''The 47th Samurai'' is a 2007 thriller

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

, and the fourth in the

Bob Lee Swagger Bob Lee "the Nailer" Swagger is a fictional character created by Stephen Hunter. He is the protagonist of a series of 12 novels (as of 2022) that relate his life during and after the Vietnam War—starting with '' Point of Impact'' (1993) up to th ...

series by

Stephen Hunter Stephen Hunter (born March 25, 1946, Kansas City, Missouri) is an American novelist, essayist, and film critic. Life and career Hunter was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. His father was Charles Francis Hunter, ...

. In narrative sequence it is preceded by '' Point of Impact'', ''

Black Light A blacklight, also called a UV-A light, Wood's lamp, or ultraviolet light, is a lamp that emits long-wave (UV-A) ultraviolet light and very little visible light. One type of lamp has a violet filter material, either on the bulb or in a separat ...

'', and ''

Time to Hunt ''Time to Hunt'' is a 1998 thriller novel, and the third in the Bob Lee Swagger series by Stephen Hunter. In narrative sequence it is preceded by '' Point of Impact'' and ''Black Light''. Plot summary The book begins about four or five years aft ...

''.

Plot

The story begins with Bob Lee now living in Idaho. There along with his wife, former wife of his spotter Donny Fenn, he is cultivating his land by using a scythe. The story starts while Bob Lee is cutting away at his land with the scythe while an expensive car pulls up. Bob Lee is aggravated by this, since his previous encounters with such cars and men in them have led him into troublesome situations. Having this predisposition to the men within the car, Bob Lee confronts them to make them leave him and his family alone. Instead he finds a man roughly the same age as himself, looking for Bob Lee, since he is the son of the man that was killed by Bob's father during the battle of Iwo Jima. Here the book changes to the situations that led to the awarding of the Medal of Honor, to Earl Swagger during a battle on Iwo Jima. 2007 American novels American thriller novels Novels by Stephen Hunter Novels set in Idaho Sequel novels Simon & Schuster books {{2000s-thriller-novel-stub