Man O' War is a character-driven novel with a much more thoughtful and introspective tone than is found in Shatner's earlier "Tek" series. The central character is a reluctant hero rather than a whole-hearted man of action: He is older, wiser, harder, and more controlled than the likes of "Tek" protagonist Jake Cardigan. The reader sees the world of the novel through Benton Hawkes's experiences, attitudes, and values, which are relayed by the device of a third-person narrator. Hawkes's personality is complex and multilayered, and it develops as the events of the novel unfold. In the place of Jake Cardigan's witty irony the reader will find Benton Hawkes's bitter cynicism—an attitude developed over years of diplomatic double-dealing and political back-stabbing. Hawkes is a thinking man who also happens to be competent with whatever weapon is handy when a fight breaks out or a would-be assassin breaks...