Mall Shoot Up

I abhor guns so reading Point of Impact a novel published by Stephen Hunter in 1993 was way out of character for me.  In my flawed memory I thought my NY Times book review buddy Marilyn Stasio had introduced me to the work of Stephen Hunter.  But, I’ve spent the last hour digging through the NY Times website and cannot find the review.  Point of Impact does appear on the list of the NY Times best books in 1993.  It was from this book that I was first introduced to Bob Lee Swagger, a flawed, damaged character who as the ability to accurately shoot a gun at the length of ten football fields.  I was amazed that such a feat is possible and fully admit I was fascinated by the mechanics of shooting at 1000 yards.  

Over the years I’ve read subsequent books by Stephen Hunter so when I recently went digging through the library shelves for something light weight to read during this hottest Iowa summer in my memory my figures quickly pulled Soft Target from the new mystery shelf.  

It is the day after Thanksgiving – the biggest shopping day of the year — at a gigantic mall located in suburban Minneapolis.  Can you guess the plot?  A terrorist take over of the computerized security, lights and HVAC systems starts the action.  In the mall that day is Ray Cruz – Bob Lee Swagger’s son — and his new fiancé have tackled the crowds to do some Christmas shopping.  It’s a good thing that Ray is there to coordinate the action inside the mall because Douglas Obobo (isn’t that a great name?) the newly appointed commandant of the Minnesota state cops is more interested in looking good in front of the press cameras than in resolving the situation with a minimum number of casualties.

I almost hate to admit that I found this book to be a fun read.  Hunter knows who to write interesting sentences and develops the characters skillfully.  The plot was silly and made worse when Hunter tried to fill in the back story of the mastermind behind the mall takeover. But, I zoomed through the book in two days so the story did hold my interest. 

If a little fluff isn’t your reading of choice for summer try Robert Caro’s newest installment of his Lyndon Johnson biography,” The Path to Power.”  It is an amazing book and illustrates how good writing can make a biography a compelling read.