Hugh Laurie

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie is an intensely absorbing read. Being a fan of his acting skills and his absolutely fantastic communication, especially in comedy shows; I had to read this one to know the “writer” Hugh Laurie. And I was not at all disappointed! I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.
He has a cooked up a delightfully vivid and eccentric story in his debut novel. There is a particular style about him. There are many instances throughout the book where there’s a situation or a show more scene where the author takes his time revealing a twist; like a bubble that one makes while chewing gum, it stays there for a while, then it bursts and again, you continue chewing the gum taking in its flavour. But it’s really funny and does not de-link you from the story at all. Coming to the action scenes, the words flow fluently and suspense hangs around in the right quantity.
Thomas Lang, ex-army and now an occasional bodyguard to rich jittery men is made an offer – an offer to assassinate an American business magnate. He turns it down and somehow driven by the “good man” instincts, he goes to warn the businessman about the probable catastrophe. Instead, he finds himself gravely injuring the man’s bodyguard and getting in trouble with the Ministry of Defence. Set in England, this is a comical and adrenaline-charged story about the misadventures of Lang. Lang - accused of dealing with drug barons, involvement in murders and terrorism! Each chapter in this book ends with a nail-biting final scene.
The thing that I liked most about the book is that the protagonist gives interesting (and apt) names to new people he meets according to his observations of their attitude and appearance. The piquant sarcasm is one strong factor that keeps oneself glued to the book. The plot sometimes slows down but is never off-track. Apart from this, it’s also interesting how patriotic and whip-smart Lang has been portrayed. If you love thrillers with a dash of humour, this book is one that will appease you. show less

Americans are most likely to know Hugh Laurie as the star of House. Which, great as he is in that, is kind of a shame, because if that's the only place you know him from, you've missed out on his long, hilarious career as a comic actor. And it turns out he's just as funny as a novelist, too, because this crazy spy thriller is written with a droll, pitch-perfect wit that makes pretty much every page a delight to read. Mind you, the plot is completely ridiculous, being convoluted and contrived show more and based on an idea that's pure tin-hat conspiracy theory. Which wouldn't be a problem, really, except that it was written in 1996, and its flippant, dated depiction of terrorism reads a lot more uncomfortably now than it would have then.

Rating: It's a little hard to decide how to rate this, but, hell, it's not Hugh Laurie's fault 9/11 happened, and even with some discomfort about that niggling in the back of my head, I still enjoyed it a lot. So I'm going to call it 4/5. show less

Why has it taken me so long to find this tome???

Another one for that genre of "bad guy hero" - this time from actor and comedian Hugh Laurie. Told in first person narrative by the man in the title - gun seller / assassin for hire Thomas Lang - we are taken on a non-stop, oft tongue-in-cheek adventure as Lang tries to right a wrong, save the life of the man he was hired to kill and the life of the damsel in distress, whilst at the same time saving the world under the guise of terrorist from show more evil villains (ie: businessmen) who are hoping to start WWIII in order to drum up sales.

It is witty, humourous (in a dry, sartirical sort of way), it is action packed - with action and fabulous one-liners - and has a hero intent on doing good under extreme circumstances - does he get the girl in the end, read on and find out!

Loved every minute of reading this! show less

I wanted to buy The Gun Seller even before I saw the author's name or read the synopsis - I was hypnotized by its bright comic-book-like cover. Then I saw that it was written by Hugh Laurie, and I was like, "Holy crap! House wrote a book!" How could that be bad? In The Gun Seller, Thomas Lang is an ex-British army guy who's approached to assassinate a big-name American financier. He refuses the offer and intends to warn his victim instead...which decision catapults him into an international show more arms conspiracy. While the book does have a fairly serious political message, it reads more like a pastiche of the spy/espionage genre, with Lang as the perfect film-noir narrator. My favorite aspect of this book was the humor - laugh-out-loud moments galore. I'd definitely recommend this book even if you hate spy novels, but get it from the library before you buy it. show less