Bravo

A continuation of the thrilling story begun in Alpha. The writing is thrilling and suspenseful, and the action keeps the reader on the edge of your seat. I particularly appreciate that while the book is action-packed and great for male readers, the female characters are fully realized and integral to the story - not just props and pretty background characters.

BRAVO: A Jad Bell Novel Greg Rucka Mulholland Books/Little, Brown ISBN 978-0-316-18230-0 Hardcover Thriller

I first became acquainted with Greg Rucka’s work through comic books and graphic novels. He was, ironically enough, just starting to write for a number of the Batman titles as I was slowly beginning to curtail my visits to the comics store; one of the last titles I bought and read was Rucka’s original series Queen & Country. I discovered that he had been writing novels all along --- not quite sure how I missed that --- so I devoured his backlist, all the while pleased to discover that his novels were as good, and in some cases, better, than his comic work. While the speed of Rucka’s output varies, the quality does not. Well into his second decade of writing, his books are impossible to set aside from their opening sentences.

BRAVO is the second of the Jad Bell novels, commencing almost immediately after the conclusion of ALPHA, the inaugural title. Bell, an extremely capable ex-Special Forces operative, is tasked with apprehending the man who in ALPHA was almost successful in carrying out what would have been a devastating terrorist attack on United States soil. Bell and his fellow special-ops team members were successful in foiling the attack, but want not only the man who carried it out but also the individual --- nicknamed The Architect --- who so meticulously and brilliantly planned it. Their hope is that they will ultimately reach the people who financed the operation. That is a long climb, however, and along the way the hunt coalesces around two women. One is a United States special agent who has been operating under very deep cover for so long that her loyalties and motives may be suspect. The other is The Architect’s lover, who is both the enigmatic figure’s strength and sole weakness. What Bell quickly comes to discover is that, since the first attack was foiled, a second terrorist act has been planned and has already been set in motion. You want a ticking clock plot point? Rucka gives you one that you can hear all through the house. Actually, he gives you more than one, given that The Architect, thanks to the people who have hired him, knows all about Bell and his team. Rucka is adapt at throwing plot twists and turns at the reader when least expected, and as a result BRAVO is full to bursting with heart-stopping moments where one stops and thinks, “No. That didn’t really happen.” In most (but not all cases), however, it really did. This would apply to the ending of BRAVO, which kind of turns everything sideways and sets things up for what is almost certain to come in subsequent volumes.

Regular readers of Rucka’s work will know that there is much more to BRAVO than explosions, karate, and intrigue. Rucka is one heck of a writer, capable of changing a perception or a mood with a subtle sentence or two. To name but one: there is a very, very short vignette near the end of BRAVO which involves The Architect and a bicycle. It’s very simple, yet shows another side to The Architect which is totally unexpected. That is all I’m going to tell you about it, other than to say that it’s worth reading all of BRAVO just to get to that one scene. Of course, there are many other reasons to read BRAVO, and ALPHA, and Rucka’s entire backlist (without reservation). I will leave those discoveries to you, but if Rucka is not already at or near the top of your must-read list BRAVO should put him there. Strongly recommended.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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