JOE HAWKE

Full Name:	Joe Hawke
Nationality:	British
Organization:	ECHO
Occupation	Agent

Creator:	Rob Jones
Time Span:	2015 - 2019

ABOUT THE SERIES

       Joe Hawke is an agent with ECHO.
       Well, he will be a couple of adventures after we first encounter him. Initially neither he nor we are aware of the existence of the group that will become such a major part of his life.
       At our first meeting, Hawke is recently retired after a long and storied career in the British military. He is dressed as a routine security guard protecting a brand new major exhibit. He was working hard to make sure he did not stand out in the impressive gathering of the rich and powerful, knowing that "like a servant, a security officer was there to be seen and not heard, and Hawke understood what this meant better than anyone. Spending so many years as a Royal Marines Commando in the notoriously tough Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre and then serving in the elite Special Boat Service meant he knew how to take orders and blend into the background."
       The gig that Hawke is working is for one of those fich and powerful attendees, Sir Richard Eden, who was funding the gathering and would become one of the most important people in Hawke's life. Eden was a Member of Parliament as well as being highly connected with his nation's intelligence services. Being extremely, almost frighteningly, wealthy, Eden was a major force to be reckoned with.
       In fact, the ECHO team that Hawke will soon be invited to join is named after Sir Richard. The acronym stands for "Eden Counter-Hostile Organization" and is a group that he "established it some time ago as a semi-autonomous unit to deal with threats like the ones [Hawke and others] have been handling over the past few weeks. It is, as you will appreciate, extremely covert, and not even the British Government knows about it." He would go on to explain that "our headquarters are based on a private island in the Caribbean - it's called Elysium, but we are a very fluid, and very rich, organization with safe-houses all over the world."
       When he is not risking his life fighting enemies of democracy all over the world, many of whom seemed determined to use ancient technology or prophecy to accomplish their goals, Hawke is an avid practitioner of "parkour as a way of keeping fit after leaving the military, and it worked well, except he had learned the hard way to practice it at night when he couldn't be seen. For some reason, the authorities didn't take too kindly to people leaping from public buildings and doing handstands on the edges of high-rises, but that didn't stop him from freerunning." "He wasn't about to run on a treadmill in a gym like a hamster on a wheel."
       Not that Hawke has that much free time. The number of people or groups out to cause trouble that ECHO must go up against is quite high, it seems, and includes a U.S. President who has his own designs for the future of the world. Hawke and ECHO team are kept quite busy.

BOOKS

Number of Books:	14
First Appearance:	2015
Last Appearance:	2019


1			The Vault Of Poseidon Written by Rob Jones Copyright: 2015 Joe Hawke's current gig providing extra security for a powerful museum benefactor turns into a hunt for an archaeological treasure in Greece that is said to be so powerful, the Gods chose to hide it. The madman after it wants to use it to destroy all civilization.

2			Thunder God Written by Rob Jones Copyright: 2015 The madman who caused so much trouble in the last adventure is still determined to obtain the power needed to carry out his crazed plans for humanity. To stop him, Joe Hawke and team will have to plow through the Shanghai underworld to locate the resting place of Genghis Khan, among other impossible tasks.

3			The Tomb Of Eternity Written by Rob Jones Copyright: 2016 In the final part of the "Immoratality Arc" storyline, Joe Hawke and team will have to break into a Russian mansion during a blizzard, have a high speed boat race in the canals of Venice, and fight a powerful enemy around the pyramids of Egypt.

4			The Curse Of Medusa Written by Rob Jones Copyright: 2016 Joe Hawke has left Echo and traveled to the U.S. to get away. He is nearby when the President is kidnapped and takes it upon himself to help recover the Chief Executive.

5			Valhalla Gold Written by Rob Jones Copyright: 2016 As Joe Hawke and the Echo team track down a murderer and a Norse legend taking them from Iceland to Scotland to Sweden, someone is stalking their boss and other team members back at headquarters.

6			The Aztec Prophecy Written by Rob Jones Copyright: 2016 A madman is striving to resurrect an ancient cult dedicated to widespread murder that he will unleash onto the world for his own purpose unless Joe Hawke can bring an end to him and his dream.

7			The Secret Of Atlantis Written by Rob Jones Copyright: 2016 The secret of who the Oracle is will be finally revealed as once again Joe Hawke and his team go up against large forces determined to do harm.

8			The Lost City Written by Rob Jones Copyright: 2016 The Lost Treasure of the Incas is up for grabs as evidence of its whereabouts is discovered. The remnants of the Echo team lead by Joe Hawke rushes to protect it and the power that lies with it even as the rest of the organization reels from the previous adventure's attack on its headquarters.

9			The Sword Of Fire Written by Rob Jones Copyright: 2017 An ancient manuscript has come into the possession of a museum and Joe Hawke and Echo Team believes it can lead them to the location of a great weapon. Unfortunately, just as Hawke gets his hands on it, it is stolen.

10			The King's Tomb Written by Rob Jones Copyright: 2018 Lexi is being help by a very nasty group and it is up to Joe Hawke and the Echo team to get her free then get hold of the legendary Sword of Fire to locate the elusive King's Tomb. This is in part to make sure that the Oracle and his sect do not gain the power to rule the world.

11			Land Of The Gods Written by Rob Jones Copyright: 2018 Echo team is suffering from the lose of a member but they barely had time to process it before they find they are hunted by a sniper. Even as they try to find a way to stay alive, they have to break into the Oracle's headquarters to get Alexander the Great's Codex to find the location of an ancient Citadel. Meanwhile, a cabal in Washington is planning on deposing the President.

12			The Orpheus Legacy Written by Rob Jones Copyright: 2019 Mercenaries from both the Congo and Belgium have worked together to steal an ancient relic with a dangerous secret, one that Joe Hawke and Echo team are hired to recover.

13			Hell's Inferno Written by Rob Jones Copyright: 2019 With all of Echo team designated a wanted terrorists, staying alive long enough to find some missing friends is going to be tricky for Joe Hawke and company. Then there is the matter of having to travel deep into the Amazon basin to deal with.

14			Day Of The Dead Written by Rob Jones Copyright: 2019 A megalomaniac Russian with the wealth and power to back him up is planning an act that can change the world, not for the better, and only Echo team has the knowedge of how to stop him or the ability to pull it off.

MY COMMENTS

       This is one series of constant adventures and troubles that has each book have an ending, which is good, but not a completion. The fight is ongoing and as they defeat one adversary, invariably Hawke or some other member of ECHO will point out that there are still unanswered questions about this or that and we the readers know the good fight goes on.
       Which is alright with me. I dislike cliff-hanging books but as I said, the Hawke have endings but the writer lets you know there isn't any 'happily ever after' yet.
       The Hawke tales are a delightful combination of spies and international intrigue and ancient artifacts that somehow did not keep the ancients from becoming ancients (I always type snarky about such series and yet I keep reading them - go figure!).

       One exceptional part of the Hawke stories is the rich companions he has to accompany him. Do not, however, get too fond of all of them because the author is not afraid to lose one or three along the way. He does not waste them but he does show that the fight is not without peril.

GRADE

My Grade: B+

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