SSG: Spy/Spec-Ops Group discussion

Once upon a time, I would have said Rapp and the "original" Ludlum Jason Bourne but now
it would have to be Victor The Assassin By Tom Wood.
"Victor" the main character of the series is a highly amoral and freelance professional killer who eventually finds a "constant" patron for his services, namely the CIA.

Reasons why he's badass:
1) Most assassins in the genre are combat pragmatists. Victor on the other hand does everything he can to win. He doesn't suffer from any attacks of Conscience at the wrong moments. If the opposition is down but wounded, he will damn make sure the opposition stays down for good (normally with a 5.7x28mm round to the skull) regardless if the threat is male or female. and he doesn't suffer from any sense of fair play or chivalry either.

2) He's completely honest about what he does to himself and the reader. He doesn't annoyingly angst about his life like John Rain and Court Gentry, or try to retire, find love, turn over a new leaf and become a so called "good guy". Also, to anyone who's tired of certain authors who use good stories as political bully pulpits, Victor doesn't attempt to take the moral high ground or dress up what he does, even calling out others who do the same job as him but label themselves "mercenaries" or "private contractors" instead of "killers" for lying to themselves about the nature of their profession. Victor is simply an amoral professional killer who's good at his work, is true to what he is and slowly mellows over the course of the series-but not in the ways you expect and without abandoning his true nature or the instincts and personality which have kept him alive.

3) He doesn't get himself into idiotic situations if he can help it. He won't indulge in certain vices like John Rain constantly does with his chronic womanising and Court Gentry did in "On Target" (going high on opiates while on assignment and in the middle of enemy territory!!!!). The job is all that matters and come the Police or a Mossad Kidon Team, he will finish the job, elegantly and completely.

4) He's basically what you get when you take the body of Ludlum's Jason Bourne Pre-Amnesia.....mix it with the mind of Forsyth's "Jackal" and "Cat Shannon" and garnish with a touch of Hannibal lecter . Victor is far more intelligent than Scott Harvath and an equal to Rapp when it comes to marksmanship and situational awareness, the only character who could probably keep up with him is John Rain, but only through setting up another of his famous "natural causes killings" or by getting in close and engaging in hand to hand combat with Victor (who only knows Krav Maga), because at a distance, the latter would simply blow Rain away with an FN57 or a Heckler and Koch MSG90A1.

5) Unlike Rapp and Harvath who have only occasionally been shot accurately by their enemies and been barely damaged by explosions that should have killed them in real life, when Victor gets wounded, he's no super human. He's not a chew toy like Court Gentry (who probably looks like Swiss cheese from all the bullet wounds he's taken), but the author is much more realistic about Victor's capabilities when someone stabs him in the gut after his Browning Hi-Power runs dry.

6) Next, Victor is a blank slate. He's a six foot dark haired white male who's been under plastic surgery multiple times, is a natural in several languages and can effortlessly blend in on four different continents. There's no ponderous and tepid exposition about his back story, only the occasional flashback. Instead, he lets his actions in the here and now speak for him and you, as the reader, can make your own interpretations and theories who he really is.

7) Victor has a serious aversion to swearing, something that has understandably saturated the genre. However, he still retains the menace of characters like Mitch Rapp, men who use obscenities on a second by second basis.

8) Finally, for a character who's supposed to be a blank slate, he's fascinating to watch, highly likeable and never seems to become a 2-D cardboard cut out like so many other characters in the genre, and he can dish out the dry humour with the best of them.

To paraphrase The Joker from The Dark Knight:
"This genre needs a better class of killer, and Tom Wood has given us a superb one in the form of the badass and fascinating Victor The Assassin."

So now for my updated list of badass killers for 2013:
1) Victor "The Assassin"
2) Pike Logan & Jenifer Cahill who tie for second place with Daniel Petrovich and his wife Jessica
3) John Rain "The Natural Causes Killer"
4) Mitch Rapp "Iron man"
5) Nick Stone "K"
6) Court Gentry "Violator"
7) Scott Harvath "Norseman"

under the most "bad ass" character, I submit: Derek Storm. The character that Richard Castle (the TV show) first wrote about before shifting over to Nikki Heat.

I plan on getting my wife several Derek Storm books (written by Richard Castle ~ TV series) for Christmas:

in Kindle format (full length novel).

in Kindle format (novella).

in Kindle format (novella).

in Kindle format (novella).

in a Graphic Novel format (hardcover). By Brian Michael Bendis.

in a Graphic Novel format (hardcover) By Brian Michael Bendis.

in a Graphic Novel format (Hardcover). By Richard Castle.

Cool! I'm glad to learn about new characters. I am currently on the Alex Hawk series based on what has been suggested on this thread. Sounds like Victor is next up. Love it when I can listen to a whole series at a time.

Oh yea Dewey Andreas by Ben Coes. Definitely a badass worth mentioning. Gets it done, spectacularly.

Has no one mentioned Will Robie & Jessica Reel?

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Will Robie is a master of killing. A highly-skilled assassin, Robie is the man the U.S. government calls on to eliminate the worst of the worst--enemies of the state, monsters committed to harming untold numbers of innocent victims.

No one else can match Robie's talents as a hitman; no one, except Jessica Reel. A fellow assassin, equally professional and dangerous, Reel is every bit as lethal as Robie. Will is also featured in

Agreed. Mr Andreas is highly entertaining to watch, (my personal favourite was "Eye For An Eye" where he's completely mad, badly in need of revenge and very dangerous to go up against). As my reviews on Power Down, Coup d e tat and The Last Refuge have noted, Ben Coes throws realism out the window but compensates by having a great writing style and so much fun with some imaginative action scenes and compelling characters, that one forgives him even when he says SIG-Sauer make a P226 chambered for the 357. Magunum round.

David wrote: "Has no one mentioned Will Robie & Jessica Reel?

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Will Robie is a master of killing. A highly-skilled assassin, Robie is the man the U.S. government calls on to elimin..."

Yep, Robbie is a very competent operator. The two openings of "The Innocent" and "The Hit" established his modus operandi very well, namely that the opposition won't see him at all by the time he's finished with them.

David wrote: "Has no one mentioned Will Robie & Jessica Reel?

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Will Robie is a master of killing. A highly-skilled assassin, Robie is the man the U.S. government calls on to elimin..."

best of all, next year, Robbie will be staring in a short story with Mr Oliver Stone from "The Camel Club" when they're trapped during a mysterious bank robbery and also, the third book in the series will be coming out, called "The Target".

Is the badass list only open to male characters?

If not, you might want to try out Katla Sieltjes in:
, , and ,
and the short stories:
, , and .

Sieltjes is a freelance assassin specialized in disguising homicide. She rarely uses firearms, but prefers blunt objects and sharp implements. And she's a close-quarter combatant who doesn't pull her punches.

Martyn wrote: "Is the badass list only open to male characters?

If not, you might want to try out Katla Sieltjes in:
, ,..."

As far as I'm concerned, the "Badass list" is open to all badasses, regardless of sex, or sexual orientation. Thanks for the tip; I'll give Ms. Sieljes a try.

Hi Michael: If by badass you mean giving no quarter and going full bore, then Tom Miller is your man. Check out the action in The Old Spook

Agree with most all, especially Logan and Gentry, but I have not seen my favorite---Without Remorse's John Clark. Young Clark was baaad asss.

Beth wrote: "I'd like to add Dewey Andreas, Ben Coes unassuming hero, to the list. Impressive list of bad@ss characters. I need to get reading!"

Dewey Andreas is my favorite just after Mitch Rapp. Can't wait for the next Ben Coes book.

Glad you mentioned Coes. I was referred to him once before but forgot the name. Just bought one of the Andreas series kindles after your plug.

Howard wrote: "As far as I'm concerned, the "Badass list" is open to all badasses, regardless of sex, or sexual orientation. Thanks for the tip; I'll give Ms. Sieljes a try."

Hi Howard, I enjoyed your review of Reprobate. Thanks for your support!