Queen & Country (Vol 2) “Operation: Morningstar” by Greg Rucka
I love that this is a pre-9/11 story about Afghanistan. I love Tara being so pissed off that she can’t kick some Taliban ass. I love how Rucka just tips the scale to show the horror and terror without getting too detailed and keeping the book an international spy thriller.
I remember reading about the Taliban and doing reports on them pre-9/11. I remember thinking, why isn’t anyone doing anything, especially for these poor women. I remember being like Tara and wanting to change things. (Only instead of being a grounded spy, I was in high school/the year I took off in-between high school and college.) I didn’t bond much with Tara in the first volume, but here we were both on the same page.
Tara’s therapy sessions with Eleanor Collard felt real and honest. Elanor’s office with the big thick blinds set the mood perfectly. Tara smoking up a storm. Eleanor and Paul both telling Tara and themselves that Tara’s still there because she’s not broken yet. Because she wants to do good. Because she still has her soul.
The scenes with Tom, Edward, and their translator Dennis felt perfect. They saw the tyranny of the Taliban’s rule (deaths) and the corruption of the government (bribes). They also relied on the help of the regular people, who were just struggling to get by in the severely depressed economy. Yes, the Taliban are horrible, but no, the people themselves are just scared people. That’s a perfect cord to strike when telling a story about terrorism.
I’m really looking forward to the next volume. To see what adventures Tara gets to go on.