- Hardcover: 528 pages
- Publisher: Atria Books (16 Aug 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743275071
- ISBN-13: 978-0743275071
- Product Dimensions: 22.2 x 15.6 x 4.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,600,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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First Sentence
HARRY BROCK SPENT HIS LAST HOUR OF FREEDOM IN PARAdise, sipping orange-scented tea in the loamy shade of a grove of date palms. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
HARRY BROCK SPENT HIS LAST HOUR OF FREEDOM IN PARAdise, sipping orange-scented tea in the loamy shade of a grove of date palms. Read the first page
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I don't know if all would agree but of late there is a distinct lack of adventure/spy novels for readers who like this genre. There seems to have been an obvious explosion in female romantic style literature and when ever i go into bookshops i can only look with envy at the choice of books for the younger reader. The Adult adventure genre on the other hand has only a select few.....Ted Bell isnt one of them. This is the second Hawke book i have read several years apart. The book as with the first one remains a disappointment. the general concept isnt bad, indeed the idea of a resurgent China allying itself with France, is an idea that could be explored in any number of technothrillers. What is bad is how the book is written and the stupid nature of the character. I have a feeling the author is american and that would explain a lot. He writes his Enlgish characters as if they are something from the 19th century, i cant begin to describe Ambrose. He is obviously modelled on Sherlock Holmes and some 19th century view of a Gentlemen, yet the story is set currently, the two styles just do not work well together. Ted Bell spends more time trying to drescribe Ambrose routine than he does trying to tell a story. Then we have Hawke himself who is a complete mixture of anything and everything. Conceptually speaking we have a famous English Lord who seems to do his wishes for the Americans (without any mention of the impact his actions has on the UK), and who is viewed as some sort of world class Aviator, Spy, Hostage Rescue expert and even assassin. We have Hawkes yacht which is akin to a Battleship, We have a friend Stoke - an Ex Navy Seal who gets fatigued walking in the German mountains!....there are inconsistencies throughout the story and so much more wrong with it. The real issue though is that the plot just doesnt flow nicely. Adventure genre is all about the impossible, but where Clive Cussler gets it right and Ted Bell does not is that Ted Bell is trying to write a serious spy novel, technothriller and adventure novel in one.......it doesn't work. The book for me was a real disappointment. If you are looking for an enjoyable read, look somewhere else.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
They say write about what you know. In Ted Bell's case this would seem to be "not a lot", well, not about the UK at any rate. Bell's characters Hawke and Ambrose are straight copies of Dirk Pitt, and Sherlock Holmes only two-dimensional and without anything unique. Even the names he gives his charactors are cheesy. The back-story of a previous book, involving the murder of Hawkes new bride on the church steps, in Lorna Donne style, is brought up too many times without having any purpose in the current story, and Bell's knowledge of the UK seems to have been lifted straight out of the roaring twenties, and deserves to remain there.
What is also apparent, particularly in respect of the UK, is the lack of research Bell has done. Examples include placing the Grimpen Mire "The Hound of the Baskervilles" in northern England, not on Dartmoor in the Southwest, and referring to it as the Grimpen Moor, and not Mire.
Perhaps the most worrying is some aspects of the plot, and the way the countries of China and France are referred to by some characters in the story, that tread dangerously close to being Xenophobic in some areas, even for an "adventure" book.
In conclusion, read Cussler and Conan Doyle separately, but don't read Bell. I gave the book one star: I was being too generous.
What is also apparent, particularly in respect of the UK, is the lack of research Bell has done. Examples include placing the Grimpen Mire "The Hound of the Baskervilles" in northern England, not on Dartmoor in the Southwest, and referring to it as the Grimpen Moor, and not Mire.
Perhaps the most worrying is some aspects of the plot, and the way the countries of China and France are referred to by some characters in the story, that tread dangerously close to being Xenophobic in some areas, even for an "adventure" book.
In conclusion, read Cussler and Conan Doyle separately, but don't read Bell. I gave the book one star: I was being too generous.
2 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I discovered this series only recently and am addicted. The hero, Hawke by name, is a welcome addition
to the spy genre. This book chronicles the rise to power of a descendant of Napoleon, financed by China,
who invades a mid-east country for oil. A hoary premise, but it is so splendidly written that it feels not
only plausible but probable. Great writing from a new master of the spy genre!
to the spy genre. This book chronicles the rise to power of a descendant of Napoleon, financed by China,
who invades a mid-east country for oil. A hoary premise, but it is so splendidly written that it feels not
only plausible but probable. Great writing from a new master of the spy genre!
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