Patriot Acts -- an Atticus Kodiak Novel by Greg Rucka -- a Review

Greg Rucka's Patriot Acts is another in the series of Atticus Kodiak novels by Greg Rucka. It's been many years since I cracked one of them open, and I was glad to get the chance to reenter the world of security expert Kodiak.

In Patriot Acts, Atticus Kodiak finds himself and his professional killer companion, Drama (now Alena) being hunted by people who wish to see them dead. When someone close to Kodiak dies, he wants not only to get to the bottom of who is after him, but to seek revenge for that person's death.

Greg Rucka structures the books in a series of acts that move the book forward, as Kodiak tries first merely to survive, and then to get to plot his revenge. As Alena and Atticus move across the world, using the money she accumulated as a contract killer to survive, the two meditate on whether Alena can ever be more than a cold blooded assassin, and if Atticus might be moving in that direction.

Rucka does an expert job of keeping the book moving, with explosive action scenes juxtaposed with some interesting character development. Rucka also takes time for commentary on how the war machine has shifted to private enterprise and war making companies are too intertwined with our government.

The action scenes in Patriot Acts are well staged, with Rucka creating intense action sequences that have the reader flipping pages to see how our heroes get out of a scrape. I liked the fact that Rucka goes against the conventions of most suspense novels and puts his most intense action sequence up front, and turns the action away from conventional violence and more toward cat and mouse as the novel progresses.

The climax of the novel is marked by a shocking twist and an ending that, while intellectually satisfying, is far different than what the book has set up for the reader.

Overall, Patriot Acts is a decent, fast paced read. Rucka has written a thoughtful and entertaining thriller that , while not the best in the Atticus Kodiak series, is a worthy addition to it.