Next week Ted Bell releases "Warlord," the sixth book in the Alex Hawke series which began in 2003 with the publication of "Hawke."

This weekend is the perfect time to pick up the earlier books and get started on a rollercoaster adventure ride which has earned Bell a lot of praise and a spot reserved on the New York Times Bestseller list.

Alex Hawke, or Lord Hawke, is the natural successor to James Bond and a descendent of a legendary English privateer. The historical privateer was the captain of an armed ship that was commissioned by a government to fight enemy ships.

Privately funded, they were authorized to attack enemy ships during wartime and it was a highly profitable form of business, netting new ships, ransom for captured officers and obviously whatever freight the captured vessels were carrying.

During the reign of Elizabeth the first, privateers often acted as pirates themselves, attacking and raiding the ships of other nations. While officially Elizabeth did not support piracy, she got a portion of the takings and got to unofficially harass foreign nations.

As a young boy Hawke witnesses the murder of his parents at the hands of pirates in the Caribbean.

Years later he is drawn into international intrigue as he is hired by the United States to recover an experimental submarine, armed with 40 nuclear warheads and now in the hands of a hostile and unstable regime.

In a fast paced, rollercoaster adventure, Alex Hawke will fight to prevent a devastating terrorist attack on the USA.

With all of the adventure and excitement of the novels of Clive Cussler and James Patterson mixed with the thrills of James Bond, "Hawke" is a fantastic opening novel in a series which has gotten even better in later installments.

The Alex Hawke series includes "Hawke," "Assassin," "Pirate," "Spy," "Tsar" and "Warlord" (out Sept. 14).

Darren Jones is an avid reader and has worked at multiple bookstores.