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Best-selling author Ted
Bell’s latest book Warriors delves into the
dangers of an emerging China. This spy thriller brings back
his main character, Alex Hawke who is not the ordinary super
spy. In this novel Hawke plays a supporting role to the gripping
plot, which Bell uses as a sounding board to wake-up his readers.
Yet, readers who want more than just a gripping plot will
enjoy how Bell balances it with characters’ lives. He
shows how they deal with vulnerability, love, loss, and the
uncertain future. Family plays a significant role, as he explores
the relationships between Alex and his son, as well as between
father, son, and Nell, the governess from Scotland Yard. Just
as with Prince William and Kate, Bell’s main character
Alex Hawke must deal with the difficult realities of protecting
a child that is endangered just because he is Alex’s
son. As with Prince George’s nanny, Nell can be described
as Mary Poppins with combat training. Bell noted, “There
is a large division of Scotland Yard called the Royal Protection
Service, which I changed to the Operational Command Unit of
the Metropolitan Police Service. These ‘nannies’
are trained police that become caretakers for the royalty.”
Many of Bell’s fans have likened Alex Hawke to James
Bond, a comparison he disagrees with. The author describes
his main character as dashing, sophisticated, emotional, witty,
passionate, and a highly eligible bachelor. He noted, “Bond
was a creature of the 20th century where as Hawke is from
the 21st century. He is thirty-three years old and the sixth
richest person in England. Unlike Bond, Alex is a living breathing
man who falls in love, misses his child, gets hurt, sees the
world as good vs. evil, and can be very emotional. He represents
a way of life that is rapidly receding in America. Alex is
a man of character with the bulldog tenacity of Winston Churchill
and Ronald Reagan. All these men would never give in. We have
gone from fighting on the beaches to sun tanning on the beaches.”
There are two powerful themes from the book. The mindset in
Washington: We will not have to worry about the Chinese military
capability until well into the next decade, and Washington
behaves like a crippled giant. Bell commented, “Looking
at every possible recent scenario we are on the losing side,
whether in Crimea, Syria, or Iran, our government makes a
big show but there is never a price to pay. Our navy is the
smallest it’s been since WWII. It is like we are dismantling
this country with a lot of damage being done. We are on the
defensive, which is depressing. China is becoming much more
powerful.”
Ted Bell hopes his readers will find Warriors, a “tongue
in cheek book, that is fun to read while learning a little
something.” This book accomplished this and a lot
more with a gripping and realistic plot with likeable main
characters.
1st
review of Warriors
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