• Tommo and Hawk

  • The Australian Trilogy, Book 2
  • By: Bryce Courtenay
  • Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
  • Length: 20 hrs and 57 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (3,505 ratings)

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Tommo and Hawk  By  cover art

Tommo and Hawk

By: Bryce Courtenay
Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
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Publisher's summary

Brutally kidnapped and separated in childhood, Tommo and Hawk are reunited at the age of 15 in Hobart Town. Together, they escape their troubled pasts and set off on a journey into manhood. From whale hunting in the Pacific to the Maori wars of New Zealand, from the Rocks in Sydney to the miners' riots at the goldfields, Tommo and Hawk must learn each other's strengths and weaknesses in order to survive.

Along the way, Hawk meets the outrageous Maggie Pye, who brings love and laughter into his life. But the demons of Tommo's past return to haunt the brothers. With Tommo at his side, Hawk takes on a fight against all odds to save what they cherish most. In the final confrontation between good and evil, three magpie feathers become the symbol of Tommo and Hawk's rite of passage.

©2013 Christine Courtenay (P)2014 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Critic reviews

"Narrator Humphrey Bower captures each character, making listeners forget that one majestic voice creates the various natives, the Irish, the English, and people of all ages. Few will fail to be enthralled by this adventure saga, which skillfully captures history while keeping listeners glued to their earphones." (Audiofile)

What listeners say about Tommo and Hawk

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,109
  • 4 Stars
    1,019
  • 3 Stars
    275
  • 2 Stars
    58
  • 1 Stars
    44
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    2,177
  • 4 Stars
    410
  • 3 Stars
    84
  • 2 Stars
    16
  • 1 Stars
    14
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,635
  • 4 Stars
    731
  • 3 Stars
    254
  • 2 Stars
    50
  • 1 Stars
    33

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good but Far-Fetched

I loved the "Potato Factory" and immediately started listening to this after. However, it was more diffuse, and improbable. The number of times they all get beat up would kill an ordinary person, but like in action movies, the heroes repeatedly emerge relatively unscathed. Also, the ending was unnecessarily horrible. I decided not to listen to the next book in the trilogy.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Gripping story of early Australia

Well written and engrossing story, with wonderful historical events and context. Has adventure, love, sorrow, you name it. Great sequel.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

First Courtney Book I didn't care for!

Maybe it was the "dark" way the story started but it set me back in terms of relaxing and enjoying another magic moment with Humphrey Bower.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great Book 2 in this Series!

Any additional comments?

I finished Bryce Courtenay's 1st book in this series quickly - I was blown away ... I have just spent the last two days listening to Tommo & Hawk, book 2 in the Australian Trilogy - I have been thoroughly captured by this series ... my only critique is that it was just a little slow in the middle ... I'm sitting here stunned how this book ended while I wait for the 3rd book, Solomon's Song, to download - thank goodness for high speed download ... Humphrey Bower knocked the narration out of the ballpark again - he brings the characters to life for the listener ... well, book 3 has finally downloaded so I need to run to get it on my iPod so I can see where Mr. Courtenay will take us on the final leg of this Australian adventure ... holy cow what a good series!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

runs out of steam, recycled characters

I didn't enjoy T & H nearly as much as I did the Potato Factory. Too much gratuitous violence for my taste (were the whale ship lashings really necessary?) and a number of characters from volume 1 of the series either drop out of sight for no reason or else get recycled. Found myself irritated and somewhat offended that with few exceptions, the women in this series are all prostitutes, either current or former. Maybe that was the reality of this time and place, I don't know. Even so, there was no need to pepper the dialogue with comments like "she is only a whore," "all women are whores" etc. Ugh.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

waste of time and money

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

another book.

Has Tommo and Hawk turned you off from other books in this genre?

only in this series

What three words best describe Humphrey Bower’s performance?

narrator was actually pretty good but what he had to say was too disgusting to listen to most of the time. kept fast forwarding to find something reedeming about the book. his accents, especially Ikey(Fagan) was Ron Moody perfect.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disgust

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

disappointing

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Frankly, I found this book extremely boring! I found the first book of the series a bit slow, but this one, I couldn't get past the first 3 chapters

Would you ever listen to anything by Bryce Courtenay again?

doubtful

What three words best describe Humphrey Bower’s voice?

rich, saving grace

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

the narrator was the only thing that kept me listening as long as i did.

Any additional comments?

a complete waste of a credit for me. I have tried to return it and have been unable to

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Boring

I really like Bryce Courtney. My favorite of his books are The Power of One & Four Fires. However, I have not been very impressed with The Australian Trilogy. I read the first book, The Potato Factory, and I found it fairly dull and the book lost my interest several times and I had to stop and then start again. The ending was interesting however, so I decided to try book 2, Tommo & Hawk. That's where Bryce Courtney lost me. I won't be trying book 3. I was so bored with the general storyline of Tommo & Hawk. I think he had a fairly good idea for a trilogy but not enough matterial to keep the story moving. Very slow...very boring.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

It was okay...

Where does Tommo and Hawk rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Roughly in the lower-middle.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

More Mary Abacus.

Which scene was your favorite?

TMI-don't wanna give spoilers.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Not the best sequel you'll ever see.

Any additional comments?

Other reviewers complained about too much sex. Honestly, considering that the two main characters are young adult men, there weren't very many sex scenes.

The narrarator was great.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Average story plus great narration = good listen

The narrator really made this book - great job! The story was average, but had good characters and some very interesting parts. Overall a good read.

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