The Master Sniper

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.

THE MASTER SNIPER is an early novel by Stephen Hunter; it was originally published in 1980. It is a thriller of the Second World War--a sub-genre I love--and it reminded me just a little of Jack Higgins' bestselling THE EAGLE HAS LANDED.

Captain Leets is an officer with the Office of Strategic Services, a paper-pusher really, who specializes in Nazi firearms. He, as everyone else, is waiting out the war. It is January 1945, and the Nazis are against the ropes. They still have enough muscle to do some damage, but the end of the war is in sight, and no one wants to take too many chances, and Captain Leets is no different.

That all changes when a strange report crosses his desk: a small shipment of Stermgewehr-44s--an assault rifle that was produced and requisitioned in the thousands--was sent from the factory to a place called Anlage Elf. Leets isn't sure why, but something bothers him about this shipment of rifles. It's not just the number of rifles being shipped, but no one has heard of the requesting agency, and why would the Germans risk shipping such a small amount of rifles across the country when the war is lost?

This sets up a mystery that Captain Leets will struggle to solve throughout the rest of the novel. He will go against his superiors, participate in a parachute raid of an enemy camp, discover things about himself that he doesn't like, alienate friends, and slowly, ever so slowly discover what the Germans are up to.

THE MASTER SNIPER is a rewarding read. The prose is quick and spry, while the plot is rich enough to keep you guessing until shortly before the end. Mr. Hunter ratchets the tension and suspense perfectly, and the characters are enjoyable and likable--Mr. Hunter does an excellent job of creating a likable hero, while also creating a villain who doesn't seem terribly bad until the novel begins to unwind, and then he is unmasked as a truly despicable and dangerous person.

Ben Boulden, Gravetapping

The collapse of Nazi Germany has long been fertile ground for fiction. And I must admit a fascination with the year 1945 as the Second World War came to a close and and reconstruction began. In this thriller, we are introduced to Waffen SS Lieutenant-Colonel Repp, a veteran sharpshooter who has taken down hundreds of the enemy particularly on the Eastern Front. The plot involves an intricate assassination hatched as the Third Reich began to crumble. It is fairly standard fare with a cat and mouse chase along with unnecessary love interests. What keeps it interesting are Repp and the author's frequent references to real history. Yet, Hunter can also wander by introducing Hemingway into the tale, including a weird tennis subplot, and having the characters moralize a bit beyond belief on the subject of the Holocaust (such emotions and conclusions would not take hold for years - during the period the book took place most were unbelieving or in complete shock to digest the horrors so recently discovered). The best part of the book is Repp making his way to his objective across an apocalyptic Europe while the least entertaining are the final chapters which become cartoonish in comparison.

An enjoyable action novel about the closing days of World War II. Hunter's plot strains credibility a bit in the end - not so much the secret weapon cooked up by the Germans but the use to which it is put. Still, he is a good writer, with a cool, sardonic tone just right for the tale. The technical detail about a next generation sniper weapon is absorbing, is consistent with the historical one-step-ahead state of Nazi science, and is unfolded well to drive the plot.

Hunter also does a good job drawing German sniper Repp - modest, fearless, invincible in battle, seemingly an all-purpose war hero until you learn more about him. He is tracked doggedly by Leets, an out-of-shape, underrespected, mostly ignored American intelligence desk jockey who must glean the tiniest of clues to determine what's up. Hunter's depiction of concentration camp survivor Shmuel, a lone witness to the plot, is touching and a cut above what I expected in this sort of military novel.

Quibbles: The text could use a decent copy-editing; there were numerous errors involving quote marks. And Hunter allows himself an indulgence - a twenty-page passage on Leets' annoying college-boy assistant who plays an exhibition tennis match with no plot connection. It's just an excuse for Hunter to write about a sport he apparently loves.

This is still a pretty good book. It keeps moving, it's paced right and it's absorbing.

This is not another Bob Lee Swagger tale, although it is about a sniper. Not a Marine Corps sniper, but a Wermacht sniper, in the last days of World War II. Apparently, Stephen Hunter likes to "reach out and touch someone" in his stories. He does a lot of stories based on snipers.

Hunter, by the way, spent his military service in the Army, not the Marine Corps. His bio does not discuss his Army experience, but he has encyclopedic knowledge about firearms, and if he makes a statement about a given model of firearm, or its ballistics, you can bet that he's done his research. He's done a lot of reading on the subject, but how much experience he has, again, is a questionmark. Not, I think, a competitive shooter.

This tale looks at the Office of Strategic Services (reinvented as the CIA) of "Wild Bill" Donovan during WWII, (much like Claire Chennault's Civil Air Transpory was reborn as Air America, the CIA outfit) and the Brit intelligence apparatus, for part of its setting. I was interested to see, again, a reference to Ernest Hemingway--not too flattering. He was also in Hunter's novel, Havana--drunk there, too. I wonder what Hunter has against Papa? Apparently just doesn't like him. I always did.

Another theme in this book is a strong current of sympathy for the Jewish people--not that they didn't deserve it, but I have noticed in Hunter's other books an almost obsessiveness about showing how badly treated were the blacks in the old South. He does seem to get caught up in these matters, a champion of the "underdog", although he uses variations on the "n-word" freely throughout all of his books, and I've read several of them.

These are not just fault-finding comments. Stephen Hunter is currently my favorite author in his genre, as I've said before. He's a wonderful storyteller. But, I think I've accurately detected both his political bent and his agenda, if he has one besides simply writing great stories. He's that rarity, a liberal who knows something about firearms, and may even be infatuated with them. I wish him well, and hope he continues to write great novels to a ripe old age.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre, USN (Ret)

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance

and other books

This is a pretty good book written about a sniper hand picked by the fuhrer himself to further the cause of the third reich.
A new shooting aid called vampir is developed and herr Repp practices with it on 26 Jewish prisoners during a dark evening in the black forest. Unbelieveably one of the prisoners escapes and makes it to safety with U.S officers. This war zone escapee plays a big part in the "good guys" catching the "bad guy".
The novel takes you on a trip with Herr Repp to a special kill zone. Read the book to find out who Repp plans on shooting with the aid of the newly developed vampir. Find out also what happens to Repp.
Not as good as the "Swagger" stories, but well worth your time..

I've been reading every Stephen Hunter novel I can find, necessarily out of order because I live in a Southeast Asian city where I have to rely on used bookshops. Makes it more fun and challenging, really. After devouring the tales of heroism of Bud Pewtie, Earl Swagger, and Bob Lee Swagger, we find ourselves back in 1945 with a quiet anti-hero named Captain Leets, who stumbles across intelligence leading to the pursuit of SS Master Sniper Repp and his secret weapon, among the earliest of night vision weapon apparatus. Seeing the modern versions of this type of gear being routinely employed by common foot soldiers and police today, it's hard to picture what the earliest stuff was like, plagued with problems, attached to terribly heavy primitive battery packs.
Hunter brings it all to life in a very enjoyable tale, quite outstanding for a first novel (1980) that still seems fresh today. The "love stuff" and the "tennis part" were minor annoyances, but Hunter must have felt, at least in the tennis scenes, that it was necessary to "flesh out" the Roger Evans character. Two thirds of the way through the book I had to go back and look up Roger's full name, as I was sure this was the origin of "Frenchy Short", brought to life in Hunter's masterpiece (one of several) "Hot Springs". Frenchy has the CIA and OSS ties, and is altogether a scheming scoundrel, but you like him anyway. Frenchy and Roger were perhaps in the same frat at Harvard.
Hunter does a particularly fine job taking us inside the mind of Repp, who carries out his role in the ghastly "final solution" with no pangs of conscience whatsoever. Indeed, he lets nothing get in the way of his "work", including the appeal of a woman who loves him.
World War Two is over, Hitler is dead. But Repp has a job (his last duty to the memory of the Waffen SS) to do. And Leets, (Northwester U, football) Tony Outhwaite (Oxford, rowing) and Roger (Harvard, screwing around) must stop him. Great stuff!

After reading "Point of Impact," I was really excited about diving into this Hunter work about a German soldier, Repp, skilled in long range shooting, who is on a dangerous mission and has in his possession a very dangerous state of the art weapon to fulfill it.

The book gets a little confusing because there are so many German towns, phrases, organizations, etc that it becomes hard to keep track of them througout the reading. Also, the romantic scene between the hero who hunts down Repp, Leets, and a nurse becomes more distracting and really has no relevance to the story. The action scenes were quite entertaining, however, and the book was hard to put down in the last 100 pages.

It was a decent book but I think I'll stick with the "Swagger" series from now on.

up to the Stephen Hunter standards he would achieve with the Swagger novels but entertaining nonetheless.

There are some very slow moving passages in this otherwise interesting World War II thriller that pits an American officer against a Nazi Master Sniper at the end of the War. The American must stop the sniper, who is equipped with a totally new and unique weapon, from completing a clandestine assassination mission.

Enough said.

John E. Nevola
Author of The Last Jump - A Novel of World War II

The Master Sniper is not the greatest claim to fame for Stephen Hunter. If you can only read one Hunter book ... don't make it be this one. If there's no Swagger in it, it's not your first choice.
This is a 'hardware' book, and it's so wrapped up in the nightscope-and-subsonic-ammunition gimmick that it doesn't really have the ring of authenticity that you'll find in, say, "Point of Impact". The folks who enjoy WWII spy adventures will be enchanted with it. But the PEOPLE who populate this book just don't seem as real as those which Hunter creates for the Swagger books.
Jerry the (Buy it after you've bought all the Bob the Nailer books, though) Geek

Because i bought the book, i forced myself to read it through. Tedious would be one word for it. Set in a romantic time, running concurrent with perhaps the movie Casablanca, it fails to capture the feel of the 1940's. There are no likeable characters; the bad guys are not unlikeable and you don't care whether or not the sniper gets his mark or not. The author has researched his weapons quite well from what i've read. I know. But it doesn't carry the novel. Nothing in it does.

As many of the other reviewers have stated, this book feels like a first-time author testing the waters. It's worth reading for sure but I personally enjoy some of the later titles a little more.

After reading the first hundred pages or so I set this down for a while and came back to it. It picks up in the second half of the story when the plot is actually starting to become somewhat clear. And when the full scope of the assassinaion plot is revealed it is quite unique. My main problem is with certain characters that seem to pop up and then go nowhere. There's a love story thrown in here for awhile that just kind of...disappears. Hmmm.

I would recommend this to those who've read other Hunter books but, for the first-timer, check out Dirty White Boys or another title in the Swagger series.

Stephen Hunter does it again! The pages start to fly long before the first shot is fired. The character of And Repp is simply mesmorizing. Hunter is able to mesh together the lives of so many different characters for a breathtaking final climax that will chill you to the bone. Hunter as done far more than reclaim his title as the master of "testosterone" suspense. I think you'll agree!

This was 4th Hunter book(Time to Hunt, Havana, Pale Horse Coming and this one) I've read.
The book was pretty usual Hunter good, up until the last few pages when, all of sudden,
the "Master" sniper turned into a jayshooter.
Not so great compared to other Hunter books.

Can someone explain why the German sniper
missed the shots in the final scene, please?
I just don't understand how that happened
(won't narrate it for fear of spoiling).

Thanks,

about a little-known chapter in what many historians call, "The War of the Century". The time and place of the action -- and the real-life characters involved -- are described with almost photographic precision. The fictional characters are perfect for the bestial violence that defined Russia's fight for its very survival (25 million dead; ten percent of the population). This is a perfect example of a "thriller", a page-turner from the first to the last.

A good thriller, and worth your time, but there's a chunk of narrative in the middle of the thing that sits like a big turd in a punchbowl. It's a tennis game involving a non-central character, and it's not necessary or resolved later in the least. No further reference. Cut that and you have a 4-star instead of a 3-star read.

Stephen Hunter has a way with words, and creates interesting character and dialog. That said, virtually all of his books that I have read contain implausible, and/or poorly researched facts and situations. The master sniper was the worst of these. Shooting people at 400 meters with subsonic bullets defies the laws of physics. So many implausible technical flaws, it took me completely out of the novel.
I was really into Dirty White Boys until Hunter once again started his unbelievable stuff. Has Hunter ever seen anybody shot with a 45 caliber handgun? In one book he has a Master sniper killing people running at 400 meters with effectively a pellet gun, and in another he has bad boys charging through a hail of bullets still fighting after being shot 30 times.
I'd really enjoy his novels if he didn't take me out with ludicrous situations.

I liked the main character 'Leets'. The fact that he was a pot bellied 'nobody' made me cheer more for him. Too many lead characters have the same 'Rambo-like' mold so Leets made it interesting.
This story was about honour and duty. A couple of unexpected turns also made it interesting.
The villain was likeable too. Great story.

I have not read many WWII stories, fiction or non, so this was a bit different for me. I did enjoy the book, but it does not compare to 'Point of Impact' or 'Time to Hunt'. Even though the ending was predictable, I would still recommend this as a good (and quick) read.

Stephen Hunter's writing grabs you by the gut and won't let you put it down. I've read, and re-read, all of his books. Great characters that you would love to meet in the real world. Many a nights sleep lost to reading to the end.

A slightly different take on the usual Hunter story of Snipers...A lot of historical info and background in WWII setting the stage for a thrilling story of a super sniper weapon for German Forces .and the work needed to uncover it . A very good read!

This book is a welcome diversion from his Bobby Lee Swagger series. The story moves along quickly, as quickly as the events in the last days of WWII. His combination of details of weapontry as well as the mind set and attitude of a sniper gives a realistic sense to the reader and puts them in their boots. His characters are far from perfect, but have a combination of luck and just enough skills to barely come out on top. He keeps you locked on throughout the whole book. I can't wait for more!

Another interesting Stephen Hunter novel - very interesting (set at the end of WWII - I wonderful how much of it is true and how much fiction. So far, I'm really liking Stephen Hunter books - working on the third one now!