Pfarrer, Chuck 1957-

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Pfarrer, Chuck 1957-

PERSONAL:

Born 1957.

ADDRESSES:

Home—FL; MI.

CAREER:

Writer and screenwriter. Also appeared as an actor in the films Flash Traffic: City of Angels and Hard Target. Military service: U.S. Navy; became a lieutenant in the SEALS, c. 1981-89.

WRITINGS:

Virus (comic book series), Dark Horse Comics (Milwaukie, OR), 1995.

Warrior Soul: The Memoir of a Navy SEAL, Random House (New York, NY), 2004.

Killing Che (novel), Random House (New York, NY), 2007.

SCREENPLAYS

(With Gary Goldman) Navy Seals, Orion Pictures, 1990.

(With others) Darkman, Universal Pictures, 1990.

Hard Target, Universal Pictures, 1993.

Flash Traffic: City of Angels, Tsunami Media, 1994.

Silent Steel, Tsunami Entertainment, 1995.

(With Ilene Chaiken) Barb Wire, Dark Horse Entertainment/Polygram Filmed Entertainment/ Propganda Films, 1996.

The Jackal, Universal Pictures, 1997.

Virus, Universal Pictures, 1999.

Red Planet, Warner Bros., 2000.

ADAPTATIONS:

Author's screenplays for the films Hard Target and Red Planet were adapted as novels.

SIDELIGHTS:

A former Navy SEAL who worked as a sniper and was part of the team that tracked and captured the noted terrorist Abu Abbas, Chuck Pfarrer went on to use his experiences to write screenplays, a memoir, and a novel. Pfarrer's memoir, Warrior Soul: The Memoir of a Navy SEAL, which Gilbert Taylor called "a must for military affairs readers," provides readers with an inside look at the Navy SEALs via Pfarrer's own adventuresome career. Readers follow the author from training on through several missions in countries throughout the world. Because of the highly secret nature of the SEALs' work, the author does not reveal many of the names of his comrades and superiors, but does provide insight into the camaraderie, competition, and extreme discipline within this elite military organization. Commenting on Pfarrer's missions in the book, Edwin B. Burgess wrote in the Library Journal: "Pfarrer is an excellent action writer who brings a strong sense of immediacy to his combat stories." A contributor to USA Today called the memoir "a convincing portrait of the SEAL's dedication to duty and gives an insight into what it takes to be among the best of the best." The reviewer added: "Contemporary readers will get a hint of what the U.S. peacekeepers in Iraq are most likely confronting."

In his debut novel Killing Che, Pfarrer presents a thriller around the conceit of a CIA agent assigned to bring about the assassination of noted South American revolutionary Che Guevara. CIA officer Paul Hoyle is the agent assigned to the mission. However, not long after his arrival in Bolivia in 1967, Hoyle begins to question his orders. His difficulties lie in his secret admiration for Guevara and his romance with Maria Agular, who works for the Bolivian ministry. In addition to Hoyle's predicament, the author also follows Guevara through the jungles of Bolivia as the author "creates two antiphonal narratives that intersect toward the end," according to a Kirkus Reviews contributor. For the most part, Killing Che received good reviews from the critics. Charles Brice, writing in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, commented that the author "has produced a beautifully written and exhaustively researched historical novel." Library Journal contributor Robert Conroy called Killing Che "an extremely well-written, well-researched, and well-crafted debut."

The author's screenwriting credits include the science fiction movies Red Planet and Virus, which is based on a comic book series by the author. In both the film and comic book versions of Virus, the story revolves around an alien life form that takes over a ship on the high seas and incorporates the crew's dead bodies for its own purposes. When a crew from a salvage ship encounters the vessel, they must battle the alien or be take over themselves. Writing a review of the film on the Shrubbery Web site, Justin Felix commented: "Overall, Virus is an entertaining sci-fi thriller which makes for a pretty good Saturday afternoon matinee feature."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Pfarrer, Chuck, Warrior Soul: The Memoir of a Navy SEAL, Random House (New York, NY), 2004.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 15, 2003, Gilbert Taylor, review of Warrior Soul, p. 553; February 1, 2007, Thomas Gaughan, review of Killing Che, p. 33.

Entertainment Weekly, January 9, 2004, David Koeppel, review of Warrior Soul, p. 83.

Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2003, review of Warrior Soul, p. 1212; January 15, 2007, review of Killing Che, p. 46.

Library Journal, January, 2004, Edwin B. Burgess, review of Warrior Soul, p. 126; February 15, 2007, Robert Conroy, review of Killing Che, p. 113.

Pittsburgh Post Gazette, June 24, 2007, Charles Brice, review of Killing Che.

Publishers Weekly, February 19, 2007, review of Killing Che, p. 148.

USA Today, February 10, 2004, "‘Warrior’ Recalls Games SEALs Play," p. 04.

Variety, January 18, 1999, Joe Leydon, review of Virus, p. 50.