Hawke: A Novel (Hawke (Pocket Star Paperback)) (ISBN 1416510621)

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

Bond (and a few others) for the 21st century:
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.

I have a man-crush on Alex Hawke:
I want to be Alex Hawke. Boats, planes, gadgets, butlers I love it. this guy kicks commie butt. I can't wait to read the next in the series. Absolutely an ideal book for a vacation read.

Too Campy for my Tastes:
Whether you enjoy Ted Bell's HAWKE depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for the next James Bond, you may be disappointed, unless you're a fan of those campy Roger Moore flicks from the 1970s. Like James Bond, the main character of this novel is a 37-year old British spy, with good looks and money and pretty much every advantage a man can have. For whatever reason, he takes assignments from the US Secretary of State, who happens to be a sexy Latina bombshell who isn't above offering a little phone sex to our strapping hero. The plotline of HAWKE involves a stolen piece of ex-Soviet weaponry, a plot to overthrow Cuba, and some long-hidden pirate treasure. Needless to say, all of this is written in a tongue-in-cheek manner. Still, while HAWKE is pobably not meant to be taken seriously as a whole, it still contains some serious and violent moments. It's almost as if Bell wasn't certain how far he wanted to take the comedy, which gives this novel an oddly schizophrenic nature. Some chapters (like the prologue) are written quite seriously, while others are borderline farcical. Bell does have an easy-to-read prose style, but his plotting could use some tightening, and there were some moments when the plot just meandered, leaving me kind of lost as a reader. While this book does has some fun and enjoyable moments, it is not a particularly effective pageturner. I didn't hate HAWKE, but I don't plan on reading any more books in the series. Still, if you enjoy the work of authors like Clive Cussler and Stuart Woods, this novel may be worth a try.

My opinion on Hawke:
I started with Ted Bells Spy and quickly decided that I wanted to listen to all of his books, but Hawke was hard to find. All of his books are great, I just keep waiting for the next adventure with Alex Hawke. Great narrator as well, really important in an audiobook!

Not Bond or Bourne!:
This book began with much promise and blurbed comparisons to James Bond and the Clive Cussler novels had me anxious to delve into this swash-buckling adventure. The prolouge, where 7-year old Alex Hawke witnesses the brutal murder of his parents aboard their yacht is gripping and the promise of a revenge saga filled with pirate adventures awaits. Unfortunately, this nearly 600-page novel cannot hold up to the promise of the prolouge as it becomes another sodden espionage tale about a coup d'etat in Cuba that the now adult Alex Hawke is hired to stop. The group behind the coup turn out to be three Cuban brothers - the same trio that killed Hawke's parents many years earlier. There is not one second of swash-buckling or piracy in this tale and the revenge is dealt with so quickly it is as if Ted Bell lost interest and just wanted to finish the book and move on with the Hawke series. I sure hope the rest of the books in the Hawke series are superiour to this poorly constructed mess...