Soft Target

This is Stephen Hunter’s latest in the Bob Lee Swagger series, and it is as good as any of the past books that have captivated the writers in this blog. This story is about Bob Lee’s offspring, one that we didn’t know about (and maybe I don’t remember from earlier books), retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant Ray Cruz. Cruz was on a Christmas shopping outing with his girlfriend’s family on the day after Thanksgiving at “America, the Mall” in Minnesota. This mega retail setting was about the last place in the world where he wanted to be, but then terrorists took over, trapped more than 1,000 hostages, and started randomly killing them even before the terrorists made any demands. The first death was a graphic headshot to Santa Clause who had a little girl sitting on his lap at the time. The mastermind behind the event invaded and controlled the mall’s security center, and by so doing, shut down all exits and kept any rescue help from getting inside. Cruz was able to have some cell phone contact with would-be rescuers, and he learned that he was the only “asset” inside the mall. Hunter never got around to explaining how Cruz happened to be the son of Bob Lee, but Hunter had his protagonist’s new girlfriend Molly say in response to Cruz’s plan to take action, “He thinks he’s John Wayne. John Wayne was a fantasy. He never existed. He’s a dream, a phantom, a ghost.” Hunter wrote, “’He existed,’ said Ray, ‘and his name was Bob Lee Swagger. He’s my father.’” Ray Cruz is a very compelling character within this genre, clearly the equal of his father. There’s another Swagger in this book, Nikki Swagger, a daring news reporter who gets the scoop on the events going on inside the mall, although her connection to the inside events has nothing to do with Cruz. In fact, throughout the book, there is no direct link made between Cruz and Swagger. It is only in the last couple of pages that Hunter reveals the link between them. So, Hunter seems to be cleverly setting up some future stories which hopefully will explain more about these characters. This story took place within the course of a few hours, and it was a gripping, can’t-put-it-down read. Hunter retains his place near the top of my power rotation of favorite authors.