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Pale Horse Coming Audiobook
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(4.00) - 1,790 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
It’s 1951. The Thebes State Penal Farm in Mississippi is up a dark river, surrounded by swamps and impenetrable piney woods. It’s the Old South at its most brutal—a place of violence, racial terror, and even more horrific rumors. Of the few who make the journey, black or white, even fewer return.
But in that year, two men will come to Thebes. The first is Sam Vincent, the former prosecuting attorney of Polk County, Arkansas who, with great misgivings, accepts a job to investigate a disappearance. Before he leaves on this dangerous trip, he confesses his fears to his former investigator Earl Swagger, now a sergeant of the Arkansas State Police. Earl pledges that if Sam is not back by a certain time, he will come looking for him.
What they encounter there is something beyond their wildest imagining of evil. The dying black town is ruled by white deputies on horseback who are more like an occupying army and the only escape is over the wild currents of the dark river that drowns as many people as it liberates. But nothing in town compares to the prison. Run by an aging madman with insane theories of racial purity, it is administered by a brutal sergeant known as Bigboy. The convicts call him The Whip Man—he can take a man’s soul with his nine feet of braided catgut.
Both Sam and Earl will be challenged to the limits of their strength by this place and will struggle not only for their own survival, but with the question: What does a man do when confronted with evil?
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"This is a very violent book. Part of the violence is to right an injustice where, in the Mississippi of 1951, there is a horrible prison for black men called Thebes State Penal Farm, located in the swamps, almost impossible to reach, except by water. A lawyer friend of Earl Swagger goes there to get some information for a client, and Earl bails him out of trouble, but then can't forget the awful conditions, and rounds up six more gunfighters to go back to Thebes, set the prisoners free, and tear it down. Two strong enemies are Section Boss, and Bigman, an albino of incredible strength."
— Marti (5 out of 5 stars)
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“One of the best storytellers of his generation.”
— San Francisco Examiner -
“[A] virtually un-put-downable gothic chiller.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“The character of Earl Swagger, equal parts gristle and determination, remains compelling, both as archetype and as complex human being.”
— Booklist
Pale Horse Coming Listener Reviews
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Matthew Lesemann, 4/6/2015
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" Page-turner, good story and characters, excellent period/geographic 'feel', spoiled by ridiculous 'gun porn' ending. "
— Kevin, 2/17/2014 -
" This book is my favorite. I've read it 4 times over the years. Set in the 50's Mississippi, the story is well written and the characters are topnotch. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about justice and retribution. The book has some harsh and violent episodes but they are part of the story's reality. "
— Guzclues, 2/12/2014 -
" This has got to be one of my favorite Stephen Hunter books as well as one of my favorite reads. I am a sucker for the old "Magnificent Seven" set-up - which Stephen Hunter uses in this novel with amazing ease. Definitely will raise your testosterone level after a single reading. You will begin to smell funny and thump on your chest at unexpected moments. I recommend this for anyone who wants to read a good old-fashioned no-nonsense shoot-em-up. There is enough in here to please a fan of action, war, western and all around tough guy fiction. I recommend it highly. "
— Steve, 1/26/2014 -
" gruesome and fascinating "
— Joy, 1/21/2014 -
" Violent, well written as usual. We can also see why Bob Lee is the way he is, it is genetic. Sam will do anything for a Swagger and this is why. "
— Tj, 1/20/2014 -
" This was more of an outlandish plot, but still extremely well written. It is good to get some background on Sam. "
— Lorie, 1/5/2014 -
" nice plot twists, but boring dialogue. written like an action movie. "
— Shelly, 12/31/2013 -
" book on tape. set in a penal colony in Thebes Mississippi. Oy! it says it all, then unter adds some great tidbits. well done!!!!! "
— Steve, 12/10/2013 -
" Great adventure read! "
— Stonna, 12/9/2013 -
" couldn't put this book down-very mysterious and exciting! "
— Madeleine, 12/8/2013 -
" Violent nonsense. "
— Paul, 10/5/2013 -
" If you want action, great story telling and fantastic characters read this book. "
— Burt, 5/28/2013 -
" Just a so-so Swagger novel. Gives some good background to later stories but not all that exciting. "
— Mike, 3/27/2013 -
" This is another Earl Swagger novel by Hunter-- its extremely gory and details a fictional segregated jail in Mississippi. By the end, you're a little sick of the violence but overall, Hunter does a good job of portraying the hatred and evil of racism. A good read. "
— Brent, 3/23/2013 -
" A good story. Very long and slow at times. Set in an earlier time with a great deal of racist content that might be offensive to some people. "
— Kevin, 1/7/2013 -
" Fantastic! I can't wait for my next opportunity to read this author. "
— Paul, 1/1/2013 -
" Not for the faint hearted... "
— Shenary, 12/21/2012 -
" This is the second in the Earl Swagger series. It is not as good as the first book and not as good as many of Hunters other books. That being said if you want an adventure story that is entertaining but not very challanging this is your book. "
— Nate, 9/23/2012 -
" Very painful writing style. "
— Jilln'jim, 8/24/2012 -
" A little Magnificent 7, a little chain-gang and a little too much torture. Genteel-tough prosecutor Mr. Sam gets the best bits. "
— David, 6/15/2012 -
" I've enjoyed all the Stephen Hunter's novels I've read and this is perhaps the best so far. The same unique, interesting, main character plus an unusually interesting premise which may be drawn from the real world. "
— Devin, 4/23/2012 -
" Earl Swagger is a war heroe that gets caught at an all black prison while trying to help a friend...part thriller/part shawshank, this book I could not put down...even had a little old west in it....cool. "
— David, 4/10/2012 -
" You really root and cheer for Earl Swagger in this book. "
— Annelaurie, 3/18/2012
About Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter is the author of several bestselling novels, including Time to Hunt, Black Light, Point of Impact, and the New York Times bestsellers Havana, Pale Horse Coming, and Hot Springs. He has also published two collections of film criticism and other nonfiction works. He was a film critic at the Washington Post, where he won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for criticsm, as well as the 1998 American Society of Newspaper Editors Award for Distinguished Writing in Criticism.
About Eric G. Dove
Eric G. Dove is a multiple Earphones Award–winning narrator, and his credits include more than one hundred audiobooks. He is also an accomplished musician and a budding author, who published Ghosts of Royston in 2013. He is a graduate of Ohio State University.