Customer Reviews

Pirate [With Headphones] (Playaway Adult Fiction)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

The third installment in the Alex Hawke adventure series is easily the best book yet, though there were still a few wrinkles that needed ironing out. Sometime spy Alex Hawke is called in to rescue an American spook who has fallen into the hands of the Chinese. The Chinese, who have become close friends with France, are up to something big, and it somehow involves beautiful actress Jet Moon, whose bed Alex is roused from when duty calls. Jet's father, General Sun-Yat Moon, is in league with her dubious boyfriend, Baron "Schatzi" Von Draxis. The French, the Chinese, and the German shipbuilder are up to no good, infiltrating the Arab empire of Oman as part of their plans. While Alex's ex-Scotland Yard investigator pal, Ambrose Congreve, travels to New York to hunt for witnesses to a decades-old murder related to the French-Chinese plot, armoire-sized Stokley Jones rescues Jet from her angry boyfriend and travels the world gathering clues with her, figuring out what the French and Chinese are up to. Meanwhile, Alex has to infiltrate an impregnable fortress to rescue a sultan and his harem from their enemies. There were a lot of loose ends to tie up, and just when it seemed like things were winding down, they kicked into overdrive, and Alex suddenly found himself in a race against time to save New York City.

Though the book wins points for handling a multi-faceted mystery, I have a few small complaints. First, though Ambrose Congreve is a charming character who adds wonderful texture to the back story, he was given far too large a role. Pages that were spent describing his fondness for the finer things would have been better spent on Alex, whose role in the book was minuscule. Alex is recovering from severe heartbreak, which is a challenging aspect to add to an adventure yarn, but merely leaving him alone for the bulk of the book made me feel cheated. I like Alex! This would have been a good time to delve into who he really is, maybe have him get back to some hobbies he had let slide in his grief over his wife's death, but he merely played a bit part instead. Stoke's part was just about right, and I always find myself smiling when he's on the page. My other complaint is about the action. Though Bell can write a pretty good action scene, this book had a tendency to leave the action when it was hot and not return until the dust was settling, cheating us out of the juiciest bits of the story. These scenes are utterly vital in an adventure novel, and he's doing well up to a point, but the final quarter of the important, tense scenes needs work. Two scenes I sorely missed in their entirety were Jet's family dinner that ended badly and the final takedown with Stoke and one of the bad guys at the very end. Shame on the editors for not insisting on a few more pages there.

There was a great deal of character development going on here...for Ambrose Congreve. The rest of the characters, especially the star, needed a little more attention. Bell is still relatively new at this, and he's taken on one heck of a story with this book, which was a smashing success. Its few imperfections mar the overall product very little. He's created a great cast of characters; so it's natural that I want to get to spend more time with some of them. Alex Hawke and friends are climbing the ranks, and they're high on my list of favorite adventure heroes.

This was a great beach read, which is just where I read most of it. The story moves with great pace but is pretty improbable. I liked the assortment of characters. Not literature, but a fun thriller.

I picked this book up after listening to the Glenn Beck Program, on which Beck sponsored this book, and even had Bell on for an interview. So, that's the backstory.
The book itself is really a great "summer" read. By that, I mean that you can just turn off your brain, lie in the hammock, frink some cold lemonade and enjoy the thrilling adventure of Alex Hawke. But, trust me, don't start it in the evening -- you may have to call in to work the next day to finish it!

Pirate was my second Ted Bell book to read after Assassin and was a better written book overall.

Once again, Alex Hawke is thrown into another crisis in the volitile world in which he lives. Madmen are teaming up with rogue governments to consolidate power and try to regain respect in the world if by way of the sword and the book moves at a pretty fast clip.

The thing that I couldn't shake throughout the entire book was the fact that Hawke is in his early thirties and carries the resume of a cia retiree. It drove me nuts! I'm in my early thirties and started thinking "What have I done with my life?" Hawke is personal friends with the President of the US who utilizes Hawke and his team to figure out this French / China connection; Hawke is trusted enough to fly a brand new design of a US fighter jet where he is known by the US Navy from previous exploits; His friends are Vietnam Vets and senior Scotland Yard detectives; and he travels around in his personal yacht converted over to a personal battleship. Hey, must be the money!

Anyway, this is a fun read that goes well with a beach and a beer, just turn your brain off and you'll do fine.

This book is another roller-coaster thriller ride from Bell featuring his protagonist Alex Hawke, who again must contend with crazed madmen hell-bent on world conquest and destruction. Only this time the bad guys are the French!! What fun! The Chinese and French team up in a nefarious plot to assume world dominion backed by a nuclear power-play, and Hawke must race against the clock, face impossible odds, and battle through with the help of his old and trustworthy friends. This is a fun read with tons of action as our espionage hero Hawke takes it to those smarmy French and gives them "what for". Have fun, I sure did! Nothing quite like a vicarious pounding on the French to make you feel better about your day.

Bell's prose is taunt and experienced in this his third outing and his character development is becoming convincing and enjoyable. The pace and writing crackle with Bell's trademark electricity and he deftly ratchets up the tension and odds in each successive scene leading to the spectacular denouement. The settings are exotic, the characters urbane and adventurous, the villains deeply satisfying, and the book a completely enjoyable addition to the action/espionage thriller genre.

This was my first novel by Ted Bell and I can't wait to read more! "Pirate" was a spellbinding, edge-of-your-seat, awesome adventure from page one. With a wide assortment of interesting, complex characters and situations, this book is anything but dull. It spans several continents and jumps back and forth from various story-lines which are all clearly connected. There are twists and turns galore and the ending will not let you down!

Ted Bell is an truly exceptional writer which is so refreshing in this genre where most authors tend to be creative yet not particualrly talented. The book is intelligent, the characters practically jump off the page and the diaglogues very well-written. I HIGHLY recommend this to everyone!

There is some good writing in this book, but it is limited to about 100 pages out of 600 pages. The main character, Alex Hawke, excuse me I mean Lord Alex Hawke, is a magical combination of James Bond, Austin Powers, Batman and Superman--he can do it all...around the world in a day. He is friends with the President of the US, he's a British Lord called on to rescue a hostage from the Chinese, rescue the Sultan of Oman from a fortress, rescue NYC from a nuclear bomb, fly a $50 million stealth jet on loan from the USA to a US aircraft carrier. Apparently the US Navy Seals, US pilots, etc don't exist in this book, as the Pres of the US, the CIA, Scotland Yard, etc rely solely on Lord Hawke to save the world. Hawke is apparently in his young 30's too.

In the book, there is also the ego-maniacal descendant of Napoleon who murders his way to the top of the French Government. There is also the Chinese version of Hannibal Lecter who is an assassin and total freak, The German industrialist Neo Nazi who are all scheming to take over the world. They all meet with anti-climatic ends.

And of course Sir Alex Hawke gets the girl, a beautiful Chinese spy, actress, singer, diva, etc who, after one night with Sir Hawke, betrays her country, kills her evil twin sister, almost kills her father, betrays her ex-boyfriend, helps Hawke's friend Stokley, the 6'5 260lb ex Jets running back who sneaks into all of the enemies' lairs to help Hawke save the world.

The tone of the book varies from life and death serious to total tongue in cheek; it makes me think that even the author doesn't believe what he's writing.

Bell's new one is on the best seller list. I guess that is what marketing can do for you.

Ted Bell's Hawke books just keep getting better. This one was by far his best effort to date. It kept my attention from the first page to the last. Hard to believe that he can keep coming up with such interesting plots on his own. What an imagination!

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as Hawke: A Thriller. It is a roller coaster, page turner book for a long weekend or a sunny day on the beach. Don't expect great literature or admiration to the laws of physics (and sometimes common sense) but it is a fun read especially if you like James Bond movies, Bruce Wayne persona, and Sherlock Holmes character.

I have been a fan of James Bond for many years. This is the updated James Bond!