The Gun Seller is the first (and, as of 2003, only) novel by British comedy actor Hugh Laurie. Written in the first person from the point of view of Thomas Lang. Formerly a Captain in the Scots Guards, he now spends his days broke engaged in occasional light body guarding work. From there he finds himself dragged into conspiracy involving the CIA, the British Ministry of Defence, an Arab Arms Dealer, some terrorists and the UCLA helicopter nicknamed the Graduate.
So basically it's an easy going comic novel which nods to practically every spy story you've ever seen or read. Especially Ian Fleming's James Bond. There's some good bantering dialogue and few excellent one-liners. But the real pleasures for me are where Lang "speaks to the camera", these are the only points where the amazing Mr. Laurie seems to shine through.
To sum up the Gun Seller is a competent novel which is funny in places but never uproariously so. It did exactly what was needed to keep my mind occupied on a bus journey from Galway to Cork. It would probably have been equally enthralling on an airplane.