Tsar

A Thriller (Alex Hawke, Book 5)

By: Ted Bell

Narrated by: John Shea

Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

In Ted Bell's latest pulse-pounding and action-packed tour de force, Alex Hawke must face a global nightmare of epic proportions.

As this political crisis plays out, Russia gains a new leader. Not just a president, but a new tsar, a signal to the world that the old, imperial Russia is back and plans to have her day. And in America, a mysterious killer, known only as Happy the Baker, brutally murders an innocent family and literally flattens the small Midwestern town they once called home. Just a taste, according to the new tsar, of what will happen if America does not back down.

Onto this stage must step Alex Hawke, espionage agent extraordinaire and the only man, both Americans and the Brits agree, who can stop the absolute madness born and bred inside the modern police state of Vladimir Putin's "New Russia".

Take another thrill ride with Alex Hawke.

©2008 Brilliance Audio, Inc.; 2008 Ted Bell

Critic reviews

"As always, Bell pulls out all the stops with terrific action scenes, fiendish murders, diabolical villains, dramatic rescues and all the cool weaponry the reader could possibly hope for." ( Publisher's Weekly)
"I couldn't put it down." (Rush Limbaugh)

Had potential, but disappointed

Would you try another book from Ted Bell and/or John Shea?

No

Would you ever listen to anything by Ted Bell again?

Maybe

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He pauses in completely random and inappropriate places.

Any additional comments?

This book suffers from a lack of identity. At times I felt as though I were reading what I expected: a modern spy thriller, but those times were far too few. At other times the book vacillated between tawdry romance novel, 19th century melodrama, and Young Adult mystery. So much so that at one point I actually went back to the description to make sure I hadn't picked up a YA book without realizing it. The veering style was so distracting that it pulled me out of the story several times. When you're noticing the writing style, the writing style needs work. This wasn't helped by John Shea's odd habit of inserting pauses in completely inappropriate places where ... they just don't make sense.

didn't like it.

I was bored by this audio novel. It seemed way too fantastic. It sounded like a James Bond novel. Everything was really stylized and cliche. My mom and I laughed during the parts that were supposed to be sexy. I could not turn it off soon enough. Ah! I lament I wasted a credit on this.

Boring

No action 15 hrs of nonsense and confusing background not up to Ted Bell books

Well written, horribly narrated

What didn’t you like about John Shea’s performance?

I "read" audiobooks while at home, while walking, and while using Bluetooth In my car and on my Harley. Walking and riding my Harley involve traffic and other noises. I've spent many enjoyable hours doing these activities while listening to audiobooks. But with Tsar, by Ted Bell, narrated by John Shea, it is frustratingly impossible. He reads carefully, he does an admirable job of foriegn accents and characters' voices, and he even performs dramatically, but his one fatal flaw overshadows all these strengths and renders the audiobook useless. This flaw relates to fluctuations in volume. Mr. Shea alternates between shouting and whispering, even within the same sentence, and he does this, not once, not a few times for effect, but throughout the narration. The last few words of most sentences are inaudible. And if I set the volume high enough to hear them, the first stacato burst of the next jolts my heart and hurts me ears. Unacceptable! And it's such a shame, because Tsar is a really good book. Oh well ... I guess this is one book I'll have to read with my eyes. I'm just angry I paid for this unusable audiobook.

predictable and repetitive

This book is very predictable, repetitive, and filled with cliches. Even if you like this genre of books would steer you away from this one. Overly long, wildly inconsistent, and outlandish plot with predictable villian and hero- it would be better if this was a comic book.

Save Us

Save us from books hyped by radio personalities. If you can buy into a novel about a large "blimp" that travels 500 feet over the ocean at 150 miles per hour (regardless of weather)and Russian meglomaniacs wanting to blow up the world with explosives built into cheap computers, this is a novel for you.

Great Scott!

The only cartoonish characters missing in this saga are Boris and Natasha with an aside from Snidley Whiplash. Unfortunately I don't think it is meant to be funny. A British accent is achieved by saying "crikey" and "bloody" a lot. I have to remember to give it a miss on his next go round.

Despite its charm, the work fails.

If you like spy works, this book will have its moments. I find the narration gifted, but the beach scene of Dr. No by Ian Flemming is clearly inspiration to at least the opening scene in this book. The similarities were so strong that I purchased the Dr. No audiobook to compare. Homage or plagiarism? I am still undecided on that count, but settling into the work, I let the question fade. No matter the intent, the opening here grabs attention. Some of the premises occaisionally strain credibility, but I was interested throughout until the very end when the work breaks. Several of the last thematic elements seem very forced. Add in free use of rough language and this work is clearly not for everyone.

tsar

There is nothint to say except...Outstanding!

Not for anyone with taste!!

Extreme violence!!
I have read several of the Hawk books and enjoyed them. But this is way beyond!! Any talent! Very BAD taste! Do not let your wife GF near this book!