Book Description
In the stew and dazzle of New York City, savvy, irreverent Fritz Malone–who Susan Isaacs called “the perfect balance of noir P.I. and decent guy”–is embroiled in a string of grisly murders that drags him behind the lurid headlines into the tangled affairs of some the city’s most beautiful people and their ugly truths.
When two women linked with
charismatic late-night TV personality Marshall Fox are found brutally slain in Central Park, Fox becomes the prime suspect and is charged with the murders. At the tabloid trial, one of Fox’s ex-lovers, Robin Burrell, is called to testify–and is instantly thrust into the media’s harsh spotlight. Shaken by a subsequent onslaught of hate mail,
Robin goes to Fritz Malone for help. Malone has barely begun to investigate when Robin is found sadistically murdered in her Upper West Side brownstone, hands and feet shackled and a shard of mirror protruding from her neck.
But it’s another gory detail that confounds both Malone and Megan Lamb, the troubled
NYPD detective officially assigned to the case. Though Fox is in custody the third victim’s right hand has been placed over her heart and pinned with a four-inch nail, just as in the killings he’s accused of. Is this a copycat murder, or is the wrong man on trial?
Teaming up with
Detective Lamb, Malone delves deeper into Fox’s past, unpeeling the layers of the media darling’s secret life and developing an ever-increasing list of suspects for Robin’s murder. When yet another body turns up in Central Park, the message is clear: Get too close to Fox and get ready to die.
And Malone is getting too close.
In Cold Day in Hell, Richard Hawke has again given readers a tale about the dark side of the big city, a thriller that moves with breakneck speed toward a conclusion that is as shocking as it is unforgettable.
Praise for Richard Hawke’s Speak of the Devil
“Richard Hawke has managed what some writers spend a lifetime trying to accomplish: He has come up with a character and place that should entertain in countless stories to come.”
–Rocky Mountain News
“Fast-moving, first-rate . . . Hawke’s plot grabs us by the throat. . . . He keeps the suspense mounting.”
–The Washington Post
“[A] bang-bang thriller . . . We are absolutely powerless to stop reading.”
–Chicago Tribune
“Mr. Hawke’s [novel] tours the city . . . with unusual streetwise panache . . . but this isn’t a book that coasts on its urban geography. It lives by its wits, and its wits would work anywhere.”
–The New York Times
“A deftly paced debut that crackles and pops from page 1.”
–Booklist (starred review)
“Thrill-a-minute pacing and inspired plot twists.”
–Newsday
“[An] amazing thriller . . . Hawke’s dialogue is sharp and snappy and the plot moves with all the energy of New York City.”
–Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Hawke razzle-dazzles us with . . . bada-bing narration and quirky, well-drawn characters.”
–The Boston Globe
“[Packed] with a breathless pace and hair-pin turns.”
–South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Customer Reviews:
Too much talk.......2007-06-09
Worse than his last book. Too many questions being asked all the time. Rambles on and on.
Not Up to Expectations.......2007-06-06
Hawke's Fritz Malone was a great character in the debut novel by Hawke, Speak of the Devil. He was funny and likeable. He a had a great girlfriend and great relationship with her that added to the book. He also had a relationship with the girlfriend's father (his former partner) who added spice, wit, wisdom and and color to the book. Unfortunately, these aspects were missing in Cold Day in Hell resulting in a middle of the road mystery. Fritz' humor was in check. He and the girlfriend were shallowly on the outs because of Fritz' case and the father never appeared.
Fritz is a unique PI. He has an excellent rapport with the NYPD - how many fictional PI's can say they have good relations with their local police force? He shows humor without being cynicism - although less humor in this novel than in the first. He is generally a good guy for whom it is easy to root.
Cold Day in Hell opens with a murder that looks like it was committed by the same perpetrator that committed two prior murders. That suspect is a late night TV star currently being tried for the first two murders. Is it a copycat? Is the star innocent? The victim was a lover of the star and had testified in the nationally telecast trial. Soon a second murder occurs that also points to the TV star and Fritz is on the case.
The mystery is fairly good. There are plenty of suspects and motives to keep the reader hopping. However, I found the presentation a bit disorganized. I also found that Fritz' involvement was a bit far-fetched. He had no client nor interest, except that he had met the first victim - who lived across the street from his girlfiriend - to look into hate mail she had received after testifying against the TV star.
As good a character as Fritz is, the other characters in this book, especially the show biz ones seemed boilerplate. There is an excellent police woman who does have depth and is interesting. She and Fritz carry the book.
All in all, this was a decent murder mystery. I don't know that if this were the first book I read by Hawke that I would read any others by him. However, his Speak of te Devil was so excellent, I look at this as a temporary misstep - that was still okay - and I look forward to his next one.
Prepare to lose your preconceived ideas of what a detective novel can be. .......2007-05-30
Having written only two books, Richard Hawke already has earned himself a place on the "must read" list of detective fiction fans. SPEAK OF THE DEVIL introduced Fritz Malone, a very different (and memorable) private investigator whose territory is New York City. It must be noted that Hawke doesn't write straightforward crime novels; to say that he deconstructs the genre would be inaccurate, but he certainly stretches and tests its boundaries. The result is an implicitly edgy narrative that creates an atmosphere in which anything might happen.
COLD DAY IN HELL centers on Marshall Fox, a wildly popular late-night television personality whose professional and personal life is fodder for daily morning water cooler discussion. The fact that Fox is a bit of a rake only fuels his reputation. But when two women who are linked to him are found brutally slain in a unique, sinister fashion, he is charged with their murder. The trial is, as one might expect, a circus --- it is even referred to as "O.J. East" --- and the testimony of Robin Burrell, one of Fox's many ex-lovers, regarding his points of arousal only serves to further inflame the rabble. Burrell, who happens to live across the street from Malone's significant other, retains Malone to deal with the avalanche of harassing mail and phone calls she receives.
When Burrell herself is murdered in a fashion similar to those for whom Fox is on trial, it raises the issue of whether Burrell has been executed by a copycat killer or if the D.A.'s office is trying the wrong man for murder. Malone is working with Megan Lamb, an emotionally troubled New York police detective assigned to the investigation. They begin digging into Fox's life and discover no lack of suspects or motives for any of the killings. When yet another brutal murder occurs --- similar but not identical to the first three --- Malone comes to the realization that knowing Fox is dangerous, and investigating the murders of his associates might be even more so.
Hawke is not afraid to take chances with his plot or characters. I about dropped the book at the end of Part 1 and then again near the violent climax of this exciting work. Hawke's ability to tinker with the form of his narrative while keeping the story true to the genre results in a unique, and ultimately addictive, reading experience. Pick up COLD DAY IN HELL and prepare to lose your preconceived ideas of what a detective novel can be.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Fritz Malone is back!.......2007-05-08
I thoroughly enjoyed the first installation of the adventures of NYC gumshoe, Fritz Malone and am sooooo happy to see that Richard Hawke is continuing the series. Yeah!
Sophomore Jinx.......2007-04-21
The second in a series is often disappointing failing to live up to the promise a first book, such is the case with Richard Hawke's COLD DAY IN HELL. Mr. Hawke, who also writes the wonderful Hearse mysteries under the name Tim Cockey, established a strong character in Fritz Malone in SPEAK OF THE DEVIL but does nothing with him this time around. This isn't a bad book but it drags almost from the beginning only to pick up in a series of two page chapters towards the end but never really kicks into gear and the final action sequences are disjointed, contradictory and, in the end, unsatifing. Mr. Hawke/Cockey has done much better in the past and, based on his terrific track record, should do better in the future. As for this one, wait for the paperback.
Average customer rating:
- Give Me A Million Dollars
- Oh what a tangled web we weave...
- NYC based crime thriller
- Boring
- Couldn't put it down.
|
Speak of the Devil: A Novel of Suspense
Richard Hawke
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
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ASIN: 0345482182
Release Date: 2007-02-27 |
Book Description
"From first line to last, Speak of the Devil moves with a rare combination of intrigue and intensity. Its engine runs on high octane adrenalin. Richard Hawke delivers a winner."
--Michael Connelly
It’s a beautiful Thanksgiving morning in New York City. Perfect day for a parade, and Fritz Malone just happens to have drifted up Central Park West to take a look at the floats. Across the crowd-filled street he sees a gunman on a low wall, taking aim with a shiny black Beretta. Seconds later, the air is filled with bullets and blood.
Fritz isn’t one to stand around and watch. A child of Hell’s Kitchen and the bastard son of a beloved former police commissioner, Fritz is all too familiar with the city’s rougher side. As the gunman flees into the park, Fritz runs after him. What he doesn’t know is that he is also running into one of the most shocking and treacherous episodes of his life.
Though Fritz assumed that chasing down bad guys is perfectly legal, the cops hustle him from the scene and deliver him to the office of the current commissioner, who informs Fritz that someone dubbed “Nightmare” has been taunting the city’s leaders for weeks, warning of an imminent attack on the citizenry. What’s worse, Nightmare has already let the officials know that the parade gunman was a mere foot soldier and that there’s more carnage to come unless the city meets his impossible demands. The pols don’t dare share this information with anyone–not even the NYPD. What they need for this job is an outside man. And in Fritz they think they’ve got one.
Racing against the tightest of clocks, Fritz finds himself confounded by Nightmare’s multiple masks and messengers. The killer is simultaneously everywhere and nowhere. But as Fritz’s frantic investigation takes him from a convent in the Bronx to a hookers’ haven in central Brooklyn, the story behind the story–complete with wicked secrets on both sides of the law–begins to emerge. As Fritz zeroes in on the terrible, gruesome truth, the killer retaliates by making things personal, forcing Fritz to grapple with his deepest fear: sometimes nightmares really do come true.
In his brilliantly paced and stunningly original debut, Richard Hawke delivers a tale of flawed and unforgettable people operating at the ends of their ropes. It’s literary suspense that doesn’t let go until the last page.
From the Hardcover edition.
Download Description
"From first line to last, Speak of the Devil moves with a rare combination of intrigue and intensity. Its engine runs on high octane adrenalin. Richard Hawke delivers a winner."
--Michael Connelly
It’s a beautiful Thanksgiving morning in New York City. Perfect day for a parade, and Fritz Malone just happens to have drifted up Central Park West to take a look at the floats. Across the crowd-filled street he sees a gunman on a low wall, taking aim with a shiny black Beretta. Seconds later, the air is filled with bullets and blood.
Fritz isn’t one to stand around and watch. A child of Hell’s Kitchen and the bastard son of a beloved former police commissioner, Fritz is all too familiar with the city’s rougher side. As the gunman flees into the park, Fritz runs after him. What he doesn’t know is that he is also running into one of the most shocking and treacherous episodes of his life.
Though Fritz assumed that chasing down bad guys is perfectly legal, the cops hustle him from the scene and deliver him to the office of the current commissioner, who informs Fritz that someone dubbed “Nightmare” has been taunting the city’s leaders for weeks, warning of an imminent attack on the citizenry. What’s worse, Nightmare has already let the officials know that the parade gunman was a mere foot soldier and that there’s more carnage to come unless the city meets his impossible demands. The pols don’t dare share this information with anyone–not even the NYPD. What they need for this job is an outside man. And in Fritz they think they’ve got one.
Racing against the tightest of clocks, Fritz finds himself confounded by Nightmare’s multiple masks and messengers. The killer is simultaneously everywhere and nowhere. But as Fritz’s frantic investigation takes him from a convent in the Bronx to a hookers’ haven in central Brooklyn, the story behind the story–complete with wicked secrets on both sides of the law–begins to emerge. As Fritz zeroes in on the terrible, gruesome truth, the killer retaliates by making things personal, forcing Fritz to grapple with his deepest fear: sometimes nightmares really do come true.
In his brilliantly paced and stunningly original debut, Richard Hawke delivers a tale of flawed and unforgettable people operating at the ends of their ropes. It’s literary suspense that doesn’t let go until the last page.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Give Me A Million Dollars.......2007-08-31
Here's an idea. Why not write a novel about a wisecracking PI? Sound fresh to you? I didn't think so. Maybe if we inaugurate a distinct writing style. Let's have the author. Write in. Short. Incomplete sentences. And let's wow the audience with some really snappy language. You and I get up in the morning, and put on our clothes, but PI Malone "worked my way into some fresh skins." These linguistic tics aside, RH writes a passable mystery story in which shoe leather investigation still rules. Forget the science fiction world of CSI, Malone hits the streets and digs up clues.
There's some good fun and suspense here as he tracks down a bad guy who shoots up parades, and demands some serious money from the city of New York. What do our tough police commissioner and our tough mayor do when he requests a million bucks? They say sure, no problem, and pack up the funds in a backpack (will 10,000 hundred dollar bills fit in a backpack?), and have our guy Malone bring it to a shopping mall.
About this time a believability alarm starts ringing in my head. Why would the city involve a PI to do all of their detective work for them? Why would the city immediately acquiesce to the demand for money? Why does the killer want the money to go to a group of nuns, one of whom is a lush? Why does he keep cutting of the fingers of the deputy mayor, and finally why does this tale have an unbelievable, outrageous ending? This book is a real wall bouncer, meaning that when you finish the thing you toss it against your living room wall.
On the plus side, it is reasonably well written, and some of the dialogue is funny.
Oh what a tangled web we weave..........2007-07-18
PI Fritz Malone just went out to get some bagels. When the shooting starts, he becomes involved, attempting to chase down a gunman. He becomes involved in a complex case that is not going in the direction that anyone wanted. When he starts turning over stones, there are a lot of surprises.
The case is interesting, at least enough to keep me reading. The main complaint that I had was that the author, at points, started sounding like the driver of a tour bus giving tourists a description of the city with historical footnotes added in. There was, perhaps, a little too much background color.
The novel has some amount of violence and language, about what you would expect in a PI type novel, with minimal sexual content (mostly by reference). It tends to be written as a thriller novel.
NYC based crime thriller.......2007-06-24
Richard Hawke's initial novel "Speak of the Devil" was a memorable effort containing ample doses of suspense and intrigue with an array of heroic and depraved characters on both sides of the law. Hawke's fuzzy demarcation between good and evil in his characters helps establish the unpredictable nature of his storyline.
Hawke's sarcastic protagonist Fritz Malone a gumshoe and illegitimate son of the ex-NYC police commisssioner unwittingly gets drawn into drama while performing a typical morning ritual for Big Apple denizens, buying bagels. It happens to be Thanksgiving morning and Malone decides to espy the parade. Without provacation a crazed gunman takes aim at actress Rebecca Gelpin dressed as Mother Goose and begins firing. Malone miraculously manages to save the actress who happens to be superstud NYC mayor Martin Leavitt's girlfriend. Others are not so lucky as a trail of slain victims are left in the aftermath.
It turns out that the mayor and Malone confidante police commissioner Tommy Carroll had been forewarned about this gutless attack via a noted penned from a faceless villain known as Nightmare. Malone who single handedly apprehended the suspect named Diaz was brought in for questioning and stunningly learned that Diaz was killed while in police custody.
So begins a reign of terror orchestrated by Nightmare who increasingly ups his monetary demands to desist with the violence. Malone gets recruited by authorities to find this madman and soon finds that there are some curious connections to the 95th precinct based in Brooklyn's Fort Peterson. This group of cops was scandalized by massive amounts of graft and corruption. Malone is also steered to an order of nuns who recently were at the center of controversy themselves. One member, Sister Margaret was found to have committed suicide, her body found in Prospect Park.
Malone advised by his mentor and girlfriend Margo's dad Charlie is led through the seamy underbelly of Brooklyn looking for a notorious criminal prince of the streets Angel Ramos who is suspected of being Nightmare. While in pursuit he unveils a much more convoluted plot than he expects as he strives to thwart further mayhem conceived by the devious Nightmare.
Boring.......2007-06-10
Very procedural, no emotional connection to any of the characters, if you are a fan of the genre avoid this, very dissapointing.
Couldn't put it down........2007-05-09
I am always thrilled when I discover a new author whose story line and unique writing style keeps me turning pages.
Average customer rating:
- It's Time to Fear Again!
- Pointless novel of interest to Jasonites only.
- Novel follows 1981 film well.
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Friday the 13th Part II: A Novel
Simon Hawke , and
Ron Kurz
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0451153375 |
Customer Reviews:
It's Time to Fear Again!.......2004-06-02
"Friday the 13th, Part II", by Simon Hawke, is a faithful adaptation of the film that is one of the best in the Friday cycle. This book is arguably better than its 1987 predecessor and goes into great detail when people are getting killed. It also describes the details of Jason's birth and drowning and the conflict that he feels over his mother. If you can find a copy of this rare paperback, I strongly suggest you buy it and keep it, because this book is becoming increasingly rarer. Happy reading, Jason fans!
Pointless novel of interest to Jasonites only........2002-03-13
For a brief period of time it appeared that Jason Lives adaptor Simon Hawke would be writing novelizations of the entire Friday the 13th film series, but thankfully he never made it past Part 2. After all, there is far better material for novels out there. This 'novel' is really nothing more than the film in book form, fans hoping that it might contain the sequel's pre-final cut expanded ending will come away disappointed. I sure did.
Novel follows 1981 film well........1998-07-10
This book is an entertaining read. It follows the film to the exact. Oddly, the cover of the book features the movie poster art of the 1980 orginal film rather than the poster for Part 2. Anyway, a good book to collect if you can get your hands on it since it was the best of all the sequels.
Average customer rating:
- Action-Packed and Fast Paced
- He's been compared to Ludlum.....
- Worse than Cussler
- TED BELL AT HIS BEST
- James Bond I presume ?
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Hawke : A Novel
Ted Bell
Manufacturer: Atria
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0743466691
Release Date: 2003-06-03 |
Amazon.com
A James Bond for the 21st century, Alex Hawke is suave, sexy, smart, wealthy, and deadly. And he's got the bloodlines to prove it--the direct descendant of a famous English pirate, the British secret agent is back in the Caribbean where his ancestor once amassed a legendary fortune and where, decades ago, his own parents were brutally tortured and murdered for a secret Alex, to this day, doesn't know he has in his possession. What brings Alex back to the scene of a crime he only vaguely remembers witnessing as a child is a mission to find and recover a stealth submarine that's gone missing less than a hundred miles from the American mainland, complete with 40 nuclear warheads and a rogue terrorist's finger on the countdown button. It's a hoary premise, but Bell makes it work with skillful plotting, quick characterizations, and a lively hero who deserves a sequel, not to mention the big screen treatment. --Jane Adams
Book Description
"Hawke is a fast-paced adventure...truly an exciting read," says Nelson DeMille. "Rich, spellbinding, and absorbing, Hawke is packed with surprises," raves Clive Cussler. Readers beware, this stunning, high-caliber thriller is not recommended for the faint of heart.
Lord Alexander Hawke is a direct descendant of the legendary English pirate Blackhawke and highly skilled in the cutthroat's deadly ways himself. While still a boy, on a voyage to the Caribbean, Alex Hawke witnesses an act of unspeakable horror. Hidden in a secret compartment on his father's yacht, Alex sees his parents brutally murdered by three modern-day pirates. It is an event that will haunt him for the remainder of his life. Now, fully grown and one of England's most decorated naval heroes, Hawke is back in the same Caribbean waters on a secret mission for the American government. A highly experimental stealth submarine, built by the Soviets just before the end of the Cold War, is missing. She carries forty nuclear warheads and is believed to be in the hands of a very unstable government just ninety miles from the American mainland. Hawke is in a race against time. His mission: Find the deadly sub before a preemptive strike can be launched against the U.S., and confront the murderous men behind the personal nightmare that haunts him before they find him first.
Featuring breathtaking action, international intrigue, and a hero worthy of the very finest adventure fiction, Hawke heralds the exciting debut of a bold new talent.
Download Description
"""Hawke is a fast-paced adventure...truly an exciting read,"" says Nelson DeMille. ""Rich, spellbinding, and absorbing, Hawke is packed with surprises,"" raves Clive Cussler. Readers beware, this stunning, high-caliber thriller is not recommended for the faint of heart. Lord Alexander Hawke is a direct descendant of the legendary English pirate Blackhawke and highly skilled in the cutthroat's deadly ways himself. While still a boy, on a voyage to the Caribbean, Alex Hawke witnesses an act of unspeakable horror. Hidden in a secret compartment on his father's yacht, Alex sees his parents brutally murdered by three modern-day pirates. It is an event that will haunt him for the remainder of his life. Now, fully grown and one of England's most decorated naval heroes, Hawke is back in the same Caribbean waters on a secret mission for the American government. A highly experimental stealth submarine, built by the Soviets just before the end of the Cold War, is missing. She carries forty nuclear warheads and is believed to be in the hands of a very unstable government just ninety miles from the American mainland. Hawke is in a race against time. His mission: Find the deadly sub before a preemptive strike can be launched against the U.S., and confront the murderous men behind the personal nightmare that haunts him before they find him first. Featuring breathtaking action, international intrigue, and a hero worthy of the very finest adventure fiction, Hawke heralds the exciting debut of a bold new talent. "
Customer Reviews:
Action-Packed and Fast Paced.......2007-09-24
If you enjoy a fast-moving, action-packed story you will enjoy Hawke. Ted Bell weaves his story in various strands and slowly connects the strands to produce an entertaining product. If you are a fan of Robert Ludlum, Mitch Rapp, and Clive Cussler then you will enjoy this novel.
He's been compared to Ludlum............2007-09-19
This author is compared to Robert Ludlum? I can state that he is no Ludlum. The prime character Hawke is unbelievable. His confrontation in a pub while wearing a tux or tails. His special plane designed after a model. The bowsprit on his yacht that extends? The machete fight? Give me a break.
Worse than Cussler.......2007-09-18
If you like Clive Cussler, you MIGHT be able to stomach this book...otherwise you're in deep trouble. Cussler's 2-D characters, Playmate-looking PhD love-interests , Flawless leads, and implausible plots are all here...but somehow even harder to take. I've actually been able to get through some Cussler books before, but this one was truly painful at times, and FAR behind even a fading Clancy.
As other reviewers have mentioned, the glaring lack of basic research, idiotic dialogue, and cartoonish characters are really disappointing for a writer who is being prominently featured in the bookstores, and has some nice print reviews. That James Patterson and Nelson DeMille's praises are on the book is an embarrassment.
TED BELL AT HIS BEST.......2007-09-16
A GREAT STORY THAT KEEPS YOU RIVITTED. THERE'S NO PLACE TO STOP UNTIL THE END.
I HAVE THE AUDIO BOOK WHICH IS ABRIDGED,THEREFORE ONLY FOUR STARS.
THE OTHER HAWKE NOVELS ON AUDIO ARE UNABRIDGED AND ARE EXELLENT.
James Bond I presume ?.......2007-08-19
What a good read. I have now read all his books but backwards. This was the last for me which was his first. I find it a enjoyable, quick,fascinating read. His closeness to the Bond Books are there but not reflecting them word by word. His group of Merry men and their connections make the story ever more interesting and move it along quickly.
I highly recommend this book and stand wating for his "Tsar" to come out.
Average customer rating:
- How much talent can one man have?
- This could be a movie
- Decent start out of the gate
- If you liked this book, you will also love...
- The Bitter End
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The Hottest State(MTI): A Novel
Ethan Hawke
Manufacturer: Vintage
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0679781358
Release Date: 1997-09-30 |
Amazon.com
Yes, it's "that" Ethan Hawke. Ethan Hawke the actor. In this slim debut novel, he tells a coming-of-age tale of a fairly unpleasant young actor from Texas named William who lives in Manhattan and is working his way through an ugly little relationship with a singer/songwriter named Sarah. William's parents married young and split up early and he's not too happy with the world at large. Sarah can't quite make heads or tails of her mother. The pair has sex in the bathroom and talks quite a bit about their relationship. It all has a certain ring of truth, but at this point it's probably safe to say that Hawke's movie agent will probably make a better living off the young actor/writer than Hawke's literary agent.
Book Description
When William meets Sarah at a bar appropriately called the Bitter End, he is a few months short of his twenty-first birthday and about to act in his first movie. He is so used to getting what he wants that he has never been able to care too deeply for anyone. But all of that is about to change. And it is Sarah--bold and shy, seductive and skittish--who will become William's undoing and his salvation.
William's affair with Sarah will take him from a tenement on the Lower East Side to a hotel room in Paris, from a flip proposal of marriage to the extremities of outraged need and the wisdom that comes only to true survivors. Anyone who reads
The Hottest State will encounter a writer who can charm, dazzle, and break the heart in a single paragraph.
Customer Reviews:
How much talent can one man have?.......2007-03-23
Hawke is a excellent storyteller. He has a long career in writing if he chooses to and for our sake I hope he does continue to write. If you like this book you will love his "Ash Wednesday".
This could be a movie.......2007-01-29
When I bought this book, I was really excited to read something by Ethan Hawke because I knew he was very intelligent and very opinionated. He's also very perceptive about life and emotions. This book left me with a lot of good impressions. Several times throughout the book, he had these one-liners that seemed to be like secrets to life. I used to share those with my friends because I thought they were sensational. I think Ethan's been writing for a long time because all of his thoughts they just flow onto the page so honestly and he gives enough of an idea of each character so the reader can picture exactly who these people are.
Generally, Ethan likes to write about love and figuring out the meaning of life (which he generally points back to love). It's fun to read no matter what your age, although he does use cuss words a bit.
Decent start out of the gate.......2006-11-17
I'm the type that likes those poignant art flicks that Hawke ends up in. His choice in movies, and often the dialog his characters are given lead me to think he's one of the intellectual crowd. Thus, I expected the novel to be a bit heavy handed, almost classic in nature and a bit pretentious. For better or for worse, I found it wasn't.
His style is striaghtforward and down to earth. At times the sections end like the powerful last line of a poem, as if he wants the last word in an arguement before walking out the door (a common thing in stage and film, so it's not surprising it occurs in his prose). But most of the time, it's just honest writing.
In a way it owes itself to the pulp writers like Hammet, not that it's full of the vernacular of the noir, but in that he doesn't waste much time defining the settings, the clothing, the articles in the rooms, but more focuses on character development. And gladly he does a fine job of defining his characters not by telling, but by action.
This is a story about young love, and immature naive young love at that. About a Holden Caufield in his mid 20's, falling for damaged goods and not having the experience and wisdom yet to see her for what she is.
Mostly I appreciated the novel because of the realistic characters (at least realistic from my own life experiences, yours may differ), and the easy flow of the writing. At times, also like Hammet, I'd find passages that read like good poetry - bits of wisdom coming from a perspective unique to me, told in a style that is both rough and also graceful.
Much fame has come to writers like Dan Brown and Robert Ludlum, because their plots are strong and intriguing. However, those airline novelists fail miserably when it comes to voice. Reading them is like listening to Beethoven performed by a high school band.
This novel reads in the reverse. The plot is simple, there's not a great amount of complexity or surprises. However, it's well done, well paced, well performed, like a Bob Dylan tune being performed by a Norah Jones.
The joy is in the style, honesty and the integrity to the writing, even if the subject matter has been covered before, and the chords are familiar triads.
If you liked this book, you will also love..........2006-04-29
By the same author...
1. Watch Me In This Lonely Corner
2. Oh My Love, Oh My Dearest Darling--I Pine For You--PINE!
3. How To Trick Yourself Into Thinking You're Still 15
5. How To Feel Sorry For Ethan Hawke
6. The Secret Garden
7. Self-Indulgence: a Primer
8. Tori Amos: EarthQueenGoddessMother
9. Prozac Nation
10. Oh Life! Oh Love! Oh Eternity!
The Bitter End.......2005-12-13
The foreshadowing is heavy-handed... the narrator meets the woman with whom he will fall in love, at a bar called The Bitter End. It's a reason to not like the book, but I have other reasons.
I can always tell if a book has an impact on me, good or bad, if, years later, I remember where I was when I read it.
This was a slim novel. I bought it in a small bookshop in Union Station in D.C. and read it on the plane to San Juan, Puerto Rico one November in 1999. I can't remember many details of the trip except it was to visit a friend named Brian who ran a hotel on St. Thomas.
Why does that matter? Well it shouldn't, really, except it was somewhat of an exciting trip because no one knew I was going there and it felt very grown up to have business meetings in D.C. all week and then sneak down to the Carribbean for a couple of days.
My point, and I'm finally here, is that the only thing I really remember about the 4-5 day trip is reading The Hottest State.
It's not a book that scholars will laud and it certainly won't win any literary awards, but it spoke to me. I'd like a man to see me like Sarah. I'd like a man to realize he's damaged and immature but still aspire to the love of a genuine woman. I like reading about angst and I like eavesdropping on people's conversations about their relationships.
I'm not going to get into the row about good writing or bad writing or ghost writing. Whatever it was, I enjoyed the book and I remembered it.
p.s. According to ancient Hollywood rumor, the narrator was Ethan Hawke himself and Sarah, Lisa Loeb.
Book Description
Love is in the cards... sexy shapeshifters, werewolves and vampires...
The Tarot cards...
Average customer rating:
- Nobody writes like this anymore
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Beetle Leg (New Directions Paperback)
J. Hawkes
Manufacturer: New Directions Publishing Corporation
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ASIN: 0811200620 |
Customer Reviews:
Nobody writes like this anymore.......2003-07-29
This is a surrealistic western, basically, with language so odd, crisp, and surprising that every page has to be savored. Hawkes is a tremendously perceptive writer, whether he's dealing with the violent or the mundane. Readers should give this and THE BLOOD ORANGES a chance. His voice is strange, and takes time to grow on you; but once it does, his books begin to seem like a mixture of poetry and noir.
Book Description
Alex Hawke is back. In this explosive,jaw-tightening follow-up to Ted Bell's "rich, spellbinding, and absorbing" (Clive Cussler) debut national bestseller, Hawke, fearless intelligence operative Lord Alexander Hawke matches wits with a cunning and bloodthirsty psychopath in a desperate race to avert an American Armageddon.
In an elegant palazzo on the Grand Canal, an American ambassador's tryst turns deadly. In the seamy underbelly of London, a pub-crawling killer is on the loose. And in a storybook chapel nestled in the Cotswolds, a marriage made in heaven turns to hell on earth. Isolated incidents? Or links in a chain of events hurtling towards catastrophe? So begins Assassin, the tour de force thriller that heralds the return of every terrorist's worst nightmare, Alex Hawke.
A shadowy figure known as the Dog is believed to be the ruthless terrorist who is systematically and savagely assassinating American diplomats and their families around the globe. As the deadly toll mounts inexorably, Hawke, along with former NYPD cop and Navy SEAL Stokely Jones, is called upon by the U.S. government to launch a search for the assassin behind the murders.
Hawke, who "makes James Bond look like a "slovenly, dull-witted clockpuncher" (Kirkus Reviews), is soon following a trail that leads back to London in the go-go nineties, when Arab oil money fueled lavish, and sometimes fiendish, lifestyles. Other murky clues point to the Florida Keys, where a vicious killer hides behind the gates of a fabled museum. And to a remote Indonesian island where a madman tinkers with strains of a deadly virus and slyly bides his time.
Hawke must call upon resources deep within himself. He must enter a race against time to stop a cataclysmic attack on America's most populous cities and avengethe inexplicable and horrific crime that has left him devastated.
Brimming with relentless action and stylish detail, and featuring a hero that readers will stand up and cheer for, Assassin is a gripping adventure. And definitely not recommended for the faint of heart.
Download Description
" Alex Hawke is back. In this explosive,jaw-tightening follow-up to Ted Bell's ""rich, spellbinding, and absorbing"" (Clive Cussler) debut national bestseller, Hawke, fearless intelligence operative Lord Alexander Hawke matches wits with a cunning and bloodthirsty psychopath in a desperate race to avert an American Armageddon. In an elegant palazzo on the Grand Canal, an American ambassador's tryst turns deadly. In the seamy underbelly of London, a pub-crawling killer is on the loose. And in a storybook chapel nestled in the Cotswolds, a marriage made in heaven turns to hell on earth. Isolated incidents? Or links in a chain of events hurtling towards catastrophe? So begins Assassin, the tour de force thriller that heralds the return of every terrorist's worst nightmare, Alex Hawke. "
Customer Reviews:
Verbose.......2007-08-11
Mr. Bell certainly likes to see himself write. He could have cut out a hundred pages and still have too many. It was very difficult getting through the overuse of adjectives. I will not be reading any other Bell tomes.
fast-paced and frightening........2007-08-08
Ted Bell can really write. This series is exciting and somewhat scary. He's created a great heroic figure in Alex Hawke. The storyline is, hopefully, not out of tomorrow's headlines. We'd better start paying much more attention to the Islamic radical jihad against our Western way of life. Good book, but very scary in its implications and possibilities.
Great book -- comic book character or not!.......2007-07-29
This was the third Alexander Hawke book I've read (previously Spy and Pirate: A Thriller (Hawke)) and this was my favorite so far.
I see the critics talk about how Hawke's larger than life persona has reached comic book status. I say pour on some more Mr. Bell!
Bell brings a very plausible plot (terror, nukes, pox, etc.) togtether in an interesting international adventure story.
I can hardly wait for the new book!
Wish I could get a copy of "Hawke" the original book.
Great book.......2007-07-03
I really enjoyed this follow up to Hawke. The adventure was great, and it wasn't trying too hard to be "bond-like" Highly recommended
Entertaining & fast moving.......2007-06-22
A thriller with action throughout the globe. Hawke has his usual characters with him & then some. The two stories taking place within one novel are fast paced & entertaining. The book is well written without much in the way of waste. The only problem I have is Alex Hawke is too large for life. I'd much prefer if Mr. Bell would tone him down a bit. His character is larger than James Bond to the point he's approaching comic book hero status
Book Description
In 1963, a revolutionary new breed of hero emerged in the pages of X-MEN #1. These strange men and women each possessed a special "mutant" gene, granting them incredible powers and abilities. Since those early years, Marvel's mutants have exploded into a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. From a single comic book, the X-Men went on to star in a diverse line of titles featuring mutants of every type imaginable, as well as a pair of top-rated animated series and two hit movies.
Featuring more than 350 fully illustrated biographies, the X-MEN ENCYCLOPEDIA is a comprehensive guide to these world-famous Marvel Comics characters their mysterious origins, their incredible powers, their titanic struggles and their hidden tragedies.
Customer Reviews:
Collecters and Newbies.......2006-12-07
This book is great for anyone who knows nothing about X men to learn alittle somethin'. However, if you are already a deticated fan you probably won't find anything new in this book. But then again, I fancy myself quite the fan and I purchased it as well as the rest of the Marvel encyclopedia's and found they really aren't that bad as a group.
Other Part.......2006-08-28
If you have read the Marvel Encyclopedia, this edition includes every one who is not in the Marvel Encyclopedia. If you purchase both you will pretty much have the Marvel universe at your fingertips. If you can get both encyclopedias You will not regret it!
Save your money!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2006-05-29
This book is NOT worth $30+ !! Been reading since the 70's and this is another attempt at slapping an X on something and calling it ice cream. Character bio's were glossed over in favor of awful artwork (for some) and some bio's were innacurate or just wrong on the facts. More time and energy should have been spent on research instead of the "ooooh-ahhh" factor. I only had the misfortune of paying $1.99 for this stinker as part of a online comic order. I paid too much even then. What I Would recommend is either the 40 years of X-men dvd set - can't go wrong there, or, wait til the end of the year as the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe 2006 will be finished and Marvel just LOVES reprinting! You can bet that this will be reprinted in a trade. It appears that they will be doing individual bio's of all team members in one issue ( or maybe two, lotsa mutants lol) But the info is MUCH more accurate and you'll probably save ALOT more money than you would if you bought this "book". I was forced to give this 1 star as there were no negative stars from which to choose. This would be a black hole on the star scale!
A necessary evil... .......2005-11-17
-What is it? As the name implies, it is a guide to the X-Men and their corner of the Marvel Comics universe that is almost essential to any one who is a long-term or recent fan of Marvel's mutants. It is also a short-sighted marketing tool.
-The Good: The structure of the book is so tidy it's almost obsessive-compulsive. The first section is all current, give or take, X-Men; next come the Acolytes, Alpha Flight, and so on, with a miscellaneous grouping towards the end. The selection of artwork is reason enough to buy the book- a brilliant and breath-taking collection that runs the gauntlet of virtually every person ever paid money to draw the X-Men.
-The Bad: Although the vast majority of the X-pantheon is included, it is more of a quick reference than a full-blown rundown of the history of each character, group or milestone event. This however, is understandable due to the vast ocean of characters they must deal with, but Marvel rubbed salt in the wound by going out of its way to focus on the way of things as they were the exact month the X-encyclopedia was published, to the point where it actually becomes misleading. Examples: X-Factor (along with X-Force and most other mutant spin-off groups) is totally absent from the book, and whenever it was impossible to overlook something X-Factor did the original X-Men were credited with out any clarification or mention that the 5 founding X-Men at one time formed their own team separate from the X-Men. X-Force is similarly referred to not by name but as either a strike force or as the New Mutants, and Cable is only referred to as Nathan Summers.
Also characters such as the X-Statics (the major space given these clowns is the primary reason NOT to buy the book) and even Alpha Flight take up quite a lot of space (many members get full-page descriptions), even though they are not directly related to the X-Men. Meanwhile characters such as Rachael Summers/Phoenix II (also, Generation X's fate requires a bit of detective work to piece together) that have been along for a number of years who were and are still relevant to the overall on going story were heavily marginalized or given only a third or quarter of a page. There are quite a few characters (and teams) left out all together, even ones that were previously headliners (ex-Deadpool, who at least gets a foot note in the Fantastic Four's guide; and none of Excalibur's foes are included).
Yet another failing is in the entries themselves. There is little correlation between what is written from one entry to the next (ex- Mystique appears a lot in the book yet her entry cuts off with out any recent information, but other entries allude to the fact that she has died, but she apparently had not), or the entries only cover the basics without telling anything about the actual history of the character as seen in the comics (ex-Nightcrawler's entry makes no mention of Excalibur). Finally, the entries for some of the teams seem to go out of their way to be as vague as possible, and groups such as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and the Hellfire Club, which both have had many complex incarnations, do not include much detailed information to sort any of this out.
Oh, and the Index in the back lists incorrect page numbers quite a bit also.
-Why one should buy it: The X-Men have a pantheon of characters that almost dwarfs that of Greek mythology. No matter how long you have been reading the book, you WILL eventually stumble across some one and ask you self, "who the heck is this and why do they seem so familiar?" This is why the X-Men Encyclopedia is necessary. Also, anyone who likes to make the mutants subjects of their artwork, there is not any other resource better for a variety of every style and artists, from the sublime to just plain goofy, that has graced the pages of the X-Men, etc..
-Why one should NOT buy it: If you are only buying this to get a full history of the X-Men without purchasing every graphic novel ever printed, or if you are an old fan returning after a long period away from the X-universe, this book will not only lack any helpful information in that regard, it will only make you angry at re-writing past events. It is intentionally vague and provides very little history of the X-Men, but at the same time gives ample space to mostly irrelevant characters (the X-Statics) and entries present conflicting or partial information at times. In essence, it will only get you up to snuff on what happened in 2002-2003, more or less. As I said before, this short-sighted focus actually made the book horribly dated only a few months after it was published.
A MUST HAVE FOR FANS.......2004-03-12
I REALLY do feel that this a book for any xmen fan simply because it lets you know just about everything anybody would want to know about the xmen. there are full character bios that tell about the way they came into the x-universe. there are also extensive information about all the different teams and also all the enemies that the xmen and their team branches fight. there are nifty little guides that tell where each person lies with the regards to energy projection and intelligence etc. it also lists many obscure characters that have graced the pages and any reader will also be reminded of characters they may have forgotten about. i highly recommend this encyclopedia for anyone wishing to have a better knowledge about what makes up one of the greatest comic book universes ever conceived.
Customer Reviews:
Beauty as denial.......2005-02-16
Beauty becomes denial in this aesthetically rendered tale of a life brought to ruin by a galloping sexuality. The narrator's gorgeous account creates an irreality that both disturbs and compells.
The books dissonances are reminiscent of Nabokov's Lolita and Gide's The Egoist. If you like stylistic fiction, this book is for you.
Brilliant, but..........2002-01-31
This is a complicated and mysterious book by a writer with an amazing command of his prose. The tragic story is doled out in tiny slivers along with a vivid description of the imagined Mediteraenan location where the events unfold. The narrator is a self-proclaimed "love singer" who is desperately proud of his marriage and of the many, many women he has loved during his marriage. It's hard at least for this reader to be sure how ironically we are to view the protagonists advocacy of totally free love. The narrator clearly blames the stories tragic outcome on the small-mindedness of his rival in love--I at least am left wondering whether the author means us to blame the victim or the protagonist. The story can be oppressive at times with its pervasive melancholy--but it certainly makes you think. Hawkes is a terrific writer and this is a challenging, difficult and definitely uncomfortable work of genius.
A Blazing Imagination.......2001-08-26
John Hawkes has created some of the most beautiful prose ever penned; the word surface in this book is as memorable and enjoyable as any I've read, at turns surprising, sensual, poetic, and often all of this and more. As an extended flight of the imagination 'The Blood Oranges' explores regions of desire, fidelity, and repression that many have gestured towards or illuminated in passing, but that few have mapped extensively. For me, it stands as tremendously courageous writing, and writing elevated by a pervasive and exciting humour. It's very funny, in the way that Beckett's or Kafka's prose can be - and Hawkes' deserves to be considered as a writer of their stature. I only wish I'd been exposed to his writing sooner. He's a genius.
Brilliantly lyrically sardonic.......1999-07-13
Hawkes' sensuality at its most accessible, a work whose difficultly may be off-putting to some readers, but whose rewards run deep. Sex and death repose in contented embrace from beginning to end; from fetid canals to crab-strewn plates.
Lyrical.......1999-07-11
I found this book lyrical and somewhat surreal. It evoked memories of John Barth's End of the Road. The book was original, uninhibited, and rather melancholy. It presented an image of the idle rich who are hedonistic yet emotional. Jealousy plays a half-veiled and sinister role. I highly recommend this book to lovers of poetic prose (a la Barth or Toni Morrison).
Books:
- Complete Vampire Chronicles (Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, The Queen of the Damned, The Tale of the body Thief)
- Daughter of Destiny: Kathryn Kuhlman
- Dead Run (MIRA)
- Dynasties: Fortunes and Misfortunes of the World's Great Family Businesses
- Eclipse (Twilight, Book 3)
- End of Watch:Chicago Police Killed in the Line of Duty, 1853-2006
- Fallen Angels and the Origins of Evil: Why Church Fathers Suppressed the Book of Enoch and Its Startling Revelations
- Focus on Grammar, Second Edition (Split Student Book Vol. A, High Intermediate Level)
- Fool's Gold?: Discerning Truth in an Age of Error
- For the Love of Money : A Novel
Books Index
Books Home
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