The Gun Seller
The brilliantly funny spy novel from the star of the award-winning series The Night Manager
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
From the brilliantly funny Hugh Laurie, British comedian and star of The Night Manager comes a debut novel that will have his existing fans - and anyone who loves the dark humour of Stephen Fry and Ben Elton's books - laughing out loud.
'A ripping spoof of the spy genre' Vanity Fair
'Clever and hilarious' Time Out
When Thomas Lang, a hired gunman with a soft heart, is contracted to assassinate an American industrialist, he opts instead to warn the intended victim - a good deed that doesn't go unpunished.
Within hours Lang is butting heads with a Buddha statue, matching wits with evil billionaires, and putting his life (among other things) in the hands of a bevy of femmes fatales, whilst trying to save a beautiful lady ... and prevent an international bloodbath to boot.
A page-turning story with a cast of unforgettable characters, The Gun Seller is the fantastically funny smash hit first novel by comedian and acclaimed actor Hugh Laurie.
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PRAISE FOR THE GUN SELLER:
'I wish I could give this book 6 stars!' 5-star reader review
'I love Hugh Laurie. I love his dry, sarcastic wit' 5-star reader review
'A first-rate wordsmith and an excellent storyteller' 5-star reader review
'Laugh-out-loud witty, brilliantly outrageous, and a five-star read' 5-star reader review
'One helluva spy tale' 5-star reader review
'A spy novel through the lens of Wodehouse: delightful, hysterical, and compelling' 5-star reader review
'Really fast-paced, intelligent, funny, and violent as hell' 5-star reader review
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In his debut as a thriller writer, the longstanding partner of British comedian Stephen Fry treats the genre of John Buchan, Eric Ambler and Frederick Forsythe with as much reverence as Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy did science fiction. His blend of comedy and suspense has some truly hilarious moments. The hero, Thomas Lang, an ex-officer of the Scots Guards now aimlessly drifting between dead-end jobs, is such a decent bloke that he not only turns down a 50,000 hit job but also warns its intended victim, the CEO of an interior decorating firm, who turns out to be its originator. At the heart of a plot so twisted that it risks spraining itself is an arms-selling conspiracy beyond Ollie North's wildest schemes, involving renegade CIA agents and the U.S. military-industrial complex. Though this scenario flags once Lang has untangled it, culminating in a staged hostage crisis that shows off an anti-terrorist helicopter, Laurie's droll patter enlivens Lang's bemused narration throughout. Besides motorcycle chases, unarmed combat and sharpshooting, Lang wittily fetishizes weaponry and personal injury. As a good Brit, however, he is terribly, terribly reticent about sex ("When it comes to sex, it seems to me, men really are caught between a rock and a soft, limp, apologetic place."). Author tour; rights: Harold Ober; film rights to United Artists.
