Review: Dragonfire

Dragonfire by Ted Bell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've been a fan of the Hawke books for over five years now and look forward to each installment. I finished this one with mixed feelings, as I see many other readers did.

I loved the Hawke storylines; both Alex's and Blackie's. They each had a great mission to fulfill and felt very Bond-esque. I always enjoy the interactions between Alex and his cast of supporting characters, and this was no exception. I also enjoyed seeing how the mystery just seemed to get bigger and bigger with every page.

However, I did not care for the Ambassador Tang storyline. It didn't really seem to go anywhere and left a lot of random plot threads dangling. It also felt oddly reminiscent of the Manchurian Candidate, but without slowly plotted build up. Despite me enjoying Blackie Hawke's mission, I also didn't really see how the 1940s timeline tied into the present day as a whole.

As I look back, my ratings of Hawke books have slowly dropped. Here's hoping for a return to form in the next installment. I may have to go back and check out some of the short stories from the series as a palette cleanser.

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