Stephen Hunter Swaggers Into Town

The Baltimore Sun most recently came to the attention of the pop-culture world as the backdrop for the fifth season of The Wire — the groundbreaking cop drama whose creator and writer, David Simon, served as a Sun police reporter for twelve years. But Simon is far from the only...

By Jason Heller

January 7, 2010

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

The Baltimore Sun most recently came to the attention of the pop-culture world as the backdrop for the fifth season of The Wire — the groundbreaking cop drama whose creator and writer, David Simon, served as a Sun police reporter for twelve years. But Simon is far from the only famous (and famously gritty) writer to have paid his dues in the Sun's bullpen: Novelist Stephen Hunter got his start as a lauded film critic for the paper before striking out on his own path (and eventually winning the Pulitzer Prize for his work for the Washington Post). And while Hunter and Simon came from totally different places, journalistically speaking, both wound up favoring intricate, plotting, knife-sharp dialogue and sweeping scopes in their fiction.

Hunter's new book, I, Sniper, is another installment of his best-selling Bob Lee Swagger series, and it promises to be as thrilling yet deeply human as his previous books — which include 1993's Point of Impact, which was adapted for the big screen in 2007. Hunter will discuss and sign copies of I, Sniper tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Tattered Cover Book Store, 2526 East Colfax Avenue, 303-322-7727, and tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl Street in Boulder, 303-447-2074. The events are free. For info, visit www.tatteredcover.com and www.boulderbookstore.com.
Mon., Jan. 11, 7:30 p.m., 2010

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.