The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie was first published in Britain by William Hienemann Ltd. And in the US by Washington Square Press. ISBN 978-0-671-02082-8
This book is hilarious and entirely worth your time. It’s technically a spy genre spoof. Entertainment Weekly compares it to Adams’ Hitchhikers Guide series. And, I was actually thinking the relatively same thing when reading it.
I compare it to HG because it’s about you’re regular Joe (well not really, but I’ll get into that later) mixed up and caught between politics, ethics, governments, and just seems to be on the wrong foot. However the major difference being that while Arthur Dent just goes along with whatever is happening, Thomas Lang plays a hand in what happens, and figures it out along the way.
There are quite a few characters in the novel.
Thomas Lang, is the main character. British. He used to be in the British Army, and now does body-guard type jobs.
David Solomon, British, he’s the closest thing Lang has to a friend. They have some sort of past (that’s not clarified), but they don’t have the same sort of friendship army buddies have.
O’Neal, British, Solomon’s boss, works at British Ministry of Defense.
Alexander Woolf an American that Lang is asked to assassinate.
Sarah Woolf, American, daughter of Alexander Woolf.
Russell P. Barnes, American, from the American Embassy or Consulate, a major American diplomat in Britain.
Murdah, country of origin unknown, an arms dealer in Britain.
The Sword of Justice, a terrorist group that is “…drawn from six nations, three continents, four religions and two genders. We are a happy band of brothers, with one sister, who’s also happy and gets her own bathroom.” (221): Francisco, Hugo, Bernhard, Cyrus, Latifa, Ricky and Benjamin
This is one of those novels that the particulars of the plot, aren’t as important as it would seem. It’s the good guys versus the bad guys, while taking a look at the personalities and people of those involved in the story.
In a nutshell, the novel is about Lang, a retired British army soldier, who’s loafing through life, and feels generally purpose-less. He ends up as the fall guy for an FBI/CIA backed arms dealer, who’s selling a new Helicopter.
The novel starts with Lang in the middle of a fight. Lang was trying to warn Alexander Woolf about a hit being put on him. Instead, Lang has to fight for his life.
Pretty much right after this fight, the Ministry of Defense wants to know what the hell Lang is doing, since Lang is being framed to look like he accepted the job to assassinate Woolf.
After some detective work and hospital time, Lang finds out that an arms dealer and the US military are working together to try to create a controlled terrorist attack in order to show off a new helicopter being designed by the military and partly funded by the arms dealer.
Woolf has been killed and Sara is kept as a hostage, forcing Lang to cooperate and infiltrate the Sword of Justice posing as a Minnesotan man named Ricky. Since Lang almost never gives his real name, by this point he’s juggling stories and trying to remember who he’s supposed to be depending on who he’s talking to.
And at this point, the book is hurtling towards its conclusion. (There’s a pun there, if you read the book.)
There’s undercover work, terrorists, shady deals, and a woman who needs to be saved, if it were a movie the climax would have some special effects.
The language is great, and despite the twisting plot, Laurie writes with control, he knows exactly what he’s doing with every word. It’s a little over the top, but not unbelievable, and just plain fun.
