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Jad Bell #1
Alpha
For the visitors to Wilsonville, the largest theme park in the world, the day begins with a smile. But, by the end, they start to wonder: will they escape with their lives? Undercover Delta Force operator, Master Sergeant Jonathan “Jad” Bell has been deployed to act as Wilsonville’s lead undercover security officer. The threat begins with the announcement of a hidden dirty bomb, but quickly becomes something far, far worse.
Trained since the age of 18 to save innocent victims from impossible hostage situations, Jad scrambles to assess the threat and protect the visitors. He will come face to face with a villain whose training matches his in every way—and presents a danger Jad may not be able to stop.
Trained since the age of 18 to save innocent victims from impossible hostage situations, Jad scrambles to assess the threat and protect the visitors. He will come face to face with a villain whose training matches his in every way—and presents a danger Jad may not be able to stop.
295 pages, Hardcover
First published May 22, 2012
92 people are currently reading
817 people want to read
About the author
Greg Rucka
1,494 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 219 reviews
April 30, 2014
This is Die Hard in Disneyland, and is exactly as enjoyable and fun as that sounds. It's a big 80's action movie, the sort I love, updated for modern times in novel form. If opening a book by showing a man in a Goofy suit pulling out a knife and attacking an undercover military operative sounds hilarious to you, you'll probably like Alpha.
It isn't played as a joke though. That's part of the charm. Everything is very straight-faced. There's lots of military jargon and realpolitik, an ageing Veteran of the War on terror possibly suffering PTSD (the protagonist, Jonathan "Jad" Bell), and a group of ruthless terrorists whose leader is surprisingly fleshed out and, if not sympathetic, at least somewhat understandable. It has it's flaws, much like so many of those great 80's action films did too (not Die Hard though, that movie is literally fucking perfect) and occasionally veers into military porn, but none of that slowed me down. Deducting a star for having the now VERY stereotypical bitchy ex-wife character that I feel like Ive seen too many times (and it wasnt fun the first time), but, damn. It's Die Hard in Disneyland. It's such a great and simple concept, and Greg Rucka executes it really well.
It isn't played as a joke though. That's part of the charm. Everything is very straight-faced. There's lots of military jargon and realpolitik, an ageing Veteran of the War on terror possibly suffering PTSD (the protagonist, Jonathan "Jad" Bell), and a group of ruthless terrorists whose leader is surprisingly fleshed out and, if not sympathetic, at least somewhat understandable. It has it's flaws, much like so many of those great 80's action films did too (not Die Hard though, that movie is literally fucking perfect) and occasionally veers into military porn, but none of that slowed me down. Deducting a star for having the now VERY stereotypical bitchy ex-wife character that I feel like Ive seen too many times (and it wasnt fun the first time), but, damn. It's Die Hard in Disneyland. It's such a great and simple concept, and Greg Rucka executes it really well.
June 13, 2012
Greg Rucka's Alpha rachets up the tension and thrills by having terrorist seize a world famous amusement park and threaten a group of hostages with instant death and the country as a whole with the detonation of a dirty bomb. The terrorists are convincing led by a deep sleeper agent, Gabriel Fuller, a former Odessan gangster, who was planted in the United States seven years previously. After stints in the US Army and a college education, Fuller, once activated swiftly obeys the commands of his handler, the murderous Uzbek, who recruited him 7 years before.
Fuller has been working at Wilsonville, Rucka's fictional theme park, as a character. Dressed in the character outfit he is able to glide around the park without suspicion of his plan. Playing the family friend he is deviously laying the groundwork for his plot by planting biological devises and the dirty bomb. Fuller is confident but harbors reservations about the plot especially as his American girlfriend is also working at Wilsonville at the time the plot will go down. Meanwhile he is going to be joined by his former colleagues in the Odessa mob. Although nominally in charge, Uzbek has recruited one of Fuller's former gang members as his guy and has ensured that Fuller will cooperate by having his girlfriend be captured by the terrorists.
Opposing Fuller and his colleagues is Jad Bell, an undercover Delta Forces operative, who has been sent to the park to pose as the head security officer because of anonymous threats the US has received about a terrorist attack at an unknown American amusement park. He is joined there by an undercover CIA agent. Bell is especially concerned about an attack at Wilsonville because his young deaf daughter, her classmates, and his ex-wife are visiting the park when the terrorists strike. Inevitably, they are the grabbed by the terrorists as hostages.
After the set up of these elements, the action is unrelenting. The terrorists quickly kill a hostage and Bell strikes back.
Fuller must face his own allegiance to his girlfriend and his handler and decide who he will obey, while Bell must face his fears about his young daughter.
This realistic thriller soon devolves into a cat and mouse game as Fuller splits the hostages and Bell and other members of his unit strike at other parts of Fuller's group. There is a clever plot by Fuller to escape as all of the hostages and terrorists are dressed as characters from the park, and the ultimate confrontation between Fuller and Bell is riveting.
Its a thrill ride and although its pretty clear how it will turn out, Rucka keeps the action fast paced and exciting.
Fuller has been working at Wilsonville, Rucka's fictional theme park, as a character. Dressed in the character outfit he is able to glide around the park without suspicion of his plan. Playing the family friend he is deviously laying the groundwork for his plot by planting biological devises and the dirty bomb. Fuller is confident but harbors reservations about the plot especially as his American girlfriend is also working at Wilsonville at the time the plot will go down. Meanwhile he is going to be joined by his former colleagues in the Odessa mob. Although nominally in charge, Uzbek has recruited one of Fuller's former gang members as his guy and has ensured that Fuller will cooperate by having his girlfriend be captured by the terrorists.
Opposing Fuller and his colleagues is Jad Bell, an undercover Delta Forces operative, who has been sent to the park to pose as the head security officer because of anonymous threats the US has received about a terrorist attack at an unknown American amusement park. He is joined there by an undercover CIA agent. Bell is especially concerned about an attack at Wilsonville because his young deaf daughter, her classmates, and his ex-wife are visiting the park when the terrorists strike. Inevitably, they are the grabbed by the terrorists as hostages.
After the set up of these elements, the action is unrelenting. The terrorists quickly kill a hostage and Bell strikes back.
Fuller must face his own allegiance to his girlfriend and his handler and decide who he will obey, while Bell must face his fears about his young daughter.
This realistic thriller soon devolves into a cat and mouse game as Fuller splits the hostages and Bell and other members of his unit strike at other parts of Fuller's group. There is a clever plot by Fuller to escape as all of the hostages and terrorists are dressed as characters from the park, and the ultimate confrontation between Fuller and Bell is riveting.
Its a thrill ride and although its pretty clear how it will turn out, Rucka keeps the action fast paced and exciting.
January 10, 2016
Alpha is a tense, suspense-filled story. Admittedly, I was bit thrown by the present tense format. I'm not a huge fan of that. I prefer past tense narrative. Otherwise, I have to say that Rucka has another success on his hands. I've been reading almost every graphic novel by his I can get my hands on, because he knows what he's doing. This is my first official prose book by him. He can write just as good without illustrations to tell the story.
I found myself feeling very sympathetic towards the sleeper agent. While he's not by any stretch a good man, I think that in another life, he could have been a better man. It's very hard to write a villain that is sympathetic, but Rucka did it well in this case. I really wish things had ended much differently for him, although he did make his choices (admittedly from a deck short of cards) in the end.
The idea of an action story set at an amusement park was well done. I have always had a distrust of, shall we say, people wearing character suits (something a bit disturbing about it, especially if they are animal characters), and now I won't look at them the same way again. I like how Rucka emphasized the frozen smiling face of the terrorists in their character suit. It's a metaphor for how a bland face can hide evil and latent menace, especially when one cannot see the eyes (the windows to the soul). The amusement park is almost a bit of a stand-in for Disneyland, but with its own mythology that plays out in a way that's decidedly creepy considering that the park is harboring blood-thirsty terrorists.
"Alpha" is more of a suspense book but it has plenty of action. I felt my stomach tense up in knots as the story progresses at a fast pace towards its climax. Jad is a likable protagonist despite having some flaws. I appreciate that while he's a skilled special forces operator who has earned his formidable reputation, he's not bulletproof or invulnerable.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy a tightly written, well-plotted novel that straddles the fence between suspense and action. I'll definitely keep reading this series.
I found myself feeling very sympathetic towards the sleeper agent. While he's not by any stretch a good man, I think that in another life, he could have been a better man. It's very hard to write a villain that is sympathetic, but Rucka did it well in this case. I really wish things had ended much differently for him, although he did make his choices (admittedly from a deck short of cards) in the end.
The idea of an action story set at an amusement park was well done. I have always had a distrust of, shall we say, people wearing character suits (something a bit disturbing about it, especially if they are animal characters), and now I won't look at them the same way again. I like how Rucka emphasized the frozen smiling face of the terrorists in their character suit. It's a metaphor for how a bland face can hide evil and latent menace, especially when one cannot see the eyes (the windows to the soul). The amusement park is almost a bit of a stand-in for Disneyland, but with its own mythology that plays out in a way that's decidedly creepy considering that the park is harboring blood-thirsty terrorists.
"Alpha" is more of a suspense book but it has plenty of action. I felt my stomach tense up in knots as the story progresses at a fast pace towards its climax. Jad is a likable protagonist despite having some flaws. I appreciate that while he's a skilled special forces operator who has earned his formidable reputation, he's not bulletproof or invulnerable.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy a tightly written, well-plotted novel that straddles the fence between suspense and action. I'll definitely keep reading this series.
June 6, 2024
I loved this book. Fast-paced, exciting, plenty of action and loads of OMG moments
June 7, 2012
FFFFFFFTTTTTTT. That's the sound of ALPHA entering and leaving my consciousness. It's like a mind-fart, but without the stink. You'd remember the stink.
Rucka's first four Atticus Kodiak books and his Queen & Country comics bought him enough goodwill that I'll always read his stuff. But, man, it's been a while since a Rucka novel slapped me in the heartplace like SHOOTING AT MIDNIGHT or A GENTLEMEN'S GAME did. It's not that ALPHA was bad. It just...was. Fun enough, I guess, despite the fact that there weren't so much characters as names on paper doing things. Die Hard in an amusement park without John McLane of Hans Gruber.
I dunno. Even bad Rucka is still streets ahead of suck-bringers like Clive Cussler or Tom Clancy. So there's that.
Rucka's first four Atticus Kodiak books and his Queen & Country comics bought him enough goodwill that I'll always read his stuff. But, man, it's been a while since a Rucka novel slapped me in the heartplace like SHOOTING AT MIDNIGHT or A GENTLEMEN'S GAME did. It's not that ALPHA was bad. It just...was. Fun enough, I guess, despite the fact that there weren't so much characters as names on paper doing things. Die Hard in an amusement park without John McLane of Hans Gruber.
I dunno. Even bad Rucka is still streets ahead of suck-bringers like Clive Cussler or Tom Clancy. So there's that.
May 29, 2012
I was 12 years old in the summer of 1988, but early into it I remember seeing TV commercials for a movie that looked pretty interesting. It was an action movie that looked intense, but it had the guy from “Moonlighting” in it, so that was a little weird. I still wanted to see it though and several weeks later I did. That movie was of course “Die Hard,” which spawned an almost whole new sub-genre of action films. The original of that genre is still the best though. I loved “Die Hard” and to this day it remains, in my opinion, one of the best action films ever made. Last summer I read “Nothing Lasts Forever” by Roderick Thorp, the novel that inspired “Die Hard.” I found it to be just as exciting as the film and in certain ways more emotionally powerful.
So the bar was set pretty high for writers who tell action stories about terrorists taking over locations and the heroes that fight back against them. Well I just finished Greg Rucka’s latest novel, “Alpha” and I’m happy to report that with “Alpha” Rucka does a gold medal winning high jump over that bar and tells a story equal in power, excitement, and heart to both “Die Hard” and “Nothing Lasts Forever.”
In “Alpha” terrorists take over a fictional amusement park known as “Wilsonville.” So what Rucka does in the story is much richer than simply taking the established “Die Hard” formula of terrorists+small location. In having the action take place in “Wilsonville” Rucka is building an entire new world from scratch. It’s not something you often get to see in action thrillers, because usually they unfold in some real world location. Rucka does amazing job building the world of Wilsonville though. You’re given a detailed map of the park at the front of the book, and in the beginning of the book Rucka gives you the history of the company that founded the park and it’s library of characters that populate it. You’re also given glimpses of how the park runs and work. The result is a believable and exciting back drop for the action. Rucka makes Wilsonville feel as real as any of the Disney theme parks I’ve visited.
You need great characters to populate fictional worlds though and “Alpha” has several great characters, the greatest of which has to be its protagonist Master Sergeant Jonathan “Jad” Bell. Bell is a Delta Force operator and a veteran of several violent missions. When we first meet him it appears he’s done with the service, but he’s still haunted by the action he saw and trying to make the most of of a confusing civilian life. So with Jad, Rucka has a protagonist that’s both an every man and extraordinary man. We identify with Jad because he’s a likeable guy with family problems. We also see though that he’s a very dangerous, dedicated and dutiful man. That means watching Jad doing what he does best is thrilling and exciting, but Rucka never lets readers lose sight of the fact that to become a special forces soldier Jad had to sacrifice a part of himself, the part that makes him able to understand and navigate a normal life. That makes Jad a pretty compelling and identifiable hero.
Jad comes to Wilsonville early on as part of an undercover mission. His old colonel, Daniel Ruiz recruits him to take a job as Wilsonville’s top security officer. Ruiz has heard rumblings that terrorists are going to make a major strike at an American amusement park. Unfortunately for him he’s right. And unfortunately for Jad, they choose Wilsonville on the same day his daughter and ex-wife are visiting the park. So for Jad the situation in Wilsonville is both personal and professional, which heightens the tension.
When the attack happens Jad and his allies, a CIA agent and one of the Delta Force operators from his former unit who are also working undercover in Wilsonville, must scramble and stop it. They’re out numbered, out gunned and up against a force that’s taken a number of park employees and guests hostage. Those hostages include Jad’s ex-wife and daughter. Complicating things even further is the fact that these terrorists claim to have a dirty bomb.
So not only do Jad and his allies have to liberate the park and the hostages; they also have to investigate and uncover the true motives of the terrorists who have taken over the park. That means “Alpha” is more than just a slam bang action thriller. It’s also a mystery, and it’s a pretty compelling one too. Throughout the book you’re given clues as to the true nature of the terrorists behind the Wilsonville takeover, but you don’t find out what exactly is happening until the book’s final pages. The solution is both plausible and frightening.
As Jad and his allies try to uncover what’s really going on in Wilsonville and stop it they bump up against an interesting and eclectic supporting cast. The ones I found most interesting included the lead terrorist, who thanks to a compelling characterization by Rucka I couldn’t quite bring myself to hate even though I wanted to. I also really liked Jad’s teenage daughter Athena. Being the teenage daughter of divorced parents means Athena has a pretty interesting perspective. That perspective is made much more interesting by the fact that Athena is deaf. Rucka does a great job of capturing her view point and the way she looks at the world.
“Alpha” is of course more than just great character moments and mystery. It’s also a masterfully paced story full of epic and realistic action scenes. I’m a slow reader, but I read the book in two days and would have read it one if I could have stayed up later the previous night. The fact that these action packed scenes took place in the colorful and fully fleshed out environment of Wilsonville made them even more fascinating.
So this Memorial Day weekend I got to visit a lavish theme park, experience some pretty intense action, and meet some really interesting people thanks to Greg Rucka’s “Alpha.” It was a great way to spend a holiday weekend, and best of all the final pages set up Rucka’s next Jad Bell novel which I’m now eagerly awaiting.
July 23, 2024
Four stars. Audiobook and Hardcover
Boozy book club
I really recommend this book. I thought this book was done well and provided a great story. I typically read historical fiction but on my movie and tv show entertainment I love action and cop shows. Well, finding a book outside of historical fiction that I like is very hard and let me tell you this book was absolutely enjoyable. I love the plot. I really enjoyed the aspect of deaf people in an amusement park. I know this book has a second book of the series that might answer some questions that some readers feel that are not answered but in my belief this book totally could be a stand alone. Taking a perspective of how the author incorporated the deaf community in this book was absolutely amazing. I love how the author was able to portray how it is different turn of events when some senses may be diminished or if you have a disability how there might be a challenge in a serious event. Highly recommend!
Boozy book club
I really recommend this book. I thought this book was done well and provided a great story. I typically read historical fiction but on my movie and tv show entertainment I love action and cop shows. Well, finding a book outside of historical fiction that I like is very hard and let me tell you this book was absolutely enjoyable. I love the plot. I really enjoyed the aspect of deaf people in an amusement park. I know this book has a second book of the series that might answer some questions that some readers feel that are not answered but in my belief this book totally could be a stand alone. Taking a perspective of how the author incorporated the deaf community in this book was absolutely amazing. I love how the author was able to portray how it is different turn of events when some senses may be diminished or if you have a disability how there might be a challenge in a serious event. Highly recommend!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 3, 2017
Great book, plenty of action, fighting, and terrorist planning. My personal opinion is it was very good, I would definitely see it if it became a film. The middle drug out a little to much for my tastes, but the ending has absolutely has me going for the next.
June 17, 2012
Thought this was fantastic. Read it in a day. Rucka has flown under the radar as a novelist for too long - his Kodiak series is one of the best in crime fiction, but probably one of the least appreciated - but this is a top-notch thriller that deserves a huge audience. The amusement park setting is great, Jad Bell is a terrific hero and the pacing is brilliant. A thriller in every way.
February 12, 2013
This was an exciting book! It's like Die Hard at an amusement park. I loved the setting and storyline. I will definitley be reading more of Rucka's books in the future. I also liked the mention of Odessa in the book since that is my daughter's name. :)
May 17, 2016
"Die Hard" at ersatz Disney World. Fun, though I could have done without the opening bit where our 40something hero is banging the 20yo barista, especially since it has absolutely no bearing on the story whatsoever.
January 25, 2022
One of my top reads of the last few years.
And a read that sucks you in -- I listened to it all in 24 hours.
The pitch is simple: DIE HARD in Disneyland. But as asccurate as it is, that does this book a disservice. This is not some simple, airy thriller (though those aren't bad). Instead, Rucka builds each major character, good and evil, as a well-rounded person.
Sure, you'll cheer when the baddies get taken down, but Rucka doesn't make it easy on the good guys (Jad Bell and his special ops squad). He takes his time to set up the scenario; the crap doesn't hit the fan till about halfway through the book. And then it all slides downhill after that.
Rucka gives you believable soldiers, on both sides of the line, and focuses on what to my non-military eyes and ears appeared to be how real soldiers do things. No weapons porn, but he does describe things that go bang and the tactics to use them.
Smart, nerve-wracking, and earns its thrills. Based on this, I'll read anything Rucka writes.
And a read that sucks you in -- I listened to it all in 24 hours.
The pitch is simple: DIE HARD in Disneyland. But as asccurate as it is, that does this book a disservice. This is not some simple, airy thriller (though those aren't bad). Instead, Rucka builds each major character, good and evil, as a well-rounded person.
Sure, you'll cheer when the baddies get taken down, but Rucka doesn't make it easy on the good guys (Jad Bell and his special ops squad). He takes his time to set up the scenario; the crap doesn't hit the fan till about halfway through the book. And then it all slides downhill after that.
Rucka gives you believable soldiers, on both sides of the line, and focuses on what to my non-military eyes and ears appeared to be how real soldiers do things. No weapons porn, but he does describe things that go bang and the tactics to use them.
Smart, nerve-wracking, and earns its thrills. Based on this, I'll read anything Rucka writes.
June 12, 2017
Jad Bell is the guy you want on your side if all hell breaks loose. He and his team have traveled all over the world taking care of the bad guys. He is tasked with becoming the assistant director of security for WilsonVille in southern California. A huge tourist destination, the theme park brings to life all the characters of the Wilson Entertainment World: Pooch; the Flower Sisters and their entourage; Clip Flashman in all his incarnations. US military has reached a credible threat that amusement parks are a target for radicalized members of vicious anti-American forces. Gabriel Fuller plays Pooch in a 50-pound costume with a few breaks a day; he hates Pooch. Gregory Fuller is also not his real name; he is a sleeper agent from Uzbekistan who has lived in the US for years. Now, he has been activated. Jad and Gregory will come to blows before the day is over and Jad's ex-wife and daughter are in play. Lots of action, but I spotted the bad guy less than half-way into the book. Will try the second to see where it goes.
September 22, 2018
someone called it die hard in disneyland and I'm sorry, but that's it perfectly. The writing is tense. The characters are good. The ending is slightly anticlimatic, but it was fun and I was excited throughout it.
July 26, 2024
3 ⭐️. Audio/Ebook.
Why books insist on starting with (seemingly) random prologues that do nothing more than confuse me as a reader I will never understand.
Why books insist on starting with (seemingly) random prologues that do nothing more than confuse me as a reader I will never understand.
September 8, 2012
Alpha takes more time to get into than other books of its ilk but that time ends up being well worth it. At first, I couldn't help thinking the book lacked focus and clarity. As a fan of Greg Rucka's prior work, I was almost disappointed. But as a Rucka fan I should have known better. After the first 100 pages or so, Rucka hits his stride and Alpha becomes a thrill ride moving at breakneck speed, with non-stop action and intrigue and attention to detail on a level that is frankly inconceivable. By the end, it becomes clear that the lack of focus and clarity displayed early on was actually intentional (or very nearly so), preparing the reader for the constant jostling of the narrative and the twists and turns the story takes. In this way the flow of the story is much like that of rollercoaster, which is rather apropos considering the story takes place in a theme park full of rides and rollercoasters. The final act, in fact, is much like the last, long, sharp drop of a rollercoaster ride, giving the reader one last chance to catch his breath before lifting him out of his seat and making him hold on for dear life as the wind is knocked out of him and his heart starts pounding hard enough to break a rib. And then the ride slows to a leisurely pace and eases back into the station to get ready for another go-round, just as I hope Rucka is getting ready for another go-round with a Jad Bell sequel.
July 13, 2012
ALPHA is an adrenaline-fueled rocket-sled ride through a Southern California amusement park that has become a terrorist target. Former soldier Jonathan "Jad" Bell is trying to start a new life in Alaska after his divorce when his commanding officer shows up to offer him a job as deputy director of park safety in a Disney-esque amusement park near L.A. As soon as he takes the job, Bell senses that something will happen, and when his deaf daughter Athena calls him via computer to tell him she and her mom Amy are coming to visit the park on a class trip, he's convinced that a suspected terrorist attack on one of the 500 parks in the U.S. will definitely happen at his.
ALPHA grabs hold of the reader on page one and doesn't let go. Rucka's writing is both as muscular and as sensitive as his hero Bell, and while the conventions of this thriller may come as no surprise, Rucka still manages to compel the reader to keep turning the pages faster and faster. His characters are as full-blooded and three-dimensional as the neighbors next door, and his attention to detail is astounding. Before the book was a quarter finished I was convinced that Rucka must have first-hand experience in the Army Special Forces and as an amusement park operator. "Pulse-pounding excitement" may be an overused phrase to describe thrillers--let's just say I'm glad I had a heart procedure done before I picked up this book. First-class entertainment.
ALPHA grabs hold of the reader on page one and doesn't let go. Rucka's writing is both as muscular and as sensitive as his hero Bell, and while the conventions of this thriller may come as no surprise, Rucka still manages to compel the reader to keep turning the pages faster and faster. His characters are as full-blooded and three-dimensional as the neighbors next door, and his attention to detail is astounding. Before the book was a quarter finished I was convinced that Rucka must have first-hand experience in the Army Special Forces and as an amusement park operator. "Pulse-pounding excitement" may be an overused phrase to describe thrillers--let's just say I'm glad I had a heart procedure done before I picked up this book. First-class entertainment.
July 6, 2012
34/292 - Ex military guy takes over security at a Disney-like theme park. 'Diehard at Disney'? Seems very authentic or researched. Rucka also writes for DC comics.
91/292 - Moving along swimmingly. I'm not too interested in a lot of villain details. Not much action yet except for a flashback.
171/292 - Shots fired. In the thick of it now. I've found I'm a sucker for military slang. ('Alpha' is code for 1st floor.) Succinct prose. Sometimes I get a little confused. Would make a smart action movie. You'll find a lot of parallels to Diehard. There's a deaf daughter character. There's probably a lot of books like this but I don't often read them.
216/292 - Should be able to wrap this up inside of two hours. Copy, Warlock?
All done. 3.5 stars. Dramatic and well done, but in the end is it really my idea of a good time? I'll probably say the same thing about Savages. I usually read sf, so it's a nice change of pace to read something more realistic. I felt like I got to know the villian better than the hero. There's some kind of post 9/11 message there. Read it in about 7 hours. An action scene or two were skipped over, but I'm all for brevity.
91/292 - Moving along swimmingly. I'm not too interested in a lot of villain details. Not much action yet except for a flashback.
171/292 - Shots fired. In the thick of it now. I've found I'm a sucker for military slang. ('Alpha' is code for 1st floor.) Succinct prose. Sometimes I get a little confused. Would make a smart action movie. You'll find a lot of parallels to Diehard. There's a deaf daughter character. There's probably a lot of books like this but I don't often read them.
216/292 - Should be able to wrap this up inside of two hours. Copy, Warlock?
All done. 3.5 stars. Dramatic and well done, but in the end is it really my idea of a good time? I'll probably say the same thing about Savages. I usually read sf, so it's a nice change of pace to read something more realistic. I felt like I got to know the villian better than the hero. There's some kind of post 9/11 message there. Read it in about 7 hours. An action scene or two were skipped over, but I'm all for brevity.
March 31, 2013
If the plot involves a theme park, I am going to read it, but I have been continually disappointed in the books so far. This is my first Rucka book and I was not enamored. I felt like I had been dropped into the middle of a series and was not reading the first one of the series. Bottom line, I found it confusing. So many characters that were not fleshed out, so they remained one diminsional and I had problems relating to them. Rucka tried to hard in making WilsonVille come alive but it became an overwhelming read with all of the cartoon characters that I could just not visualize. What attracted me to the book, the theme park, became a confusing setting. Why not make it a straightforward theme park? There were some moments of brilliance, but for the most part, I was struggling to keep up. I won't be reading the next in the series. The only reason why I read this one was because of the theme park setting. There are too many other "great" military type characters created by David Baldacii and Robert Crais that I don't need to continue this storyline.
November 14, 2013
Wilsonville is the largest theme park in the world. It was built to compete with the Disney theme parks. Visitors are amazed at the variety of activities available to them. However, its very popularity makes it a prime terrorist target, and now a sleeper cell has been sent to make an example of it. Retired Delta Force operator, Master Sergeant Jonathan "Jad" Bell, is Wilsonville's lead undercover security officer. The threat announced is of a hidden dirty bomb. But this is only a front. Hostages are taken, and some are murdered to make a point. What the terrorists don't know is that Jad's daughter and ex-wife are some of the hostages. As he and his team try to contain the situation and rescue the hostages, someone else is pulling the strings. Someone whose training rivals his own. In the end, Jad prevails, but there is a setup for a sequel, as he must now go after the mysterious mastermind behind the attack. A good read. It reminds me of some of Robert Ludlum's novels. There is no good stopping point, once you start reading.
March 19, 2015
Terrorists attack Disneyland Wilsonville. A special ops team must take them down, disarm the dirty bomb, and save the hostages. You know, the usual.
Very action-oriented. Basically a 292-page strategic and tactical blueprint for how to run an anti-terror operation in a theme park. Rucka is very very good at this stuff...
...but in this case he relied on coincidence to a surprising and unfortunate extent to drive the story. Hero's daughter just happens to show up on Terrorism Day, and Chief Bad Guy's girlfriend just happens to be called in as ASL translator.....for none other than Hero's daughter. They become fast friends during the hostage crisis, just to complicate things.
I love stories about using training, intelligence and superior strategy (as opposed to stupid grunting Ramboesque badassery) to outgun bad guys. While Alpha was satisfying, the level of contrivance was a shame. Rucka kinda phoned it in; what was a good book could have been a great one.
Very action-oriented. Basically a 292-page strategic and tactical blueprint for how to run an anti-terror operation in a theme park. Rucka is very very good at this stuff...
...but in this case he relied on coincidence to a surprising and unfortunate extent to drive the story. Hero's daughter just happens to show up on Terrorism Day, and Chief Bad Guy's girlfriend just happens to be called in as ASL translator.....for none other than Hero's daughter. They become fast friends during the hostage crisis, just to complicate things.
I love stories about using training, intelligence and superior strategy (as opposed to stupid grunting Ramboesque badassery) to outgun bad guys. While Alpha was satisfying, the level of contrivance was a shame. Rucka kinda phoned it in; what was a good book could have been a great one.
July 17, 2012
I have read all the books in the Atticus Kodiak series and really enjoyed Walking Dead. So I had high hopes for this new series/character. I did like the book , but it didn't blow me away. I thought the character development for Jad was a little thin. I'm not sure if that was done on purpose and Rucka will flesh him out in later novels or if he intended to leave things vague. I know a certain amount of mystery about a character's past can be intriguing, but I found myself wishing the book had been about the scene with the IED. I'll probably follow for a nother book or so if the series continues only because I enjoyed Atticus so much.
June 21, 2012
I love Greg Rucka books! But not this one. Aside from some very clever bits in some of the scenes, this was very straight-forward. You pretty much knew who was going to die and who was the bad guy. As always the technical details were just right, without being annoying. The emotional content of the characters was very limited. A fun summer romp, but not up to the high Rucka standard.
PS: This was published well after A Deeper Blue which shares the theme park setting. I kept waiting for the Keldara to show up in their helicopter gunships...
PS: This was published well after A Deeper Blue which shares the theme park setting. I kept waiting for the Keldara to show up in their helicopter gunships...
February 9, 2014
As a fan of Rucka's Queen & Country series, I thought I would give Alpha a shot. Sounded good, Die Hard meets Disney Land so to speak. Except Jad Bell is not the wrong guy in the wrong place, he is the right guy in the right place.
I liked this thriller, plenty of action and I like Jad and his crew. I would have liked a little more interaction at the end. It sure leads the way to Bravo. Which I will probably get once it comes under $9 or so.
I liked this thriller, plenty of action and I like Jad and his crew. I would have liked a little more interaction at the end. It sure leads the way to Bravo. Which I will probably get once it comes under $9 or so.
June 17, 2012
Ok book for what it is but not a memorable read. Plus, the last couple of pages have "sequel" stamped all over them! I may try another book by this author but I'm not going out of my way to find him.
August 14, 2012
Well-written, expertly paced, taut, tense, intricately plotted, gripping action, etc., etc., etc. Couldn't be a better written thriller. And yet, I never -- not for one second -- found myself giving a rip. No idea why, but it just left me apathetic.
July 18, 2017
This was pretty good.
At times it jumped around in time in ways that was a little confusing, but it made up for that in world building, which is a little odd in a thriller. Usually you don't have a ton on World Building because... it's a thriller, it's the real world.
This is set in a theme park that rivals Disneyland called Wilsonville.
The book begins with a war scene and it's a good establishing scene, very exciting and it introduces the team. And then it cuts to a chapter that is all about establishing the theme park. And it does a great job. I feel like I'd like to see some of the movies that are quickly described, especially the series that starts as a sci-fi movie and then establishes a continuity of having a family of heroes that span all time, giving western, superhero and Indiana Jones style adventure stories all in the same series. That sounds great.
But the book.
Right.
The book itself is a decent thriller. It's about a team of soldiers that are working on rumors of an attack on a theme park by a terrorist group. It also focuses on one of the members of that terrorist group.
It does a great job of making you understand why a person would do something like try to do an attack against a theme park, and it makes the villain very down to earth, despite the fact that he's doing terrible things.
There's also a deaf girl that is the daughter of the team leader of the heroes. Most of the time it just kind of feels like...a gimmick. Like "OK, the thriller needed a real threat for the hero, so here's his exwife and his deaf daughter in the park", but it does eventually pay off pretty well.
I liked it, but I think I liked the ideas of the theme park and movie franchises more than the thriller itself. I'll probably read more in this if I can find them, it was good. I just won't be rushing out to read them all immediately.
Good thriller. Well written characters and threats that felt real. Overall pretty good.
At times it jumped around in time in ways that was a little confusing, but it made up for that in world building, which is a little odd in a thriller. Usually you don't have a ton on World Building because... it's a thriller, it's the real world.
This is set in a theme park that rivals Disneyland called Wilsonville.
The book begins with a war scene and it's a good establishing scene, very exciting and it introduces the team. And then it cuts to a chapter that is all about establishing the theme park. And it does a great job. I feel like I'd like to see some of the movies that are quickly described, especially the series that starts as a sci-fi movie and then establishes a continuity of having a family of heroes that span all time, giving western, superhero and Indiana Jones style adventure stories all in the same series. That sounds great.
But the book.
Right.
The book itself is a decent thriller. It's about a team of soldiers that are working on rumors of an attack on a theme park by a terrorist group. It also focuses on one of the members of that terrorist group.
It does a great job of making you understand why a person would do something like try to do an attack against a theme park, and it makes the villain very down to earth, despite the fact that he's doing terrible things.
There's also a deaf girl that is the daughter of the team leader of the heroes. Most of the time it just kind of feels like...a gimmick. Like "OK, the thriller needed a real threat for the hero, so here's his exwife and his deaf daughter in the park", but it does eventually pay off pretty well.
I liked it, but I think I liked the ideas of the theme park and movie franchises more than the thriller itself. I'll probably read more in this if I can find them, it was good. I just won't be rushing out to read them all immediately.
Good thriller. Well written characters and threats that felt real. Overall pretty good.
June 22, 2018
Delta Force operative Jonathan "Jad" Bell, recently returned from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan and unwillingly estranged from his wife, is placed as a security officer at WilsonVille, a fictional pastiche of Disneyland. What the park heads don't know is that the US government has intelligence that a terrorist attack on the park is imminent, and Jad's real mission is to intercept whatever that attack may be. Not knowing the precise location or the enemy, Jad and his team are constantly hyper alert, when they're not being distracted or hampered by the park's resentful civilian security team. Meanwhile, a carefully primed Russian sleeper agent takes a summer job as a WilsonVille mascot, plotting just the attack that the government fears is coming. As the clock ticks ever closer to a dangerous showdown, just to spice things up Rucka throws into the plot Athena, Jad's deaf teenage daughter, visiting WilsonVille on a school trip. I'm a huge Rucka fan from way back, of course, and this is a true treat to me. The plot isn't exactly original, but it's disturbingly realistic. The logistics of the day-to-day running of the park, the prep work that goes into securing an enormous public attraction, the violent and troubled past of a boy recruited to be a terrorist, the world-weary life of the special operative... Rucka handles it all with practiced style, blending true life details, page-turning suspense, rich characterization, thrilling action, and family pathos with ease. It's a terrific thriller, among the best of its kind.
June 18, 2019
This is a fast-paced action novel with your hard-worn military men (led by Jad Bell) taking on an insider-led assault on a Disneyland analog. Rucka writes a breathless action sequence, deftly setting up the characters on both sides of the equation - making even the antagonist an understandable character, albeit several levels down from the invisible hand guiding the overall plot.
There are a few coincidences that heighten the stakes of the conflict - Jad's ex-wife and deaf daughter end up in the park at the time of the attack, and their presence leads to another stake-holder on the antagonist's side.
As someone fascinated with theme parks, it's interesting to see how the locale feeds the story. Rucka uses the backdrop effectively, without getting too swept up in its details (there's a simple map to help readers pick out the locales and their relations to each other). The story is occasionally brutal, with action usually limited to brief engagements of violence, surrounded by lots of strategy and realignment of plans.
It's a quick read and I'm curious to see more of the characters, although I get the feeling the theme park aspect doesn't continue in later books. Jad isn't the most distinctive of characters, but that doesn't make him any less interesting, and his squad is entertaining even with their minimal introductions. I don't know if I enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed his Graphic Novel works, but I would recommend it to those who like action, especially with an ex-military flavor.
There are a few coincidences that heighten the stakes of the conflict - Jad's ex-wife and deaf daughter end up in the park at the time of the attack, and their presence leads to another stake-holder on the antagonist's side.
As someone fascinated with theme parks, it's interesting to see how the locale feeds the story. Rucka uses the backdrop effectively, without getting too swept up in its details (there's a simple map to help readers pick out the locales and their relations to each other). The story is occasionally brutal, with action usually limited to brief engagements of violence, surrounded by lots of strategy and realignment of plans.
It's a quick read and I'm curious to see more of the characters, although I get the feeling the theme park aspect doesn't continue in later books. Jad isn't the most distinctive of characters, but that doesn't make him any less interesting, and his squad is entertaining even with their minimal introductions. I don't know if I enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed his Graphic Novel works, but I would recommend it to those who like action, especially with an ex-military flavor.
December 10, 2025
I’ve really enjoyed Rucka’s various comics, Lazarus, Vol. 1: Family, The Old Guard, vol. 1: Opening Fire, Black Magick, Vol. 1: Awakening, Part One, so I figured I’d give one of his novels a shot.
This is a well-executed but pretty standard terrorism thriller, with a more-interesting than usual bad guy at the heart of the plot. It takes place in an ersatz Disneyland called Wilsonville and can be summed up as “Die Hard in an amusement park”.
I would’ve been more impressed except Rucka is basically ripping off the 1977 flick Rollercoaster which has the exact same plot. (I saw this one in the theatre when it came out, where they installed subwoofers to really shake you up. It was called “Sensurround” and was painfully loud.) The addition here is that instead of a lone psycho blowing up rollercoasters, it’s international terrorists threatening to blow up the premiere amusement park.
It’s fine, nothing to write home about.
This is a well-executed but pretty standard terrorism thriller, with a more-interesting than usual bad guy at the heart of the plot. It takes place in an ersatz Disneyland called Wilsonville and can be summed up as “Die Hard in an amusement park”.
I would’ve been more impressed except Rucka is basically ripping off the 1977 flick Rollercoaster which has the exact same plot. (I saw this one in the theatre when it came out, where they installed subwoofers to really shake you up. It was called “Sensurround” and was painfully loud.) The addition here is that instead of a lone psycho blowing up rollercoasters, it’s international terrorists threatening to blow up the premiere amusement park.
It’s fine, nothing to write home about.
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