The Day of Juba the Sniper
Review of the Brilliance Audio audiobook edition (July 2019)

Like the classic The Day of the Jackal (1971), Game of Snipers is a hunt & evade suspense thriller with a lone assassin pitted against a network of the authorities. It is the amateurs in this case that are the experts in tracking the assassin's methods and goals. Bob Lee Swagger is again pulled out of his horse ranch retirement to consult by a mother who lost her son to the assassin in a previous encounter. Swagger at 72 years of age is getting pretty old for the ground game, but his knowledge and instinct is still in the top echelon. This was an excellent continuation of the series that did not leaving you cringing due to the political references which have sometimes been a failing in Hunter's expanded Swagger & family series.

The narration by R. C. Bray in all voices was excellent. ( )

Swagger provides sniping expertise to FBI task force searching for mid-eastern sniper-assassin researching and planning killing of high gov't official. Exact target unknown until near the end.
Did not enthrall me as much as previous Hunter books. ( )

Bob Lee Swagger is getting old, and it shows in numerous ways. He’s no longer the best sniper in the world, he’s no longer able to take care of himself in a physical confrontation, and he’s no longer alert enough to trust in the field. Yet Swagger’s mind is still sound, and his understanding of the sniper’s rituals and craft are still among the best in the world. Those qualities, and the female FBI agent and grieving mother who save his life on separate occasions, allow him to survive and fight the Muslim sniper to a draw in “Game of Snipers.”

The story begins with an introduction to the grieving mother, and I was skeptical that the plot would be sustain my interest. Once into the meat of the story, however, “Game of Snipers” is adequate but not above average. The strength of this story is Hunter’s adroit plotting. There are a number of twists and turns, all skillfully set up in advance by Hunter, that are plausible yet surprising. If Swagger’s need to be rescued twice is surprising, how about a character that dies twice? Actually, both stretch the limits of plausibility, but are acceptable in the context of the plot.

“Game of Snipers” is longer than it needs to be because Hunter provides an obsessively detailed description of every bit of equipment used by the sniper. This approach reminds me of Rick Campbell’s (The Trident Deception, Ice Station nautilus, Treason) in that both attempt to emulate Tom Clancy’s use of technical details. Both tell interesting stories that are marred by the penchant for reporting of uninteresting details. I saw less emphasis on trivial details in Campbell’s latest work (Treason) while “Game of Thrones” seems to be more encumbered than Hunter’s earlier works. Neither have Clancy’s deft touch and should content themselves with telling an interesting story.

I would have rated “Game of Snipers” a full star higher except for the tedious detail. My recommendation is to skip ahead when Hunter begins a detailed description of minutiae. You will not miss anything interesting or important, and the plot will move along at a more appropriate pace. ( )