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Queen & Country novels #2
Private Wars
Only Greg Rucka, the thriller genre's most fearless writer, would dare create a spy so edgy, so explosive, so extreme, she should be rated X.
Tara Chace was once the most dangerous woman alive. And now that the international spy network thinks she's as good as dead, she's even more dangerous than ever.
Only one thing could coax Tara back into the game: a chance to vindicate herself. The torture and execution of Dina Malikov has set off a cutthroat grab for power in strategically crucial Uzbekistan. Tara's job is to slip into the country and extract Dina's pro-Western husband and their young son before they are murdered--by his ruthless sister.
But there are a couple of wild cards in the deck, including a missing mobile weapons system that can bring down a commercial airliner, not to mention powerful political careers. Now, as she vanishes into hostile territory with a man who may or may not be what he seems, Tara is going to find out that the war on terror is more terrifying than anyone knows. For in a battle where betrayal is a conventional weapon, loyalty is a weakness, and anyone--even a child--is a legitimate target: it's every spy, every woman, for herself.
Combine a thriller that defies every expectation with a heroine for whom nothing is out of bounds, and the result is Private Wars, a suspense novel so explosively realistic, it should be classified. "From the Hardcover edition."
Tara Chace was once the most dangerous woman alive. And now that the international spy network thinks she's as good as dead, she's even more dangerous than ever.
Only one thing could coax Tara back into the game: a chance to vindicate herself. The torture and execution of Dina Malikov has set off a cutthroat grab for power in strategically crucial Uzbekistan. Tara's job is to slip into the country and extract Dina's pro-Western husband and their young son before they are murdered--by his ruthless sister.
But there are a couple of wild cards in the deck, including a missing mobile weapons system that can bring down a commercial airliner, not to mention powerful political careers. Now, as she vanishes into hostile territory with a man who may or may not be what he seems, Tara is going to find out that the war on terror is more terrifying than anyone knows. For in a battle where betrayal is a conventional weapon, loyalty is a weakness, and anyone--even a child--is a legitimate target: it's every spy, every woman, for herself.
Combine a thriller that defies every expectation with a heroine for whom nothing is out of bounds, and the result is Private Wars, a suspense novel so explosively realistic, it should be classified. "From the Hardcover edition."
503 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
25 people are currently reading
397 people want to read
About the author
Greg Rucka
1,495 books1,924 followersGreg Rucka, is an American comic book writer and novelist, known for his work on such comics as Action Comics, Batwoman: Detective Comics, and the miniseries Superman: World of New Krypton for DC Comics, and for novels such as his Queen & Country series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
May 5, 2024
Love this book/series. Intelligent, yet action-packed with characters I really care about
November 30, 2018
MISUNDERSTANDING THE STANS
“A licence to kill? Oh heavens, no!” – Daphne Park, UK Secret Intelligence Service Officer.
The Post 9/11 era made the civilized free world do some very nasty things. Hopped up on rage and solidarity with an America who had seen 3000 people die in the worst terrorist attack in history and smug, psychotic Islamic terrorists strutting around like peacocks, extreme measures were signed off on by the neocon interventionalists in the Bush White House. Extraordinary rendition, paramilitary operations that went across borders, raids with UAVs and of course, enhanced interrogation. Restrictive, noble values were thrown aside and whatever it took to destroy the Islamic extremist threat to civilization and defend the foundations of all that was good and noble in the world was sanctioned and gradually became the new normal. These methods are nothing new and have existed ever since humanity came up with espionage and intelligence agencies. However, out of all the methods, the one which was never fully accepted was the enhanced interrogation. After scandals involving blundering sadists in Abu Garib and a continuing stream of real or imagined abuses in Guantanamo Bay, the USA began to minimize the practise and in the great capitalist tradition, outsource it to other countries. Whether finger nail pulling in Egypt, or foot beating in Yemen, there was also the Central Asian countries who had their offers for assistance accepted. One of these countries was Uzbekistan.
When most people hear about the Stans, they think either Taliban terrorists or Borat like buffoons. The reality can’t be further from the truth. Countries like Uzbekistan are full of natural resources, have interesting cultures and a variety of eccentric leaders. They’re also mostly ruled by kleptocrats and are some of the biggest human rights abusers on the planet. Uzbekistan in the previous decade fit this bill. A landlocked country, it just so happened to be on the border with Afghanistan, making it the perfect staging point for a variety of CIA and later US military operations. They also, according to the former British Ambassador turned nutty conspiracy theorist C. Murray extracted intelligence with psychotic aplomb from Jihadists the CIA and UK SIS provided them. It’s on this backdrop that Tara Chace rides again. The first truly great Post 9/11 spy fiction heroine, in “Private Wars”, we find her trying and struggling to move on from the spying game. But when her boss comes to her at the end of his rope, she decides to fight a private war on his behalf. From London to the Badlands of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, Minder 1 returns, having to prove to all those gunning for her that she can still gun them down. Now to the review. When fighting a war, what price will you pay to keep your sins private?
Private Wars begins in a very nasty, murderous fashion. A woman, the daughter in law of the President of Uzbekistan is dragged out of her home by agents of the National Security Service. As former KGB veterans, like most of the former Soviet Intelligence community, it’s the case of new name, nicer designer suits and same, unfriendly service. The victim, Dina, was a whistle blower who had got tape and accounts of torture victims out to the West which then ended up in the international media. Dumped in a torture chamber Dina comes face to face with Ahtam Zahidov, the director of the NSS. She is then raped, mangled and penetrated with every implement in a tool box and then char boiled in a bathtub with an oil drum of boiling water dumped on her. Before dying, she squeals and gives up her source who is shot without ceremony by his former NSS friends. A few days later, we cut to Paul Crocker, Director of operations at the SIS. He’s not having a good day at work. Tara Chace has resigned in the wake of the previous novel, her replacement is a good case officer, but an absolutely horrendous paramilitary officer and proceeds to utterly wreck an op being run in Malaysia, leading to injuries and mission failure. “C” decides that he can use this to get rid of Crocker whom he loathes and begins scheming. Meanwhile in Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent, a minor US Diplomat and the US Ambassador are contacted by the son of the Uzbekistan President. They find out his father is dying, and his sister is set to get the whole pie alongside her lover, Ahtam Zahidov, the NSS chief. He offers to defect to the West and sweetens the deal by offering to be the better replacement to his sister. As this is going on, four of the finest BAE Starstreak missiles go missing in North Afghanistan. With all these balls up in the air, Crocker heads to the only woman he can trust. Tara Chace, retired spy, now single mother. Forcing her to fly to Uzbekistan, Chace finds herself in her toughest job yet, one which would break an ordinary spy. But that’s all in a day’s work for those who spy and kill for Queen and Country. As events head to a visceral climax at the crossing where a war began and ended, only one question remains. How far are you willing to go to keep the sins of a war private?
In terms of plot, the author raises his game with Private Wars. By taking the readers to a country they wouldn’t know is hugely important in the Post 9/11 world and is a place only the craziest tourists would venture into, the novel feels fresh and continually surprising. The story focuses on the clash between realpolitik and morals and how the West constantly has its own selection of acceptable totalitarians to support, chaps who pay lip service to alliances, take American or European money and then use said alliances as a get out of jail free card when violating the life out of whomever crosses them. Private Wars explores this argument, showing how in spite of how vile the realpolitik approach is, inevitably we cannot help ourselves but pick it and collude with autocrats and dictators out of greed and a lot of short-term necessity that gives the illusion of long-term stability. The story also focuses on the realities of being a spy with loved ones and a family. Chace as a single mother no longer possesses the devil may care, nothing to lose attitude that once gave her the edge when working for the SIS, but she also has an added motivation to survive and live. Seeing both come into conflict is a highlight of the story.
Action and setting? “Private Wars” uses its unfamiliar setting to perfection with some very large-scale bits of violence that match even the work Mark Greaney has done in recent years. From the madcap, explosive car chase through the evening of Tashkent, a gun battle in an Afghan valley, and then the spectacular, emotionally devastating climax on the Uzbekistan Bridge of Friendship, Private Wars actually has fewer big set pieces, but the ones it does, go big and bold. One particular highlight is when Tara breaks out a BAE Star Streak and shows just what the rocket launcher is capable of, to the delight of an unexpected audience. The backdrops which the action takes place also deserve special mention. From the glittering, gentrified parts of Tashkent, to its barren, dreary countryside, by far the biggest highlight of the story is the Amu Darya Friendship bridge, the only land link between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. Rucka uses the environment and location to great effect, with one devastating sleight of hand that changes the name of the game in its final minutes.
Research? Perfect. Rucka utilizes the real-world details of the narrative to deliver a plot complex and thematic complex work. All the human rights abuses that the Uzbekistan State subjects its citizens to, whether it be Islamist extremists or even defenceless individuals who want to study, and practise Islam are portrayed with sickening, accurate detail. The local environment and even bits of the history of Uzbekistan and the culture, issues and events that turned it into the very strange country it is today are also explored in great detail, particularly the minor wars Uzbekistan had with the Taliban in the 1990s and the ongoing Central Asian drug trade which Uzbekistan is a major part of. Alongside this, we also get the usual combat tactics, tradecraft and internal political power plays between the SIS and CIA caused by the unequal dynamics of the special relationship. Rucka may have been a comic book writer, but he should not be dismissed because of the medium. At times, Queen and Country gives a far more realistic portrayal of the spying game compared to the Brad Thor books and especially the Ben Coes ones.
Characters? Brilliant, simply brilliant. We have many, many highlights in this area. I’ll focus on Tara, Sevra and Ahtam. First, Tara. Chace in this book has a very interesting arc, namely trying to adjust to life with a daughter, a possibility she never expected as one of the paramilitary officers who normally died on the job working for the SIS. In this story, she’s wound quite tight, knowing that she’s out of practise and gotten blunt since she’s become a single mother. Rucka portrays the transition back into badass super spy realistically. Chace is actively fighting not to make mistakes and one can see her actively adjusting and fighting as her operational plan starts to go off the rails. This story also has Chace being faced with a pretty emotional parallel, one which hits close to home and forces her at the end to commit a shocking heart-breaking act that wouldn’t be out of place in a John Le Carre story.
Next, we have Sevra who almost steals the show from Chace. Sevra is the heir apparent to the Uzbekistan Presidency. Gorgeous, charming, she’s inherited all of her father’s ruthlessness and amorality. Part mob boss, part despot, Sevra can charm the socks off any man, while ordering their deaths with natural ease. Clever, and insidious, Sevra is also pragmatic and has a surprising humanity. Despite being an evil person, she still loving her sibling and nephew while putting them under house arrest when the man she loves is nearly screaming at her to shoot them both. Sevra embodies the realpolitik side of the foreign policy divide (her brother takes the moral side) and revels in it. A complex villain who is someone you will love to hate, Sevra is a cut above most spy fiction antagonists with sympathetic and loathsome sides to her personality and is a tough, strong lady in a patriarchal country.
Finally, we have Ahtam, the nominal big bad of the story. Ahtam is a secret policeman of the old Soviet School, he acts as the henchman for his lover Sevra, the one person on earth he cares about. A cruel, power hungry man with great disdain for the people he’s sent out to destroy, Ahtam is also a very complex monster. He’s motivated by many things as he rapes, breaks bones, and boils dissidents alive. Power for himself and a pathological need to dominate those who defy him by crushing them body and soul, love for the woman he believes is worthy of his services, and surprisingly enough, patriotism and a desire to protect Uzbekistan. Ahtam genuinely hates Islamic Terrorists in the way Mitch Rapp does, but unlike Mitch Rapp, doesn’t see the problem with marrying profitable destruction of dissidents and annoying businesspeople who don’t pay their protection rackets on time, with the torture of Islamic terrorists who will sing and give him the intel he can pass on to friends at Langley. Despite this sympathetic side, it’s very cathartic to see him get his just desserts in the climax of the story where Chace outplays him one final time
Constructive Criticism? None. “Private Wars” is an amazing brilliant spy novel, even better than its predecessor. It surpasses A Gentleman’s Game in twists, stakes, violence, and emotional payoff and does so with style and surprises.
Overall, Private Wars is a splendid second literary outing for the original Post 9/11 female protagonist. Bigger, better and bolder than A Gentleman’s Game, Private Wars takes us into the dark heart of the geopolitical dilemma that has given the West a lot of headaches and tortured agonizing over the years. Getting sinners to fight our wars for us who violate and trample on all the values we claim to believe in and treasure. With its impressive, complex plot with surprising emotional payoffs, a cast of complex heroes and villains that you will love, and love to loathe and outstanding research that brings to live an important country that few people could find on a map in under four seconds, “Private Wars” shows Tara Chace at her best, and is another reason why the genre owes a lot of debt to Minder 1. The final book of the series is the close of Chace’s career and takes her to Iran where for one night only, she finds herself pulling off the biggest job the UK SIS has undertaken. You won’t want to miss it or my review for the world.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
“A licence to kill? Oh heavens, no!” – Daphne Park, UK Secret Intelligence Service Officer.
The Post 9/11 era made the civilized free world do some very nasty things. Hopped up on rage and solidarity with an America who had seen 3000 people die in the worst terrorist attack in history and smug, psychotic Islamic terrorists strutting around like peacocks, extreme measures were signed off on by the neocon interventionalists in the Bush White House. Extraordinary rendition, paramilitary operations that went across borders, raids with UAVs and of course, enhanced interrogation. Restrictive, noble values were thrown aside and whatever it took to destroy the Islamic extremist threat to civilization and defend the foundations of all that was good and noble in the world was sanctioned and gradually became the new normal. These methods are nothing new and have existed ever since humanity came up with espionage and intelligence agencies. However, out of all the methods, the one which was never fully accepted was the enhanced interrogation. After scandals involving blundering sadists in Abu Garib and a continuing stream of real or imagined abuses in Guantanamo Bay, the USA began to minimize the practise and in the great capitalist tradition, outsource it to other countries. Whether finger nail pulling in Egypt, or foot beating in Yemen, there was also the Central Asian countries who had their offers for assistance accepted. One of these countries was Uzbekistan.
When most people hear about the Stans, they think either Taliban terrorists or Borat like buffoons. The reality can’t be further from the truth. Countries like Uzbekistan are full of natural resources, have interesting cultures and a variety of eccentric leaders. They’re also mostly ruled by kleptocrats and are some of the biggest human rights abusers on the planet. Uzbekistan in the previous decade fit this bill. A landlocked country, it just so happened to be on the border with Afghanistan, making it the perfect staging point for a variety of CIA and later US military operations. They also, according to the former British Ambassador turned nutty conspiracy theorist C. Murray extracted intelligence with psychotic aplomb from Jihadists the CIA and UK SIS provided them. It’s on this backdrop that Tara Chace rides again. The first truly great Post 9/11 spy fiction heroine, in “Private Wars”, we find her trying and struggling to move on from the spying game. But when her boss comes to her at the end of his rope, she decides to fight a private war on his behalf. From London to the Badlands of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, Minder 1 returns, having to prove to all those gunning for her that she can still gun them down. Now to the review. When fighting a war, what price will you pay to keep your sins private?
Private Wars begins in a very nasty, murderous fashion. A woman, the daughter in law of the President of Uzbekistan is dragged out of her home by agents of the National Security Service. As former KGB veterans, like most of the former Soviet Intelligence community, it’s the case of new name, nicer designer suits and same, unfriendly service. The victim, Dina, was a whistle blower who had got tape and accounts of torture victims out to the West which then ended up in the international media. Dumped in a torture chamber Dina comes face to face with Ahtam Zahidov, the director of the NSS. She is then raped, mangled and penetrated with every implement in a tool box and then char boiled in a bathtub with an oil drum of boiling water dumped on her. Before dying, she squeals and gives up her source who is shot without ceremony by his former NSS friends. A few days later, we cut to Paul Crocker, Director of operations at the SIS. He’s not having a good day at work. Tara Chace has resigned in the wake of the previous novel, her replacement is a good case officer, but an absolutely horrendous paramilitary officer and proceeds to utterly wreck an op being run in Malaysia, leading to injuries and mission failure. “C” decides that he can use this to get rid of Crocker whom he loathes and begins scheming. Meanwhile in Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent, a minor US Diplomat and the US Ambassador are contacted by the son of the Uzbekistan President. They find out his father is dying, and his sister is set to get the whole pie alongside her lover, Ahtam Zahidov, the NSS chief. He offers to defect to the West and sweetens the deal by offering to be the better replacement to his sister. As this is going on, four of the finest BAE Starstreak missiles go missing in North Afghanistan. With all these balls up in the air, Crocker heads to the only woman he can trust. Tara Chace, retired spy, now single mother. Forcing her to fly to Uzbekistan, Chace finds herself in her toughest job yet, one which would break an ordinary spy. But that’s all in a day’s work for those who spy and kill for Queen and Country. As events head to a visceral climax at the crossing where a war began and ended, only one question remains. How far are you willing to go to keep the sins of a war private?
In terms of plot, the author raises his game with Private Wars. By taking the readers to a country they wouldn’t know is hugely important in the Post 9/11 world and is a place only the craziest tourists would venture into, the novel feels fresh and continually surprising. The story focuses on the clash between realpolitik and morals and how the West constantly has its own selection of acceptable totalitarians to support, chaps who pay lip service to alliances, take American or European money and then use said alliances as a get out of jail free card when violating the life out of whomever crosses them. Private Wars explores this argument, showing how in spite of how vile the realpolitik approach is, inevitably we cannot help ourselves but pick it and collude with autocrats and dictators out of greed and a lot of short-term necessity that gives the illusion of long-term stability. The story also focuses on the realities of being a spy with loved ones and a family. Chace as a single mother no longer possesses the devil may care, nothing to lose attitude that once gave her the edge when working for the SIS, but she also has an added motivation to survive and live. Seeing both come into conflict is a highlight of the story.
Action and setting? “Private Wars” uses its unfamiliar setting to perfection with some very large-scale bits of violence that match even the work Mark Greaney has done in recent years. From the madcap, explosive car chase through the evening of Tashkent, a gun battle in an Afghan valley, and then the spectacular, emotionally devastating climax on the Uzbekistan Bridge of Friendship, Private Wars actually has fewer big set pieces, but the ones it does, go big and bold. One particular highlight is when Tara breaks out a BAE Star Streak and shows just what the rocket launcher is capable of, to the delight of an unexpected audience. The backdrops which the action takes place also deserve special mention. From the glittering, gentrified parts of Tashkent, to its barren, dreary countryside, by far the biggest highlight of the story is the Amu Darya Friendship bridge, the only land link between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. Rucka uses the environment and location to great effect, with one devastating sleight of hand that changes the name of the game in its final minutes.
Research? Perfect. Rucka utilizes the real-world details of the narrative to deliver a plot complex and thematic complex work. All the human rights abuses that the Uzbekistan State subjects its citizens to, whether it be Islamist extremists or even defenceless individuals who want to study, and practise Islam are portrayed with sickening, accurate detail. The local environment and even bits of the history of Uzbekistan and the culture, issues and events that turned it into the very strange country it is today are also explored in great detail, particularly the minor wars Uzbekistan had with the Taliban in the 1990s and the ongoing Central Asian drug trade which Uzbekistan is a major part of. Alongside this, we also get the usual combat tactics, tradecraft and internal political power plays between the SIS and CIA caused by the unequal dynamics of the special relationship. Rucka may have been a comic book writer, but he should not be dismissed because of the medium. At times, Queen and Country gives a far more realistic portrayal of the spying game compared to the Brad Thor books and especially the Ben Coes ones.
Characters? Brilliant, simply brilliant. We have many, many highlights in this area. I’ll focus on Tara, Sevra and Ahtam. First, Tara. Chace in this book has a very interesting arc, namely trying to adjust to life with a daughter, a possibility she never expected as one of the paramilitary officers who normally died on the job working for the SIS. In this story, she’s wound quite tight, knowing that she’s out of practise and gotten blunt since she’s become a single mother. Rucka portrays the transition back into badass super spy realistically. Chace is actively fighting not to make mistakes and one can see her actively adjusting and fighting as her operational plan starts to go off the rails. This story also has Chace being faced with a pretty emotional parallel, one which hits close to home and forces her at the end to commit a shocking heart-breaking act that wouldn’t be out of place in a John Le Carre story.
Next, we have Sevra who almost steals the show from Chace. Sevra is the heir apparent to the Uzbekistan Presidency. Gorgeous, charming, she’s inherited all of her father’s ruthlessness and amorality. Part mob boss, part despot, Sevra can charm the socks off any man, while ordering their deaths with natural ease. Clever, and insidious, Sevra is also pragmatic and has a surprising humanity. Despite being an evil person, she still loving her sibling and nephew while putting them under house arrest when the man she loves is nearly screaming at her to shoot them both. Sevra embodies the realpolitik side of the foreign policy divide (her brother takes the moral side) and revels in it. A complex villain who is someone you will love to hate, Sevra is a cut above most spy fiction antagonists with sympathetic and loathsome sides to her personality and is a tough, strong lady in a patriarchal country.
Finally, we have Ahtam, the nominal big bad of the story. Ahtam is a secret policeman of the old Soviet School, he acts as the henchman for his lover Sevra, the one person on earth he cares about. A cruel, power hungry man with great disdain for the people he’s sent out to destroy, Ahtam is also a very complex monster. He’s motivated by many things as he rapes, breaks bones, and boils dissidents alive. Power for himself and a pathological need to dominate those who defy him by crushing them body and soul, love for the woman he believes is worthy of his services, and surprisingly enough, patriotism and a desire to protect Uzbekistan. Ahtam genuinely hates Islamic Terrorists in the way Mitch Rapp does, but unlike Mitch Rapp, doesn’t see the problem with marrying profitable destruction of dissidents and annoying businesspeople who don’t pay their protection rackets on time, with the torture of Islamic terrorists who will sing and give him the intel he can pass on to friends at Langley. Despite this sympathetic side, it’s very cathartic to see him get his just desserts in the climax of the story where Chace outplays him one final time
Constructive Criticism? None. “Private Wars” is an amazing brilliant spy novel, even better than its predecessor. It surpasses A Gentleman’s Game in twists, stakes, violence, and emotional payoff and does so with style and surprises.
Overall, Private Wars is a splendid second literary outing for the original Post 9/11 female protagonist. Bigger, better and bolder than A Gentleman’s Game, Private Wars takes us into the dark heart of the geopolitical dilemma that has given the West a lot of headaches and tortured agonizing over the years. Getting sinners to fight our wars for us who violate and trample on all the values we claim to believe in and treasure. With its impressive, complex plot with surprising emotional payoffs, a cast of complex heroes and villains that you will love, and love to loathe and outstanding research that brings to live an important country that few people could find on a map in under four seconds, “Private Wars” shows Tara Chace at her best, and is another reason why the genre owes a lot of debt to Minder 1. The final book of the series is the close of Chace’s career and takes her to Iran where for one night only, she finds herself pulling off the biggest job the UK SIS has undertaken. You won’t want to miss it or my review for the world.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
April 29, 2010
RATING: 4.0
PROTAGONIST: Tara Chace
OCCUPATION: Minder One (UK Intelligence)
SETTING: London; Uzbekistan
SERIES: #2 of 2
Tara Chace, Minder One, is the agent upon whom Paul Crocker, Director of Operations for the UK Secret Intelligence Service depends most heavily. However, during her last assignment in Saudi Arabia, she had a series of life-altering experiences which have changed her. She assumes (wrongly) that Crocker had a hand in the mess of that assignment; and upon her return when denied a leave of absence, she decides to quit the group and settle in to a civilian lifestyle. Her replacement as Minder One, Andrew Fincher, is clearly out of his league. Eighteen months later when a new action needs to be taken in Uzbekistan, Crocker reaches out to Tara, who agrees to take on the task.
Uzbekistan is a place widely known for its human rights violations. Currently, its leader, Mikhail Malikov, is dying; and his daughter, Sevara Mailkov-Ganiev, is setting herself up as his successor. Her brother, Ruslan, doesn’t have the political backing or skill to usurp her; it is Tara's charge to take Ruslan and his 2-year-old son back to London so that he can be jockeyed into position from a distance. Sevara has a lover, Zahidov, who will do anything for her, and that anything includes subjecting Tara to a brutal torturing from which she barely escapes. At the same time, four missiles have disappeared and it is feared that they have fallen into Zahidov's hands.
Tara engineers a thrilling rescue attempt of Ruslan and his son. Fearless, ingenious, heartless—Tara can cause more trouble than your average army. As events unfold, she is joined by Minder Three, and the operation comes to a thrilling—and surprising—conclusion deep in the caves of Afghanistan.
I had difficulty in reading the book because it had so many layers of complexity, not the least of which was keeping the characters and their agencies straight. There were several intelligence groups within the UK alone, plus some American players, the political groups in Uzbekistan, and rogue insurgents in Afghanistan. Acronyms were used liberally. Rucka did provide a glossary of terms, but it interrupted the flow of the narrative to figure out what each one meant. I didn't find PRIVATE WARS to be a particularly easy read, but it was definitely a rewarding one.
Rucka is a very topical writer, and at times, it felt as if I were reading real history instead of a fictional creation. The character of Tara, introduced in A GENTLEMAN'S GAME, is no cardboard super-heroine. She's tough, she's courageous, but she's also become more vulnerable in this the second book in the series. Once the operation gets underway, the excitement and tension is unrelenting. If there is an award for Best Thriller Writer Ever, I think that Greg Rucka is a strong candidate for the title.
PROTAGONIST: Tara Chace
OCCUPATION: Minder One (UK Intelligence)
SETTING: London; Uzbekistan
SERIES: #2 of 2
Tara Chace, Minder One, is the agent upon whom Paul Crocker, Director of Operations for the UK Secret Intelligence Service depends most heavily. However, during her last assignment in Saudi Arabia, she had a series of life-altering experiences which have changed her. She assumes (wrongly) that Crocker had a hand in the mess of that assignment; and upon her return when denied a leave of absence, she decides to quit the group and settle in to a civilian lifestyle. Her replacement as Minder One, Andrew Fincher, is clearly out of his league. Eighteen months later when a new action needs to be taken in Uzbekistan, Crocker reaches out to Tara, who agrees to take on the task.
Uzbekistan is a place widely known for its human rights violations. Currently, its leader, Mikhail Malikov, is dying; and his daughter, Sevara Mailkov-Ganiev, is setting herself up as his successor. Her brother, Ruslan, doesn’t have the political backing or skill to usurp her; it is Tara's charge to take Ruslan and his 2-year-old son back to London so that he can be jockeyed into position from a distance. Sevara has a lover, Zahidov, who will do anything for her, and that anything includes subjecting Tara to a brutal torturing from which she barely escapes. At the same time, four missiles have disappeared and it is feared that they have fallen into Zahidov's hands.
Tara engineers a thrilling rescue attempt of Ruslan and his son. Fearless, ingenious, heartless—Tara can cause more trouble than your average army. As events unfold, she is joined by Minder Three, and the operation comes to a thrilling—and surprising—conclusion deep in the caves of Afghanistan.
I had difficulty in reading the book because it had so many layers of complexity, not the least of which was keeping the characters and their agencies straight. There were several intelligence groups within the UK alone, plus some American players, the political groups in Uzbekistan, and rogue insurgents in Afghanistan. Acronyms were used liberally. Rucka did provide a glossary of terms, but it interrupted the flow of the narrative to figure out what each one meant. I didn't find PRIVATE WARS to be a particularly easy read, but it was definitely a rewarding one.
Rucka is a very topical writer, and at times, it felt as if I were reading real history instead of a fictional creation. The character of Tara, introduced in A GENTLEMAN'S GAME, is no cardboard super-heroine. She's tough, she's courageous, but she's also become more vulnerable in this the second book in the series. Once the operation gets underway, the excitement and tension is unrelenting. If there is an award for Best Thriller Writer Ever, I think that Greg Rucka is a strong candidate for the title.
October 26, 2015
The first Queen and Country novel, Queen and Country: A Gentleman's Game, blew the doors off my mind. It was an excellent spy thriller, rife with action and twists and pain. It was, to be honest, the Serenity to Queen & Country's Firefly. It was taut and gave me everything I could have ever wanted from a Queen & Country novel and I still sing its praises here.
This book, then, is the sequel to that insanely good yarn, and given what happens between the two novels (specifically, "Operation: Red Panda"), it's hard to say that Rucka didn't come into this story with a particularly juicy premise from which to tell his story. True enough to form, even, Rucka tells a wholly different spy story, this one about a coup in Uzbekistan (as opposed to the first book, which was the story of an assassination and its aftermath) and the role that Chace and Crocker play in those events.
Now, full cards on the table, I listened to an interview with Rucka once, around the time of the release of The Last Run: A Queen & Country Novel in which he stated explicitly what Tara's role would be if Queen & Country were to continue past that point, the details of which are touched upon briefly (but explicitly) in this novel. Frankly, that prospect excites me, and I want to see it happen. But reading these novels knowing where Rucka envisions Tara Chace moving forward casts them all in a different light, because it really hammers home the question I have now that I've finished this novel: Where does Tara Chace go from here?
I mean, this is something that Rucka's been setting up very specifically since the revelation at the end of Operation: Red Panda. But it's made extraordinarily clear here that Tara Chace really doesn't have anywhere else to go given her current position. Yes, she's a damn good Minder and she loves her job, but the end of this book makes it clear that even Tara Chace has limits to what she can put up with. Even the beginning of the novel with Tara's new status quo makes it clear that she is not meant for where she is in the beginning, and the end makes it clear that she needs a change in her life. She's getting older, she's evolving. And in the way that this novel talks about succession, the ways that people inherit power and move on, it only makes sense this novel serves as a clear transition from one to another.
Because it isn't just Chace here. It's Crocker and the revelation that he's always wanted the job of Deputy Chief. It's the tensions between Ruslan Malikov and Sevaya Malikov-Ganiev and their struggle in the wake of their father's twilight (and thus the need for a new President). It even trickles down to the utterly repugnant and vile Ahtam Zadihov and the way he continues the tactics of the Soviets despite the fact that the Soviets have been pase for over a decade and a half. This is a novel that is so much about succession that Rucka even drops Crocker from the last 80 pages of this novel. Rucka doesn't need him. Tara doesn't need him. Tara can coordinate and manage the operation just fine on her own without the need for a D-Ops. Of course, Tara ultimately needs to get her hands dirty in the end committing yet another horrifying act to tattoo her soul, but that tells us that it's time for her to chrysalis and metamorphose.
But if succession is what the novel's about, I found the most endearing and charming motif the idea of trust. How Crocker has to rebuild the trust he broke with Tara in Gentleman's Game. How all of these characters do or do not build a trust amongst and with each other and how those with genuine trust (like, between, say, Chace and Lankford) are those who succeed most consistently and most completely. How Sevaya's trust, in the end, is her salvation. How Zadihov's complete lack of trust damns him completely. That, and a distinct inability to not let go of the past when it is made clear that the past will no longer be tolerated in a new regime.
Again, this is all just Greg Rucka being one of my absolute favorite novelists currently putting out books, and if this book was not as good as Gentleman's Game in the end, it still was a wonderfully detailed, never tedious nor confusing portrait of a country populated by excellent characters, who were always given viewpoints, perspectives, and thorough sketchings-out. It's a fircracker of a book. Both of these are, and I am so excited/sad that I have one more left and it is the last one possibly forever.
Pure angst.
P.S. Jury still out on Atticus Kodiak. It's not for lack of wanting to. It's just a lot of books. He says. Knowing just what next year's novel line up looks like.
This book, then, is the sequel to that insanely good yarn, and given what happens between the two novels (specifically, "Operation: Red Panda"), it's hard to say that Rucka didn't come into this story with a particularly juicy premise from which to tell his story. True enough to form, even, Rucka tells a wholly different spy story, this one about a coup in Uzbekistan (as opposed to the first book, which was the story of an assassination and its aftermath) and the role that Chace and Crocker play in those events.
Now, full cards on the table, I listened to an interview with Rucka once, around the time of the release of The Last Run: A Queen & Country Novel in which he stated explicitly what Tara's role would be if Queen & Country were to continue past that point, the details of which are touched upon briefly (but explicitly) in this novel. Frankly, that prospect excites me, and I want to see it happen. But reading these novels knowing where Rucka envisions Tara Chace moving forward casts them all in a different light, because it really hammers home the question I have now that I've finished this novel: Where does Tara Chace go from here?
I mean, this is something that Rucka's been setting up very specifically since the revelation at the end of Operation: Red Panda. But it's made extraordinarily clear here that Tara Chace really doesn't have anywhere else to go given her current position. Yes, she's a damn good Minder and she loves her job, but the end of this book makes it clear that even Tara Chace has limits to what she can put up with. Even the beginning of the novel with Tara's new status quo makes it clear that she is not meant for where she is in the beginning, and the end makes it clear that she needs a change in her life. She's getting older, she's evolving. And in the way that this novel talks about succession, the ways that people inherit power and move on, it only makes sense this novel serves as a clear transition from one to another.
Because it isn't just Chace here. It's Crocker and the revelation that he's always wanted the job of Deputy Chief. It's the tensions between Ruslan Malikov and Sevaya Malikov-Ganiev and their struggle in the wake of their father's twilight (and thus the need for a new President). It even trickles down to the utterly repugnant and vile Ahtam Zadihov and the way he continues the tactics of the Soviets despite the fact that the Soviets have been pase for over a decade and a half. This is a novel that is so much about succession that Rucka even drops Crocker from the last 80 pages of this novel. Rucka doesn't need him. Tara doesn't need him. Tara can coordinate and manage the operation just fine on her own without the need for a D-Ops. Of course, Tara ultimately needs to get her hands dirty in the end committing yet another horrifying act to tattoo her soul, but that tells us that it's time for her to chrysalis and metamorphose.
But if succession is what the novel's about, I found the most endearing and charming motif the idea of trust. How Crocker has to rebuild the trust he broke with Tara in Gentleman's Game. How all of these characters do or do not build a trust amongst and with each other and how those with genuine trust (like, between, say, Chace and Lankford) are those who succeed most consistently and most completely. How Sevaya's trust, in the end, is her salvation. How Zadihov's complete lack of trust damns him completely. That, and a distinct inability to not let go of the past when it is made clear that the past will no longer be tolerated in a new regime.
Again, this is all just Greg Rucka being one of my absolute favorite novelists currently putting out books, and if this book was not as good as Gentleman's Game in the end, it still was a wonderfully detailed, never tedious nor confusing portrait of a country populated by excellent characters, who were always given viewpoints, perspectives, and thorough sketchings-out. It's a fircracker of a book. Both of these are, and I am so excited/sad that I have one more left and it is the last one possibly forever.
Pure angst.
P.S. Jury still out on Atticus Kodiak. It's not for lack of wanting to. It's just a lot of books. He says. Knowing just what next year's novel line up looks like.
November 19, 2008
Here, Tara Chace is out of the service with a baby. This is serious business given the thriller ending of the previous book, A Gentleman's Game. Meanwhile, Paul Crocker, her chain-smoking, hard ass boss deals with bureaucratic hell. His own boss is out to get him, and Tara’s replacement sends an operation into chaos. These first several chapters make for the most interesting reading in this uneven book. In particular, Crocker’s at his most compelling here as Crocker plays politics and juggles his own home life some. He tends to be the best character in the Queen & Country stories.
The rest of the thriller is set in Uzbekistan, where a dying dictator’s daughter and son squabble over who will assume control of the country. The daughter is a Machiavellian nymphomaniac whose lover is a secret police sadist. Turns out, this guy’s the real villain. So, the story pits Chace against him as she tries to smuggle the brother out of the country and maybe figure out where some rocket launchers are along the way.
The story is about Tara’s comeback to special operations and Paul Crocker’s desperation to avoid a lousy demotion. Again, Rucka is willing to do awful things to his protagonist. The effect is a build-up to Tara’s torture and near rape at the hands of the secret police antagonist. It’s tense, but it’s a no-brainer figure out Rucka won’t go that far. No rape is imminent, and her rescue is minutes away.
This willingness to torture Tara (figuratively and literally) is what makes Rucka’s writing so great. Here, it almost works as well as the previous novel. But, not quite. The plot becomes to uneven, particuarly at the fast-forward moment following Tara’s rescue. Rucka actually interrupts the narrative chapters with a psychological profile about Chace, who has post-traumatic stress disorder (who wouldn’t!) and a bloody obvious need for revenge. While a bit of interesting verisimilitude, the suspense suffers.
Of course, Tara enacts her revenge, and regains her hard edge as Britain’s finest “Minder” (Rucka’s slang for special agent). Best of all, she sneaks in one surprise decision at the close of the story that turns out to be the clearest sign that Tara Chace really is back, motherhood and all.
Originally posted at my blog, www.riverwords.net.
The rest of the thriller is set in Uzbekistan, where a dying dictator’s daughter and son squabble over who will assume control of the country. The daughter is a Machiavellian nymphomaniac whose lover is a secret police sadist. Turns out, this guy’s the real villain. So, the story pits Chace against him as she tries to smuggle the brother out of the country and maybe figure out where some rocket launchers are along the way.
The story is about Tara’s comeback to special operations and Paul Crocker’s desperation to avoid a lousy demotion. Again, Rucka is willing to do awful things to his protagonist. The effect is a build-up to Tara’s torture and near rape at the hands of the secret police antagonist. It’s tense, but it’s a no-brainer figure out Rucka won’t go that far. No rape is imminent, and her rescue is minutes away.
This willingness to torture Tara (figuratively and literally) is what makes Rucka’s writing so great. Here, it almost works as well as the previous novel. But, not quite. The plot becomes to uneven, particuarly at the fast-forward moment following Tara’s rescue. Rucka actually interrupts the narrative chapters with a psychological profile about Chace, who has post-traumatic stress disorder (who wouldn’t!) and a bloody obvious need for revenge. While a bit of interesting verisimilitude, the suspense suffers.
Of course, Tara enacts her revenge, and regains her hard edge as Britain’s finest “Minder” (Rucka’s slang for special agent). Best of all, she sneaks in one surprise decision at the close of the story that turns out to be the clearest sign that Tara Chace really is back, motherhood and all.
Originally posted at my blog, www.riverwords.net.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2011
The second Queen & Country novel. Tara Chace briefly leaves the Minding game to care for her newborn daughter by the KIA Tom Wallace. But she’s not made for the quotidian life, and soon her D-Ops Crocker has her in Uzbekistan, on a mission to extract the dying President’s son, whose life is in danger from his power-hungry sister and her ex-KGB goons. Of course, there are secrets within secrets – even Crocker doesn’t know the real reason for the mission – and a small matter of some missing SAMs possibly in fundamentalist hands – and when the extract goes wrong, the stage is set for another mission, this time personal.
Again, Rucka creates a world of intrigue and secrets, in which everyone serves another master, and no one gives the right reason for moving a pawn, out of a wealth of real-world detail. The result is a compelling and brutal thriller. The fictional president in this book is clearly Islam Karimov, the president-for-life who gets 92% of the vote in “elections” and whose thugs routinely use torture such as boiling on dissidents; the missiles are real (British Starstreaks), as is the Uzbek National Security Service, secret police who report directly to the president. And Rucka deftly mixes into this ultra-realistic political drama the human element that makes his characters so readable, if not totally likeable. Chace is arrogant but self-loathing, self-destructive yet holds herself to an impossibly high standard, and tries to have it all though she knows she doesn’t have any answers to life’s conundrums. It’s high suspense, violent drama, and uncompromising.
Again, Rucka creates a world of intrigue and secrets, in which everyone serves another master, and no one gives the right reason for moving a pawn, out of a wealth of real-world detail. The result is a compelling and brutal thriller. The fictional president in this book is clearly Islam Karimov, the president-for-life who gets 92% of the vote in “elections” and whose thugs routinely use torture such as boiling on dissidents; the missiles are real (British Starstreaks), as is the Uzbek National Security Service, secret police who report directly to the president. And Rucka deftly mixes into this ultra-realistic political drama the human element that makes his characters so readable, if not totally likeable. Chace is arrogant but self-loathing, self-destructive yet holds herself to an impossibly high standard, and tries to have it all though she knows she doesn’t have any answers to life’s conundrums. It’s high suspense, violent drama, and uncompromising.
June 26, 2012
I've been a big fan of Greg Rucka's writing ever since he did work for DC Comics, writing stuff like Batman and Checkmate.
Nowadays, though, he does more stuff like this, and I have no complaints whatsoever about this.
This is a novel about Tara Chace, second in the series. Fresh off an incident in Saudi Arabia that saw the one man she loved die, she returns to England with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and... pregnant.
Deciding to keep the baby, she quits her position as Minder One in the SIS (think super spy extraordinaire... except she does just as much paperwork as she does James Bond stuff). Except she gets lured back in, with a mission to Uzbekistan that only she is trusted to pull off correctly.
The old president there is dying, and his daughter is poised to take over... which means his son is in danger. Can she get him and his son out safely in time?
There's a lot of twists and turns in this book, predictably, but the plot always makes sense. The characters are very real, all in shades of gray rather than the guys in the white hats and the guys in the black hats, or James Bond vs Blofeld. There are people who do bad things with good intentions, and good things with bad intentions.
This was a real page turner, and I find it utterly amazing how interesting this book was, considering it's set in one of those "-istans" that most people couldn't be bothered to pick out on a map.
Loved this book.
Nowadays, though, he does more stuff like this, and I have no complaints whatsoever about this.
This is a novel about Tara Chace, second in the series. Fresh off an incident in Saudi Arabia that saw the one man she loved die, she returns to England with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and... pregnant.
Deciding to keep the baby, she quits her position as Minder One in the SIS (think super spy extraordinaire... except she does just as much paperwork as she does James Bond stuff). Except she gets lured back in, with a mission to Uzbekistan that only she is trusted to pull off correctly.
The old president there is dying, and his daughter is poised to take over... which means his son is in danger. Can she get him and his son out safely in time?
There's a lot of twists and turns in this book, predictably, but the plot always makes sense. The characters are very real, all in shades of gray rather than the guys in the white hats and the guys in the black hats, or James Bond vs Blofeld. There are people who do bad things with good intentions, and good things with bad intentions.
This was a real page turner, and I find it utterly amazing how interesting this book was, considering it's set in one of those "-istans" that most people couldn't be bothered to pick out on a map.
Loved this book.
February 6, 2014
British special ops ace Tara Chace returns for a series of missions in Uzbekistan. [some HUGE spoilers ahead]
[Seriously. I'm giving the big finale away. You've been warned.]
After taking a couple years off to have a baby and brood over the death of the father (in the previous book, I inferred), Chace is roped back into the game for an off-the-books attempt to replace the vicious, rapey president of Uzbekistan with someone less evil.
The subtitle could have been "The Horrors of Torture". The reader is treated to beatings, maimings, gang rape, and death by boiling (though none of it is gratuitous.) It's an attempt at indictment. I say 'attempt' because when Rucka makes the obligatory assertion that torture is ultimately useless (the victim will say anything to make it stop), he later on the SAME PAGE has it be successful, with the torturer getting the information he wanted. Oops.
When it wasn't turning my stomach, Private Wars was dazzling. Excellent, realistic spycraft and logistics, complex and believable international politics, realistic action sequences. And just a wonderful, awful ending----that demonstrates how terrible duty can be.
[Seriously. I'm giving the big finale away. You've been warned.]
After taking a couple years off to have a baby and brood over the death of the father (in the previous book, I inferred), Chace is roped back into the game for an off-the-books attempt to replace the vicious, rapey president of Uzbekistan with someone less evil.
The subtitle could have been "The Horrors of Torture". The reader is treated to beatings, maimings, gang rape, and death by boiling (though none of it is gratuitous.) It's an attempt at indictment. I say 'attempt' because when Rucka makes the obligatory assertion that torture is ultimately useless (the victim will say anything to make it stop), he later on the SAME PAGE has it be successful, with the torturer getting the information he wanted. Oops.
When it wasn't turning my stomach, Private Wars was dazzling. Excellent, realistic spycraft and logistics, complex and believable international politics, realistic action sequences. And just a wonderful, awful ending----that demonstrates how terrible duty can be.
June 29, 2017
I am so brilliant that sometimes I just amaze myself. I correctly predicted that I would love the second of the Queen & Country series. Oh how right I was.
Ms. Chace had resigned from SIS and for cause; they have betrayed her. But when her former boss who had tried to protect her from the betrayal asks her to return for another mission she can hardly refuse.
Chace fails this mission in the worst way through no fault of her own and it's only by chance that she's rescued before the worst happens.
But she isn't done.
Read the book, find out how she avenges herself. If you are an action book aficionado you will enjoy virtually anything Rucka writes and this series will not be the exception to the rule.
Ms. Chace had resigned from SIS and for cause; they have betrayed her. But when her former boss who had tried to protect her from the betrayal asks her to return for another mission she can hardly refuse.
Chace fails this mission in the worst way through no fault of her own and it's only by chance that she's rescued before the worst happens.
But she isn't done.
Read the book, find out how she avenges herself. If you are an action book aficionado you will enjoy virtually anything Rucka writes and this series will not be the exception to the rule.
August 8, 2012
Easily my favorite of the Queen and Country novels. I enjoyed A Gentleman's Game, but this is the novel where the characters and I really bonded. Private Wars is the second novel of a suspense spy thriller series that abandons the shiny novelty of its genre for grinding realism. Everyone, protagonists and antagonists, are multidimensional. This book contains a particularly grueling scene though that was so honest, I had to put the book down for a thirty minute emotional break.
The craftsmanship of the novel is brilliant though. The actual structure of the plot and the way he sets characters against each other in scene is awe inspiring.
The craftsmanship of the novel is brilliant though. The actual structure of the plot and the way he sets characters against each other in scene is awe inspiring.
December 29, 2012
#2 in the series: Do not read this out of order! It starts with a twist I did not see coming. There's more graphic violence than I like and an awfully lot of detail repeated from #1 about the structure of British secret services. I like most of the characters and it's not very predictable. Unfortunately, the exciting and interesting scenes are interwoven with some very boring sections. I don't know if I'll read any more of these...maybe one more, but it better be more than a 3-star book. And, the main character better find a better way to combine work and the previously mentioned new twist.
February 14, 2011
It's been ages since I read a great spy book and this one fits the bill. It had the perfect mix of action, ethical dilemmas, plot twists, and political maneuvering. That said I would not reccommend this book unless you first read the previous book "A Gentleman's Game." Although the agents are on a new mission in this book, there were events that occurred in the previous book that have huge effects on the lives of the characters in this book.
May 23, 2009
I like the character of Tara Chace, Minder one with the British secret service (or whatever it is called) Greg Rucka uses a lot of acronyms and even though he provides a glossary, they are too similar to be intelligible. I can't really like the espionage components as I simply don't care much for this type of book, but this character is compelling.
June 27, 2011
Greg Rucka has once again blown my mind with a great Queen & Country story. The chaos of war, betrayal, broken hearts, and political disasters is captured in a way that only he can achieve. Speaking as a fan of the series, I can still honestly say I've never been let down by Rucka, the much-layered Tara Chace, or the frustrating, yet somehow very likable Paul Crocker.
May 6, 2013
This is the second in the series featuring Tara Chace, one of the few female black ops operators in the British secret service. I thought the sequel was better than the original--the characters are better fleshed out, the plot was equally compelling, and the action well paced. If you are looking for a realistic and fast paced thriller, I highly recommend this series.
October 25, 2012
Got to look up Uzbekistan now to find out what has transpired in this former Soviet republic (the setting for this fine spy novel)since 2005!
At one point, I realized the shared focus on spy administrator Paul Crocker was especially satisfying, as I now completely relate to bureaucrats.
At one point, I realized the shared focus on spy administrator Paul Crocker was especially satisfying, as I now completely relate to bureaucrats.
May 1, 2007
Greatness. Only Rucka.
June 17, 2007
One of my favorite thriller writers - Portland writer Greg Rucka will keep you up late at night. This one didn't disappoint.
September 13, 2007
Fast pace, very believable with insight to a part of the world we are not accustomed to reading about....
May 8, 2012
Really enjoyed this one. Rucka remains one of my favorites. I only wish he did this more often.
March 1, 2014
Tara Chase would whip James Bonds ass up and down the Thames.
December 20, 2012
Girl kicking ass. (Good. Genre fiction. Lara Croft if she actually worked for the British secret service.)
March 4, 2013
Good one. Lots and lots of twists.
December 22, 2010
I would read anything Greg Rucka writes. The man is a storyeller.
September 21, 2018
This features Tara Chace, Minder 1 in MI6. OK, here you thought the agents with licence to kill had 00 prefixes, and there are at least 7 of them. Wrong, there are three only. Tara Chace leaves MI6 to have a baby (clearly, I need to stop entering a series in the middle), and then is brought back in by her boss. Nothing is as it seems. Uzbekistan is being run by a dictator, and his ruthless daughter and her besotted chief of the secret police are bent on getting her the post next. Her brother is the hitch, being a sort of heir apparent, apparent only to the US Ambassador, who asks the Brits for help. Tara is sent in to get him out. Mayhem follows. Forget James Bond. Cut to the Chace.
[Reviewed in 2012; uploading here now]
[Reviewed in 2012; uploading here now]
May 17, 2021
Foreign intrigue, spies etc. Tara Chace is a British agent sent to Uzbekistan to bring the president's son and grandson out before his imminent death leads to a power struggle that will surely kill them. The mission goes wrong and she leaves the son for dead and the grandson with his aunt who assumes the presidency next. Chace is tortured, saved only by the lucky intervention of a CIA agent. Months later she's sent back. It seems the man she thought had died actually survived and is threatening a civil war to take the presidency, so Britain wants him out. Twists, betrayals, miscommunications, and bureacracy.
January 25, 2021
The end of the Queen And Country series that began with several story arcs in comics, and then a novel, another comic book arc, then this.
Tara Chace is the main character here, as she was in the first novel, A Gentleman's Game. She has 'retired' from British Intelligence to raise her daughter, until her handler brings her back to do a black op that receives no sanction from either the British nor Americans if she fails.
Well told, a real page-turner.
Tara Chace is the main character here, as she was in the first novel, A Gentleman's Game. She has 'retired' from British Intelligence to raise her daughter, until her handler brings her back to do a black op that receives no sanction from either the British nor Americans if she fails.
Well told, a real page-turner.
February 2, 2022
Where all the politics and protocol of the first book made things seem tedious and hyperbolic; here they elevated the second book. This was an incredibly addictive story. The cloak and dagger meetings and and off the record ops that fell flat in A Gentleman's Game, were spectacularly intense and suspenseful in Private Wars. Full of plot twists and more interesting characters.
March 20, 2024
This was the second book in this series and it was very well done. I enjoyed this a lot, plus it had a surprising ending. The author makes the books easy to read and understand. It really goes quickly and you don't seem to know you are turning the pages. Overall, a great read, and now I'm on to the third and last book in this series.
April 3, 2018
Rucka's second Q&C novel, it's very good. He's got a gift for building tension, and I appreciated the way he builds the parent/child parallels between Tara and Ruslan. Lots of strong and very believable twists. Worth checking out if you're into spy thrillers or Rucka's work.
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