Hawksley, Humphrey

PERSONAL:

Married; wife's name Jonie; children: Christopher.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Los Angeles, CA; London, England. E-mail—hh@humphreyhawksley.com.

CAREER:

During early career, worked as a cargo freighter deckhand, sailboat builder, and fruit picker in Australia; journalist in London, England; journalist for the Melbourne Herald, Melbourne, Australia, and South China Morning Post, Hong Kong, China; British Broadcasting Corp, international correspondent, 1983—.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

Ceremony of Innocence, Headline Feature (London, England), 1998.

Absolute Measures, Headline Feature (London, England), 1999.

Red Spirit, Headline Feature (London, England), 2001.

The History Book, Warner Books (New York, NY), 2007.

"MILLENNIUM WAR TRILOGY"; NOVELS

(With Simon Holberton) Dragon Strike: The Millennium War, Pan Books (London, England), 1997, Thomas Dunne Books (New York, NY), 1999.

Dragonfire, Macmillan (London, England), 2000.

The Third World War: A Future History, Macmillan (London, England), 2003.

Also author of television documentaries Bitter Sweet and Old Man Atom.

SIDELIGHTS:

British correspondent Humphrey Hawksley has extensive experience reporting on events in Asia. Since joining the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1983, he has reported on the civil war in Sri Lanka, rebellions in the Philippines, religious conflicts in India, and the reversion of Hong Kong back to Chinese rule, among other assignments. Hawksley has also covered political problems in Latin American and Africa, covering the problem of child labor in the chocolate industry, for example; and he has written on the intelligence crisis in the United States following the 2001 terrorist attacks. His novels, however, have primarily drawn on his knowledge of Asian politics. Hawksley writes thrillers that pose what might happen in various military scenarios in that region of the world. His first novel, Ceremony ofInnocence, is about a Hong Kong policewoman who becomes a CIA spy after China takes over Hong Kong. Red Spirit is set after the collapse of the Soviet Union and involves the threat of civil war in China.

Hawksley's "Millennium War Trilogy" includes Dragon Strike: The Millennium War, Dragonfire, and The Third World War: A Future History. As the titles imply, they are near-future thrillers about a chain of events that leads to international conflicts in Asia. Dragon Strike involves China's effort to keep offshore oil fields in the South China Sea in their power. To do so, they act militarily against Vietnam; when an American ship gets in the way and is sunk by the Chinese, the United States gets involved; this, in turn, brings in Japan as well, when they begin conducting nuclear weapons tests in response to China's actions. Dragonfire is about a nuclear war involving India, Pakistan, and China. A conflict between Pakistan and India leads the latter to invade Pakistani territory. Pakistan responds by exploding nuclear devices on its own land to chase out the invaders; meanwhile, China supports Pakistan and gets involved as well. Soon, the United States, France, and Great Britain enter into the fray, and the problem inevitably builds into a global war. The final book in the trilogy, The Third World War, is about rogue states forming alliances, while America's own allies turn against the United States.

Several critics of Hawksley's trilogy were impressed by how the author used his knowledge of the region to create plausible scenarios, though some chastised the author's prose. Although a Publishers Weekly writer felt that Dragon Strike is "long on political detail and short on well-drawn characters," the critic complimented Hawksley for creating a "riveting" story despite the fact that much of the book is written in "wire-service like prose." Roland Green, writing about the same book for Booklist, described the writing as "clunky," while praising the "superior extrapolation" of possible future events in Asia.

The History Book is a thriller that is more character-driven than Hawksley's trilogy. The heroine is Kat Polinski, whose specialty is hacking into the computers of foreign embassies for the U.S. Homeland Security department. After returning from a mission in Kazakhstan, she learns that her sister has been shot dead in London. It turns out that, unbeknownst to Kat, her sister was also an agent. She embarks on a personal mission to avenge the death and discover the reasons behind it in a novel that "combines an all-too-believable, distinctly Orwellian premise with a kick-ass heroine," according to Wes Lukowsky in a Booklist review. While some critics found the heroine's exploits somewhat implausible, many enjoyed the story anyway. On the BookLoons Web site for instance, Hillary Williamson described the novel as "a powerful fast-paced thriller that mixes the improbability of 007-like exploits with a frightening perspective on social changes arising from cynical manipulation of public fear." "Conspiracy theorists will no doubt latch on to this book with glee," concluded Karen Treanor in the New Mystery Reader, "pointing to the author's background as a reporter on terrorism and espionage topics as proof that ‘there's no smoke without fire.’"

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 15, 1999, Roland Green, review of Dragon Strike: The Millennium War, p. 600; August, 2007, Wes Lukowsky, review of The History Book, p. 45.

Economist, May 24, 1997, review of Dragon Strike, p. 84.

Far Eastern Economic Review, May 8, 1997, review of Dragon Strike, p. 39.

Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2007, review of The History Book.

Library Journal, October 1, 1999, Robert Conroy, review of Dragon Strike, p. 134.

New Scientist, July 4, 1998, Elizabeth Sourbut, review of Ceremony of Innocence, p. 48.

Publishers Weekly, September 13, 1999, review of Dragon Strike, p. 56; October 18, 1999, review of Ceremony of Innocence, p. 71; June 11, 2007, review of The History Book, p. 39.

Reason, December, 2000, review of Dragon Strike, p. 51.

Spectator, May 10, 1997, review of Dragon Strike, p. 42; May 10, 1997, Allan Mallinson, review of Dragon Strike, p. 42.

World Press Review, June, 1997, Elisabeth Tacey, review of Dragon Strike, p. 8.

ONLINE

Armchair Reviews,http://reviews.armchairinterviews.com/ (February 22, 2008), Jake Chism, review of The History Book.

BookLoons,http://www.bookloons.com/ (February 22, 2008), Hilary Williamson, review of The History Book.

Fresh Fiction,http://freshfiction.com/ (February 22, 2008), brief biography of Humphrey Hawksley.

Hindu on Net,http://www.hinduonnet.com/ (August 3, 2003), Anita Joshua, review of Dragon Strike.

Humphrey Hawksley Home Page,http://www.humphreyhawksley.com (February 22, 2008).

India Today Online,http://www.india-today.com/ (August 3, 2000), "After Fifty Years, India and Pakistan Have Not Grown Up," interview with Humphrey Hawksley.

Midwest Book Review Online,http://www.midwestbookreview.com/ (February 22, 2008), Theodore Feit, review of The History Book.

New Mystery Reader,http://www.newmysteryreader.com/ (February 22, 2008), Karen Treanor, review of The History Book.

Reader Views,http://www.readerviews.com/ (February 22, 2008), Stephanie Rollins, review of The History Book.