The Gun Seller (Deluxe Edition) - by Hugh Laurie (Paperback)

About the Book

"British actor and comedian Hugh Laurie's first book is a spot-on spy spoof about hapless ex-soldier Thomas Lang, who is drawn unwittingly and unwillingly into the center of a dangerous James Bond-like plot of international terrorists, arms dealing, high-tech weapons, and CIA spooks. You may recall having seen Laurie in the English television series Jeeves and Wooster; Laurie played Bertie Wooster, the clutzy hero of the P.G. Wodehouse comic novels that originated those characters. The lineage from Wodehouse's Wooster to Laurie's Lang is clear, and, if you like Wodehouse, you'll probably love The Gun Seller"--

Book Synopsis

A deluxe paperback reissue of British actor (comedian, musician, and writer) Hugh Laurie's acclaimed spy romp--starring Thomas Lang, a hapless ex-soldier who is drawn into the center of a dangerous plot involving international terrorists, arms dealing, and CIA spooks.

Featuring an introduction by Hugh Laurie, and a foreword by Stephen Fry!

Retired army officer Thomas Lang would love nothing more than to live out the rest of his existence drinking whiskey and riding motorcycles, and is content to make ends meet with mercenary jobs--just never murder. Not even when he's offered a fortune to assassinate American businessman Alexander Woolf. Lang opts to warn the target instead.

But Lang's good deed does not go unpunished. When he finds not Woolf, but Woolf's alluring daughter, Sarah, and another less scrupulous mercenary closing in, Lang becomes entangled in an international conspiracy that lands him in the sights of both the Ministry of Defence and the CIA. Lang takes on rogue CIA agents, aspiring terrorists, and high-tech arms dealers to prevent an international bloodbath--and save the femme fatale he's falling in love with.

Robert Ludlum by way of, well, Hugh Laurie, The Gun Seller is a whizz-bang novel of suspense, espionage, and humor, perfect for fans of crime fiction and comedy alike.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Gun Seller

"The Gun Seller, like its creator, is lean, sharp and a tad dangerous. Slipping into Laurie's crisp prose is like tying the belt on a well-cut trench coat, blotting your lipstick and donning oversize sunglasses: Suddenly, you're a spy -- or the star in a spy story."
--The Washington Post

"As a writer, Mr. Laurie is smart, charming, warm, cool (if need be) and high-spirited. He has Ian Fleming's dash, flash, slam-bam plotting and technical knowledge of hardware--especially with exotic weaponry--as well as P. G. Wodehouse's wit and sense of detachment . . . A genuinely witty and sophisticated entertainment."
--The New York Times

"A tasty treat for fans of both comedic novels and suspense thrillers . . . Laurie's writing is droll in that particularly British way that Americans love . . . The Gun Seller moves as fast as Lang's favorite Kawasaki. And Laurie's sense of wordplay is great fun . . . The Gun Seller will leave readers shaken, stirred--and giggling."
--USA Today

"A ripping spoof of the spy genre."
―Vanity Fair

"British writer/actor Laurie's first novel has all the trademarks of an offbeat James Bond adventure . . . the mind-boggling intricacy of a Robert Ludlum plot, and, most gratifyingly, the irreverent attitude of A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Laurie glee­fully shakes and stirs a cocktail of international ter­rorism, high-tech helicopters, devious arms dealers, Bond-caliber beauties, Swiss ski resorts, and British intelligence into a cool concoction that zips along, heralds a new hero . . . and leaves plenty of room for a sequel."
--Entertainment Weekly

"The funniest and most charming novel I have read in years and years. If you see someone howling with laughter on the subway, sobbing with joy in the street or exploding with delight on an airplane this year, it's because they're reading The Gun Seller."
--Stephen Fry

"Yes, that Hugh Laurie, Dr. House himself, published a zippy, funny espionage novel in 1996, back when Americans knew him only as Bertie Wooster, if they knew him at all . . . The Gun Seller is great all on its own: a funny, absurdly plotted diversion with a laugh on every page--and a cool, exasperated hero Laurie clearly wrote with his own onscreen persona in mind."
--Slate

"Clever and hilarious, with a story that is intricate, tense and well researched--and unstintingly joyous read."
―Time Out

"A very funny book . . . makes many another comic novel look slow-witted in comparison."
―Sunday Telegraph

"A terrific debut."
―Daily Telegraph

"A first-rate thriller . . . an awesome entertainment machine . . . a smashing book."
―The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

"A hilarious, bumbling caper."
--Shelf Awareness

About the Author

Hugh Laurie is an actor, writer, director and musician. He lives wherever tomatoes are in season.