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Spy (2006)

Spy (2006)

Book Info

Author
Genre
Rating
4 of 5 Votes: 1
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ISBN
0743277236 (ISBN13: 9780743277235)
Language
English
Publisher
atria books

About book Spy (2006)

It’s hard to take some really serious, touchy subject matter and try to get a point across in the confines of an adventure novel, and as a result, the adventure in this one suffered a little bit. As a thriller, however, the book does a pretty good job.The book begins rather promisingly in the jungles of South America, where Alexander Hawke has been held as a slave laborer for some six months. He’s on the run, having escaped from a prison camp and being chased by cannibalistic Xucuru Indians and trained attack dogs. Just like that, however, Alex is suddenly plucked from harm’s way and the next thing we know, it’s two months later and he’s in a gentlemen’s club in London, being invited to speak at an American security conference being hosted by the Secretary of State. He then spends the majority of the book in stuffy meetings or an uncomfortable position between an ex-lover and a new one while the action happens to everyone else.Meanwhile, in Texas, things on the border are heating up to a dangerous level. The local ranchers have had it with illegals trashing their property. Then a sheriff and his deputy stumble onto some strange evidence that ties the border activity in their little town to the South American jungle compound where Alex Hawke had been held prisoner. Alex and his dearest friend, Scotland Yard’s Ambrose Congreve, must decipher a strange code left by a German diplomat before his death that leads to the key to the puzzle. The action finally gets going full swing for the last fourth of the book when Alex, Ambrose, Stoke, and some of their Thunder and Lightning friends from previous books storm the terrorist stronghold hidden in the Amazon jungle. They’re on a tight schedule to stop a well-orchestrated terrorist plot from taking out the government of the United States.As a thriller with a timely plot, this book earns high marks. As an Alex Hawke adventure tale, however, it falls short. Alex’s promising beginning fizzles immediately and he doesn’t get his hands dirty for the rest of the book. Other favorite characters fare even worse as their roles are largely diminished and, in Stoke’s case, toned down to a boring degree. New characters stole all the good scenes in this book, leaving precious few scraps for the stars. That was unfortunate, as I read this series because I like Alex, Ambrose, and Stoke. Still, all the same, this book did have a good plot that in our current political climate can really make you think…and worry.There’s nothing wrong with Bell’s writing skills, but I wish he was as interested in his characters as I am. Having gotten this one under his belt, maybe Alex and the gang will fare better next time out. It’s a very decent thriller, but thrillers are a dime a dozen, while truly gripping adventure tales are not.

Book 4 in the Alexander Hawke seriesThis thriller is a captivating tale of international suspense that brings its readers to different localities: from the primitive jungles of Brazil to a small town near the Mexican Border, to the Floridian coast and to the U.K.Rapidly drawn into never ending action, the reader is taken on a roller coaster-ride as we follow a madman concocting technological warfare, a sheriff who faces a vicious group of thugs, and a puzzling and frightening encounter in the Florida Keys involving an insidious plot against the U.S.A and a wrap up in the U.K.What brings everything together is Hawke, Lord Hawke leads a mysterious expedition deep into the heart of the Amazon River where he is eventually captured and forced into hard labour by an indigenous tribe that has been infiltrated by extremists. There he witnesses the birth of a terrorist militia, their recruiting and intense training with state of the art high tech weaponry. The ultimate recipe to launch jihad missions...designed to change the western world forever... He must escape and warn the world of this impending disaster and with help return to eliminate this terrible threat..Parallel to this exciting saga Mr Bell's prolific imagination takes usto a small border town where one of the stronger characters is thetown sheriff who due to a lack of resources finds himself in over his head facing motorcycle gangs and many other dangerous situations. Eventually the two stories cross paths when the sheriff meets Hawke...The wild ride continues in the Florida Keys when a downed plane isdiscovered with nuclear war heads on board...Of course, putting all excitement aside, in the end, everything wraps up in a satisfying manner.This is another thriller that is full of impossibilities but highly entertaining, an adrenaline rush.

Do You like book Spy (2006)?

The story is totally ridiculous and OTT, but I'm listening to the audio book read by John Shea. Now this is a bloke who can read. This is my first Ted Bell and he reminds me of Matthew Reilly. I read one Matthew Reilly and that was enough; if I want to see an action movie I'll go to the cinema thank you. I don't think I'll ever bother actually reading a Ted Bell.But listening to John Shea while I'm driving around throwing papers is fantastic. It's like being at the movies while it's happening. Apart from having to rewind every now and then when I concentrate too much on the actual job, or having to reverse to swap over a wrong paper when I'm concentrating too much on the CD, it's perfect for early morning paper chucking. And afterwards you don't feel like you've been watching a movie, you feel like you're in the middle of a book and can't wait to get back to it. The way Shea reads you know every character talking at the time without being told. Thank God he doesn't do women with a high squeaky voice. He seems to use a lower, whispery voice for women that is still clearly a male voice, but is so much more effective than what I've heard other readers do.Two stars for the book-wouldn't bother reading it. Five stars for Shea, I'll be looking for more of his stuff no matter what the book is. Can't wait to get up at two tomorrow morning to listen to disc nine. Just hope it's not a crappy ending.# it was a crappy ending
—Peter

There’s a blurb on the front of Ted Bell’s Spy from James Patterson. “Ted Bell,” exclaims the blurb, “can really, really write.”And Ted Bell can really, really write. What Ted Bell needs is an editor who can really, really edit.The plot is simple enough: Bell’s protagonist, Alexander Hawke is a prisoner of a deranged Arab terrorist in a jungle hideout in the Amazon. The terrorist is planning a big attack against the United States. Hawke escapes, makes it back to the UK and warns the Powers That Be of the madman in the jungle. Hawke then goes back to the Amazon and saves the day. Simple and exciting.Except….Spy clocks in at 699 pages. And that is probably about 300 pages too long. There are too many moving pieces that do not advance the story and seem to wander off on their own. It takes too dang long to get the story moving.Elmore Leonard famously advised writers to omit the parts of a story that a reader doesn’t care about and will skip. Spy does not follow this sage advice. A good chunk of the novel has Hawk going from one meal to another as we deal with plot exposition. Hawke’s relationship with the US Secretary of State, Consuelo de los Reyes, has hit the rocks and there are chapters devoted the characters’ pining for one another. None of it is remotely related to the story.There is a character in the novel whose only apparent purpose is to have sex with Hawke.And there are the subplots:We have a subplot involving Mexican machinations on the US/Mexico border that gives us a Texas sheriff and his deputy investigating not only ghost trucks, but also a white slavery ring and negotiating with a Mexican narco-terrorist gang. Most of this subplot has zero to do with the overall story and should have been jettisoned.There is Harry Brock, CIA, and a meandering subplot that has him picking up pieces of intel about the madman in the jungle that feels like filler.There is the laughable subplot of the terrorist attack being written in code based on the novel, the Da Vinci Code that no one in the NSA, CIA or MI-6 can figure out. Only Hawke’s pal, Ambrose Cosgreve can solve it.Stokely Jones has an entire chapter devoted to buying a car. His subplot involving finding a crashed and submerged jet carrying missiles really doesn’t go anywhere. It seems to be part of a different story where Venezuela is preparing to invade the US.And that seems to be the main problem with Spy: it is two novels smashed into one book: A madman in the jungle preparing to attack the US and a South American plot to destroy America. Had Bell picked one of the two stories and ran with it, the result probably would have been a better tale.Provided he had an editor to keep him on track.
—Walter

As with all the other books in the Alexander Hawke series, I enjoyed reading this 4th entry very much. Longer than the first three books in the series, this book was perhaps the most frightening (i.e., hitting close to home) so far in that the story line concerns the actions of Islamic terrorists using the near non-existent U.S. border with Mexico to infiltrate the country and wreck havoc on the U.S. government and attempt to reclaim lands they consider their own. Using some of the latest technology - remote controlled semis and SUV vehicles equipped with blackened windows - terrorists transport explosive materials around the nation. Incorporating Dan Brown's DaVinci Code into the mix, Hawke and Cosgreve work to unravel the mystery and save the President from assassination.I confess that this book took me a little longer to 'get into' than other books so far in this series; but the ending was vintage Bell/Hawke. I am very much looking forward to reading the next in the series, Tsar. :)
—Eric

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