Customer Reviews

Smoker (Atticus Kodiak Novels)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One the things I like the most about bodyguard Atticus Kodiak is the way I can completely admire his moral point of view, and still look at a lot of the problems he has with people and think, "Idiot." He's not a paragon of virtue, and he's not a complete loser. He's just a guy who gets more stuff right than he does wrong, which is pretty much how I strive to live my life.

While Greg Rucka's terse yet evocative prose is always effective, I find myself particularly emotionally involved when he describes his characters at work, protecting a client. When I read those passages, and see how much the danger is disrupting these people's lives, I can't help but feel sad for them. Mr. Rucka manages to create characters so real that I genuinely feel sorry for them, and wish they could lead normal lives, instead of having to hide out in safe houses and crouch down in the back seats of bulletproof cars.

Having read the first three books in this series, Smoker is perhaps my favorite story. It isn't perfect--I prefered the more morally ambiguous stance that Keeper took on abortion to Smoker's fairly clear anti smoking/big tobacco story, and I miss Bridgett Logan, though she gets her own solo story in Shooting at Midnight--but it's an improvement over the over-the-top events in Finder. And while Bridgett doesn't put in an on-stage appearance here, Erika, Kodiak's 17-year-old ward, makes an adequate substitute.

What really makes this story work, though, are all the details about the bodyguarding profession. Mr. Rucka manages to mix drama and humor very effectively, and completely draws the reader in.

It is always refreshing to read a novel that hits the exact mark that the author is aiming for. Smoker is an adventure novel, dealing with the world of top level personal security specialists. Rucka provides us with enough industry secrets and shop-talk, that we feel like we are actually learning something, while we are being entertained. He writes action well, and paces his novel perfectly. Most importantly, Rucka gives us a hero we like. Atticus Kodiak is not so wounded, and drowning in self-pity, that we are force fed his neurosis for 400 pages. Yet, he isn't the Man of Steel either...he occasionally makes mistakes. Smoker doesn't delve deep into the psyche of the professional bodyguard, or the professional assasin, nor does it posture too long on issues with big tobacco. After all, this is an adventure novel. Essentially, Smoker is about a very likeable guy, who spends his time getting someone from Point A to Point B in one piece and breathing. Not so light that the pages drift out of our hands, yet not so heavy that we can't seem to turn them, Smoker is somewhere right in the middle...right where Greg Rucka was aiming.

FINDER was a strong, intelligent debut novel hampered by an ending almost Neal Stephenson-esque in its abruptness and a villain who came straight out of left field in the novel's closing pages; KEEPER was another solid piece of work, but shifted focus erratically, abandoning the compelling opening setup of Manhattan's seedy bondage scene for a mishmash of family drama and incompletely-realized international intrigue.

SMOKER is the novel where Greg Rucka's obvious talents really begin running on all cylinders, combining his strengths - an intelligent, muscular prose voice, a knack for dialogue and character development, and a laudable devotion to realism - with a tight, focused plot and an adversary every bit as fascinating as the lead characters.

The book opens with professional bodyguard Atticus Kodiak at the end of his personal and professional rope - estranged from his girlfriend by an act of monumental stupidity on his part, and persona non grata in the security industry for the bad luck that seems to follow him from job to job. He's given a last chance by one of his old contacts in the industry, but it may prove to be his undoing as he begins to suspect that he's going up against one of the world's most feared assassins.

With this book, it becomes obvious that the Kodiak novels' claim to fame is their scrupulous realism, both in the physical and emotional arenas. The characters are not supermen; they can be hurt and killed, and they fail almost as often as they succeed. With a couple of exceptions, Rucka avoids big Hollywood-style thriller setpieces; he knows that even a simple gunfight can be almost unbearably tense if the reader knows that the characters aren't invincible.

Rucka is similarly honest about his characters' emotional lives; they have flaws and inner lives that both affect and are affected by the goings-on of the plot. And he resists the temptation to smack the "reset" button at the end of each novel - the series changes and develops with each new entry, and not every problem is solved at the end of a novel, lending the Kodiak books some of the addictive appeal of serial fiction.

I started reading Rucka as a way to pass the long summer nights, but his work is too meaty to be considered mere disposable summer reading. Pick these up - you'll be glad you did.

If you are looking for something truly different and genuinely exciting, buy this book. Fresh and original in concept, and full of great characters, SMOKER gets my vote for best suspense novel of 1998. Rucka is a master of thriller writing, and this is his best book yet. His plots are superior and they really make you think. Once this one takes off, there are so many exciting twists and turns, and so much well-written action, that it is literally hard to put down. This author is someone to follow. I look forward to the next Atticus Kodiak novel and I hope it is coming soon.

I am a GR fan from book one. A good series with a compelling protagonist ususally gets better with time (see Cornwell's 'Scarpetta' or Kellerman's 'Decker'/'Delaware' series). Same with Attikus Kodiak. Great plots, good relationships, fantastic action sequences and a complex psyche of our leading characters (all of them: Kodiak, Trends, Emma...) This third bood in the series manages to combine all the elements that make a good serial thriller. I ripped through it within 36 hours.

great, truly the best book ever, Rucka is the Shakespear of the 90'

This book made me sweat. I couldn't stop reading. And the conclusion totally surprised and wasted me. If you are looking for a great new writer to start reading, start with Greg Rucka.

Greg Rucka's primary strengths are his characterization and pacing and in SMOKER it all falls perfectly into place. His protagonist Atticus Kodiak returns, still aggravatingly introspective but immensely compelling, as does Rucka's social commentary and intricate plotting. With a tobacco industry whistleblower as the principal, Rucka gets a little heavy-handed at times with soapbox monologues but because his characters are so well-defined and the plot makes sense - something that hobbled FINDER at times - it works without feeling forced.

Kodiak's supporting cast is particularly strong this time around, with "John Doe" and Jeremiah Pugh stealing the show whenever they're on stage. If Rucka ever scores a movie deal, this is the book I want to see on screen.

KEEPER was a strong debut. FINDER was a solid, if over-the-top follow-up. SMOKER is the complete package.

Of the Atticus Kodiak novels, this is the third and the best to date. A more believable plot than "Finder", Atticus is called upon to protect a witness in a tobacco company court case. Doubting himself at first after some of the disasters in "Finder" and "Keeper", Atticus proves to be a man the witness can trust with his life. The now familar characters are back, Natalie, who assists Atticus again against her fathers wishes. Erika, the young girl we first meet in "Finder". Trent, Natalie's father and security company chief.

If you liked the first two novels, you'll love this one. Haven't read the first two, this is a good place to begin. It is the best of the 3.

I got the book as promptly as I ordered it and found it in the exact order as advertised. I will get a lot of use out of this book!