Hawke (Alex Hawke, Book 1) (Paperback)

~ Ted Bell (Author)
Key Phrases: reel thing, forty warheads, scrub palms, Ted Bell, Alex Hawke, Admiral Howell (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A James Bond for the 21st century, Alex Hawke is suave, sexy, smart, wealthy, and deadly. And he's got the bloodlines to prove it--the direct descendant of a famous English pirate, the British secret agent is back in the Caribbean where his ancestor once amassed a legendary fortune and where, decades ago, his own parents were brutally tortured and murdered for a secret Alex, to this day, doesn't know he has in his possession. What brings Alex back to the scene of a crime he only vaguely remembers witnessing as a child is a mission to find and recover a stealth submarine that's gone missing less than a hundred miles from the American mainland, complete with 40 nuclear warheads and a rogue terrorist's finger on the countdown button. It's a hoary premise, but Bell makes it work with skillful plotting, quick characterizations, and a lively hero who deserves a sequel, not to mention the big screen treatment. --Jane Adams --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Bell's action-adventure novel actively courts comparisons to Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, even touching down on Thunderball Atoll in the Bahamas, in a nod to Fleming's 1961 Thunderball. Bell's hero is Alex Hawke, a jet-set business mogul who does "highly secret freelance work for the governments of the United States and Britain." Thirty years before the story begins, seven-year-old Alex Hawke watches from a hiding place as his mother and father are slaughtered by three modern-day pirates. The adult Hawke, descendant of the famous English pirate, Blackhawke, owns the finest of the world's goods, makes love to the most beautiful women and defeats the world's most heinous villains. He is, in short, a cartoon. When his friend and ex-lover, Consuelo de los Reyes, the beautiful and foul-mouthed secretary of state, asks him to save America with a difficult and exceedingly dangerous piece of derring-do, he leaps at the chance. The assignment involves a cabal of Cubans who have deposed Castro, bought themselves a secret submarine from the Russians and are preparing to launch 40 nuclear missiles at the United States. Hawke assembles an arsenal of cool weapons and exotic machinery, calls in a squad of deadly ex-SEAL anti-terrorist pals and saves the world. Along the way, he avenges his parents' brutal murder. Bell's first effort, Nick of Time, was a well-received pirate book for boys. This novel is a pirate book for adult boys. It's a fast, fun read, but the elaborately constructed homage to the master-Fleming and the inimitable Bond-tips over into unintentional parody more often than it should.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416537783
• ISBN-13: 978-1416537786
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #87,558 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice dose of polished escapism for adults, September 20, 2005

By	Joseph P. Menta, Jr. (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

This review is from: Hawke: A Novel (Hawke (Pocket Star Paperback)) (Mass Market Paperback)

For me the worst crime a book can commit is to be boring, so while some of the negative reviews here may make legitimate points regarding credibility, believability, etc., "Hawke" ultimately was a fast, entertaining read for me, mainly due to its engaging characters and engaging character interaction. There's also some genuine emotional resonance, as Alex Hawke slowly confronts his childhood demons. Also, I didn't mind some of the more outlandish plot elements, as they reminded me of the kind of thing Ian Fleming always did: drop a colorful, comic-book style villain and his over-the-top caper into an otherwise real-world setting. It worked well then and it works well now.

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Loved It !, November 29, 2004

By	Frederick L. Merritt Jr. (Louisville, KY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Hawke : A Novel (Hardcover)

First off this is mind candy reading. It is a fantasy land read and it is a great one at that. Many of the situations and timelines etc don't really match. I did not find that too distracting. Afterall, the story is about some cocain bandits taking over a country and the little boy who watches them kill his parents grows up to be a secret agent. A little thing like time lines being out of whack does not seem to hard to accept.

The writing is fast paced and the illusions are just plain fun. I liked the nautical references as well.

Great read for fun.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bond (and a few others) for the 21st century, September 11, 2008

By	Jeanne Tassotto (Trapped in the Midwest) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

Alex Hawke is, like James Bond and a few others, an international superspy. He undertakes missions both for his native Great Britain and his mother's homeland, America. Like Bond (and others) he is handsome, charming, a sophisticated lady's man who is skilled in a variety of both martial arts and sports. Unlike Bond though, Hawke is independently wealthy (like the Saint, Derek Flint, the Phantom and others), making him able to buy his own fabulous toys - huge yachts, numerous planes, several houses. He is also haunted by the tragic deaths of his parents and had been raised by the family butler (like Batman).

As the novel opens a very young Hawke is sailing with his parents through the Caribbean when tragedy strikes. Pirates invade the yacht, and torture and kill the parents while their seven year old son watches from a hidden location. The action the jumps forward thirty years, Hawke is now a grown man on an assignment to save the world from a dastardly plot hatched by Cuban criminals. Before the final pages Hawke has saved the world (and his lady love) and avenged his parents.

This novel, which is the first of a series, is complete escapist fantasy. Bell has rewritten many of the Bond scenes and scenarios (in this one at least) which from time to time gives the reader a slight feeling of deja vu and woven the book with bits of the mythology from other stories. Part of the fun is identifying traces of not only Bond, Flint, and Templar but also the Phantom and Batman. I cannot wait to read the rest of the series and see who else turns up.

If you are looking for a serious spy thriller try Le Carre, this one is for fun.