Warriors is the
latest installment in the Hawke series, which started in 2003.
The story line is very topical and incorporates the real or
perceived fear of a resurgent China – a China that sets
out to right the wrongs inflicted on the country by the West
during the 19th & 20th centuries, and to become the dominant
world power at the West’s expense. This resurgent China
is driven by a brilliant rogue general bent on world domination,
using assassins who kill the US President; stage a stealth
drone attack on the funeral ceremony at Arlington; embed spies
in Cambridge; and use killers to murder Hawke’s son
for Hawke’s past deeds. China’s military prowess
is based upon a captured US scientist/inventor coerced into
helping the rogue general build his overwhelming military
might.
The inclusion of North Korean labor camps, the CIA and MI6
completes this fast paced adventure. My favorite part of this
novel occurs when Hawke leads a band of US-UK approved mercenaries
(more like the “Dirty Dozen”) into a violent battle
with the rogue general’s army in China. I couldn’t
help but cheer them on.
Action is plentiful in short, snappy chapters that provide
the various intersecting parts of the unfolding plot. Bell
develops a side of Hawke that is not just a Bond 007 clone.
Hawke is a father who very much loves his young son and is
trying to rebuild his personal life. Though his character
is not fully developed, intricate characterization was not
the point of the novel, but rather that Hawke is truly a modern
hero: smart, rich, selfless, educated and experienced. He’s
a hero who has battled more than his share of villains.
In short, Warriors is a thrilling page turner that
certainly entertains.
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