Alpha [Hardcover]

Greg Rucka (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2012

For the visitors to Wilsonville, the largest theme park in the world, the day began with a smile. By the end, they wonder-will they be able to escape with their lives?

Retired Delta Force operator, Master Sergeant Jonathan "Jad" Bell, is Wilsonville's lead undercover security officer. The threat begins with the announcement of a hidden dirty bomb, but quickly becomes something far, far worse.

Trained since the age of seventeen to save innocent victims from impossible hostage situations, Jad scrambles to assess the threat and protect the visitors. He will come face to face with a villain whose training matches his in every way-and presents a threat Jad may not be able to stop.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Rucka gets his new series featuring Ex-Delta Force Master Sergeant Jad Bell off to a smashing start with this pitch-perfect thriller. This lean, mean thriller with just the right amount of character development and unexpected complications will appeal to all who enjoy this genre but particularly to readers who like a strong hero along the lines of Lee Child's Jack Reacher. Highly recommended." (Library Journal (starred review) )

"An interesting setting, a liable hero, an appropriately clever villain, and a gripping story. A real corker." (Booklist )

"Pulse-pounding....Rucka mixes suspense and an alarmingly realistic plot with ease." (Publishers Weekly )

"Greg Rucka is one of the best writers in the world. The fact that he is so good in so many different media is a testament to that fact. No one media can hold him. Any new project of his is a call for pop culture celebration." (Brian Michael Bendis, writer of Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate X-Men and Ultimate Fantastic Four )

"ALPHA is hands down, the most exciting, adrenaline-pumping, butt-kicking novel I've read in years. Rucka is the real deal. If this one doesn't make you stay up late rooting for the good guys, you don't have a heartbeat. Highly recommended!" (Christopher Reich, New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Deception and Numbered Account )

"One of our best writers." (Lee Child )

"Read Greg Rucka. It's that simple. Open one of his books and what you've got is a fistful of dynamite." (The Cincinnati Enquirer )

"Greg Rucka is a refreshingly bold talent." (Dennis Lehane )

"A true professional." (Chicago Tribune )

About the Author

Greg Rucka is the New York Times bestselling author of a dozen novels, including the Atticus Kodiak and Tara Chace series, and has won multiple Eisner awards for his graphic novels. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife and children.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Mulholland Books; First Edition edition (May 22, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780316182287
• ISBN-13: 978-0316182287
• ASIN: 0316182281
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #338,601 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The author of four novels about professional bodyguard Atticus Kodiak -- Keeper (nominated for a Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America), Finder, Smoker, and Shooting at Midnight, Greg Rucka has been writing since he was eight years old, and hopefully is improving with age. A longtime comics fan, his first graphic novel series was the suspense thriller Whiteout, published by Oni Press and nominated for three Eisner Awards in 1999. Since that time he has been a contributing writer for DC Comics and an active participant in the Batman series of titles.
Born and raised in California, he earned his undergraduate degree at Vassar College and his MFA at the University of Southern California. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Rucka has two tattoos, and rides a motorcycle.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Rucka Grabs You On Page One And Never Lets Go June 17, 2012

By TMStyles VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Greg Rucka is one of the most creative and readable authors working today. His stand alones are often great and I love his Atticus Kodiak series--which are too infrequent for my desires. But in "Alpha", Rucka is apparently debuting a new series character named "Jad" Bell, former Delta, who now hires out for cause and country. Based on this initial effort, Bell is a character well worth watching (reading) in that he is highly trained, intuitive, conflicted with a still unclear back story, and very deadly. He leads a team of four former co-warriors, each with skills and training that make them a most formidable foe.

Rucka has a knack for seizing on some element of everyday life around which to build his thrillers and in "Alpha", that practice is continued as Wilsonville, the world's largest theme park located in Southern California--think Disneyland on steroids--comes under an apparent terrorist attack. Jad Bell along with one of his team members is working undercover in the park as secret governmental leaders are covering several theme parks as possible targets for a rumored terrorist attack. A sleeper agent has been "awakened" to plant a dirty bomb in Wilsonville at the height of summer attendance, capture some hostages, and issue vague demands for release of world terrorist prisoners. But as Bell springs into action, he wonders if this is the real end game or if something even more sinister is afoot?

Oh, and you want complications? How about the fact that Bell's former wife, their hearing impaired daughter, and her deaf classmates are in the park and become hostages by the terrorists. The evolution of Bell's character as this deadly warrior has to deal with familial roadblocks is fascinating reading. Another complication is the question of who is financing this enterprise and who, on the inside, is actually a part of the scheme? Rucka employs twists, double crosses, and sleight of hand to keep readers wondering who really is who they say they are and who really trusts whom--among both the good guys and the bad guys. With continual impressive chess-like maneuvering between Bell and his deadly antagonist, readers must speculate as to who will ultimately survive on both sides of this conflict.

Rucka is an adept story teller who employs tight plotting and fast precise pacing to build a sense of relentless suspense and tension. His knowledge of weaponry and military tactics and strategy gives a level of authenticity to his books as does his highly believable dialogue and characterizations. His characters, both good and bad, become invested in the reader as Rucka fleshes them with just enough back story to keep readers interested yet withholding detail that will emerge in future stories. I highly recommend "Alpha" to readers of the suspense/thriller genre and I welcome the new character of Jad Bell to what I hope is a long productive series by Greg Rucka.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner from Rucka June 11, 2012

By Paul Guyot

Format:Hardcover

Sometimes you get so excited for a new book from an author that you can only be disappointed. Rarely does it meet the heightened expectations. I can happily report that ALPHA - the first in the new Jad Bell series from Greg Rucka - does not disappoint.

While some reviews unfairly compare this work to Rucka's Kodiak novels, this book and these characters are completely different, but everything we love about Rucka's writing is still here. His precision pacing and structure, his authentic knowledge of weapons and tactics, his three-dimensional characters, his double and triple crosses, and his ability to drop in real life humor at just the right moment.

Rucka is a master at doing what far too many writers fail at - undercutting drama with humor and humor with drama. I am not saying this story is funny, nor the book laugh out loud hilarious - go read Wodehouse or Dave Barry for that - but it's the surgeon-like way Rucka knowingly sucks you in with dramatic tension, then drops in a moment or just a line that releases just enough tension for you to catch your breath before ramping it up again. The cliche of "A roller coaster ride!" comes to mind.

All that said, it's the escalating action and showdown with Bell and the villain that makes you finish reading and immediately want more. Rucka has created a terrific bad guy here, one that is every bit the equal of his hero - another thing few writers do well - and the cat-and-mouse chess match up to and including the finale is riveting.

Rucka's action scenes are as good as ever, his supporting characters are so strong most could carry their own novel, and Jad Bell is a man who could give Jack Reacher a run for his money - except that Jad Bell is real. Whereas Lee Child's Reacher is a superhero, Bell is a hero. A real man. A real character with multiple layers, strengths, weaknesses, flaws, and attributes.

It's going to be a long year waiting for the next Bell novel.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars as smart and clever as Spike Lee's Inside Man but with more heart. May 15, 2012

By Joey Comeau

Format:Hardcover

This book was great, tense, thrilling, and with characters I liked a lot. Jad's daughter, especially, was a fun character, and I hope she features more in future entries in the series. I also enjoyed how this book got straight to it. No mucking around. It hit the ground running, and didn't let up. It was as smart and clever as Spike Lee's Inside Man but with more heart. This is Rucka's best. I love the Q&Q and Kodiak books, but I am excited to see where this character goes.