AUTHOR'S GOOD ENOUGH, WAITING ON A BETTER BOOK...

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	• Keeper Greg Rucka Bantam, 1997 - 368 pages average customer review:based on 22 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

AUTHOR'S GOOD ENOUGH, WAITING ON A BETTER BOOK...

Keeper is the second novel I've read that deals with the issues involved in America's abortion debate. The first, Insomnia by Stephen King, dealt with the issues in a way that I found surprisingly insightful and somewhat even-handed. Insomnia was, like most of Mr. King's work, very character driven and it worked on many fronts--mostly those not dealing with the abortion debate. It got bogged down and seemed to throw the abortion issues into an already full pot.

On the other hand, Keeper's drama centers on and stems from the abortion debate. Keeper is also somewhat even-handed (in the end, both Insomnia and Keeper tend more towards the pro-abortion side of things). Keeper is just as Character driven, but somewhat less engrossing than Insomnia (not to compare the two--they are really apples and oranges in all respects but the abortion).

Keeper's main character is Atticus Kodiak--a bodyguard. He is the only fully drawn character in the book. Another character, a private eye named Bridget, almost comes to life as well, but only almost.

We are drawn (first person narration) into Atticus's world. The strength and the hook of Keeper is our fascination with Atticus's life. Mine wasn't that strong for the first half of the book; yet he grew on me.

Keeper is not really a whodunnit. Its a wedamnwellknowwhodunnit for most of its length. Keeper is more of a can-he-stop-it than a mystery.

It is what it is with some hardbitten prose and dialogue torn from the pages of Elmore Leonard. I found it entertaining enough that I'll read the next book of the series (O God please let it not be about abortion this time) and report back here.

Till then, this one gets more of a nod than a recommendation.

(As a grim postscript and an aside--if, for some reason, you are interested in further aborti-fiction and want a piece from the opposing side of the debate, check out F. Paul Wilson's story Foet in the Borderlands 2 anthology. It is quite a nasty little piece, but well done--very well done).

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Interesting character, taut thriller

Greg Rucka's prose is fluid and fine-edged, reminiscent of Lawrence Block's work in his Matthew Scudder series of novels minus the New York City grit that Block does so well.

Atticus Kodiak, Rucka's protagonist is, if seemingly a little too young at 28, an engaging character with an interesting supporting cast, and his chosen profession, bodyguard, is vividly depicted. Rucka seems to be known for his research and he's apparently done his homework here as the overall scenario rings true.

The story's backdrop, New York City at the height of the mid-90s anti-abortion protests and clinic bombings makes for a enthralling plot as Kodiak is charged with the protection of a pro-choice doctor. Rucka unself-consciously tackles the sticky politics of the situation, offering welcome shades of gray in what is often a black and white topic, while delivering a taut thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat through the end. An excellent first novel and I'm looking forward to reading the next one in the series.

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Keeper

Greg Rucka is a great writer. I loved this book. The characters are perfectly developed, the plot is engrossing and the pace is perfect. For the first time ever, I read past my bus stop, and I've been reading on the bus for ten years. A wonderful fast read.

Good, Not Great

Doesn't match the quality of Rucka's comics work like Queen & Country or Gotham Central, but still an enjoyable read.

Great novel

An absolutely riveting tale from beginning to end. The book centers on a professional bodyguard who has been hired to protect a doctor who works at an abortion clinic. The doctor has been receiving serious death threats from an extremist organization.

At first I was afraid I would be personally disturbed by the subject matter, but that concern faded as the book went on. Rucka has a knack for making you feel like you're in the center of the action, and the reader is just as surprised as the characters in the novel when things happen.

It's been a long time since I read a book that was almost impossible for me to put down. I found myself trying to sneak in a few pages before going to work on some days. I plan to continue reading this series, definitely.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

In a heartbeat, a crowded auditorium or a city street can become a kill zone, where life and death are separated by a split second. For Atticus Kodiak, professional bodyguard, the object is to keep people alive, and there is no margin for error. Now Kodiak faces his toughest challenge: to protect a woman and her daughter from a killer with a fanatic agenda of his own....

Tense, taut, and as brutally real as this morning's headlines, Keeper marks the debut of a talented young writer of tough, unflinching prose?and the beginning of an electrifying new series.

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