The Gun Seller

By: Hugh Laurie

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Cold-blooded murder just isn't Thomas Lang's cup of tea. Offered a bundle to assassinate an American industrialist, he opts to warn the intended victim instead - a good deed that soon takes a bad turn. Quicker than he can down a shot of his favorite whiskey, Lang is bashing heads with a Buddha statue, matching wits with evil billionaires, and putting his life (among other things) in the hands of a bevy of femme fatales.

Up against rogue CIA agents, wannabe terrorists, and an arms dealer looking to make a high-tech killing, Lang's out to save the leggy lady he has come to love...and prevent an international bloodbath to boot.

©1996 Hugh Laurie. Recorded by arrangement with Harold Ober Associates. (P)2012 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"Fast, topical, wry, suspenseful, hilarious, witty, surprising, ridiculous and pretty wonderful. And you don't need a permit to buy it." ( The Washington Post Book World)

"A first-rate thriller...an awesome entertainment machine." ( Cleveland Plain Dealer)

"[A] ripping spoof of the spy genre." ( Vanity Fair)

Very enjoyable!

I really like his style of writing, witty, engaging, and held my attention throughout. I am hopeful for more to come.

Not bad but...

The story starts a little slow but picks up a bit toward the end. It never really grabbed my attention. It's a decent rainy day book but not something I would rush to tell friends about.

Great book.

It is a shame the Hugh Laurie hasn't written more. It is a great book to start a series with.

Can't wait for the next one!

I hope he writes another book. I could hear Hugh Laurie in every word. The only thing that would have made it better, would have been if Hugh had narrated it himself!

Why didn't Hugh Laurie narrate this?

This is not my usual type of book in fact far from it, but it was written by Hugh Laurie and I like him as an actor and thought I would give his book a shot to see if he can cross genres. Also didn't hurt that it was on sale. Now with that said if you like this type of genre you might like the book. This book was well written but I didn't care that much about the plot and again that is because this isn't my usual type of novel. The story did start to lose me half way through. What makes this book is the witty and smart ass comments that the main character makes and while it isn't laugh out loud funny it does have a feeling of amusement. It would have been so much better if Hugh Laurie had actual narrated the story, normally I don't think authors should read their own stuff but in this case I know Hugh Laurie is talented. I wasn't a fan of the narrator that was chosen, he sounds like an old man narrating it and the character is not that old. I recommend David Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter series if this something you enjoy.

Highly Recommended

The multi-talented Hugh Laurie demonstrates both writing/plotting skills and social conscience in this fast-paced novel.

loved it!

narrator was engaging , flippant and communicated well the main characters personality. I did need to listen over a few parts a few times, but that is only due to my lack of daily use of the splendid verbiage and descriptors used by this author.

Too silly by half

The narration has some charm, but not enough. It's just too silly to take seriously--or even semi-seriously--and pretty soon it began to wear.

Least Helpful Review of The Gun Seller

So, I started rewatching the series “House” the other day. After several episodes I googled Hugh Laurie and... Holy Crap, he wrote a book!!! I wonder if they have it on audible... they do... and it’s read by Simon Preble!!! Oh, I’ve got to get that!

After listening to it I’ve got to say. It was pretty good. Lots of humor. Not the kind that would make you shoot whatever you just took a sip of out of your nose, but the smart kind of humor. The brilliant turn-of-phrase kind that only British people do well. A lot of the smart arse kind too. Makes a lot of fun of Americans too, but in a way where (as an American) I had to be like, “yeah, he got that right.”

As for the plot... it’s very good. It was wrote about 25 years ago, so a lot of stuff in it is outdated, but I don’t mind that much. The only reason I gave it 4 and not 5 stars is that I felt it was a little dragged out in the middle. While listening to some of it I was thinking, “yeah, yeah, get to the good stuff!”

All in all... I hope Hugh Laurie writes more. If he ever dose it will go straight to the top of my reading list.

Suprising

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yup. Thought the end was very John D McDonald and I like that in a mystery.

What other book might you compare The Gun Seller to and why?

The wrap-up and sheer loathsomeness of the bad-guy reminded me of a Travis McGee story by John D McDonald.

Which character – as performed by Simon Prebble – was your favorite?

The protagonist

If you could rename The Gun Seller, what would you call it?

Well I wouldn't rename it.

Any additional comments?

It was slow going to get into the story even though the writing was fun to listen to. It picked up speed toward the middle and had a satisfying conclusion. Just wish Hugh Laurie has read it.