Category: Alexander Hawke

3.5/5, Alexander Hawke, AUTHOR, B, Book Review, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2018, SERIES

Review: Assassin by Ted Bell

Tara

Assassin
by Ted Bell

Assassin

 

Copyright: 2004

Pages: 590

Read: June 14-20, 2018

Rating: 3.5/5

Source: Bookmooch

 

Blurb: Alexander Hawke, a direct descendant of the legendary pirate Blackhawke, is an expert on espionage and terror. A shadowy terrorist kingpin has orchestrated the systematic slayings of American diplomats, and as the death toll mounts, Hawke is called upon to avert a cataclysmic attack – while avenging a senseless crime that has left him devastated.

 

Review: This is the second book in the Alexander Hawke series. I had read the first book, Hawke, way back in 2013, so my memory of that was not very good. Luckily it didn’t really matter because there was enough background included for me to be able to follow along easily.

At 590 pages this book is way longer than what I normally read. The beginning was a little slower than I would have liked. But once the book picked up it was quite enjoyable to read and the 590 pages didn’t feel too terribly long.

Overall a good book that I enjoyed. I am definitely looking forward to seeing what adventures lay ahead for Alex Hawke!

4/5, Alexander Hawke, AUTHOR, Author Debut, B, Book Review, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2013, READING CHALLENGES 2013, SERIES

2013.48 REVIEW – Hawke by Ted Bell

Tara

Hawke
by Ted Bell

Copyright: 2003
Pages: 596
Rating: 4/5
Read: Nov 9-17, 2013
Challenge: Off the Shelf 2013
Yearly count: 48
Format: Print
Source: Personal Copy

HawkeBlurb: A direct descendant of a legendary English privateer, Lord Alexander Hawke is one of England’s most decorated naval heroes. Now, in the Caribbean on a secret assignment for the American government, Hawke must disarm a ticking time bomb – a highly experimental stealth submarine carrying forty nuclear warheads that has fallen into the hands of an unstable government just ninety miles from the U.S. mainland. But Hawke’s mission is twofold, for he has returned to the waters where modern-day pirates brutally murdered his parents when he was a boy – after a lifetime of nightmares, will vengeance be his at last?

Review: That moment when you realize that it’s been more than a week since you last read this book and have finished another one since then … and you know that you won’t do this review justice. *Sigh* Good thing I wrote down some notes immediately after finishing this book.

This is the first book in the Alexander Hawke series and overall it was pretty good. I did find that the beginning was a little slow to start. However, once the action really picked up (about the halfway mark), the book was just a non-stop roller coaster ride.

At 596 pages this is definitely a chunkster. And it’s my opinion that it might have been just a little too long. I don’t want to say that it necessarily dragged on endlessly, but it probably could have been shortened and tightened up a bit and not lost a whole lot.

I really enjoyed the characters. Alex is a complicated man with a troubled past (his parents were murdered when he was a boy; he witnessed the murder but his mind has blocked it). Victoria is interesting as well, I think there’s a lot more to her than we really get to see in this first book. It will be interesting to see how their love story plays out. And Ambrose … what a character! Funny! Overall the main characters are well-developed and interesting in their own way. Which definitely helps set up for what I hope will be a good series!

I think if I *had* to complain about something it would really be the multiple storylines. I sometimes had trouble remembering who belonged in what storyline and what was really going on in that particular storyline. It was a little overwhelming at times and I even found myself asking “what is this storyline again?” Nothing that is necessarily terrible, but something that I did struggle with (could have also just been my sporadic reading as well, though).

Overall a good book that I enjoyed and a great first book in what I hope turns out to be a good new series for me (…as if I need another series to keep track of…)