Customer Reviews

Patriot Acts (Atticus Kodiak)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I am a big fan of Greg Rucka, especially the Atticus Kodiak series. It has been several years since Rucka has written a Kodiak thriller. I've been waiting for this book, and wondering how he was going to continue the series, since the last book ended with Kodiak no longer being a bodyguard, and being alienated from his friends.
Well, Rucka has written on hell of a good thriller. I'll give him props for that. But what I loved about the previous Atticus Kodiak books is missing.
The plots were always unique, because the hero was a bodyguard. Not a cop, hitman, or soldier. I enjoyed the interplay between Kodiak and the guys he worked with.
The only major character from all the earlier books, is Natalie Trent and she disappears after the first chapter. What happened to the guys that Kodiak worked with? What about Bridgit Logan. Erica? They are never even mentioned in this book.
The idea that Kodiak would willingly help Drama, reformed or not, is crazy to me. It goes against the way that Rucka has written the character in the past. And the idea that Kodiak would fall in love with a killer??
As a stand alone thriller this is a fantastic book. As an Atticus Kodiak thriller it fails miserably.

I miss Atticus as he was when Bridgett was around. I don't like Alena, her emptiness. Maybe it's a woman thing. But the characters seemed more gritty back then. Not so long ago, either.

While I give "Shooting at Midnight" and most of Greg Rucka's other novels five stars, this one only gets three.

Bring back the old Atticus...

Simply put - better that Atticus Kodiak had been killed off at the end of Critical Space than brought back as a completely different person.

Now, I am a big fan of Rucka's work; I think his Queen and Country) novels are terrific, and while the Kodiak series is slightly uneven, Kodiak was a strong character, with a strong supporting cast.

But it's clear what Rucka wants is to write more Queen and Country. That would be fine, but turning the Atticus Kodiak series into a second-rate Q&C is *not* the way to go.

Rucka's completely gutted Kodiak's character. The 'clean body clean mind' international assassin thing might work with Drama/Alena. With Kodiak, it just makes him dull.

The thing that made the earlier books work was the highly technical background in security. And while you can't turn out 20 books of that, re-inventing the main character and turning him into *someone completely different* plays like one of those soap opera moments when a new actor walks in as our favorite character, and we're expected to pretend nothing's changed.

Much of this book is taken up with details of Kodiak and Alena's travels in eastern Europe; which does nothing to make Alena character interesting (the trouble with inventing a character who's a cypher is that said character needs to stay a cypher to be consistent, or be developed. Rucka does neither, dropping the thing that made her interesting and not replacing it with anything), and doesn't play Kodiak like the character we've gotten to know. It also doesn't move the plot at all, it's just filler.

The books works when the action turns on - Rucka's great at action. But in between, the slow, steady, detailed run-down which works so well in Q&C, falls flat when the characters are just hanging around waiting. These two characters are relentlessly dull.

Rucka's better than this. A lot better. And if he wants to pull Kodiak out for another go-round, he's going to have to do a lot better job selling this new 'international assassin' version; he needs to sell that Kodiak has changed in some fundamental way, and he needs to d
rop the aimless running around.

As Greg Rucka's "Patriot Acts" opens, former bodyguard Atticus Kodiak is involved in a shootout with his archenemy, Oxford. Assisted by his partner, Natalie Trent, and a former assassin for hire, Alena Cizkova, Atticus survives the encounter and then briefly retreats to a safe house, where he plans to leave Alena and Natalie under the protection of a security detail. Kodiak takes off, but before long he is surrounded by two teams of sharpshooters who intend to finish him off. It takes all of his skill and a bit of luck to emerge from the ambush severely injured but alive, but he knows that the carnage is not yet over. Atticus is convinced that more gunmen will replace those he has neutralized.

Throughout most of the story, Atticus and Alena, who have become lovers, move from place to place, trying to stay one step ahead of their pursuers. The problem is that they have no idea who wants them dead and why. Alena, who values physical fitness, puts Kodiak through a strenuous training regimen. They want to be battle ready for the inevitable confrontation with their adversaries. "We lived with the knowledge that we were hunted, and that the hunter might find us at any time."

"Patriot Acts" is a bloody action-adventure novel that emphasizes combat skills, weaponry, and scenes of sadism and torture over logic and character development. The dialogue is clipped and terse and the heroes are stoic, savvy, and tough. No softies here. Alena and Atticus use brains as well as brawn to get out of some very tricky situations. The author's explanation about the high-powered, immoral, and greedy government official who has targeted the protagonists is a bit far-fetched. Still, Alena and Atticus make an attractive couple who want nothing more than to forget their violent past and settle down to domestic bliss. They fear that the act of killing has taken away their humanity, and they would like to regain what they have lost. The reader can't help but root for this beleaguered pair to find some peace at last. "Patriot Acts" has a rhythm and energy that carries the reader along, much like a roller-coaster ride takes our breath away and leaves us little time to think clearly about the wild ride that we are experiencing.

The book is in great condition and it arrived sooner than expected - I am perfectly happy with this Amazon order.

A blood soaked and exciting thriller with lots of moral greys and black. This is the first novel of Rucka's I've read though I am familiar with his comics work. It is part of a series so the book kicks off right in the middle of the action with the reader expected to keep up. It is a good action thriller novel with good looking heros swanning around the world trying to track down the government types who set them up. The two main characters are an ex-body gaurd called Atticus Kodiak (Part all-american boy part bear) and a Russian assasin called "Drama". Rucka's comic book roots show through not just in the names but also in the scenario which is very pulpy even for the genre. What lifts Patriot Acts above the average is the writing. Rucka has a Chandler-esque eye for detail and a good sense of pace and timing. The characters might be two-dimensional but he gives them the illusion of depth. The moral tone of the novel is very grey, the characters torture and murder their way to the truth while being on an apparent search for redemption but it is not really believable. I was reminded of John Connolly's Charlie Parker series, just without the supernatural element, but where Parker actually feels like he's loosing his soul as the books progress Kodiak just seemed to get beat up. The grittiness of the situation is also not believable the russian mobsters (with hearts o'gold) are holywood russians, the bullet wounds and bruises are make-up and lighting. That said this book is still more enjoyable than any straight action flick you're likely to see at the cinema anytime soon.

I started the series with Walking Dead and enjoyed that book (with some caveats). Then I read Critical Space and then this one. The plot in Patriot Acts is pretty thin and the action not very believable. Both Critical Space and Walking Dead were much better. One of the most annoying things about Rucka's A.K. books is his constant referral to self-defense as murder and having Kodiak agonize over it. I know Rucka is a Liberal and this is the kind of thing they do (create angst to justify something they want to do that they feel is wrong). But, it gets old fast and he harps on it in all three of the A.K. books I've read.

Here's a niggle: Rucka doesn't come across as someone who has a first-hand knowledge of firearms. Some of the remarks he makes about them are jarring (e.g.: in this book he refers to an ordinary hunting rifle as a "monster, a Winchester, the kind the locals used for hunting big buck"). If he's going to keep writing about this stuff he needs someone with some knowledge of firearms to proof read it (his editor is obviously in the same category as Rucka in that regard).

Skipping this book to get to Walking Dead would be a good move.

I bought this book for my son who is reading all of the series and he says this is the best, lots of action, suspense and intrigue! This 17 yr old carries Mr Rucka's books everywhere, and reads every chance he gets.

This is Rucka's first book in six years about deep-thinking bodyguard Atticus Kodiak, but the author lands fans in the middle of the action, picking up fifteen minutes after Atticus and his assassin lover Alena have dispatched their enemy, Oxford. When their separate attempts to start new lives are violently interrupted, Atticus and Alena find themselves in a chase to find out who wants them dead.

An impressive mix of military, espionage, and political thriller with white-knuckle pace and surprises through the last page.

The sixth chapter in the Atticus Kodiak series is, in a word, outstanding.

The plot is intriguing, and the most overtly political of the Kodiak series, with the bad guy a Washingtonian Rove-Cheney mashup tying into the work of military "contractors"/mercenaries - topical, if nothing else. But it's the character beats that always stick out and make the work exceptional.

Some will decry the "sudden" changes in Kodiak or the direction the character goes. Belying the fact that the "sudden" changes took the entire last book in the Kodiak series - Critical Space - one of the things that I've always dug about Rucka's writing is that he allows his characters to make horrible personal and professional choices - just like real people - and deal with the consequences, rationalizing and fighting through their decisions all the while.

But I'd disagree with the concept that he's a completely different character now. Everything Kodiak does in this book, in his own twisted way, is for the memory of his friend. And that's been, to a great extent, the core of the character. Loyalty. To his friends and to his clients. And just how far you go for that loyalty.

In short, a great read. Finished it off in the course of half a Saturday and enjoyed the hell out of it. Well worth your time and hard earned dollars.