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Another solid Hawke book. Take James Bond, give him a fun, dependable crew of friends and a pirate ancestry, mix in a strong Wodehouse and Doyle influence, and you've got Alex Hawke.

I've read all nine books in the series and at this point, you know what you're going to get. "Spy" & "Tsar" are probably the best two in the series but they are all compulsively readable. While the last couple entries don't quite merit the praise of those two, Ted Bell is just good at what he does. I've heard some people complain that Bell is just going through the motions. I don't see it. The dialogue is lighter than the earlier novels and he clearly doesn't take himself near as serious, but these books are well worth the read.

"Patriot" centers around Hawke's friendship with Vladimir Putin. One thing that was almost comical about the story is the thinly veiled Obama character. The old Cowboy President that basically amalgamated Reagan and GW Bush is gone and now it's a weak loser President that Bell definitely modelled based on a worst case scenario version of Obama. He's a nice guy but Bell makes him completely impotent.

Anyway, not surprisingly, Hawke, Stoke, Congreve, and Brock have to save the day themselves. Its fun. Whereas the last book dropped gobs of Poe references throughout, this one sprinkles a couple Frost references in, which is kinda cool.

4 Stars