I fell in love with Stephen Hunter’s Earl Swagger novels this year. Luckily I discovered the first one at the beginning and listened to them on audiobook in order. There are three of them so far: Hot Springs, Pale Horse Coming, and Havana.
The Swagger name may sound familiar. Mark Wahlberg just starred in the movie Shooter as Earl’s son, Bob Lee Swagger. Stephen Hunter has been intermittently writing novels about father and son over the past few years. Earl’s adventures are set in the 1940s and 1950s. Bob Lee’s are more in present-day, and the latest novel in that series, The 47th Samurai, has just been released.
If you haven’t read any of the Swagger novels, I really recommend reading them in order. Both series tell a story that’s more mosaic than anything else. Both are pieces of the other. Hunter began with Bob Lee’s stories, then told the first of Earl’s. Obviously the author has become enamored of both his creations. Unfortunately, Earl’s adventures maybe at an end after Havana. I’m willing to bet that I’m not the only fan that hopes this isn’t so. I do know that The 47th Samurai has chapters in it from Earl’s point of view, and that the plot revolves around choices both Swaggers face.
Havana ends up being more spy story than either of the two previous books about Earl Swagger. I think Hunter had a hard time fitting Earl into the plot in some ways. The previous two books hit harder and were more driven by Earl’s choices. In this book, Earl seems to be reactive more than proactive.
Everything centers around the unrest in Havana in the 1950s. The United States government has a Central Intelligence Agency operation in place on the island and they’re carefully monitoring the political backlash surging against Carlos Batista, who is friendly toward the Americans. As long as Batista is in control, American companies will flourish there. At one time, Havana was referred to as the Disneyland for adults, referring to the gambling, prostitution, drinking, and drugs available.
The New York Mafia has bested interest in the island government as well. Meyer Lansky was there overseeing mob-related business throughout those turbulent years. Hunter uses the mob-influenced history to his advantage throughout the novel. There’s even a mob hitman working for Lansky who is called Frankie Horse after he gunned down a New York policemen and his mount. The mob bosses didn’t like the idea that Frankie had killed the horse. As punishment, he was sent down to Havana.
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