Title: Hawk Enigma
Author: J.L. Hancock
Genre: Techothriller
Publisher: Class Five Press
Publication Date: 2022
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and are in no way influenced by prophetic dreams. Possibly.
Amazon – www.amazon.co.uk/Hawk-Enigma-Military-Technothriller-Voodoo-ebook/dp/B0DQVRGZN1
www.amazon.co.uk/Spear-Sentinel-Military-Technothriller-Voodoo-ebook/dp/B0DM2Q7Y7S/
Goodreads – www.goodreads.com/book/show/61101841-the-hawk-enigma?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_13
www.goodreads.com/book/show/221241232-the-spear-and-the-sentinel?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_26
@authorjlhancock
jlhancock.com
Synopsis:
A.I. doesn’t sleep. It doesn’t feel. And now – it’s missing.
Voodoo, a gifted military technician, struggles with harrowing memories of war and the emptiness that comes with loss. To cope, he’s thrown himself into his work for a secretive military research organisation, purposefully leaving little time for anything else. Until one night, a familiar voice from Voodoo’s past interrupts his recurring nightmares with a cryptic prophecy.
At the same time, across the ocean in Japan, two world-renowned scientists go missing along with the secrets behind a powerful form of artificial intelligence called the “God Algorithm.”
To Voodoo’s surprise, he soon finds himself on the front lines of an A.I. arms race with the future of freedom at stake. Will Voodoo find the scientists in time? Or will the “God Algorithm,” a piece of code so terrifying it has the potential to shift global power, fall into the wrong hands? Find out in this mind-bending, relentlessly paced techno thriller sure to please fans of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and Jack Carr’s James Reece.
Review
One of my objectives this year was to try different genres and so when the opportunity to read and review a Military Technothriller came up, I was tentatively optimistic.
The subject matter is far from my usual fantasy and science fiction, and I will admit to struggling with it. Not because of the plot, which was fast-paced and intense, but for the in-depth descriptions of technology and military hardware that I had no frame of reference for.
The author is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his subject, which comes across whenever he goes into detail about tactics or weapon specifics. Several times I was so involved in trying to picture and understand the explanations that I was staring off into space rather than reading.
I also paused whenever he wrote in Japanese or Korean and had to Google Translate, which, again, held me back from sailing through the story, although I think this did me some good as I was forced to take it in rather than skip chunks.
The riddles/prophecies were deliberately misleading, as prophecies are, and several times I thought I had “got it” when I was so far off. I actually thought that part of it was really clever and highlighted how easy it is to misinterpret “divine” revelations until afterwards.
The characters I enjoyed, despite some questionable morality issues, and Voodoo, Frisco and Stu will be firm favourites with anyone. There were several chapters which I was confused about, but the various threads all tied themselves together at the end with a big “Oohhh!” as I realised what I’d missed.
I will add that, as a YA reader I am now used to trigger warnings in the author’s notes and, although J. L. Hancock mentioned “Subtle sexual references, violence, kidnapping, and confronts the trials of post-traumatic stress”, he missed quite a gaping “sexual trafficking of minors and shooting dogs” from the list. As it’s been a while since I’ve read any Lee Child or male thriller authors so I don’t even know if trigger warnings have made it over to that genre, but it would have been nice to be informed of those particular issues.
Other than the few issues mentioned, I can say that “The Hawk Enigma” was a decent foray into the genre, with a particular poignant look at todays absorption with A. I.
While I’ve decided the genre isn’t for me, I can’t deny that it was exceptionally well-written, thoroughly researched, action-packed, nail-biting, and would fully engage anyone interested in military thrillers.
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