Review: Patriot Acts

Patriot Acts Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Greg Rucka
Class/Genre: Mystery Thriller
Series: Atticus Kodiak # 6
Bantam, 25.00 USD, August 2007, 352 pages

PATRIOT ACTS is a novel that starts in media res. Readers should not be confused, therefore, if they pick it up only to find that they have scarcely a clue as to what is going on and wonder why there is no introduction to the characters. The story picks up where CRITICAL SPACE left off, with bodyguard Atticus Kodiak ready to settle down with hitwoman Alena, a deadly assassin also known as Drama. However, when they are ambushed and left for dead, he realizes that it will not be that easy, especially as the full weight of the United States Government is brought to bear upon them.

In PATRIOT ACTS, Rucka has created a high-octane novel. The pages fly by, with huge doses of action and excitement. As a rule, the reader tends to root for the hero over the villain, but this novel poses a problem in that while we want Atticus and Alena to succeed and survive, we also have to remember that they are willing to kill and break the law as necessary. These are not everyday citizens who have been wrongly accused of a crime by a tyrannical regime, but people who would appear to be, on the surface at least, cold-hearted killers. Rucka goes to great lengths to create a relationship between Atticus and Alena, particularly as Alena shows that she wants to have feelings and not simply be a killing machine.

The novel includes various settings, moving all over the United States and even with a lengthy trip to the former Soviet Union and the Black Sea. A rest and recuperation period of several years is condensed into a couple of pages in order to concentrate on the action, making it clear that PATRIOT ACTS would make a good film. The book is also interesting in today’s political climate, since the governmental conspiracy and corruption that it paints is one that we might find all too easy to believe in.

While you can pick up this novel without having read any of the previous books in the series, it would be beneficial to have a working knowledge of the series, given the various recurring characters and relationships.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Luke Croll - RAM

Book Review: Patriot Acts