What do you think?
Rate this book
Hawks
Hawks is a tale of New Zealand's wild south-west, set during the early years of the venison recovery industry. This was a time when the cowboys rode choppers instead of horses and used semi-automatic weapons, not six guns. They lived, worked and sometimes dies in the most rugged and spectacular corner of this country - the vast Fiordland wilderness.
Hawks is a work of fiction but the fast action depicted here might very well have happened. It is the story of Gray, an enigmatic young man running from his past and the horrors of the Vietnam war. He returns to New Zealand's southern lands to find himself in a war of a very different kind - a dangerous war for the highest profits, set against some of the most inhospitable country in the world.
With the deadly skills he learned in the SAS, Gray becomes the top gun, the man every chopper pilot wants in the shooter's seat on his machine as the competition gets fiercer and men begin to take increasingly desperate risks. Some make mistakes and some die. Others are killed apparently having made no mistakes at all.
Gray's story encompasses life and death as well as love. Unashamedly robust, Hawks tells it like it really was, or could have been, as greed and jealousy and a woman named Mary combine in an explosive finale.
280 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
1 person is currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Grant
5 books12 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Andrew Grant is the thriller writing pseudonym of a writer born in Kurow, New Zealand.
Grant Shanks (Andrew Grant) grew up on farms and in the bushlands of Otago and Southland and has lived and worked around the world, including the USA, in a variety of occupations ranging from merchant seaman to professional body guard to advertising copywriter.
Trained in the martial arts, Grant is a small arms expert and a gourmet cook. A keen traveller and dedicated fly fisherman and hunter, he is an aficionado of the writings of the late John D. MacDonald, James Ellroy and the other great writers of the American crime genre.
Andrew Grant is the thriller writing pseudonym of a writer born in Kurow, New Zealand.
Grant Shanks (Andrew Grant) grew up on farms and in the bushlands of Otago and Southland and has lived and worked around the world, including the USA, in a variety of occupations ranging from merchant seaman to professional body guard to advertising copywriter.
Trained in the martial arts, Grant is a small arms expert and a gourmet cook. A keen traveller and dedicated fly fisherman and hunter, he is an aficionado of the writings of the late John D. MacDonald, James Ellroy and the other great writers of the American crime genre.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 6, 2017
This is one of the best "ripping yarn" books that I've ever read. It's an action-packed tale with a great plot, realistic characters and good action.
Set among the wild New Zealand back country and the people of the helicopter deer recovery industry, we follow shooter Gray, an ex-army Vietnam vet with a few demons from his past along for the ride. Gray gets himself involved with a capture company and quickly becomes one of the best there is at his craft. Throw into the mix some superb aerial hunting action, crazy pilots, helicopter crashes, hard-core drinking sessions, some complex love interests and a bit of sex, hey-presto...we get a brilliant story that will keep you hooked in and quickly turning the pages.
An excellent read and the characters couldn't be any more real. I know a number of people who have read this book and all have come away hugely impressed.
The real gem in this book is the Epilogue. While very sad, it is actually my favourite part. The mixture of happiness and bitterness that surround Gray throughout the story all blend together to form a very satisfactory conclusion.
Andrew Grant (real name Grant Shanks) is a superb author who knows his subject matter well, and knows how to put it all together into a great story. Hawks is one example.
Read it and I doubt you'll regret it.
Set among the wild New Zealand back country and the people of the helicopter deer recovery industry, we follow shooter Gray, an ex-army Vietnam vet with a few demons from his past along for the ride. Gray gets himself involved with a capture company and quickly becomes one of the best there is at his craft. Throw into the mix some superb aerial hunting action, crazy pilots, helicopter crashes, hard-core drinking sessions, some complex love interests and a bit of sex, hey-presto...we get a brilliant story that will keep you hooked in and quickly turning the pages.
An excellent read and the characters couldn't be any more real. I know a number of people who have read this book and all have come away hugely impressed.
The real gem in this book is the Epilogue. While very sad, it is actually my favourite part. The mixture of happiness and bitterness that surround Gray throughout the story all blend together to form a very satisfactory conclusion.
Andrew Grant (real name Grant Shanks) is a superb author who knows his subject matter well, and knows how to put it all together into a great story. Hawks is one example.
Read it and I doubt you'll regret it.
June 20, 2022
Rated 8/10 Andrew Grant is a kiwi author who should be up there along side the Lee Child, Frederick Forsyths of the world due to his ability to simply spin a good yarn that holds your attention. I've read several of his and enjoyed them all.
Whilst a fictional novel, "Hawks" is set in the south island of NZ and deals with the days of helicopter culling and then live catching of deer. I suspect that many of the incidents are based around events that probably happened, as it was a high risk occupation with many choppers crashing and rivalries and competition between the various hunters and their employers were legendary and not always friendly.
Following the life of "Gray" a skilled shooter and survivor due to his days in Nam, you get a rather at times brutal picture of how they operated. The story takes a few twists and turns and doesn't exactly finish how you might expect it to which is great in itself. If you are looking for an easy read that generally holds your attention (unless you loved Bambi in which case don't go near this book) especially if you are familiar with the areas around Te Anau, Fiorland etc, you will enjoy this read. Finding it to read may be a harder mission though.
Whilst a fictional novel, "Hawks" is set in the south island of NZ and deals with the days of helicopter culling and then live catching of deer. I suspect that many of the incidents are based around events that probably happened, as it was a high risk occupation with many choppers crashing and rivalries and competition between the various hunters and their employers were legendary and not always friendly.
Following the life of "Gray" a skilled shooter and survivor due to his days in Nam, you get a rather at times brutal picture of how they operated. The story takes a few twists and turns and doesn't exactly finish how you might expect it to which is great in itself. If you are looking for an easy read that generally holds your attention (unless you loved Bambi in which case don't go near this book) especially if you are familiar with the areas around Te Anau, Fiorland etc, you will enjoy this read. Finding it to read may be a harder mission though.
April 13, 2017
Early in its colonial history New Zealand had deer released into the wild to provide game for shooting. Like so many ideas for the introduction of exotic species (animal, plant and insect), and without natural predators the populations of these introduced species exploded. Deer became a major problem in the natural bush as they chewed and grazed on all the smaller native plants and led to a major degradation of the natural environment.
Deer shooting from helicopters commenced in the early 1970s in New Zealand because there was a sudden demand for venison meat in Europe. In order to capitalise on that demand entrepreneurs exploited the vast areas of deer herds and thousands of deer were being shot, processed and exported.
The novel cleverly encapsulates the myriad effects on the company owners, pilots, shooters and support crew utilising the helicopters as shooting platforms. Poachers, rivalry and even shooting at competing parties occurred. The rather macho story of those exploits is well told and relationships evolve and change in a well woven story. To me it was a totally plausible story that captured much of New Zealanders interest in those times.
Deer shooting from helicopters commenced in the early 1970s in New Zealand because there was a sudden demand for venison meat in Europe. In order to capitalise on that demand entrepreneurs exploited the vast areas of deer herds and thousands of deer were being shot, processed and exported.
The novel cleverly encapsulates the myriad effects on the company owners, pilots, shooters and support crew utilising the helicopters as shooting platforms. Poachers, rivalry and even shooting at competing parties occurred. The rather macho story of those exploits is well told and relationships evolve and change in a well woven story. To me it was a totally plausible story that captured much of New Zealanders interest in those times.
January 5, 2016
This is one of the best "ripping yarn" books that I've ever read. It's an action-packed tale with a great plot, realistic characters and good action.
Set among the wild New Zealand back country and the people of the helicopter deer recovery industry, we follow shooter Gray, an ex-army Vietnam vet with a few demons from his past along for the ride. Gray gets himself involved with a capture company and quickly becomes one of the best there is at his craft. Throw into the mix some superb aerial hunting action, crazy pilots, helicopter crashes, hard-core drinking sessions, some complex love interests and a bit of sex, hey-presto...we get a brilliant story worthy of so much praise.
An excellent read and the characters couldn't be any more apt. I know a number of people who have read this book and all have come away hugely impressed.
The real gem in this book is the Epilogue. While very sad, it is actually my favourite part. The mixture of happiness and bitterness that encompass Gray throughout the story all blend together to form a very satisfactory conclusion.
Andrew Grant (real name Grant Shanks) is a superb author who knows his subject matter well, and knows how to put it all together into a great story. Hawks is one example.
Read it.
Set among the wild New Zealand back country and the people of the helicopter deer recovery industry, we follow shooter Gray, an ex-army Vietnam vet with a few demons from his past along for the ride. Gray gets himself involved with a capture company and quickly becomes one of the best there is at his craft. Throw into the mix some superb aerial hunting action, crazy pilots, helicopter crashes, hard-core drinking sessions, some complex love interests and a bit of sex, hey-presto...we get a brilliant story worthy of so much praise.
An excellent read and the characters couldn't be any more apt. I know a number of people who have read this book and all have come away hugely impressed.
The real gem in this book is the Epilogue. While very sad, it is actually my favourite part. The mixture of happiness and bitterness that encompass Gray throughout the story all blend together to form a very satisfactory conclusion.
Andrew Grant (real name Grant Shanks) is a superb author who knows his subject matter well, and knows how to put it all together into a great story. Hawks is one example.
Read it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews