Review: Hawk by Brian Neary

Hawk
Author: Brian Neary
Publisher: Self-published
ISBN: 9780615291949
Genre: Fiction, Spy Thriller

Synopsis (from Amazon):

If you are a fan of Vince Flynn, Clancy, Crais, Child or David Baldacci, you will love this book. Its an explosive spy thriller. Interest is grabbed early when the Secretary of State refers to most of Europe as "a bunch of teat-sucking freeloaders. A pack of meat hogs who never gave a crap about us in the first place." It's solidified when the President says of the Secretary, "The man's ignorance is only surpassed by his inability to make a decision." Thoroughly irreverent; believable, complicated story lines; a strong finish. Interest never wanes; a page turner you'll want to read end-to-end. The villains are so credible, so rich in political motivation and personal agenda, that after having finished the book, you'll find it hard to believe that Neary's bad guys don't actually exist. Likewise, the good guys; complex, intriguing, and volatile. A romantic relationship testing the faith of the protagonist - A ticking clock pushing the combatants toward an horrific conflagration, and the solution resting on the shoulders of Quentin Hawk, a rookie CIA agent compromised by his own non-conformist talents. A great read.

My Comments:

Although I enjoyed "Hawk", I found it somewhat difficult to get into the story for about the first 1/4 of the book. It introduced characters and jumped back and forth leaving me a bit confused at first. I found myself going back and forth to try to refresh my memory of who the characters were.

The story picked up as all came together. I did like the storyline, and enjoyed the characters. I wish Quentin would have appeared more throughout the book. He was to me a quite likable tough-guy. Luke was also an enjoyable character, and the storyline seemed to focus more on him, which I found surprising because of the title of the book.

The storyline pushes the realism envelope, as do the characters. To me, that makes "Hawk" both more interesting and fun to read. Since this is the first book of Neary's series, I hope that this was setting up and introducing Quentin Hawk, and that we'll see much more of him in book 2.

About the author:

BRIAN NEARY began his literary career in Los Angeles as an English teacher. When he was fired for utilizing tape recorders and video technology as part of his curriculum, he launched an exciting career touching all parts of the entertainment industry.

----As a graphic designer…silk screen art sold throughout the world; U.S. Postage stamp design with Corita Kent; LA Times honoree as California designer, culminating in a personal silk screen installation at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
----As a TV writer…numerous comedic and dramatic writing credits, among them SNL, General Hospital, Owen Marshal, Hawaii 50 and Late Night.
----As a journalist…staff writer for Lifestyle Magazine, contributor to LA Times, R&R and People.
----As a cable exec…cofounder of the cable network E! Entertainment; the channel’s first VP of Production
----As a composer…writer/producer of two #1 Billboard hits, numerous gold records, named to Rolling Stone’s Hot 100 producers. Created more than 80 single recordings by a wide range of artists including Kenny Rogers, Olivia Newton John, Quincy Jones, Eric Clapton and Dionne Warwick.
----As a live show producer…the road show of The Wiz; producer/director of The Funny You Should Ask comedy show for HBO.
----As a video game designer…created “Slammin” a multi player Sony PlayStation game.
----As a screenwriter…recently honored with the prestigious Hollywood Screenplay Award for the feature screenplay ‘Legend.’
----As a nerd…a degree in English from Loyola University and an MBA from USC.A Member of WGAw, ASCAP, BMI.

Brian lives with his wife Karen in Carlsbad, California where he’s working on the next Quentin Hawk adventure. Visit his website at bneary.com.

This book was supplied by the author for me to honestly review.