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highly recommended |
Move over James Bond and make room for Tara Chase!!! 
Better known for his "Atticus Kodiak" novels, Greg Rucka has started a new series about Tara Chase, a female British Secret Service agent, known as a "Minder" in the trade world of spy craft. Chase is just as tough and sexual as James Bond, but much more realistic with flaws that show up under extreme stress, not mention backstabbing by the British bureaucrats.
The first book in this new series is A Gentleman's Game and has Tara Chase still recovering from lost of an old friend and lover. When a terrorist attack on the London underground train system results in the deaths of over three hundred people, the British government decides to strike back in retaliation at the Moslems who planned this death and destruction. Chase is sent in to Yemen to assassinate the spiritual leader (Dr. Faud) of the Moslem terrorist group who instigated the attack. Faud's meeting with one of the main terrorist leaders, plus a Saudi prince, who funds many of the terrorist attacks. Chase is also working with the Israeli Mossad as a favor and has agreed to take out the two main people, if the opportunity presents itself. The mission proves to be a success from the British point of view, but to complete it, Chase had to kill Dr. Faud and the Saudi prince when they were praying in a Moslem mosque. The outrage from Saudi Arabia is intense and turns into a political embarrassment for the British government. To appease the Saudis, the British agree to turn over Chase to them so that she can be tried and executed. Chase's boss, Paul Crocker, has a bloody fit at what his government is doing and decides to save Chase by ordering her run. This leads her to Israel and the chance to win back the favor of the British government by killing the Moslem terrorist who escaped during the first mission and by taking out a camp of eighty Moslem terrorists. Chase turns to the first person she trusts, Tom Wallace, and together they attempt to do the impossible.
Though I sometimes got confused with all the long Moslem names, A Gentleman's Game had razor-sharp suspense and crackling action that held me to the end with utter fascination. When Chase is thrown to the wolves by her own government, you feel her hurt and sense of betrayal, and then you loudly clap your hands with glee when her boss and the other agents in her department assist her in getting out of London. Tara Chase also proves to be a most interesting character that instantly demands your complete attention. She loves to drink, to have sex, and to be on the high wire of a mission. She reminded me somewhat of Adam Hall's British secret agent, Quiller. I liked her and was rooting for her throughout the book In fact, I enjoyed the novel so much that I immediately started its sequel, Private Wars, right after I finished it and read another hundred pages in just a few short hours. This is a very compelling series that is sure to bring its author, Greg Rucka, more of the fame he so richly deserves. It would also make a great movie with Kate Beckingsale as Tara Chase. For those of you who are "Atticus Kodiak" fans, prepare yourselves for the newest novel in the series, Patriot Acts, which comes out in August. All in all, a splendid read that had me wanting more!
Excellent
Rucka is approaching the quality of the top political/espionage thriller writers like LeCarre, Ambler and Ross Thomas with this novel, which I prefer to his follow-up novel. His view of modern politics and espionage is more realistic than anything Ian Fleming wrote, even though Fleming's writing is way better than the Bond movies (except for the most current one). While still a bit "politically correct"/ moralistic in the underlying sentiment, the novel is showing a very possible reality of modern politics and politicians with excellent knowledge of technical aspects and weaponry as well - without the author boring the reader with too many technical details about weapons.
A Promising New Series from Rucka 
A Gentleman's Game is the first in what bids to be a successful series of books from Greg Rucka, already well known for his strong Atticus Kodiak series. If you haven't read those, do so soon. It is important to read them in order. Shooting at Midnight is the best of the lot, but the whole lot is pretty compelling.
Anyway, back to A Gentleman's Game. All the blurbs keep drawing parallels to the TV series Alias. A few of the prior reviewers have also noted the similarities between an attack in the book on London's mass transit system and the tragic events of the summer of 2005. It is worth noting that there is a more useful parallal between A Gentleman's Game and another book, Mark Burnell's The Rhytym Section which also features a female assassin working for an ultra-secret British intelligence outfit where the enemy is just as likely to be a co-worker as it is a terorrist.
A Gentleman's Game compares quite favorably to The Rhytym Section, which has gone on to be the foundation of a strong series for Burnell. Rucka's ancillary characters are more finely drawn and deeper nuanced. He gets much further into the psyche of the terrorists than does Burnell, both in terms of their politics and in terms of their emotions.
There is also far more serious discussion of politics and differing threads of thought and belief in modern Islam. Islam is at least as diverse as modern Christianity is, although one would seldom think so to read most of the media in the West. How ironic to encounter a thoughtful discussion of why radical Islam believes there is a "Sixth Pillar of Wisdom" and that it is jihad in a thriler novel! Even more ironic is that an author who has spent time in the comic book genre has a lot to say about Wahhabism and why the House of Saud is at least as dangerous to the West as it is friendly.
As I mentioned earlier, Burnell has made his debut novel about a female assassin into the foundation of a series which has gotten better over time and now garners strong reviews from newspapers like The Economist. Let's hope Rucka does the same with his Tara Chace character.
Vivid action scenes with subtle, well-done characterization
I've read a couple of "Queen & Country" graphic novels, and I thought the art let them down. That problem's not an issue here. Rucka writes vivid action scenes and peppers the book with subtle, well-done characterization. He knows how to make pages of conversation interesting and does a great job of disguising infodumps so the reader doesn't have to suffer through encyclopedic exposition. He manages to condense the first "Queen & Country" graphic novel into just a few pages. And there are some great plot twists. In all, an excellent read.
I should mention that Rucka's written some excellent comics over the years (particularly White Out). I'll be reevaluating the "Queen & Country" series as well as checking out some of his other work soon.
No gentlemen in these games.
Because "A Gentleman's Game," Greg Rucka's sarcastically titled spy thriller, begins with an attack on the London transit system, maybe you'll think he's exploiting a tragic event. Not at all. He was prescient. The book predates the attack.
Anyhow, after the attack the British decide to get even, and send their top assassin, Tara Chace, aka "Minder One," into Yemen to take out the mastermind. She does, but also eliminates a Saudi Prince. Upon her return to London, she discovers that the Brits have decided to sell her out to the Saudis for trial and execution so that the Saudis will, in turn, take out a terrorist training camp.
Chace, with the aid of her boss and the other two assassins in her department, escapes, and then things start to get interesting.
The author's efficient prose will keep you reading along. He has a knack for characterization, too. Apparently "Queen and Country" started as a graphic novel, but his characters are far from cartoons. That impressed me majorly. He brings to life not only Tara but also her Muslim enemies, her Israeli friends, and her British colleagues, some of whom aren't sure which they are. And don't be surprised if you read the last 40 pages without managing to take a breath. Then you'll be ready for the sequel, "Private Wars."
Notes and Asides: Yes! I agree with the reviewer who suggests Kate Beckinsale play Tara in a movie version.
reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4
Tara Chace may be the most dangerous woman alive. She can seduce you into believing she?s the woman of your dreams?or kill you with the icy efficiency of an executioner. As the new head of Special Operations for British Intelligence, she no longer has to court death in the field?she wants to.
Throw away the old rules, the old school, the old-boy network. The world of international espionage is about to learn the hard way that spying is no longer merely?
A GENTLEMAN?S GAME
Greg Rucka?s electrifying thrillers have pushed the boundaries of suspense fiction to where few have dared to go. Now, in A Gentleman?s Game, one of the genre?s most fearless writers brings readers of international espionage his most
fearless heroine yet: a no-holds-barred woman who?s as lethal as an assassin?s bullet.
When an unthinkable act of terror devastates London, nothing will stop Tara Chace from hunting down those responsible. Her job is simple: stop the terrorists before they strike a second time. To succeed, she?ll do anything and everything it takes. She?ll have to kill again.
Only this time the personal stakes will be higher than ever before. For the terrorist counterstrike will require that Tara allow herself to be used as bait by the government she serves. This time she?s turning her very life into a weapon that can be used only once. But as she and her former mentor race toward destiny at a remote terrorist training camp in Saudi Arabia, Tara begins to question just who?s pulling the trigger?and who?s the real enemy. In this new kind of war, betrayal can take any form...including one?s duty to queen and country.
Based on the graphic novel series that won the coveted Eisner Award, A Gentleman?s Game is an electrifyingly realistic, headline-stealing thriller with an unforgettable protagonist?one who redefines every rule she doesn?t shatter.
From the Hardcover edition.
game, gentleman
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based on 20 reviews
