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 enlarge | Author: Hugh Laurie
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy Used: $3.75
You Save: $11.25 (75%)
New (31) Used (41) Collectible (3) from $3.75
Rating:  107 reviews
Sales Rank: 2589
Media: Paperback
Pages: 368
Number Of Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.3 x 1.1
ISBN: 067102082X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780671020828
ASIN: 067102082X
Publication Date: October 1, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BookCloseouts scratch & dent version. New book that may have some cosmetic damage (i.e. shelf-wear, torn or missing dust jacket, dented corner...). Otherwise excellent specimen - guaranteed!
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 107
 Brilliant July 24, 2008
Maryscott O'Connor (Sherman Oaks, CA United States)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I had to stop reading "The Gun Seller" around 1am, halfway through it, and believe me, the ONLY thing stopping me from reading to the end was an unfortunate dearth of eyelids propper-uppers, a la "A Clockwork Orange."
It is LITERALLY laugh-out-loud funny. Adam (spousal unit) couldn't concentrate on his computer war game, so often did I punctuate the living room's usual silence with raucous laughter and stifled snorts.
But it is ALSO one helluva spy tale. He wrote it in 1996 and I can't for the life of me figure out why he hasn't written more -- except for maybe that little sideline of his in the thespian arena. Apparently it was immediately optioned as a screenplay; that never went anywhere, but I bet you dollars to doughnuts (WHAT does that phrase MEAN???) he could not only get it made today, but nab the leading role to boot (and what does THAT phrase mean?).
Humorously brilliant June 16, 2008
L. A. Markus (Wisconsin, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It's confirmed. Hugh Laurie is both a brilliant actor and a brilliant writer. Fans of spy thrillers and Brit-humor alike will love "The Gun Seller." The book works as both a straight spy/political intrigue story and as a send-up of the genre. Laurie's anti-hero Tom Lang reminds me of the self-deprecating but ultimately "I'll do it if I must" protagonists of Dick Francis' novels. More than a little of George McDonald Fraser's Harry Flashman is detectable too, although Tom is not nearly as self-serving and has quite a few more scruples. The action is fast-paced, and it's easy to see Laurie's familiarity with film and TV - you can almost see the fades and scene changes. However fast-paced, I recommend that you read at least slowly enough to appreciate the witty and sharp prose that tells the story. Laurie's personal penchant for the writings of P. G. Wodehouse is clear in his clever word-play and amusing turns of phrase. I laughed out loud at least three times per chapter, and had to read the book twice to really catch all the little nuances I missed the first time in the excitement of the story-line. I highly recommend this book and only wish I could personally congratulate Hugh Laurie (albeit over ten years late) and beg him to write another.
Yay...House! June 6, 2008
Eileen D. Urban
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
He could write the phone book and I would buy it. The story is a spy story...the real value is his word play.
Buy it for that!
The Gun Seller June 4, 2008
Heather Goodman
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Snappy writing, plot twists that keep you wondering who's the good guy and who's the bad, and a character that I think every guy wants to be.
And I'm not a guy.
I don't read spy novels in general, but I picked this one up because I'm a fan of Hugh Laurie. Read the first page in B&N. Then the second. Until I read the first chapter. It made it on my Christmas list because I giggled. Out loud. In the little Starbucks area of B&N.
I got the book and laughed more and found myself reading when I should be doing everything else.
Laurie spits out these deadpan one liners throughout. I think writers would appreciate his wit with things like "She turned towards me and narrowed her eyes...Narrowed them horizontally, not vertically." He loves to play with cliches.
And how can you not laugh at gems such as, "I lit a cigarette with Solomon's dashboard. I say the dashboard, because most of it came away with the cigarette lighter when I pulled, and it took a moment to put the whole thing back together."
Come on, now, you're laughing, right?
It's a shame Hugh Laurie's gotten so much into this acting thing because I wish he'd write more books.
Or make this book into a movie. It reads like a movie. The guy from Layer Cake would be my first choice in casting, but he's the new James Bond, so there goes that idea. Possible Jason Statham, but I think Clive Owen really would make this role.
If anyone's asking.
When it comes down to it, if you like spy novels, you'll like this book.
If you don't like spy novels, you'll like this book.
 Interesting! May 19, 2008
GW in CA (CA United States)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Very interesting premise and I never had a clue about how a "happy ending" was going to be achieved. Although the numerous asides were very distracting, and a little more background on the lead characters would have helped create better empathy, The Gun Seller was a great read and I hope we see more novels from Laurie.
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