Created by Greg Rucka
(1969–)
ATTICUS KODIAK is a professional bodyguard, headquartered in New York, whose career, despite his youth, has already experienced a few ups and downs. He’s a great character, a deft combination of cold-blooded professionalism, brooding introspection and easy-going charm, surrounded by a fascinating crew of sometimes-larger-than-life characters, many of whom are strong enough and compelling enough to hold their own in a novel.
It was an exciting new series, that at the time of the first novel’s release, I tagged as well worth watching. In fact, Keeper was a 1997 Shamus nominees for Best First P.I. Novel.
And I wasn’t kidding about the supporting cast. There’s even been a spin-off tale featuring Atticus’ tough-talking girlfriend, Bridgett Logan, a Life Saver-sucking, nose-ringed 6’1″ private eye, who has a few issues of her own to deal with.
But Rucka’s most compelling creation may be the deadly female assassin known as Drama, whom Rucka finally succeeds in freeing from the clutches of an international assassin cadre known as The Ten. In fact, fans who’ve been waiting anxiously for Rucka to up the ante won’t be disappointed by his latest, Patriot Acts (after 2001’s Critical Space) which has Atticus and Drama, now known as Alena, on the run from almost everyone, on a big-scale globe-trotting thriller that’s almost Ludlumesque in its scope (complete with the obligatory conspiracy that may reach as far as the Pentagon).
The difference is that this Rucka guy never skimps on his characters or his plotting — and displays a sure hand and little fear when he sets down to write, no matter the medium.
And if Rucka’s vivid characters sometimes feel a little larger-than-life, well,  besides crime fiction, Greg’s has written quite a few crime-oriented comics, including his acclaimed mini-series, Whiteout, a murder mystery with a female protagonist set in sub-zero Antarctica, and Stumptown (2009), a Portland-set series featuring another of Rucka’s strong female characters, P.I. Dex Parios. He’s also has been known to pen a tale or two featuring a certain moody crimefighter from Gotham City who likes to dress like a giant flying rodent, even helming the flagship Batman book, Detective Comics, for a while, and saddling Bruce Wayne for a while with an unwanted bodyguard, Sasha Bordeaux. And back on the prose side, Rucka has also written a couple of books about retired Delta Force operator turned security officer Jad Bell. But calling any of his characters larger-than-life is not a dis in Rucka’s case, — he’s a sharp and savvy enough writer that even some of his most audacious characters throb with a credible and immediately recognizable humanity. And plenty of kick-ass.
DRIVE-BYS
- Although there are only seven books in the Kodiak series, a few of its characters pop up in other work by Rucka, suggesting the that they all live in the same fictional world. Mim Bracca, a rock star with a troubled past, who first appeared in the Kodiak novel Critical Space, later showed up in A Fistful of Rain, a 2003 standalone thriller, and returns home to Portland in the second story arc of Stumptown.
NOVELS
- Keeper (1996) | Buy this book | Buy the audio
- Finder (1997) | Buy this book | Buy the audio
- Smoker (1998)Â |Â Buy this book |Â Buy the audio
- Shooting at Midnight (1999) |Â Buy this book
A non-series series tale, featuring featuring Bridgett Logan. - Critical Space (2001) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
- Patriot Acts (2007) | Buy this book | Kindle it! | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
- Walking Dead (2009) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
RELATED LINKS
- Greg Rucka: He Writes Stuff
A good place to keep up on all things Ruckian.
