their position as women in their time and expresses their feelings
eloquently.

This does not mean the male characters were any less fascinating to me -
they were, but in a less identifiable way. In his sexist, conceited
attitudes, Jason is a true egotist, who is always motivated to act for his
own selfish gain, whereas Medea lives for the man she loves, doing anything
to further his cause, even if it means hurting her other loved ones. When
his selfishness becomes evident to her, she still reacts in response to him,
choosing to kill his children and hurt him in the worst possible way rather
than choosing happiness for herself.

Once you get into the rhythm of the mind-play, you will be entranced by the
title characters and the supporting cast in this epic adventure. Without
trying to modernize the story or capitalize on and sensationalize its
violent aspects, Hunter hits on some key issues faced by every generation.
It will leave you wondering what you are capable of doing if placed in
severe circumstances.

Without hesitation, I recommend you get reacquainted with this tragic
romantic couple, Jason and Medea, as told in this version by Matthew Hunter.

Deanne Devine's Lost Hunters is a compelling novel of death, murder, an ancient curse and hidden secrets reaching back two hundred years. With tense action and memorable characters put in grim dilemmas, Lost Hunters is a book not easily put down once begun. A highly recommended, riveting read.

Great book! For the first 20+ pages the reader is not sure what is happening or where it will lead. Stick with it! As with any good roller coaster ride, things get more lively after the top of the first hill. The book is consistently interesting and thrilling throughout. "Lost Hunters" is a good scary book while managing to be thoughtful at the same time - I would recommend it highly.

Strange things were happening in Miltonville. Unbelievable things. The Itch was just a legend, wasn’t it? A legend passed down from generation to generation just like an old wife’s tale. Everyone knows that legends and old wife’s tales aren’t really true. Are they?

Ed Philips wasn’t so sure. He had a suitcase full of old documents that his father had passed on to him. He was afraid to show the documents to anyone. They would say he was just a crazy old drunken coot.

Leslie Vickers wasn’t so sure. Her mother had died in the last Itch twenty years earlier. That’s what everyone said anyway but Leslie knew that her mother had just been in the wrong place at the right time. She had been shot. Nothing to do with The Itch at all. The Itch was just a legend. Wasn’t it?

John Barker stirred. It was almost time. It had been almost twenty years since the last Itch. He smelled the Vanderkellen. The scent was getting stronger. The stench was almost unbearable as he struggled to escape from his shadowy world.

Deanne Devine has created a masterful thriller with Lost Hunters. Hang on for the ride as you get lost in the world she has created. This is one that you don’t want to read late at night unless you have the doors locked and the lights turned up bright. [...]

A real page-turner. I couldn't put it down. Don't attempt to guess what's coming up next, because you can't. It's totally unpredictable and unlike anything I've read before. I am so looking forward to Ms. Devine's next novel.

Deanne Devine's first novel is at once unique, wildly creative and completely grounded. The characters are everyday people, quirky but real. Be warned, the situations in which they find themselves are as surreal as anything you've encountered in contemporary literature. This makes for a virtual State-Fair-Amusement-Park-Haunted-House ride. It's creaky, gritty, rickety, and all the more frightening because of it. You won't know what's going to happen next.

The tension is expertly managed by Ms. Devine's pragmatic and humorous writing style. After a spooky preamble which foreshadows the supernatural bent of things to come, the narrative flows easily and the dialogue is all too familiar and realistic. So much so that you are pulled along quite happily on the surface of life in a small town only to be astounded when you think back and realize what's really happening. You may find yourself thinking, "Oh, somebody moved the mannequin as a practical joke" only to gradually intuit the deeper, more sinister meaning. (The mannequin appears on the front cover of the book, hint-hint.) Plot developments are aptly prepared by Ms. Devine's use of flashbacks about and "historical" background on the characters and their lineages. There is nothing superfluous in the way she has structured this origami-like plot.

What the writer omits has the effect of making things all the more frightening. You might not be able to completely visualize the nebulous spirit plane which intersects with our own at roughly twenty year intervals. It's downright strange, but then again, you can't pin down the supernatural. At the end of the novel, the story on the earthly plane is skillfully resolved. But then there is a brief postlude in the spirit world which balances the preamble. Where are these spirit-people? What will happen to them? The novel ends in the same tantalizing fashion as it began.

The first thing I want to do is read this book again. Then, I hope there's a sequel because I want to know "What happens to that BABY???"

Perhaps the author is saying that we're all Lost Hunters and it may be too much to hope for all the answers.

if you like storys that are true to life w/ a little bit of humor and alot of humanity david hunter is one of the best authors around. if you like this one get trailer trash from tn. or there was blood on the snow i hope to see more of his work

I loved this book better than all the cop story books I've ever read because Officer Hunter keeps it simple and direct. His old fashioned values, positive attitude towards people, and terrific sense of humor make this book a fantastic and easy read. Hunter has a way of grabbing your heart and making you think about life in a new way.

I stumbled across this book somehow. It is by far the best book I have read in a long time. I'm not much of reader but Mr. Hunter has a special way of telling stories. Reading this book was alot like watching the T.V. show COPS. You feel like your really there. Read it for yourself and you'll understand the things our badged hero's take care of. Cant wait to read more of his books!

I read this book years ago, before I became a police officer. I have worked the streets for some time now and recently reread the book. Reading The Moon Is Always Full is truly like looking into a mirror of my life. David Hunter puts into words the things I see and do every day. He portrays the joy and sadness this strange job brings with clarity that only a fellow Officer would know. My thanks to Mr. Hunter for giving me a chance to look in the mirror.

This book was published in 1989 and is long out of print. Except for some of the technological and policy changes in law enforcement (such as to protect the Rodney Kings of this world) it is still timely. People don't really change. It is one of my favorite books, and THE favorite police-related book in my library.

Author David Hunter was a self-described poet/author that happened to be a cop (rather than vice versa which is usually the case). Hunter hired on with the the Knox County Tennessee sheriff's department rather late in life. He had a police officer's heart, but also the eye and voice of a good writer. He gave song to the relatively invisible and silent group of men and women (overwhelmingly men) who roam the streets all night and, simply put, stand between the bad people and the good people.

I have to disagree with the reviewer that described this book as like watching COPS on TV. In COPS, the officer is never really alone . . . he is accompanied by the two-man camera crew and usually a gang of other officeres that want to be on TV. COPS also doesn't really tell you what is going on inside the officer's mind and gut. Fear and/or disgust, or real compassion, doesn't come across accurately on mass market TV.

The book is a non-fictional account of Hunter's observations, thoughts, and experiences. Much is very funny. Much is heartbreaking. There are moments of terror. All is typical of police patrol work. He's not Ernest Hemingway, but he's pretty good and probably a lot more genuine.

I have spent over 90% of my 16 year police career on night patrol. I buy used paperback copies of this book in quantities and give them to younger nightshift guys that I feel have earned the ability to appreciate these stories.

Most highly recommended.

I thouroughly enjoyed the book and found it well written. The Shih are the absolute characters I have seen in the World of Darkness.

I've had this book for a while now and from reading through both books, it far exceeds Hunter: The Reckoning. Just based on that, and the fact that I know Demon Hunter X is a very excllent sourcebook, I'd highly recommend it over Hunter: The Reckoning...this is just what my opinion and current course of action though. Do with it what you will...

Let me Just say WOW!!! First of all Demon Hunters are incredibly powerful. it has great describtions of the Shih and the Strike Force Zero(aka SF0). Both have intresting pasts and present about how they deal with the Shen>. And as an added bonus it has Great art work (even though a little graphic) but still "DA BOMB". Now if only they rest of the World of Darkness was Anime.....

this is another must buy supplement for anyone wishing to play in the east. whether you play one of the shen or wish to play one of the hunters, demon hunter x adds a whole new dimension to gaming. when will white wolf get the hint and make KoE a division of its own.

Demon Hunter X details a lot of information for running a Kindred of the East campaign for Vampire. The Shih are well detailed as is Strike Force Zero, and one is hard pressed to choose which to play. Not everyone takes the Shen lying down, and both the Shih and SF0 are at odds on how to truly deal with these demons. A great opening story and lot of info on how the Shih and SF0 hunt down and destroy the Shen, this book is highly recommended to anyone even remotely interested in the hunters in the Middle Kingdom.

Most hunters and shooters have a dismal understanding of optics. For evidence, go to a shooting range or hunting camp and pay attention -- you'll see such absurdities as guys with $2K rifles toting $30.00 K-Mart binoculars, guys with short-ranged 30-30s topped with gigantic 4-14x scopes, and guys with European optics that cost more than a well-used car who can't hunt or shoot well enough to remotely take advantage of their gear. This book is the antidote to such maladies.

John Barsness is one of the two best currently active hunting/gun writers. (The other is Craig Boddington.) In this book, the best of its kind that I'm aware of, Barsness has done something incredible -- made a treatise on optics (which could easily have become a dry morass of technical info and jargon) that's also an enjoyable read.

Barsness does an excellent job of informing the curious hunter about all aspects of hunting optics -- gun scopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, and even rangefinders. He tells you what attributes to look for and why. He also dispels a lot of the myths about hunting optics (eg., that bigger is always better, that optical brightness is the single most important attribute of a riflescope, that ultra-expensive, hard-to pronounce Euro-scopes are the greatest thing since smokeless powder, etc.) Barsness, to his credit, looks not only at the Rolls Royce-level optics that few real-life hunters can afford; he also looks at middle-class and even proletarian products, and points out that many of them are better than you'd expect (just like expensive optics can sometimes be lemons.)

This is a book that I've referred back to again and again, and have found extremely helpful when shopping for scopes, binoculars, and spotting scopes of my own. I highly recommend it to any hunter.

In spite of being a little dated this study of optic basics is extremely useful. After reading this book I understood more about optics and their performance than I could have hoped. Barsness has a logical style that begins in basics, describes how American optics differ from European, and how to compare to get best value for dollar (high price doesn't neccessarily mean best). He also writes an enlightening segment on how to use binocular,rifle scope, and spotting scope as a system becoming more aware of all that goes on just beyond our sight. This was an entertaining book to read and a pleasure to learn from.

Someone explains optics without trying to sound like a NASA rocket scientist. It's written in a clear, concise, down-to-earth style that manages to explain optics without causing an onset of narcolepsy.

I found Optics for the Hunter to be educational. I learned several bits of information that helped me feel like I was making an educated decision in purchasing both a binocular and rifle scope. It does not really help you choose between the various products within a mfg line (like between the various Leupold models) you'll have to figure that out for your self.

It does provide valuable info on mounting scopes as well. I am glad I bought it.

My friend turned me on to this book. It really does have everything you need to know before buying rifle scopes and binocular. Easy to understand objective opinions on all hunting optics. If your in the market for optics or you need to know where your currently owned optics fit in, then you'll want this book. Highly Recommended. AAA+++

As a 3 day a week exerciser, I found this book to be of great help! In particular, it helped me to correct some bad exercising habits/techniques that I had developed. I've noticed a marked reduction in lower back pain as a result of incorporating the workout tips into my regular routine. The book also helped to dispell some common exercise myths. I would recommend this book to anyone -- from the weekend workout warrior to the professional athlete -- who is interested in reaping all the healthy benefits of exercising. There's something in this book for everyone whatever your fitness level!

Over this past year, I have had several set backs starting a fitness routine resulting in injuries. As a working professional and mother of two, it's challenging to carve time out for fitness. I am looking for optimal results with limited time. Peak Perfmance Fitness is a great resource for developing a solid fitness foundation. Jennifer Rhodes has a gift for providing practical, simple explanations for how to prevent injury and develop an effective fitness plan. The diagrams and step-by-step instructions are a real value add!

I love this book! Maintaining proper alignment, and therefore helping to prevent injuries, and chronic pain, is so much more important than mere aesthetics. Anyone who has suffered an injury that affects one's mobility can attest to this. This book will show you how to keep your body healthy and well-aligned, for long-term health. She writes in an exceptionally clear fashion as well, and the way she explains how your body is supposed to move is brilliant easy to understand. Fantastic. I hope she writes another book, she's very dynamic.

As a female approaching 60, I have attempted many fitness programs only to be interrupted by an injury. I was intrigued by Jennifer Rhodes' book, Peak Performane Fitness, because she emphasizes fitness without injury or strain. After reading through Jennifer's book, I now understand why my attempts to improve my health through exercise have failed. I have developed a beginners program using the guidelines in her book. My focus is on improving my overall posture, along with cardiovascular exercise. In partiular, I highly recommend the foam roll referred to in Chapter 4 for spinal alignment. Jennifer has the knowledge and experience to provide good tools for exercise without injury and the suggested exercises with illustrations make it simple for one to follow. I am now looking forward to an ACTIVE retirement.

I am a 32 year old guy. I've been playing soccer, tennis, and golf almost all of my life. Over the past three years though, I've been plagued by recurring injuries to my knees and shoulders. I assumed my body was simply weakening with age, and couldn't take the blows like it used to. Luckily, I found Peak Performance Fitness before I put myself out to pasture! This easy to read book explained how my pain was actually due to years of "microtrauma"- continual irritations caused by poor alignment of my body causing me to torque and stress my muscles and joints in ways they just weren't meant to take. Clear illustrations gave me an understanding of how my body can and should work in harmony, with small changes in my lifestyle and exercise regimen. The book stepped me through the crafting of a workout, custom made to strengthen and realign my trouble spots. Within a few weeks, I could already feel my power and confidence improving. Ms Rhodes's book is an essential read for anyone who wants to keep their body working efficiently and looking and feeling great.

The Oceanic culture is a beautiful philosophy and a beautiful way of life. I think of my gentle son who loved the Pacific Rim so much and manifested so many of their values. It's a truly loving culture, and love, Pearsall points out, is not a feeling, but a way of treating someone that takes infinite patience and practice to learn and to develop. "Only the very patient should marry," he says, "for it takes a very long time to learn to love someone." Marriage to the Polynesians is forever and one test of a pleasurable relationship is that it makes your family and your world a better place. Pearsall's thoughts on anger were especially welcome. Somehow I always "knew" that expressing anger was not the answer to anything, having been assaulted and sickened by outbursts from others, but rather it puts out a negative forcefield for everyone involved that spreads like ripples in a stream. His Myths about Anger should be read by all. Full of kind words and aloha, this book will warm your soul and give you the courage to live the way your heart and soul know they should in a world that hasn't accepted it yet. Be you, be well, be in lokahi (unity), be the first. I deeply recommend this book. Don't be fooled by the simplicity. The philosophy will take up residence in your heart, which needs it badly.

*****
I read this book on my recent vacation to Hawaii, and it defined my trip and made it memorable. "The Pleasure Prescription" by Paul Pearsall contrasts the "Oceanic" way with Western ways and Eastern thought. He describes a third or alternative way, which is Living Aloha. The book is a bible on How to Live Aloha. It is not the same old recycled self-help information you'll read in other books, but a beautiful system based upon Hawaiian spiritual principles and research in psychoneuroimmunology---the interactions between the brain, mind, body, and the immune system.

I did not find any of the information dated, although the book was published in 1996; rather, it is timely and fresh. Dr. Pearsall literally teaches you how to Live Aloha, covering the following five principles:
Ahonui - which is patience expressed with perseverance, living in the now, mindfulness
Lokahi - which is unity or connection, expressed harmoniously, behaving in a constant state of accord with the world, both natural and spiritual
'Olu'Olu - which is agreement, expressed with pleasantness, bliss
Ha'aha'a - which is humility expressed with modesty, silencing the self, saving the soul
Akahai - which is kindness, expressed with tenderness

The book is practical, and contains self-assessment tests and exercises that can be done. It is enjoyable to read, and makes you feel good! The spirituality described can complement any belief system or religious system, as they are useful principles common to most systems of ethics (for example, kindness). It is very Hawaiian, embodying the "how to" part of living aloha---it's great to have bumper stickers saying "Live Aloha", but how do you do that? This book shows you how.

If you are unfamiliar with Living Aloha, but are just unhappy or stressed out or tired, and want some refreshment, I would recommend this book also. There is a bit of Hawaiian terminology, but the author provides a glossary, and it's not necessary to remember the Hawaiian words, but to just practice what you read.

Highly recommended.
*****

Every morning I do what I call "Spiritual Reading," attempting to ground my day with viewpoints clearly from the spiritual, yet practical realm. Dr. Pearsall, in The Pleasure Prescription, provided over three months, many basic truths for me to contemplate and incorporate into my life. I read only a few pages or a small section a day, but tried to dwell on his
recipe for a more sane and healthful life for these trying times in which we live. The book was originally published ten years ago, but still rings true. Pearsall's references to research on which he based his findings is fascinating and very thorough. I liked the book so much I bought a copy for one of our adult children for this past Christmas. I'll re-read the book again someday, it's that good! I can truly say it's a book that changed my life!

As an EQ coach, I am always looking for good books that illustrate the principles of emotional intelligence, and this is one of the books that is my Bible. Pearsall is a psychoneuroimmunologist (emotions effect our immune systems) and his book is loaded with research. One thing I loved was his long treatent of ANGER -- now if that doesn't make people sick! He says "Don't express it, don't suppress it, CONFESS it." It may take a while for this to sink in with you (especially since psychology did for years, and still does to some extent, encourage that you express your anger), but think about it. It works. We are not ourselves when angry, we are not at our best, we are not able to think ... and we might as well confess it. His treatment of anger alone is worth the price of the book. He has a list of MYTHS about anger, and I bet you believe in at least half of them.

I read this book a while back, when it first came out in print, and I still have the tattered copy on my bookshelf. This book is an awesome insight into a new way of thinking about life.

I have read this book a few times and I even purchased it as a gift for a couple of others. If you're looking to relax, find some joy in life, and attain true balance, this is your guide.

A not-too-hard to read book about ancient Greece with a new twist on the Atalanta story. A good read; good action; straightforward plot.

Quiver was a wonderful integration of mythology, romance, and adventure. I have recomended it to many of my friends and my Latin teacher. The main character, Atalanta, was one of the many characters beautifully brought to life through dialogue and description. The plot was a delicate mix of the many tales of Atalanta. I look forward to reading many other books by Stephanie Spinner.

Quiver was a wonderful integration of mythology, romance, and adventure. I have recommended this book to many of my friends and my Latin teacher. The main character, Atalanta, was one of many characters beautifully brought to life through dialogue and description. Spinner's Quiver was a delicate mix of the many tales of Atalanta. I hope to read many more books by Stephanie Spinner in the future.

In this retelling of the story of Atalanta, Stephanie Spinner continues in the tradition of great novelists like Mary Renault who render ancient history and mythology fresh, accessible and immediate without adulterating the original power of the stories. Atalanta, a mythical huntress with a remarkable story, is still a teenaged girl -- confused, hormonal, and horse-crazy. Anyone who has ever been a adolescent girl or known one will feel a certain affinity to and sympathy for her.

Spinner doesn't fall into the trap of stylistic modernization, however. Despite her character's accessibility to the modern reader, Atalanta remains undisputably an inhabitant of an ancient, mythical world in which creatures like centaurs are an unremarkable (though smelly and obnoxious) aspect of everyday life, and the gods are flawed, mercurial and fickle. Apollo and Artemis carry on conversations filled with the idle, slighty vicious barbs one would expect from siblings, though not, perhaps, from devine ones. That our heroine, long-suffering and stoic, is at the mercy of these creatures seems the ultimate injustice: she is so much better than they.

I suppose that injustice is part of what makes "Quiver" so convincing and evocative of the original myths it is based on. The Greek Gods of Homer and Ovid were never especially divine in judgement or emotion; what makes them so terrifying and moving is that they are just like us, only bigger, more powerful, and even more ruled by the drives and emotions we deem ignoble, primal, and unmanagable. In this godly muck of jealousy, revenge and chaos for the sake of it, Atalanta is a beacon of level-headedness, humanity, and nobility.

Spinner retells the Greek legend of Atalanta, a royal born fosterling with athletic grace whose father and king orders her to marry in spite of her vow of chastity and devotion to the goddess Artemis. When Atalanta consents to race potential suitors on the condition that losers die and only the man to beat her will win her hand, Eros intercedes with his arrow of love. More in this version than in others, Atalanta seems a strong female character with some control over her destiny, in spite of her offerings to the goddess and the intervention of fate.
Students studying Greek myth will recognize traditional elements such as prophecy, humans desiring to become godlike, and the punishment of prideful humans. What makes Spinner's version stand out are her savory details that lend a tangible quality to the historical period. The insertion of imagined conversations between the gods as they wager on the outcome of the human events they manipulate is unique and raises the story up a notch while adding a note of humor.
A map, author's note about the various version of the story and a quick who's who of the key deities flesh out the background. While this is not a replacement for Hamilton or Bullfinch, the freshness of this timeless story has appeal for teens today. Pair with McLaren's Aphrodite's Blessing (Atheneum, 2002) for an interesting comparison of two takes on the tale.

Would the titans of the oil industry conspire to kill one of their own, if he threatened the established order? As Secrets of State opens, the deed is nearly done, implicating a foreign government, multiple federal agencies, and the President of the United States.

Set in Costa Rica during the Iran-Contra era, this is one spy story that offers a gritty, hard-boiled look at what can happen when one man positions himself to interrupt the flow of the dollars. Leighton is a trained assassin, an ex-Navy Seal sent to kill oil baron John Cortland, a man labelled a threat to national security. He soon discovers that he's also a very expendable pawn -- Cortland's death is only the beginning of the intrigue, as a plot to crush his legacy begins to unfold, revealing the true reason for his murder.

Trapped when his escape plan fails, and suspecting he's already been disavowed, Leighton goes to ground as the agency sends an old flame in harm's way to help smoke him out. Chilling in its plausibility, almost visually striking in its detail, Secrets takes you inside the characters heads in a way few stories in this genre do. It's a great read and a slow-burning page turner, with the "tick-tick-tick" suspense reminescent of Hitchcock.

Damien Hunter's Secrets of State was totally engrossing. The main characters, Leighton and Paula, were not just secret agents, but real people I could identify with and empathize with. Very seldom are the moral conflicts inherent in being an assassin or spy developed in the way Hunter has done. He makes these characters REAL people you can care about. The descriptions of the threats Leighton faces as he tries to decide who he can trust with his and Paula's lives are gripping. The author has done an excellent job along the lines of LeCarre in making an interesting and believable story. If you enjoy a good, complex spy novel with multiple twists and turns and a non-formula story line, I'd recommend you pick up a copy of Secrets of State for your summer reading list.

I have been an avid reader of spy novels for the past 25 years and am a lover of "the classics," from Eric Ambler to Len Deighton to John LeCarre to Ian Fleming. I feel well qualified to proclaim that Damien Hunter's Secrets of State is easily one of the best spy novels that I have ever read. Period.

That seems like an incredible compliment to level on any book, but I've read a lot of them and this one belongs in the company of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold or The Ipcress File or From Russia with Love. It is an instant classic.

Forboding, at times dark, at other times erotic and sometimes melancholy, and at all times evocative and chillingly suspenseful, this is a must read. It is the kind of book that when you are finished reading, you begin looking over your shoulder, afraid that someone has seen you reading it and now knows that you know!, and feeling all of the paranoia of its central character. What an incredible find!

There are so many moments in this book where the author succeeds in not only writing a gripping and suspenseful tale but also in taking you so far beyond the spy genre with the moral and ethical concerns of a spy and hired killer.

Damien Hunter's hero, Jeigh Leighton, is a conflicted, tortured soul, who in one transcendant scene is seeking asylum and is locked in the nearly airtight crypt of a Catholic church with a former lover and fellow agent while Costa Rican security forces stand ready to burst down the doors. Here and in so many other places Leighton confronts his demons and is shown at
the crossroads of good and evil as he serves a corrupt master...his government.

There are no cookie cutter characters here, no stock villains, no tired cliches, no forgettable standard locales. All the characters in this book are ambivalent and straddle both light and darkness, metaphors that run throughout the book. Every chapter is a gateway into a new world.

What Damien Hunter has accomplished is writing about real people with real motives. The relationship between Leighton and Paula Grant, for example, has no precedent in spy lore. There's never been a real relationship between a man and a woman in the spy genre...in fact you have to wait until you read Mr. Hunter's book to find a male author who can write women without
being patronizing or seeking to project his own sexual fantasies. Paula Grant is compelling and three-dimensional and this reader at least hopes Mr. Hunter will consider a special novel just for her.

An incredibly thoughtful and intelligent work that is so much more than a mere genre book and may have to be classified with such works of literature as Dostoyevsky's The Devils or Joseph Conrad's Secret Agent of Heart of Darkness. Secrets of State deftly bridges a gap between such classic works of literature and the very best of the spy genre. It also has the
timelessness of these works and while it focuses on the American involvement in Central America of a previous decade, it seems somehow prescient and forewarning of a time to come.

What also grabs you about Hunter's book is the level of detail and the way he is able to bring the reader directly into an experience. The book's events read as though actually experienced by the author, and you get the sense that he has experience with everything he describes, including sophisticated weapons, parachuting, hand-to-hand military combat, basic survival techniques, scuba diving, skiiing, and perhaps has even been privy to some classified information on black ops. I think he also captures the way that intelligence and law enforcement agencies often work at cross-purposes, and so much of this is right on time as the 9-11 hearings unfold. Most books read as though researched in a library. I think this author has visited every single place that he writes about and driven on every dirt backwoods trail and had a drink in very bar and prayed to every saint in every church.

But perhaps one of the greatest accomplishments of this book is that its complex central character is an African-American, and this brilliantly enhances the ambiguities of this novel. Leighton is a man from a family of black soldiers driven so absolutely by some black middle class need to succeed in a white world that he will involve himself in even the most impossible of missions. If this isn't a powerful metaphor for the attempts of African-Americans to belong to a society that consistently scorns them, nothing, not even the images of countless Black soldiers fighting and dying for this country from the Revolutionary War to the Iraq, will suffice.

This doesn't mean that comparisons to Walter Mosely are in order, for Hunter exceeds even Mosely's revitalization of the crime genre. Leighton is heir to the Buffalo Soldier, complicit in much of what he seeks to combat, who must, must continue to serve a corrupt master because that corrupt master sets the limits by which Leighton can call himself a man.

A brilliant book and I understand a first novel by this author. I for one am ready for the next Jeigh Leighton novel. Bravo! Mr. Hunter, and to paraphrase Nick Fury, Agent of Shield, Hey, keep 'em comin'.

Filled with vivid detail and precise descriptions of the intricacies of the spy world, the book one that was tough to put down. As soon as I started reading the book I knew that I would have to finish it within a day or 2. It has a great plot that keeps your interest very high and is impossibly unpredictable- there are points in the story where you think Leighton will go one direction and it ends up somewhere else all together.
THIS IS A MUST READ. I couldn't put it down and neither will you, the suspense and excitement are a constant throught the book.

Secrets of State is a hard-hitting thriller that gives it to you right between the eyes, no window-dressing and no apologies. If newcomer Damien Hunter isn't a spook, he's sure done his homework, the book is that realistic. His main character Leighton is an assassin, a government agent trained in espionage who has somehow fallen into being used as a triggerman, and for once, Leighton disagrees with the reason he's been sent to kill a man. The violence is graphic, but never pointless.

Leighton's target is industrialist John Cortland, a Texas oil man, but a gunrunner and drug smuggler, too. Leighton is told he's doing it for national security, but in reality he's a pawn in a rogue operation and becomes the very next target in the crosshairs. What they don't tell him is that Cortland has a secret project, the one that's eating up the Texan's fortune, the one that threatens a global petrochemical empire. Leighton soon suspects the order to eliminate Cortland had nothing to do with gunrunning and drugs, and everything to do with the power of the oil industry.

Corporate power run amuck and hidden forces in the shadows are consistent themes in this thriller by first-time author Damien Hunter. Intelligence agencies and law enforcement work at cross-purposes in hunting Leighton down once his escape plan fails, while back home industrial sabotage undermines Cortland's project, and factions within Leighton's own agency are at odds as to whether to save or kill him, sending a team of hit men and an old flame to smoke him out. Secrets of State has a convoluted but fascinating plot, boiling down to a real page-turner. Set in Central America in the late 1980's, with the key event an assassination intended to preserve the power of an empire, it's a great read, and led me to speculate about our country's real motives in Iraq and the Middle East today.

Bruce Jones, author of Maximum Velocity and Game Running, has finally written a thriller with a woman at the center--and what a woman! Jeni Starbuck, a former agent, is smart, beautiful, and no one's fool, with the soft heart of a mother whose lost a child recently and a wife whose husband has left her. Jeni becomes the obsession of a criminal mind, a man who's nickname, the Solobomber, only touches the surface of his schemes--and yet a demented mind which, like Jeni's, can appreciate the finest human feelings without being able to feel them. This strange bond that connects the two is the center of a wild ride in which the action never lets up and the surprises never stop coming! Jones is a master of the action scene, but he never lets the thrills get in the way of his storytelling. And if there was ever a character that needed a sequel, it's Jeni Starbuck! Hope Jones is listening.

Jeni Starbuck, the heroine of SPRINTER, could be the girl next door with an insatiable sense of curiosity and an even stronger sense of justice. She is one of the most well-rounded female protagonists in books today, and when a mad bomber fixes his sites on her, you know that he's picked a formidable opponent.

I've read MAXIMUM VELOCITY and GAME RUNNING, both by Jones, and all three books are breathtaking thrillers with amazing depth of character. Jones has a predilection for getting under the skin of his heroes and taking us with him. Highly recommended.

SPRINTER is the kind of novel you always hoped would come along--a thriller that Alfred Hitchcock (or even Brian DePalma, that Hitchock wannabe) would have really sunk his teeth into. The people have exotic professions but real personal lives--men and woman in the CIA, FBI, or whathaveyou have to marry, divorce, love, hate and pursue happiness as well as international terrorists.

Jeni is the protagonist, a former government agent who, after being fired and losing her only child, is divorced from her husband and vents her frustrations in running races and focusing on kids dying of AIDS. When a mad bomber threatens San Diego through the use of a computer called the Sprinter 9000, Jeni is called up again. What follows is a swift course in Saving Your Own Life.

The villian is formidable, a brainiac psychotic genius with geniuine feelings and a passion for art. Jeni is sexy, vulnerable, dynamic, the girl next door to the nth degree, and the ending is unbeatable, a real! ! boon for women everywhere who are sick of the Woman-as-victim motif.

Sprinter almost screams "movie", but it is not because the writer doesn't understand books. On the contrary, Sprinter is classic in its approach to plot and character, painting beautifully time and place and most interestingly the inner thoughts of the protagonist, Jeni, a former agent who now runs an AIDS hospice for children. Her nemesis, Dr. Handle, is also known as the Unibomber, but his agenda is far more complicated than the ordinary terrorist's, and he has selected Jeni, for his own reasons, to be the intermediary for his negociations. Handle is a notch above Dr. Lecter, villian-wise, in that his own ego does not necessarily dictate his routes. He and Jeni are the perfect match, even is she doesn't know it. Or him. All she knows is that she's recently lost her beloved child and her husband has left her to marry again. And she's a world-class running--which she does not only to make money for the hospice, but to prove to herself she's still alive. From the first page the action starts and it never lets up, sweeping Jeni into the apex of a paranoid fantasy that leaves her wondering if it is she or the Bomber who's mad. As action heroine, you cannot beat Jeni's character, who thinks with both her head and her heart, and has the flexibility to change and the sense to know when she's been had. Mixed into this tasty stew is Jeni's genius ex-husband, for whom she pines, an FBI agent in charge of the Bomber case who pines for her, and enough bombs, computer hacking, beatings and shootings, not to mention some of the best chases ever written, to keep this reader on the edge of his seat! Very, very highly recommended summer reading.

My father-in-law gave SPRINTER to my husband for Christmas, but I got to it first. Now my husband and sister have already read it and my father-in-law is standing in line.

It's about Jeni, a woman whose lost everything in life that mattered to her: her job, her husband, and her little daughter. Then a crazed (and very well-drawn) mad bomber selects her to play a curious form of Russian Roulette using bombs instead of guns.

All I can say is, this book kept me guessing, and turning pages like crazy. Bruce Jones really knows how to fill up a thriller with wonderful characters who think and act like the rest of us, even if they are FBI or CIA or mad bombers! I loved this book, and highly recommend it!