A Gentleman's Game : A Queen & Country Novel

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, bloody brilliant
Review: A Gentleman's Game has to be one of the best novels ive read on the spy genre. Being a Queen and Country fan i was somewhat reticent to read this novel, after some consideration and trusting blindly in Rucka's craft I decided to give it a chance and let me tell you: it was worthy.
Ive read some reviews here and there and ive found two things: the ones who praise this work are totally on the spot and the ones who dismissed it (too Le Carre, Clancy-like) should get stuffed.
Now, I wont bother you with synopsis or insight on this masterpiece, Ill just say that whether you are a Q&C fan or not you should buy this book and read it, trust me is well worth your money.

Rating:
Summary: A great spy thriller
Review: Besides being known as a comic writer, Greg Rucka also has a career as a novelist, best known for his Atticus Kodiak thrillers. So it makes a certain amount of sense for him to combine his two worlds by writing a novel based on his creator-owned Queen & Country series. This presents us then with two questions: How does A Gentleman's Game work as a spy thriller, and how does it work as an extension of the comic book?

As a spy thriller, it works very well indeed. As the main protagonist, Tara Chase is a great character, highly competant but flawed. The plot is a doozy: following a terrorist attack on the London subway system, Tara's SIS section is called upon to retaliate against the terrorists. I won't spoil the plot any further, except to say that there are a couple of great twists that come just at the right time and are as logical as they are surprising. In fact, one of the greatest joys of the novel is that none of the characters have to act like idiots in order for the story to work. While characters may make bad decisions, they are not stupid decisions. I have no idea how accurate the details and settings of this novel are, but it certainly has the feel of authenticity and that Rucka has done his homework. His prose is detailed but doesn't get bogged down, and he can write action as well as the quieter moments. Given that this is based on a comic with which a majority of the readers will be unfamilar, there is a good deal of info-dumping in the first 50-100 pages to get things set up, but it is integrated into the plot and never feels like a plot summary.

A Gentleman's Game also works well as the next chapter for the Queen & Country series. While it is not necessary to be previously familiar with Tara Chase and the rest of the cast from the comic, fans of the comic will find much here to enjoy. Unlike many novels based on comics where the author has to pretty much put things back in place by the end of the book, since Rucka owns Queen & Country he can do whatever he wants, and by the end of A Gentleman's Game things have definitely changed in Tara's world. Rucka uses the opportunities inherent in the novel format to flesh out Tara's world and to give us insight into her internal life and the lives of those around her. This is a both a deeply personal story and a large plot-driven story; and while it would not have been impossible to tell in comic form, it would have had to have been very different, given the difference in the two mediums.

In closing, if you are a fan of spy thrillers, you will enjoy A Gentleman's Game, and if you are a fan of Queen & Country, this novel is a not-to-be-missed installment in the story of Tara Chase.

Rating:
Summary: Too much political intrique
Review: Good action, but not enough of it.The author shouldn't attempt a George Smiley, it's been done. Go with the action, he does it well.

Rating:
Summary: Riveting novel drawn from Rucka's graphic novel series
Review: Greg Rucka has been making a name for himself in the suspense genre for several years with his series of novels involving the enigmatic Atticus Kodiak. Rucka, however, is arguably best known to readers of sequential art collections (that would be comic books to you, fan boy!). He has been toiling mightily in that area for some years now, working on such A-list characters as Superman, Batman, Grendel, Wolverine and Wonder Woman. He has made what is arguably his greatest contribution to that genre with his own creation, a series of graphic novels titled QUEEN & COUNTRY, which involve the inner workings of a branch of a British intelligence agency. It is from the latter that A GENTLEMAN'S GAME, Rucka's latest novel, is drawn.

The focus of A GENTLEMAN'S GAME is Tara Chace, Minder One for The Division of Operations. She is, in less polite terms, an assassin, who is very good at what she does, which is to take out the bad guys --- the terrorists, who have the destruction of Great Britain on their minds and in their hearts. Chace does her job well and finds herself being offered up as a sacrificial lamb by the very agency, and country, to which she has sworn loyalty. Rucka deftly guides his reader through a complex plot, where agents are considered to be expendable commodities.

One of the more fascinating characters here, as in the QUEEN & COUNTRY books, is Paul Crocker, Director of Operations and Chace's superior officer. Crocker is a political animal who somehow maintains a balancing act between protecting the interests of Great Britain and those of his agents, even while one goal is at odds with the other. While one may occasionally differ with Rucka's worldview, he has a canny vision with respect to the manner in which the world ultimately works. While Rucka is quick to give credit to others when it comes to his insight, he is ultimately the channel through which this vision is communicated, and in such a riveting manner.

A GENTLEMAN'S GAME can only increase the width and depth of Rucka's readership. For those unfamiliar with his novels, there are the Atticus Kodiak books (among others) to explore. For those unfamiliar with his sequential art stories, QUEEN AND COUNTRY graphic novels await. And if you've been fortunate enough to read all of Rucka's work to date, you have the pleasure of anticipating his next novel. Recommended.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Rating:
Summary: Effective Action/Espionage Thriller
Review: Greg Rucka is spinning a series of novels off his Oni Press comic-book series about adventure, personal lives, and office politics in the British secret service. His first effort, A Gentleman's Game, promises well for the venture, and it is interesting to see how the characters translate from the graphic format to the prose novel.

Rucka's great strength is in creating flawed yet highly compelling characters. His protagonist, the intense and deadly Tara Chace, made a terrific spy in the comics and easily carries the lesser burden she shoulders in the novel, where one of the villains -- a British citizen turned terrorist, equally compelling -- gets nearly equal time. The novel also follows Tara's bitter, hostile, chain-smoking, gold-hearted boss, the great Paul Crocker, as he does his best to navigate the treacherous shoals of intelligence office politics to clear the way for his agents. New characters, like an amusing pair of Israeli spymasters, and old favorites from the comics like Tom Wallace and the stolid Poole, are equally interesting and welcome.

Rucka has a deep knowledge of his subject, and while his descriptions of weapons can become tiresome (he's the kind of guy who knows, and thinks we have to know, how many foot-pounds of pressure people put on triggers and the brand name every gun anyone has), his acronym-laden spy jargon is convincing and adds flavor to the text.

Rucka may always be a better comic book writer than novelist because he seems weakest when he describes places, people, and action -- things an artist can easily cover him on. But even at his weakest, he is perfectly adequate, and much of this book finds him at his best. There may have been one fight too many towards the end (another possible holdover from a comic-book sensibility), but any weaknesses in this book are minor compared to its strengths. Chace and Crocker are terrific characters, the setting and plot are convincing, and the story is gripping. I picked up A Gentleman's Game right after work and I didn't even put it down to cook and eat. It's intelligent entertainment; I can't wait for the next one.

Rating:
Summary: Edgy, exciting and disturbing
Review: Greg Rucka writes another winning thriller here. This one is based on his award-winning comic book series Queen and Country and occurs in the series continuity. No background in the comics is needed, however. The book alone is sufficient to start the reader on the wild roller coaster ride that is the life of Rucka's protagonist, Tara Chace. You can get the plot summary from the book descriptions above. What a reader should know is that this is fast-paced, page turning writing that depends on characters and not plot to drive the action. The action unfolds from multiple points of view, and includes not only Chace and her boss, but also, notably, the POV of one of the terrorists involved in the terror cell with which Chace must match wits and do battle. While Rucka's pacing is fast, he does not cheat on the motivations of his characters. The action is earned, not forced, the complications of plot are realistic and plausible, without resort to deus ex machina interventions. The effects of violence, betrayal, and secrets are realistically demonstrated in characters' actions and thoughts. No one involved is a cookie cutter hero or villain and the ending, like the action, is far from cinematic Hollywood fare. Rucka is a fiction writer at the top of his game, and he writes the best espionage thrillers bar none, whether his medium is comics or novels. My only regret is that the notable success of this novel will likely delay the return of Rucka's other great protagonist Atticus Kodiak. Go and buy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, but not terrible
Review: Queen and Country makes the jump from graphic novel to traditional novel, and the results are mixed.

The graphic novels, also available on Amazon by the way, are striking in their minimalism. Characters are defined through actions, dialog and gestures, but never through interior monologue or exterior narration. Depending on the artist, the subtlety of the gestures and actions may or may not come through -- it's one of the limitations of the genre.

This novel does not have that limitation, and all those extra words give Rucka a greater opportunity to explore the characters. And here is where it begins to fail: Rucka is often using external narration to tell us about the characters, when he could let the characters speak and act for themselves. Further, Tara Chase, Paul Crocker, and the rest of the continuing cast are not particularly subtle characters, and they don't really benefit from this treatment -- they are comic book characters, and their tortured souls are tortured a bit larger than life, to fit with the genre they were designed for.

The characterization of Sinan feels off. He's an Englishman turned Moslem turned Wahabist turned Jihadist, and Rucka spends a lot of time with him, and we are clearly meant to identify with him to some extent, but I never believed him as a character. His motivation seems to be righteous indignity, but we never understand why -- we only see him on the Wahabist to Jihadist part of his life, and anything before that is avoided. It feels like his history wasn't flushed out and that he's half a character and half a cliche.

The pacing is also a bit erratic, and the last quarter of the book feels very rushed. All of the characterization and exposition is in the first three quarters, leaving that last chunk empty -- not quite an outline of a story, but not quite a story either.

I also find it implausable that Sinan would intersect with Tara Chace three different times, but I would be perfectly willing to overlook that if the story held up, but it really doesn't in the end.

I've read the Queen And Country graphic novels, and loved them. I've read this, and didn't love it. It had enough going for it that I will probably read one of his other novels, to see whether Q&C didn't translate well into across genres, or whether Rucka is just a better writer of graphic novels. But, had I not loved his other work, I would likely just view this novel as forgettable and not pick up one of his other books.

Rating:
Summary: Rucka's the man...
Review: Rucka makes Clancy look like an irrelevant nancy-boy! 'Nuff said. Read it.

Rating:
Summary: A Gentleman's Game: A Queen & Country Novel
Review: Simply brilliant. My only complaint is that the novel would have profited from an expansion which focused on the planning and logistics of the operations involved. I avidly look forward to the sequel.

Rating:
Summary: exhilarating espionage thriller
Review: The terrorist attack on the London Underground leaves over three hundred people dead. The English citizenry is outraged and scream for retribution so the government decides to retaliate. British Secret Intelligence Service Special Ops MI6 Division sends their top man (or in this case woman) agent Tara Chace to take out Dr. Faud bin Abdullah al Shimmari, the extremist ultimately responsible for the attack.

Terrorism is an international business and other nations want a piece of Faud. Several spy agencies from western allies insist that Faud belongs to them having suffered from his extremist terrorist activity in their respective nations. However besides sleeping with some of her so called allies, Chace is tired of the endless negations. She is elated when she is finally sent to kill Faud. However, as she completes her mission with an assassination inside the Great Mosque, a Saudi Prince dies as collateral damage. This international incident has flamed the Moslem world with the audacity of these infidels.

This is an exhilarating espionage thriller that takes a highly regarded comic book heroine and effortlessly turns her into the star of her novel. The story line starts all over the place making it difficult at first to follow, but those who remain patient will enjoy the antics and frustrations of Chace, who knows that you cannot just make a kill in the geopolitical world of today though that is her favorite climax. Though typical of the sub-genre except for the gender bending superstar, fans will enjoy the adventures of this wild Jane Bond.

Harriet Klausner