What do you think?
Rate this book
Atticus Kodiak #6
Patriot Acts
Love your country. Fear your government. Know your enemy.
"You cannot learn what you have learned and remain unchanged."
As a bodyguard, Atticus Kodiak once protected his clients against professional killers like Alena Cizkova, a.k.a. Drama. Now he is taking lessons from the world's premier assassin.
"I am not a murderer."
It begins with a shocking betrayal, a brutal ambush, and the murder of a friend. Atticus is about to discover that he's been falsely identified as one of The Ten—a short list of the world's most wanted assassins. And to survive, he's going to have to become exactly what they're accusing him of being: a stone-cold killer.
"Yes, you are. You have only to meet your first victim…"
"You cannot learn what you have learned and remain unchanged."
As a bodyguard, Atticus Kodiak once protected his clients against professional killers like Alena Cizkova, a.k.a. Drama. Now he is taking lessons from the world's premier assassin.
"I am not a murderer."
It begins with a shocking betrayal, a brutal ambush, and the murder of a friend. Atticus is about to discover that he's been falsely identified as one of The Ten—a short list of the world's most wanted assassins. And to survive, he's going to have to become exactly what they're accusing him of being: a stone-cold killer.
"Yes, you are. You have only to meet your first victim…"
352 pages, Hardcover
First published August 28, 2007
20 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
About the author
Greg Rucka
1,493 books1,925 followersGreg Rucka, is an American comic book writer and novelist, known for his work on such comics as Action Comics, Batwoman: Detective Comics, and the miniseries Superman: World of New Krypton for DC Comics, and for novels such as his Queen & Country series.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
January 7, 2017
I freely admit that I intend to read everything by Greg Rucka I can get my hands on. He can write very well. Whether it's graphic novels or full-length fiction. I checked this audiobook out from my lad I did. It's not the first in the series. But it's okay. I got the jist on what happened. I will want to go back and read the previous books. As it was, this was a really excellent suspense novel. It starts almost in medias res, but that's okay. I liked that I was left tl learn about what was happening as things went along.
Kodiak is a good hero. He's a tough guy. He knows more than a thing or two about protecting and going on the offensive. He was in the army and he's a body guard by trade. He ends up on the black side of things when his name is outed as a traitor. He goes on the run with a shadowy assassin who has made some enemies, but has decided she doesn't want to kill anymore. At the same time, he's very empathetic and grieves deeply. I liked seeing that duality and his determination to see his mission through.
I think this would make an excellent movie. That's one of the things I love about Rucka's books. They are well-written prose novels, but could serve equally well as movies or television shows. This book is in 1st person and that works very well for this book. The first action scene at the gas station was high level tension and extremely well executed. The tension is maintained very well as Atticus and Drama go on the run together trying to stay one step ahead of the folks hunting them. And then they have to turn the tables. Everything is well thought up. No running around half-cocked. This pair has to play the long game, and the ending is satisfying even in its near bloodlessness. Drama is equally well-developed. She's the kind of action heroine I love and I wish I could see more of in movies/tv although we have some great ones with Sydney Bristow (Alias), Jane Doe (Blindspot), and although not so much physically Olivia Pope (Scandal). She is 100% lethal, but she's world weary and has learned the hard way how killing saps and destroys a person's soul and humanity. That's how you make a killer, convince them they are no longer human and that other people are below human. She had rejected that training at great cost.
The narrator was excellent. His pace and tone perfect for Atticus, a man who was world-weary and at the same time, deeply angry about something that happens in this book. And with good reason. I like how Drama's lines are spoken in a monotone that fits the character, a woman who has undergone incredibly tragic circumstances and was essentially trained to kill from an early age. I think this book is years old, but it actually relates to current events very well. It's a strange world and your friends aren't always friends and vice versa.
This isn't a long book, but it's perfectly executed. I do recommend this one.
Overall rating: 4.5/5.0 stars.
Kodiak is a good hero. He's a tough guy. He knows more than a thing or two about protecting and going on the offensive. He was in the army and he's a body guard by trade. He ends up on the black side of things when his name is outed as a traitor. He goes on the run with a shadowy assassin who has made some enemies, but has decided she doesn't want to kill anymore. At the same time, he's very empathetic and grieves deeply. I liked seeing that duality and his determination to see his mission through.
I think this would make an excellent movie. That's one of the things I love about Rucka's books. They are well-written prose novels, but could serve equally well as movies or television shows. This book is in 1st person and that works very well for this book. The first action scene at the gas station was high level tension and extremely well executed. The tension is maintained very well as Atticus and Drama go on the run together trying to stay one step ahead of the folks hunting them. And then they have to turn the tables. Everything is well thought up. No running around half-cocked. This pair has to play the long game, and the ending is satisfying even in its near bloodlessness. Drama is equally well-developed. She's the kind of action heroine I love and I wish I could see more of in movies/tv although we have some great ones with Sydney Bristow (Alias), Jane Doe (Blindspot), and although not so much physically Olivia Pope (Scandal). She is 100% lethal, but she's world weary and has learned the hard way how killing saps and destroys a person's soul and humanity. That's how you make a killer, convince them they are no longer human and that other people are below human. She had rejected that training at great cost.
The narrator was excellent. His pace and tone perfect for Atticus, a man who was world-weary and at the same time, deeply angry about something that happens in this book. And with good reason. I like how Drama's lines are spoken in a monotone that fits the character, a woman who has undergone incredibly tragic circumstances and was essentially trained to kill from an early age. I think this book is years old, but it actually relates to current events very well. It's a strange world and your friends aren't always friends and vice versa.
This isn't a long book, but it's perfectly executed. I do recommend this one.
Overall rating: 4.5/5.0 stars.
July 18, 2014
Up until Patriot Acts, I've loved the Atticus Kodiak series. The characters were well written, three dimensional people who seemed real enough to walk off the page. The plots were expertly constructed, speeding along through twists and turns like a roller coaster. It would be easy to write a book about bodyguards in a way that was fun and engaging to read but didn't seem based in reality, and Rucka side stepped that trap beautifully. One of my favorite things about this series is how real it all seems; I could imagine each and every single events happening in real life. That's what makes the series so engaging: it's a lifestyle and a job strange and foreign but absolutely based in this reality. In Patriot Acts, Rucka steps away from all that. Atticus and Drama exist is this shadow world of Eastern European mobsters and an off the grid, off the radar existence. Gone are the plots I could imagine myself in. Gone are some of my favorite characters, the ones who helped root this series to reality. It's not a badly written book at all; it's just not an Atticus Kodiak book. Rucka has really taken a sharp left turn with the series, and I hope he gets back on track. I'll give him one more book, and then I'll try to forget all about this part of the series and go back to the Atticus I know and love.
Read
October 8, 2007I started reading it and then stopped. And I've officially given up on this book, I returned it to the Library Saturday. Maybe I'll try again in the future, bbcause I really enjoyed the first few of these books, but the shift towards James Bond has left me a little cold.
June 14, 2024
Brilliant book. I love Atticus Kodiak.
November 13, 2022
Greg Rucka takes a turn at character assassination in the 6th book in the Atticus Kodiak series. Rucka completes the transformation of Atticus Kodiak from bodyguard to bodyguard-for-an-assassin to assassin's-apprentice to reluctant-assassin...and along the way Rucka kills off many of the characters and connections to the early part of the series. Keeper is a long time past in another world.
A couple passages:
"Please tell me I'm not getting surgery in a kitchen," I said.
---
The sound of music thumped up through the floor and then through the bed from someplace beneath me, a bass line more felt than heard, and behind that, barely audible, I could make out the susurration of traffic running along streets that sounded slicked and puddled with rain.
[Note: susurration = whispering, murmuring, or rustling]
---
The office had a cowboy motif going, from the wood carving of a bucking bronco to the laminated lariat that hung on the wall beside the front desk. There was a coffeemaker with complimentary coffee, stained with dregs it had spilled over the years, and a couch that wasn't leather but wanted to be. Behind the counter was a display of travel-sized amenities--asprin, toothpaste, shampoo, everything you might need if you'd forgotten to pack before meeting your mistress. A television hung nearby on the wall, burbling news softly, but instead of aiming out so the guests could enjoy it, it had been turned the other way, to service the management.
A couple passages:
"Please tell me I'm not getting surgery in a kitchen," I said.
---
The sound of music thumped up through the floor and then through the bed from someplace beneath me, a bass line more felt than heard, and behind that, barely audible, I could make out the susurration of traffic running along streets that sounded slicked and puddled with rain.
[Note: susurration = whispering, murmuring, or rustling]
---
The office had a cowboy motif going, from the wood carving of a bucking bronco to the laminated lariat that hung on the wall beside the front desk. There was a coffeemaker with complimentary coffee, stained with dregs it had spilled over the years, and a couch that wasn't leather but wanted to be. Behind the counter was a display of travel-sized amenities--asprin, toothpaste, shampoo, everything you might need if you'd forgotten to pack before meeting your mistress. A television hung nearby on the wall, burbling news softly, but instead of aiming out so the guests could enjoy it, it had been turned the other way, to service the management.
November 13, 2012
Patriot Acts is a damn fine novel that has one truly fatal flaw; that ending. I won't spoil it, but to suffice to say that all the buildup that Rucka does over the course of the novel fizzles with anticlimax the way I have never truly experienced before. I understand the reasoning behind it. I do not think that it worked. Everything leading up to that point however is some of the best action-thriller writing I have ever absorbed. Rucka turns Atticus Kodiak into something completely different with Patriot Acts and by extension the series morphs into something new as well. The story structure seems different in many ways, although Rucka's form of breaking the book into sections that started with "Shooting at Midnight" remains intact.
The pacing, the plotting, and the narrative are all solid. There is some feeling of nagging questions lingering above your head as a reader at certain times with regard to where other characters have gone or how they are reacting to the progression of Atticus' story when they had been pretty integral supporting pieces earlier in the series but Rucka's focus on Atticus and only Atticus gives the book a real sense of definition, though some might not be too happy about what that definition is.
The pacing, the plotting, and the narrative are all solid. There is some feeling of nagging questions lingering above your head as a reader at certain times with regard to where other characters have gone or how they are reacting to the progression of Atticus' story when they had been pretty integral supporting pieces earlier in the series but Rucka's focus on Atticus and only Atticus gives the book a real sense of definition, though some might not be too happy about what that definition is.
October 18, 2019
PROTAGONIST: Atticus Kodiak
SERIES: #6 of 6
RATING: 4.25
WHY: This book fundamentally changes Atticus Kodiak from a prinicpled bodyguard to a man who has ended up in the Top Ten Assassination list. It's a bit jarring to see how different he is as a character. He has become involved with "Drama", a woman who is also on the Top Ten, and they are trying to live like "normal" people when of their best friends is killed. From that point on, it is a tale of seeking venegeance of her death. The plot is action packed, but there is also another dimension where Drama and Atticus struggle to maintain their humanity. I really enjoy this series, despite the changes that the main character has undergone.
SERIES: #6 of 6
RATING: 4.25
WHY: This book fundamentally changes Atticus Kodiak from a prinicpled bodyguard to a man who has ended up in the Top Ten Assassination list. It's a bit jarring to see how different he is as a character. He has become involved with "Drama", a woman who is also on the Top Ten, and they are trying to live like "normal" people when of their best friends is killed. From that point on, it is a tale of seeking venegeance of her death. The plot is action packed, but there is also another dimension where Drama and Atticus struggle to maintain their humanity. I really enjoy this series, despite the changes that the main character has undergone.
September 24, 2019
Patriot Acts by Greg Rucka is another of the Atticus Kodiak thrillers and the first of the series I have read. I know Rucka from his work in comics, mostly and have been wanting to try his prose fiction for a while. What I got from this book was a high action thriller told in the first person, that didn’t take time to catch its breath.
The novel begins tying off lose ends from the previous novel, I am assuming, as Atticus is saying goodbye to a team he had just completed an assignment with. Quickly, characters are introduced and we are given shorthand on their relationships with each other. It doesn’t take long for everything to go to hell as a hit squad attempts to take them all out, and succeeds is killing a member of the team Atticus was with. The rest of the novel is about his quest to find who ordered the hit squad to attack, and getting revenge for their actions.
The prose is fast paced and the plot doesn’t slow down, even though years pass between certain sections as Rucka has taken out everything that doesn’t’ add to the story. There is some small character development, but for the most part, the lead characters are quick thinking, competent warriors who only pause now and then to assess the situation, which is probably the appeal of the book.
For a thriller, it’s one of the better ones I have read this year. My only issue with the book is that the ending is a let down, and appears to come with little cost or struggle for the protagonist. I kept expecting something more. The sequence of the protagonist’s escape from a cheap motel surrounded by police in the middle of the novel was far more thrilling than the final act. However, that is a minor quibble. A first rate action novel that moves relentlessly toward its target with no deviations.
The novel begins tying off lose ends from the previous novel, I am assuming, as Atticus is saying goodbye to a team he had just completed an assignment with. Quickly, characters are introduced and we are given shorthand on their relationships with each other. It doesn’t take long for everything to go to hell as a hit squad attempts to take them all out, and succeeds is killing a member of the team Atticus was with. The rest of the novel is about his quest to find who ordered the hit squad to attack, and getting revenge for their actions.
The prose is fast paced and the plot doesn’t slow down, even though years pass between certain sections as Rucka has taken out everything that doesn’t’ add to the story. There is some small character development, but for the most part, the lead characters are quick thinking, competent warriors who only pause now and then to assess the situation, which is probably the appeal of the book.
For a thriller, it’s one of the better ones I have read this year. My only issue with the book is that the ending is a let down, and appears to come with little cost or struggle for the protagonist. I kept expecting something more. The sequence of the protagonist’s escape from a cheap motel surrounded by police in the middle of the novel was far more thrilling than the final act. However, that is a minor quibble. A first rate action novel that moves relentlessly toward its target with no deviations.
Read
December 21, 2025The sixth #atticuskodiak novel #patriotacts from @ruckawriter published in 2007. After a 6 year break #gregrucka brings back our favourite bodyguard. It picks up right where the last novel in the series ended. There are a few non-linear time shifts. I really love the detailed descriptions of trade craft. It’s interesting that one traumatic event and a few hundred pages can turn someone from bodyguard to assassin. Very enjoyable despite one or two leap of logic/faith in how the antagonist would interpret events. Even though the characters mention and acknowledge the problem, this doesn’t necessarily absolve the writer! Plus the final showdown changing locations at the last minute does build tension and is justified from an emotional sense (that the characters just want to have it over and done with) - but it doesn’t quite make sense from the trade craft perspective. All the months of planning surely they would abort and reschedule. It seems awfully risky to pivot at the last minute and fly by the seat of the pants given how cautious and calculated they have been throughout. I still had a good time with it. Looking forward to the next one.
November 27, 2020
If it wasn't 2020, I'm not sure I would've liked this book as much. My big issue with the series turn is Atticus' sibling-guardian relationship with Erika is never dealt with and seems the most out-of-character. I can handwave the assassin body training and do buy Atticus' romantic relationship with Alena.
This being 2020, it felt cathartic to read about an assassination of a White House Chief of Staff and taking down a corrupt and evil as heck private defense corporate organization. A fictional justice because I have little doubt there will be none in this real world. Not even mild jail time.
This being 2020, it felt cathartic to read about an assassination of a White House Chief of Staff and taking down a corrupt and evil as heck private defense corporate organization. A fictional justice because I have little doubt there will be none in this real world. Not even mild jail time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 1, 2020
I don’t know. It’s still well-written on a technical level, but I just really don’t like the direction the last two books have gone. I loved how the Kodiak books were smaller, contained thrillers (or an awesome PI novel with Shooting at Midnight). But now they’ve turned into more general thrillers and it’s just not as interesting.
December 24, 2021
Not my favorite. This is the first book I've read by this author and I'm not sure if that is why I just could not get into this series. I had questions for which I got no answers. Why was Atticus and Drama targeted? I got no satisfactory answer which is funny because that is the one question that should have been answered.
January 23, 2019
I like this author, but this was not his best effort.
March 18, 2020
A good thriller but a bad Kodiak book the series really jumped the shark about half way through the last book
August 3, 2021
Основно я прочетох, за да видя какво ще се случи с централната романтична линия. Това и беше най-интересната част от книгата. Атилъс е далеч от елемента си и би могъл да се казва Ромео.
June 27, 2011
First off, you need to be warned: this book is actually the second half of the story that began in Critical Space; it picks up literally minutes after the end of that book. If you did what I did and start reading Patriot Acts before its predecessor, you're not going to know what the hell is going on or why you should care. This pissed me off more than a little, since there is no indication anywhere on the cover or inside of the edition I got that this is the case. Nevertheless, I bit the bullet, went back, and read Critical Space. So this review can be considered as applying to both books.
Bodyguard Atticus Kodiak is back. This time, he's hired in a rather unconventional way to protect an extremely unconventional client: the international assassin code-named Drama, who almost killed him in Smoker. Drama's retirement is being disrupted by someone who's out to kill her, and Atticus, the only person who's ever beaten her, is the only one she trusts. But when your life becomes entwined with that of a stone killer, there's really no way to avoid becoming one yourself...
The story moves along at a blazing pace (with one exception, a scene in Critical Space where Drama is trying to get Atticus alone by sending him all over New York City, that just seems to go on forever). The prose is lean and tough, and there are moments that pack a real emotional wallop. I'm not quite sure I buy the rationale for part of the plan near the end of the book,other than to provide one of those wallops, but by that time, I was invested enough in finding out how it ended I let it slide.
Greg Rucka writes thrillers like nobody else, and Critical Space/Patriot Acts is him at the top of his form.
Bodyguard Atticus Kodiak is back. This time, he's hired in a rather unconventional way to protect an extremely unconventional client: the international assassin code-named Drama, who almost killed him in Smoker. Drama's retirement is being disrupted by someone who's out to kill her, and Atticus, the only person who's ever beaten her, is the only one she trusts. But when your life becomes entwined with that of a stone killer, there's really no way to avoid becoming one yourself...
The story moves along at a blazing pace (with one exception, a scene in Critical Space where Drama is trying to get Atticus alone by sending him all over New York City, that just seems to go on forever). The prose is lean and tough, and there are moments that pack a real emotional wallop. I'm not quite sure I buy the rationale for part of the plan near the end of the book,other than to provide one of those wallops, but by that time, I was invested enough in finding out how it ended I let it slide.
Greg Rucka writes thrillers like nobody else, and Critical Space/Patriot Acts is him at the top of his form.
May 8, 2009
I was recommended this series by my college friend Kirk Brennan, and having read excerpts on the author's web site, I was sufficiently intrigued to run down to the local Barnes and Noble. They only had this one, the 5th in the series, which I would not recommend anyone else start with. The series started with the protagonist, Atticus Kodiak, as a bodyguard in a noir style, and starting with the previous book in the series, he morphed into a Jason Bourne-ish international assassin/man of mystery. This book is essentially the second half of a two-part narrative, so that you begin in medias res, and I had to play catch-up.
The author is a little self-enamored of his knowledge of firearm models, which suggests that the knowledge is recently acquired, and runs counter to the familiarity that his characters should have. And his prose is intended for speed, not beauty.
But the guy can whip together a plot that moves, and his twists are clever without straining plausibility. The characters are clever without being super-geniuses. In general, this reminds me of early Thomas Perry (The Butcher's Boy and Sleeping Dogs) and we need more of those. I'm going to go back and read from the beginning of the series. Recommended.
The author is a little self-enamored of his knowledge of firearm models, which suggests that the knowledge is recently acquired, and runs counter to the familiarity that his characters should have. And his prose is intended for speed, not beauty.
But the guy can whip together a plot that moves, and his twists are clever without straining plausibility. The characters are clever without being super-geniuses. In general, this reminds me of early Thomas Perry (The Butcher's Boy and Sleeping Dogs) and we need more of those. I'm going to go back and read from the beginning of the series. Recommended.
November 30, 2011
Hard to say why I found this Atticus Kodiak book so very disappointing after Critical Space, but it felt like a new direction for this character, and one I don't much like.
In his best stuff, Rucka is kind of like the Ricky Jay of action thrillers: He's good with the close-up work, with stuff that makes the most of his deep knowledge of ordnance, and martial arts, and hand-to-hand, and similar such things. In the earlier books in this series, the plots hew closely (at least initially) to things that arise from Atticus's work as a bodyguard, and so never stray too far from Rucka's sweet spot until the final act, when the story typically goes big and crazy. But in this book (and, I fear, in the next one, which I also picked up), the storyline seems to be veering into the territory of international espionage—more the stomping ground of Rucka's Tara Chase novels, which are weaker and move like molasses. By the end of this novel, Kodiak is a different sort of player on a different sort of stage. Not sure what Rucka's grand strategy is with this character, but I also don't care. I miss the close-up work, and this new direction is a bummer.
In his best stuff, Rucka is kind of like the Ricky Jay of action thrillers: He's good with the close-up work, with stuff that makes the most of his deep knowledge of ordnance, and martial arts, and hand-to-hand, and similar such things. In the earlier books in this series, the plots hew closely (at least initially) to things that arise from Atticus's work as a bodyguard, and so never stray too far from Rucka's sweet spot until the final act, when the story typically goes big and crazy. But in this book (and, I fear, in the next one, which I also picked up), the storyline seems to be veering into the territory of international espionage—more the stomping ground of Rucka's Tara Chase novels, which are weaker and move like molasses. By the end of this novel, Kodiak is a different sort of player on a different sort of stage. Not sure what Rucka's grand strategy is with this character, but I also don't care. I miss the close-up work, and this new direction is a bummer.
February 16, 2009
The book begins right after Critical Space.
In the previous book, Drama's real name was revealed as Alena Cizkova. She was an orphan, abused while still a child then trained in the Soviet Union as an assassin. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, she became a murderer for hire, taking only the most difficult jobs. When Oxford, attacked their safe house a second time, Atticus armed with a sniper rifle, was unable to shoot him in cold blood. Alena, knowing that he will not be able to do so, was the one who killed Oxford.
This book completes the evolution of Atticus from bodyguard to killer. Oxford's employers mounted another attack on the safe house and this time, Natalie Trent, was killed. When 3 men ambushed Atticus, he turned the tables on them and killed two and wounded the third, before he was able to escape.
The rest of the book deals with the hunt for the employers of Oxford. In the end, Atticus will find it much easier to kill two men in cold blood. His transformation to Darth Vader is complete.
In the previous book, Drama's real name was revealed as Alena Cizkova. She was an orphan, abused while still a child then trained in the Soviet Union as an assassin. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, she became a murderer for hire, taking only the most difficult jobs. When Oxford, attacked their safe house a second time, Atticus armed with a sniper rifle, was unable to shoot him in cold blood. Alena, knowing that he will not be able to do so, was the one who killed Oxford.
This book completes the evolution of Atticus from bodyguard to killer. Oxford's employers mounted another attack on the safe house and this time, Natalie Trent, was killed. When 3 men ambushed Atticus, he turned the tables on them and killed two and wounded the third, before he was able to escape.
The rest of the book deals with the hunt for the employers of Oxford. In the end, Atticus will find it much easier to kill two men in cold blood. His transformation to Darth Vader is complete.
September 23, 2012
I wasn't sure at first if I'd like it. I rarely read spy (or, to be precise, assassin) thrillers. But I liked the author's mixture of "macho" noir, Spartan narrative, including the protagonist's rather practical-minded stream of consciousness, and tale of desperate love.
I did encounter one section I found rather less entertaining. At one point, the author carries on about the hypothetical steps one would take if one was to find themselves wanting to quit the business of assassination. He carries on about the subject. And on. And on. And, since it is presented as a hypothetical, it's all explained using in nonspecific, third-person terms (i.e., using the pronoun "one" instead of a particular character's name). Try as I might to stay attentive, I lost my focus during that section of the story. The fact that I was listening to the audiobook version and couldn't simply skip ahead to the page where the author returns to the actual story didn't help.
But by the time I reached the end of Rucka's story, I forgave him. At worst, I'd probably give him a 'B+'.
I did encounter one section I found rather less entertaining. At one point, the author carries on about the hypothetical steps one would take if one was to find themselves wanting to quit the business of assassination. He carries on about the subject. And on. And on. And, since it is presented as a hypothetical, it's all explained using in nonspecific, third-person terms (i.e., using the pronoun "one" instead of a particular character's name). Try as I might to stay attentive, I lost my focus during that section of the story. The fact that I was listening to the audiobook version and couldn't simply skip ahead to the page where the author returns to the actual story didn't help.
But by the time I reached the end of Rucka's story, I forgave him. At worst, I'd probably give him a 'B+'.
August 26, 2009
I can't decide if I like the direction the series has taken or not. I think I do, but I also really like the first three books. I find it hard to see them all as being the same series. It's like the first three (Finder, Keeper and Smoker were real life and the others (Critical Space, Patriot Acts and Walking Dead are all in an alternate dimension.
December 14, 2011
(Original review: http://hill-kleerup.org/blog/2009/06/...)
The latest Atticus Kodiak novel, "Patriot Acts" brings the former bodyguard deeper into the world of covert operations and assassination-for-hire. I’ve long regretted that direction, but Rucka handles it beautifully, spanning multiple continents, realistic blocks of time, and telling a very human story of bloodshed, tenderness, betrayal, loyalty, conspiracies, and the “spy stuff” that he so excels in.
The tone continues to remind me of Parker’s Spenser novels, at their peak — complex, philosophical, bloody, personal, dealing with folks who are perhaps unrealistically competent, but who take their bloody lumps in showing it.
Not the last Kodiak novel, no matter how much the protagonist might desire or deserve it.
The latest Atticus Kodiak novel, "Patriot Acts" brings the former bodyguard deeper into the world of covert operations and assassination-for-hire. I’ve long regretted that direction, but Rucka handles it beautifully, spanning multiple continents, realistic blocks of time, and telling a very human story of bloodshed, tenderness, betrayal, loyalty, conspiracies, and the “spy stuff” that he so excels in.
The tone continues to remind me of Parker’s Spenser novels, at their peak — complex, philosophical, bloody, personal, dealing with folks who are perhaps unrealistically competent, but who take their bloody lumps in showing it.
Not the last Kodiak novel, no matter how much the protagonist might desire or deserve it.
March 18, 2012
The saga of Atticus Kodiak finally continues; this novel is set immediately after the previous, when Atticus has hooked up with Drama, the Russian super-assassin. Now, they are ambushed by mercenaries, and Natalie is killed. Atticus and Drama go into hiding for three years, then emerge to kill the man who gave the order --- Jason Earle, the White House Chief of Staff (a thinly disguised Dick Cheney, with his Halliburton connections).
I was, I'm afraid, on the whole disappointed with this book. Rucka shines at times, with his dark, ultra-realistic side. But he often resorts to deus ex machinas, such as having Earle assume that he’s no longer being hunted, when there’s no evidence whatever to assume any such thing. And the ending is a huge anticlimax. I have to admit, though, until the less than thrilling ending, Rucka keeps the adrenaline pumping.
I was, I'm afraid, on the whole disappointed with this book. Rucka shines at times, with his dark, ultra-realistic side. But he often resorts to deus ex machinas, such as having Earle assume that he’s no longer being hunted, when there’s no evidence whatever to assume any such thing. And the ending is a huge anticlimax. I have to admit, though, until the less than thrilling ending, Rucka keeps the adrenaline pumping.
August 20, 2008
Ultimately my enjoyment of this one suffered because it wasn't the Atticus book I wanted. After an absence of so many years, I wanted certain characters and certain things done in a certain way, and kept holding my breath every chapter that those things were going to happen. "Critical Space" is really the last of the "Bodyguard Atticus" books. This is something new, and I think I'll enjoy the next book in the series, which is coming out sometime in '09, all the more now that I've made that realization.
March 11, 2012
Love the Atticus Kodiak bodyguard series, where the characters actually change & evolve in believable ways.
Atticus’s association with elite assassin Elena turns deadly. Again. When Atticus is mistakenly identified as one of “The Ten” (the world’s most wanted hitmen) he and Elena’s efforts to find safety may force Atticus to take that last step from bodyguard to hitman. The action grabs you by the throat and never lets go. Laced with bitterness, the book explores more of the motivations and machinations of hitmen and those who would hire them.
Atticus’s association with elite assassin Elena turns deadly. Again. When Atticus is mistakenly identified as one of “The Ten” (the world’s most wanted hitmen) he and Elena’s efforts to find safety may force Atticus to take that last step from bodyguard to hitman. The action grabs you by the throat and never lets go. Laced with bitterness, the book explores more of the motivations and machinations of hitmen and those who would hire them.
April 26, 2012
This wasn't as good as I expected from Rucka. In this and the previous Atticus novel, it seems as if Atticus' world is shrinking. Part of what I liked about the series was the complex network of relationships Atticus maintains, and the complex world between personal morality and rules and public good that he navigates. In moving into a spy-type world, those relationships have fallen away, and the morality questions, while more high stakes, seem less negotiable. And that's just less fun. Still plan to read the next one, though!
March 19, 2009
Rucka's books continue to be page-turners (I read this across two long sessions in two nights), but Atticus Kodiak has gone from a likable, somewhat realistic bodyguard to a nigh-superheroic conflicted assassin, and I have to admit, I miss the guy who had friends, a girlfriend and a more realistic job, rather than the guy on the run with his super-assassin girlfriend taking on White House conspiracies.
November 25, 2012
I think this book is an acceptable thriller with bonus points for the latter part taking place in areas I grew up. It is not my favorite of the Kodiak books or of Rucka's work in general, but it gets the job done if you're in the mood for this sort of thriller novel. I liked the ending. It felt satisfying and kept with this series' verisimilitude. No major social quibbles. a few of the lines make you roll your eyes hard core.
May 3, 2010
I love Greg Rucka and I love Atticus Kodiak, but this book gave the impression that Rucka was done writing this dude, no seriously guys, done for good this time. Whilst it wasn't a bad book, it wasn't nearly as good as the earlier books in the series; on the other hand, if I could love anyone while they phoned it in, it'd be the Rucka.
So, series over! It's for the best.
So, series over! It's for the best.
May 22, 2009
This would be a good airplane/beach diversionary book if I didn't expect better from Greg Rucka. The characters are entertaining, the dialogue is believable, and the plot is so full of holes that it barely holds together. Patriot Acts is an OK read, but, hindsight being 20/20, I would rather re-read the amazing Keeper (or the second Tara Chace novel, Private Wars).
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews