Wednesday, December 23, 2020
The Pimpernel Plot
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
The Timekeeper Conspiracy
Last read in September of 2011.
Last reviewed in August of 2003.
on my shelf
LibraryThing link
Labels: OnMyShelf, SimonHawke, TimeWars
Tuesday, March 06, 2018
The Ivanhoe Gambit
Last read in September of 2011.
Still on my shelf
LibraryThing link
Labels: OnMyShelf, SimonHawke, TimeWars
Monday, September 26, 2011
The Timekeeper Conspiracy
Last read in August of 2003
On my shelf
LibraryThing link
Labels: OnMyShelf, SimonHawke, TimeWars
Thursday, September 22, 2011
The Ivanhoe Gambit
Last read in August of 2003.
On my shelf
LibraryThing link
Labels: OnMyShelf, SimonHawke, TimeWars
Sunday, May 09, 2004
The Six-Gun Solution
So ends the Time Wars series. Book 12 is set in Tombstone, Arizona in 1881 right before the famous shootout at the OK Corral. (Okay, actually it was down the street from the OK Corral, as Mr. Hawke informs us.) Three temporal observers have gone missing and are later found dead. The time commandos investigate, and get caught up in a mess that involves all of their ongoing foes: the time agents from the alternate universe, the temporal mafia and the freelance mad scientist who is looking for revenge. Once again so many threads make for a weaker story, despite the way Mr. Hawke makes them play off each other. But the tale is entertaining enough. Plus you get a nice little history about the old west. Seeing it's the climax of the series, I'm tempted to rate it higher, but in all honesty it fails to rise above good waiting room material. But as to the series overall, I enjoyed the ride. Thanks, Mr. Hawke.
Labels: SimonHawke, TimeWars, WaitingRoomMaterial
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
The Cleopatra Crisis
In book 11 of the Time Wars series, Mr. Hawke gets his act together. The story starts on the outskirts of Rome, 49 B.C.E. The night before Julius Caesar's march on Rome, an oracle comes and warns him of his assassination--awaiting him five years in the future--and names his assassins. Caesar is impressed, but not as much as his aide Lucius, who is really a deep cover agent of the Temporal Corps. Lucius contacts TAC headquarters and the Time Commandos are sent back to investigate. They have the unpleasant task of flushing out the enemy agents and ensuring that the charismatic dictator of Rome meets his doom. While The Cleopatra Crisis is not the best in the series, but it's a definite improvement from past efforts. Like the more recent novels in the series, it's based on history rather than a literary work. Even better, a certain recurring villain is absent, giving Mr. Hawke a chance to introduce us to some new bad guys as well as the politics and culture of ancient Rome. It's a book I would definitely recommend checking out.
Labels: CheckItOut, SimonHawke, TimeWars
Sunday, March 28, 2004
The Hellfire Rebellion
Book 10 in the Time Wars series. This is even more of a history lesson than The Nautilus Sanction. Mr. Hawke uses the Headless Horseman, but nothing else from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The rest of the background is culled from historical events around 1765 Boston. That's not really a bad thing, because even though I still enjoy Mr. Hawke's characters, I'm getting tired of the recurring bad guys. There's also way too much explanation of back story. It wasn't so bad when I was picking up these books piecemeal from the used bookstores, but having just read the events being retold, it's boring as all get out. I would have much preferred that space to be used for new narrative. Oh, well. He has two more chances to get it right. The Hellfire Rebellion, however, is just waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
Labels: SimonHawke, TimeWars, WaitingRoomMaterial
Thursday, February 12, 2004
The Lilliput Legion
Book 9 of the Time Wars series is kind of weak. In addition to the cross-dimensional war and the recurring bad guy who has been wreaking havoc in the series, the Temporal Corps now has to deal with a trans-temporal mafia. Basically, General Forrester, the leader of the Corps, who has assumed leadership of the Temporal Intelligence Agency, has discovered a group within that organization called "The Network". The Network is involved in all sorts of illegal activities and Gen. Forrester tries to shut them down. The Network attempts to retaliate using infiltration, deadly weapons and six-inch commandos called, you guessed it, Lilliputians. That, and a gent named Lemuel Gulliver, are the only elements common to Swift's classic book. Instead you get lots of gun fights, explosions and some ongoing story development. Oh, well, nobody bats a thousand. The book isn't horrible, but really isn't the best of waiting room material either.
Labels: SimonHawke, TimeWars, WaitingRoomMaterial
Saturday, December 20, 2003
The Dracula Caper
The setting is London, 1894. Scotland Yard is puzzled by a series of mysterious murders, committed by a murderer or murderers of great strength and brutality. Unfortunately, in this world, Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character, unable to help them crack the case. His creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, however, has similar powers of observation and deduction and attempts to help unravel the mystery. No, this isn't an untold tale from our history. It's book eight of the Time Wars series. In this volume we see more fantastic genetically engineered creatures, of similar origin to the ones that appeared in The Argonaut Affair. This time the time commandos are out in force--10 soldiers in all--to try to stop the mastermind of this scheme, and if that wasn't enough, they wind up getting an assist from Dr. Doyle, Bram Stoker and H. G. Wells. Ironically enough, though I claim to appreciate Mr. Hawke's willingness to change the status quo, I found myself wishing he would have given more time to the returning characters. Maybe that's why I consider this book to be merely waiting room material. Maybe he just tried to pack too much into a 212 page story: his ongoing time wars story line, a Holmsian mystery, an homage to Dracula, an homage to H.G. Wells and general comments on Victorian London all mixed together. Or maybe Mr. Hawke's attempt to mix Victorian characters into a new story pales in comparison to Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. (the comic book, not the movie) Whatever it's problems, this time I think Mr. Hawke missed the mark. He shouldn't have raised my expectations so high.
Labels: SimonHawke, TimeWars, WaitingRoomMaterial
Friday, November 07, 2003
The Argonaut Affair
Book seven of the Time Wars series begins at Temporal Corps headquarters, where scientists are examining an honest-to-Ghandi centaur. It was discovered at a confluence--a temporary portal between alternate universes--in the 3rd Century BC. As near as the scientists can figure out, the confluence connects with an even earlier century in the alternate universe --specifically Bronze Age Greece. The centaur, Chiron by name, originated from there. The question remains, however, did he just wander through the confluence, or was he sent by the temporal agents of that universe? (The same agents who made use of another confluence in The Khyber Connection.) Also, are the scientific laws of that universe radically different, so as to evolve a real centaur? Or is Chiron a fantastic creation of the enemy? The time commandos are sent through the confluence to get some answers and possibly cause some mischief in the enemy universe. Their mission leads them to join the Argonauts, the heroes who ventured with Jason to find the golden fleece. Along the way they meet more fantastic dangers as they gather the puzzling clues to the mystery of these myths made real. It's an enjoyable tale with some appealing supporting characters. Well, also one who is rather tiresome. But his appearance doesn't detract too much from the book. I'd still put it on my shelf.
Labels: OnMyShelf, SimonHawke, TimeWars
Tuesday, September 30, 2003
The Khyber Connection
In a previous review, I complained that the Time Wars series was getting a falling into a formula. In this, the sixth book of the series, Mr. Hawke changes things a bit. The first change is that this book is not based on a particular novel, but rather an historical event. He flirted with this in The Nautilus Sanction when he
departed from the plot of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and had his characters meet up with the pirate Jean Lafitte. In The Khyber Connection, the entire plot occurs around a conflict between the British army and Afghan tribes in the Khyber Pass in 1897 Afghanistan. To this, Mr. Hawke adds some characters from the stories of Rudyard Kipling--soldiers Learoyd, Orthenis and Mulvaney and bhisti Gunga Din--and his own time commandos. A temporal soldier from the 27th Century is found dead at the Khyber Pass, apparently killed by his own doppelganger. This leads the Temporal Army Corps to the conclusion that their worst fear--a timestream split--has occurred and they are facing a Temporal Corps from an alternate universe. I won't spoil the story by telling you what these alternate commandos are up to, but suffice it to say, it shakes up the status quo. What stays the same is Mr. Hawke's suspenseful plotting and enjoyable characterization. Y'all should check it out.
Labels: CheckItOut, SimonHawke, TimeWars
Saturday, August 30, 2003
The Pimpernel Plot
Labels: CheckItOut, SimonHawke, TimeWars
Thursday, August 14, 2003
The Timekeeper Conspiracy
Book 2 in the Time Wars series finds the time commandos interacting with characters from The Three Musketeers. This time around, terrorists from the 27th Century are looking to change history by killing Cardinal Richelieu, King Louis XIII and Queen Anne in 17th Century France. Two of the soldiers from The Ivanhoe Gambit are loaned out to the Temporal Intelligence Agency to help outwit the bad guys.This one is a lot more light hearted than its predecessor--whether that's due to the quotes from The Three Musketeers or Mr. Hawke is emulating Mssr. Dumas' style, I don't know. Having already starting reading The Three Musketeers and my edition's introductory essay, it seems that Mr. Hawke has done his homework and pulled some ideas from the sundry sources used by Alexandre Dumas. Anyway, this one's a good book based on a great classic. A tome to keep on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
Labels: OnMyShelf, SimonHawke, TimeWars
Sunday, August 03, 2003
The Ivanhoe Gambit
I've been meaning to reread Simon Hawke's Time Wars series since I reread book 5, The Nautilus Sanction, a few weeks back. I finally got around to it and have decided to not only reread the series, but also attempt to read the original works which inspired each volume. (Stay tuned for my review of Ivanhoe...) Anyhoo, The Ivanhoe Gambit is the book that started it all. The story introduces us to Sgt. Major Lucas Priest, a soldier in the Temporal Corps. In the future, once time travel has been discovered, national conflicts are resolved by sending soldiers to serve among the armies of the past. The scores are tallied and then the winner announced. A bit silly perhaps, but it makes a good backdrop for the tale. Anyway, Sgt. Major Priest has just returned from a hitch in the Punic Wars and decides to volunteer for a hitch with his friend, Sgt. Bobby Johnson. He's in for a surprise, however, since Bobby is assigned to an adjustment mission--one where past events have been messed up by time travelers and need to be restored by the Temporal Corps. In this case, a rogue time referee has assumed the role of King Richard the Lionheart and threatens to alter the history of England. Priest, Johnson and two other soldiers assume the roles of Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe, Robin Hood, Little John and Ivanhoe's squire and attempt to stop the imposter. What follows is an enjoyable adventure tale which vaguely parallels the plot of Ivanhoe. It isn't great literature, but it is entertaining. Mr. Hawke's characters are likable and there's some surprising twists. It's a book to keep on my shelf for those times I want a quick, enjoyable read.
LibraryThing link
Labels: OnMyShelf, SimonHawke, TimeWars
Sunday, April 20, 2003
The Nautilus Sanction
As I was finishing up 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, I got the hankerin' to pull this one off the shelf. This is the fifth book in Simon Hawke's Time Wars series, in which time travelers have adventures in the points in "history" which inspired some of Western civilization's great tales of wonder or heroism. In this case, the Temporal Corps, allied with science fiction writer Jules Verne and whaler Ned Land, have to stop a villain who has stolen a nuclear sub and is hiding out in the waters of the mid-19th Century. Mr. Hawke starts off paralleling 20,000 Leagues fairly closely, substituting Jules Verne for Verne's character Aronnax, but once they encounter the Nautilus, the story ventures far afield as the characters travel to 1807 to encounter pirate Jean Lafitte and finally ends up in a climax reminiscent of a James Bond movie. It is still an enjoyable read and I enjoy Mr. Hawke's characters, but the Ned Land and Captain Drakov of The Nautilus Sanction can't really compare to the "real" Ned Land and Captain Nemo. All in all, it's entertaining waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
Labels: SimonHawke, TimeWars, WaitingRoomMaterial
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