• The 47th Samurai

  • Bob Lee Swagger, Book 4
  • By: Stephen Hunter
  • Narrated by: Buck Schirner
  • Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (796 ratings)

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The 47th Samurai  By  cover art

The 47th Samurai

By: Stephen Hunter
Narrated by: Buck Schirner
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Publisher's summary

Bob Lee Swagger and Philip Yano are bound together by a single moment at Iwo Jima, 1945, when their fathers, two brave fighters on opposite sides, met in the bloody and chaotic battle for the island. Only Earl Swagger survived.

More than 60 years later, Yano comes to America to honor the legacy of his heroic father by recovering the sword he used in the battle. His search has led him to Crazy Horse, Idaho, where Bob Lee, ex-marine and Vietnam veteran, has settled into a restless retirement and immediately pledges himself to Yano's quest.

Bob Lee finds the sword and delivers it to Yano in Tokyo. On inspection, they discover that it is not a standard WWII blade, but a legendary shin-shinto katana, an artifact of the nation. It is priceless but worth killing for. Suddenly Bob is at the center of a series of terrible crimes he barely understands but vows to avenge. And to do so, he throws himself into the world of the samurai, Tokyo's dark, criminal yakuza underworld, and the unwritten rules of Japanese culture.

Swagger's allies, hard-as-nails, American-born Susan Okada and the brave, cocaine-dealing tabloid journalist Nick Yamamoto, help him move through this strange, glittering, and ominous world from the shady bosses of the seamy Kabukicho district to officials in the highest echelons of the Japanese government, but in the end, he is on his own and will succeed only if he can learn that to survive samurai, you must become samurai.

As the plot races and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that a ruthless conspiracy is in place, and the only thing that can be taken for granted is that money, power, and sex can drive men of all nationalities to gruesome extremes. If Swagger hopes to stop them, he must be willing not only to die but also to kill.

Catch all of our Swagger titles.
©2007 Stephen Hunter (P)2007 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about The 47th Samurai

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    454
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    24
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Good book. lot intense sex stuff

good story, but there is a lot of intense sexual content, if that is of concern to you, best to avoid; not one of Hunter's best books

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Sharp action, but not very many bullets

An aging Bob takes up the sword, and becomes a master swordsman...? It's actually pretty good, and well narrated... but it was strange listening to a story of BLS in which he isn't peering through a scope for paragraphs at a time. The action was good, and a rather detailed account of swords and their history in Japan is given (I can't vouch for accuracy). Enjoyable.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Excessive

Any additional comments?

I have enjoyed listening to this book, but it gets excessively detailed in irrelevant side stories.
The references in Mr. Hunt's books and obsessions with sex are getting to be excessive as well. I have greatly enjoyed his books starting with Point of Impact, but the latest ones are getting too far off-track. They may be my last. I will finish Soft Target and reassess. Stick to what works and stop giving in to trends.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Story of a commitment to honor.

I read some the less favorable reviews regarding this book. While I understand why their ratings were low, I found this book parallels the Japanese code of honor and political/criminal underworld.
The samurai element was something I related to and enjoyed.
Excellent job Mr. Hunter and Schriner.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great work could not put down

great detail in well stated fashion, quality work enjoyed the suspense,action storyline and Narrator kept pace and interest will recomend to all

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable if a bit over the top

Is there anything you would change about this book?

It's difficult to say what I would change. I love the action and Bob Lee Swagger's persona. Perhaps make Bob's sword training take longer. Even for Bob, becoming an expert Samauri after a week's basic training is a bit too far fetched.

If you’ve listened to books by Stephen Hunter before, how does this one compare?

This one is the first of the Bob Lee Swagger series to depart from the connected world of the first three novels which were themselves connected to the Earl Swagger series. This is Bob's first unconnected adventure. As such, it tends to make Bob into a sort of Jack Reacher-like character, more than any of the first three Bob Lee novels.

Which character – as performed by Buck Schirner – was your favorite?

Bob Lee Swagger without a doubt. Buck Schirner took some getting used to, but he soon won me over with his interpretation of Bob's "aw shucks, ma'am" persona.

Could you see The 47th Samurai being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Definitely. I'd have to continue Mark Wahlberg for Bob. Not familiar with the many a Japanese actors that would be needed.

Any additional comments?

Just suspend your sense of disbelief, and you'll enjoy this story. I suspect that a Hunter had a lot of fun with it.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

nothing happens...

This book was a horrible addition to the BLS series. an old man isn't going to take up sword fighting and defeat professionals at their own game. it was like shooter meets Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.. the way Buck Schirner makes him sound so ancient doesnt help either. Swagger is a shooter. the only reason I believe him as a shooter at his age is because of his experience. I dont believe this book. i would ask for my money back if I didn't listen to the whole thing..

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Bob Lee is a shooter, not a sword fighter.

The biggest issue I had was Hunter taking the character from a precision shooter, death-from-a-far, to an expert wordsman. One of the things I like most about this series is the intensity of the shooter-on-shooter aspect and this book didn't have any if it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Felt like a cheap movie

I usually like the books in this series. This one was alright, but was harder for me to finish. Wasn't as believable as the other. I mean going to Japan, and learning to become a great Samurai... then to beat someone who train basically their whole life. I like fiction but the training seemed rushed for him to become a get Samurai. Just my opinion.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Unremarkable at best

What would have made The 47th Samurai better?

Remorselessly predictable, Mr. Hunter must have had a mortgage due. So much of it rang false, in particular, the obsession with detail evidently a cover for the tepid plot.

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1 person found this helpful