Hawke

April 28, 2003
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.

Starred review from June 1, 2003
This outstanding debut by the former chair of the Young & Rubicam advertising agency is one of those rare novels that more than lives up to the usual PR puffery and author blurbs. Alexander Hawke, a descendant of pirates, is a British billionaire, a former Royal Navy commander, and a man frequently called on by the U.S. and British governments to carry out covert assignments. Although he has repressed the memory, when he was seven he witnessed the murder of his parents aboard their yacht in the Caribbean. Now he's back in the region in search of two things-a boomerang-shaped stealth sub carrying 40 long-range ballistic missiles and a treasure buried by his legendary ancestor, Blackhawke. Before he's through, however, Hawke will confront the three men who killed his parents, help lead a raid to rescue the woman he loves, and thwart a preemptive strike against the United States. This rip-roaring tale is made entirely believable through convincing detail, with a grand hero in Hawke. Various flawlessly developed story lines contribute to the high-octane pace, and the fully developed characters are delineated through the nuances of voice. In short, this is a commercial blockbuster packed with pleasure. Highly recommended for all public libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/03.]-Ronnie H. Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2003
In the same vein as James Bond and Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt, Alexander Hawke is a daring, dashing, and devastatingly handsome billionaire adventurer who occasionally does "favors" for the American and British governments. A descendent of the infamous English pirate Blackhawke, seven-year-old Hawke watched modern-day pirates murder his mother and father aboard their yacht in the Caribbean. Now 30 years later, and with an extensive military and counterintelligence background, Hawke agrees to help out an ex-girlfriend (the U.S. secretary of state) and search for a missing experimental Russian stealth submarine armed with 40 nuclear missiles built at the end of the cold war. Unfortunately for the U.S., the submarine has fallen into the hands of three diabolical brothers who have overthrown Castro and taken control of the Cuban government. And surprise, surprise--the brothers are the same erstwhile pirates who murdered Hawke's parents. Predictable and formulaic, but Clancy and Cussler fans will gobble this testosterone fest down whole and come back looking for more.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)