Tsar by Ted Bell

Tsar by Ted Bell

There’s a quote on the book that says “a hero to rival Bond by an author to rival Cussler”. I enjoy a good Bond movie and have read a couple of Cussler books so I felt prepared for the type of book that this would be. In fact, I just about put it down after the first couple of chapters, not really enjoying the slow start and all the introduction of characters that was necessary to set the stage. But soon enough I was drawn into the action and mesmerized by the plot which doesn’t seem so far-fetched in this computer-driven day and age.

The action spans the globe and has Hawke in various locations always rushing to the save world from the Russian threat. There’s murder and violence and just enough romance to keep things from being completely brutal. But there is also intrigue and political theories and enough espionage to sink a battle ship, I think there’s one of those as well.

It’s an intricately woven story with a plot that somehow seems plausible and I finished the book sincerely hoping that it would never be prophetic.