Kent Anderson Books In Order

Publication Order of Hanson Books

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

The author Kent Anderson, and not the author B. Kent Anderson with whom he has sometimes been confused with, is a highly prolific screenwriter and novelist who has been writing for a great number of years now, with some forty books to his name and counting. With a past in the Special Forces whereby he served as an agent, he has had a wealth of experience to draw from when writing his many novels. Using detail and precision he is able to craft a tightly knitted thriller, filled with drama and action that keeps the reader hooked right until the final shocking climax. Spending time stationed in Vietnam as well, along with serving as a police officer, there’s no shortage of background experience for this writer to choose from. This can be seen in the writing itself as he tends not to shy away from the more gruesome and brutal aspects of war, opting instead to show it as it really is without flinching. Over the years this has led to him being held up in high regards by both his peers and contemporaries due to his uncompromising standards of writing. Whilst some might turn away from these shocking depictions though, many others have gravitated towards him, providing him with one of the largest fan-bases to date.

Early and Personal Life

Born on the 20th of August in 1945, in North Carolina in the United States, Kent Anderson was brought up in the area, whereby he spent the majority of his formative years, creating what was to be the basis of his later career. With a keen interest in both reading and writing ever since he was young, he would take in inspiration from the world around him, giving him more experience to work with. He would also go on to form many of his primary interests and core passions during this time too, setting up a lot of the style and the tone of his forthcoming novels.

Constantly working on is craft as he refined and honed it throughout his schooling, he started to underscore a lot of his stronger more prominent interests. Later going on to write detective novels, the seeds of this were germinating even back then, as they began to take root and flourish throughout his education. He would continually come back to a set of main themes and arcs though, ones which could be seen to be taking shape as his main ideas in his career to follow.

With a military history as well, Kent Anderson has a long and decorated past having served as deck hand in the navy, before going on to serve in the Special Forces in Vietnam. After collecting two bronze stars he went on to work in police bureau of Portland, before getting an NEA Grant and MFA in fiction writing from the University of Montana. Going back to the police department he began to write his first novel, after which he finally left in 1984 to undertake writing full-time.

Currently living in Santa Fe in New Mexico, he still writes to this day, with another book expected to be out shortly. Receiving awards and nominations for his work, he’s garnered enormous amounts of both critical and commercial success over the years. With plenty more books set to be released on the horizon, it seems that this is something that will continue on into the foreseeable future for some time yet.

Writing Career

Publishing his first novel in 1987, he went on to become an author full-time with his debut novel ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ and hasn’t looked back since. Making an impact on the scene, many have praised it for its attention to detail and highly real approach to its subject matter. It also really helped set the tone for much of his work, giving it the high paced style of action that he’d come to be known for in the years to follow.

Over the years he has gained both commercial and critical acclaim for his various contributions to the genre, along with a number of plaudits too. Garnering nominations for his work, along with recognition for his talent as a writer, he has achieved bestseller status both nationally and internationally. This appears to be a trend that’s set to continue, as he aims to complete his ‘Hanson’ trilogy in due course, with his career set to grow from strength-to-strength.

Sympathy for the Devil

Originally published in July in 1987, this was the first book to be released by Kent Anderson, as it marked his arrival on the literary scene. Brought out through the Bantam publishing house, it set up what was his writing career to be, giving readers what to expect in both style and tone. It also worked at setting up the first in the ongoing Hanson series, as it charts the progress of the eponymous protagonist and his efforts to deal with what he saw in the war.

Once just an innocent young student with an affinity for the poetry of Yeats, Hanson heads off to Vietnam, never to return the same. Finding a brutality lurking within him that he never knew was there before, he’s different as he finds himself at home in the harsh and unforgiving landscape of Vietnam. At one with war, the Green Beret Hanson must come to terms with the effect it’s having on him, along with his life back home as a civilian. Will he ever adjust back to normal? Who exactly is he becoming? Can there ever be sympathy for the devil?

Night Dogs

First published in February, 1997, this was intended to be the follow-up to the first Hanson book, marking the second in the proposed Hanson trilogy. Continuing on directly from the first, it tells the next chapter in the story of the life of its leading protagonist and how he’s coming to terms with the world around him. Following in much the same style and tone as before, it manages to capture the essence of what made the previous novel work, whilst taking it forwards in a new and interesting direction.

Working as a police officer now in Portland, Oregon, in the North Precinct there, Hanson must deal with the harsh realities of the street whilst coming to terms with the war within. That’s when another member of his Special Forces turns back up to haunt in from the past, this ghost taking the form of one Doc Dawson, now a drug dealer, as well as a killer. The problem is that Dawson is the only man that Hanson can trust, due to their shared time together back in Vietnam, something which could become a threat to his position as an officer. Will he be able to dispense justice unencumbered? Can he overcome the horrors of his past? What will become of the night dogs?