"The Gun Seller"- Erin Vaystub

Vaystub, Erin
English Period 4
14 November 2008

Book Review Blog

I chose to read The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie because I love watching the show "House." The Gun Seller is the only book Hugh Laurie has ever written and it seemed worth a try. When I went to the bookstore, the lady who helped me could not believe that Hugh Laurie wrote a book. She told me that she thought he was adorable and it was so great that I found it. There was only one copy of it on the bookshelf and when I read the back cover, I knew that this was the one.
Thomas Lang is an awkward, nice, accident-luring version of James Bond. He always ends up in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the very wrong people. Lang was asked to assassinate an American businessman, named Alexander Woolf. He soon finds that he is in love with Woolf's daughter, Sarah. When he gets dragged into a mission to blow up a suburban community to prove that a helicopter was powerful and to create more business for an arms dealer, he is forced to do it if he wants Sarah to stay alive. This mission is called "Operation Dead Wood." Thomas is flown to Prague once he is prepped for the mission. After his first day there, Lang gets arrested and housed in jail for ten days. When he is finally released, he joins a group called the Sword of Justice. The group traveled to Switzerland where they killed a Scottish politician and then they went on to Casablanca where they planned to take over and blow up the American embassy. Once they had successfully captured a few Americans as hostages, Thomas got a call from a man named Russell Barnes who was part of "Operation Dead Wood," saying that Sarah was with him and they were both outside. After long phone calls with Barnes, Thomas left the building to visit Sarah. When they embraced, Thomas and Sarah exchanged a gun and Thomas held the arms dealer, Murdah, as a hostage.
"Well, let us say that although he had not reason to die, I had a reason to kill him. That is better, I think. I killed him, Mr. Lang, to show you one thing. And one thing only. To show you that I could." said Murdah. This quote is significant to the story because once Thomas was in this big mess, he definitely could not get out of it without loved ones of his getting killed.
I chose the rating system to be brown trench coats because Solomon, Thomas's friend, and Thomas both have old brown trench coats that Solomon bought from an ad in the back of a newspaper. Thomas talks about the trench coats multiple times in the book. I give this book six out of six trench coats.
Everyone would enjoy reading The Gun Seller because, who does not like a book about a gunman who is kind? Another reason why I would recommend this book is because it's an action packed comedy that makes you laugh just when you need it. I would also recommend this book because it is not a simple book, but it is also not stuffed with old English words that no one knows the meaning of.
WARNING: This book includes violence, strong language, and sexual terms. Please check with your parents before you read this book.