Category: Lee Child Page 1 of 3

BLOGIVERSARY REPOST: Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child

On May 27, 2024

In C-E, Fiction, Jack Reacher, Lee Child, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

To commemorate the 11th Blogiversary of The Irresponsible Reader, I’m reposting the first six books I blogged about this week. This was apparently the first book I discussed here—something I don’t remember looking up until I prepped this.

Gone Tomorrow by Lee ChildSeries: Jack Reacher, #13
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 out of 5 really. Not sure why I’m holding that .5 out, but let’s say it wasn’t perfect — just so, so close.

On the one hand, this was a typical Jack Reacher novel* — Reacher sees a wrong that needs righting, a question that needs answered, someone who needs a little help, a little vengence that needs meting out, and he takes care of business, period. On the other hand — this was more intense, had more twists and turns, with higher (personal) stakes than your typical Reacher novel.

So, I guess it was a typical Reacher novel — just turned up to 11.

It’s really hard to say much about this Gone Tomorrow without spoiling the whole thing. But I’m going to try a bit: From the outset, it’s hard to tell who Reacher is working for until a little over halfway through the book (I think–didn’t take notes); everyone (everyone) lies to him about all sorts of things — but there’s enough truth mixed into the lies that I didn’t just spoil anything there; the violence (at least on Reacher’s part) is a bit more concentrated than usual, but once it starts…whoa, Nelly.

The biggest difference in this one is the looming specter of various counter-terrorism agencies and entities, functioning in the full protection and powers given by the Patriot Act and so on. Reacher and other characters in this book aren’t reticent to voice their complaints with these powers and the curtailment on citizen rights, honestly, to an extent that surprised me. While Reacher’s not directly in opposition to these agencies (he never would be that), his purposes and theirs do not directly align. Which gives an extra layer of danger for him — if Reacher’s not careful, he can disappear like he’s never existed before.

Basically the only other thing I can say without spoiling the crap out of this is simply: With Gone Tomorrow, Child, once again, shows that he and Reacher are the best around.

——-

* And a typical Jack Reacher novel is a great read, so don’t take this characterization as a complaint.

The Secret by Lee Child and Andrew Child: Time for Me to Slip out the Back (away from) Jack

By HCNewton

On December 6, 2023

In Fiction, Jack Reacher, Lee Child, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Secret

by Lee Child, Andrew Child (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: Jack Reacher, #28
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: October 24, 2023
Format: Hardcover
Length: 292 pg.
Read Date: December 2-4, 2023

What’s The Secret About?

It’s 1992 and Capt. Jack Reacher has been assigned to a task force organized by the Secretary of Defense. He’s the U.S. Army Representative, and there’s someone from the CIA, the FBI, and the Treasury Department. They’ve been brought together to investigate a series of possible murders of scientists from around the country—although there’s the possibility they’re freak accidents or suicides, too.

In the 60s these men were part of a secret project that was abandoned after an accident caused some civilian deaths. But now it appears that someone has found their names and is working their way down a list. Can Reacher and the task force find the killer in time? What’s the purpose of killing them now?

So, what did I think about The Secret?

If this were a thriller about any other character and had someone else’s name on the cover, I might have said it was enjoyable enough.

But it’s about Jack Reacher and Lee Child’s name is on the cover (even if it’s pretty well established that Andrew is doing most of the writing), so there are certain standards that have to be met. The Secret falls far short of them.

I could go on a prolonged screed listing my problems with the book—but I’m going to skip it. Those problems range from minor (there’s no way that a 1992 version—or a 2023 version—of Reacher is going to say “pearl clutching”) to major (there’s no reason for the big multiple attackers vs. Reacher fight in the middle other than it’s been a hundred pages since Reacher’s done anything violent, and that time was pretty quick and undramatic). I’d also say I was disappointed by the use of the rest of the task force, which was subpar at best, the big reveal at the end was lazy, and the concluding chapters were a letdown from the mediocre pages before it.

But for me, it boils down to this—that guy walking around in a uniform wasn’t Jack Reacher. He was a decent Generic Thriller hero who could possibly develop into a character worthy of a series. And that’s a fatal flaw.

The Secret wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t good, either. Reacher deserves better from his creator—and from anyone hired to carry on the character, and he’s not getting it. I’ve tried (and some of my readers have told me I shouldn’t) to give this new arrangement time to develop into something worthwhile, but I think my experiment is over. I’m going to move on to other thriller series now—I may check in with what the Child brothers are doing in a couple of years, but if I’m going to keep a positive regard for Jack Reacher, I’m going to have to focus on my memories (and whatever Alan Ritchson is doing on the show).

2 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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No Plan B by Lee Child and Andrew Child Is Good Enough

By HCNewton

On December 7, 2022

In Jack Reacher, Lee Child, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

No Plan B

by Lee Child, Andrew Child (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: Jack Reacher, #27
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: October 24, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 357 pg.
Read Date: December 1-3, 2022

…maybe the others were right. With Reacher running around out there, maybe the full ceremony isn’t the smart way to go. Maybe It’s time we switched to Plan B.”

“We don’t have a Plan B, We’ve never needed one.”

“Maybe it’s time to think of one.”

What’s No Plan B About?

Reacher sees something in a newspaper about a museum display nearby, so he goes to check it out. This leads to him being in just the right neighborhood to see someone being pushed in front of a bus. While others are calling 911 and trying to tend to the victim, Reacher pursues the pusher. This leads to a confrontation where Reacher’s size works against him for once, and with the help of his partner, the man gets away (a Tom Cruise-sized character probably would’ve got at least one of them). Before they slipped away, Reacher got a glimpse of something the man took off the victim that made him curious.

That glance starts a whole machine working—that man, his partner, and their bosses can’t have what he saw become public. They don’t know how much time he got with the information, how much he read/understood—but if he saw anything, it could make things go very wrong for them. So they dispatch another team to take care of Reacher (the two that escaped aren’t in any shape to do anything after tangling with our hero).

Meanwhile, Reacher tries to convince the police that the woman had been pushed. But there’s already a witness who’d been swearing she jumped, and no one confirms what Reacher saw. The detective in charge sympathizes with Reacher and wants to follow up on his statement, but his superiors like the tidy answer a suicide brings. He feeds Reacher a bit of information, and the former M.P. is off on his own investigation. When the new team tries to take him out, Reacher knows he’s on to something and digs in for the long haul. This will take him from Colorado to a small town in Georgia, home to a prison the murder victim worked at.

Two other parties are making a trip to that same town. One is a teen who just learned that his father is imprisoned there—in the same conversation that he learned his father’s identity from his dying mother. He steals some money from his foster mother (money that should’ve been used to care for him, I should note) and buys a bus ticket from LA. He’s in over his head, and as we follow him on his journey it becomes clear that the fact that he survives long enough to get to Georgia is a sign of divine blessing or dumb luck.

We also track a father out for revenge. He’s a professional arsonist—actually, he employs professional arsonists at this point in his career. Something happened that killed his son—the details are kept vague for the reader. The grieving father backtracks the supply chain that provided the product, determined to destroy the man at the top.

So, what did I think about No Plan B?

After last year’s Better Off Dead, I was prepared to put this collaboration/Reacher 2.0 in the “Not for Me” category. I’m glad that the brothers continue to have success, and that many, many readers are satisfied, but it might be time for me to disembark. I wanted to give them one more chance—everyone has an off-novel, right?—but I’d decided that this would be my last Reacher novel. This was good enough to get the brothers another. I guess my fandom is no longer a long-term lease, but the equivalent of a month-to-month rental.

One strategy I employed going into this was ignoring half of the names on the cover—this is an Andrew Grant/Child take on Reacher, not a Lee Child*. That adjustment to my expectations, helped a bit, too.

* I’ve heard and seen multiple interviews/features on the pair describing how they work together, so I know it’s not entirely true. But, it helped me.

The action was good—but hallway fights might be better left to Daredevil than print. I wondered for most of the book if they had one too many storylines, but I ended up buying into the idea. The first hundred pages were great (at least the Reacher vs. conspirators storyline, and maybe the foster kid)—particularly the first couple of chapters, it was a very effective hook. Pages 100-300 were good enough—some “meh” bits, enough good bits to keep me engaged and to push the narrative along, with a really nice uptick over the last chapter or two. The last 50 pages were rushed—you want things to move quickly in the end of the thriller, you need fast action to go along with the adrenaline of the big finish—but this was just too much happening, and it was hard to appreciate it all. There’s a fast momentum, and there’s careening out of control, and this came close to that.

Still, it was in those pages that I came around to liking the revenge storyline and getting why the Childs went with it.

This was a decent thriller with some really good moments featuring a character that reminded me a lot of that guy from 61 Hours, The Hard Way, and One Shot. It’s a fast, entertaining read that will do the job.

3 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

Better Off Dead by Lee Child and Andrew Child: Readers Would Be Better Off Without this Reacher 2.0 Mess

By HCNewton

On December 14, 2021

In Fiction, Jack Reacher, Lee Child, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Better Off Dead

by Lee Child and Andrew Child
Series: Jack Reacher, #26

Hardcover, 325 pg.
Delacorte Press, 2021

Read: December 7-9, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Better Off Dead About?

Continuing the westward journey he started back in Past Tense, Reacher finds himself about as close to the US/Mexican border as you can get in one of the smallest towns we’ve seen him in.

He encounters an Army vet hunting for her twin—who has gotten himself mixed up with some sort of smuggling operation—that might be getting into something more serious. Michaela Fenton gets Reacher to help out with a scheme to put her face-to-face with the head of the operation.

Things go south, and before you know it, it’s Reacher against this shadowy organization trying to save the Fenton twins and put an end to a plot that’s either an act of political protest or deadly attack (Reacher’s assuming the latter).

That doesn’t make a lot of sense—but trust me, something as convoluted as this plot doesn’t make it easy to summarize in a coherent fashion.

So, what did I think about Better Off Dead?

I strongly considered listing all my problems with this—but why bother? Venting my spleen might make me feel better, but I don’t want to spend the energy on it.

Let me try to be concise—it was a giant, implausible, mess. The original plan that Reacher and Fenton come up with to take down the bad guy makes every single machine that Rube Goldberg drew seem efficient and straightforward. I couldn’t believe that Reacher would sign on to it—and even after he started voicing concerns, he still went along with it. Reacher’s known for his brawn, but his brain has always been—up to this point, anyway–just as important (if not more so). This was just dumb.

I was annoyed very early on, texting a friend, “Worst.Reacher.Ever.” Although I noted that the Child brothers had 250 or so pages to make me change my mind. I really wanted them to. But man, those short stories about pre-teen/teenager Reacher in New York City or Okinawa look really good to me now.

The least troublesome part for me was the voice—Lee Child tended toward the third-person, but occasionally used first to great effect. This time, first-person didn’t help matter—and while I haven’t read any readers complain about it, a lot of what I have seen people complain about I think would’ve worked if it was in the third-person (and/or wouldn’t have been part of a third-person narration).

There were some good scenes, a handful of chapters that worked for me, in fact.* But they were a distinct minority. Still, in trying to be fair, I’d say if this was a thriller by a relative newcomer? I’d be more positive about it (not much more, but more). But Andrew Child (née Grant) has a dozen novels under his belt and Lee Child has twice that—also this is a Jack Reacher novel. There are standards that must be upheld.

*I’d planned on talking about some of those, but this post is longer than I’d intended it to be already, so let’s leave it at “the whole thing wasn’t a dumpster fire.”

I knew that there’s be some growing pains as Lee backed off to let Andrew take over, but this was worse than that. The Sentinel wasn’t perfect, but it was something to work from. Better Off Dead was a major setback and will take some work to recover from. Sadly, I bet that no one’s going to make Andrew buckle down and do that work (please, please, someone prove me wrong).

I walked away from the interview I heard with them a few weeks ago with the impression that Andrew doesn’t typically work with the “no outline” approach of Lee—maybe if he didn’t try to ape that style, he’d be better off. There were a few times in my notes I wondered if they’d changed their minds about where the plot was going.

Give this one a pass—go back and read/reread 61 Hours, Nothing to Lose, Personal, or…you know what? Anything from The Midnight Line or earlier. It’ll be time better spent.

2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

The Sentinel by Lee Child and Andrew Child: A New Era for the Series Kicks Off with this Presciently Timely Thriller

By HCNewton

On December 18, 2020

In Fiction, Jack Reacher, Lee Child, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Sentinel

by Lee Child and Andrew Child
Series: Jack Reacher, #25

Hardcover, 351 pg.
Delacorte Press, 2020

Read: December 10-14, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

“…Someone’s got to [help him].”

“And that someone’s you?”

“I guess so.”

“Why is that?”

Reacher shrugged again. “I’m the one who’s here.”

What’s The Sentinel About?

After a quick (and only slightly violent) stop in Nashville, Reacher finds himself in a smaller city, Pleasantville. Before he can even get a cup of coffee, Reacher sees a group of people act as if they’re about to abduct a man on the street. He stops it from happening and then finds himself arrested.

After he’s released, Reacher meets the man he rescued and they start to talk. His name is Rusty and he’s the freshly dismissed IT manager for the city. He was fired because the city was hit by a ransomware attack, which is crippling the city government and causing problems throughout Pleasantville. With only one or two exceptions, the entire populace hates him because of this, convinced that he had a role in the attack. Rusty’s determined to prove he had nothing to do with it, and if the city leaders had just listened to him, it all could be avoided. He just doesn’t have it all worked out about how he’ll do that.

Reacher, on the other hand, thinks more is going on. The people who tried to abduct Rusty aren’t disgruntled citizens, they were professionals. Why would professionals care about this? Reacher determines he has to stick around and get to the bottom of it.

Explosions, gunfire, and fisticuffs ensue as Reacher gets closer and closer to discovering what really went on, and hopefully clearing Rusty’s name.

A Trend that Needs to End

Reacher’s no Luddite, he just doesn’t care about technology/computers/the Internet/etc. When he has to, he can use them a little, but relying on them is just not in his makeup.

But last year’s Blue Moon, and this year’s The Sentinel hinge on cybercrimes (at least after a fashion). Which makes sense, this is what thrillers are about right now. But Reacher doesn’t belong in this world. He can get by—especially if he has help—but readers need a break from cybercrimes. We need a book or three of Reacher not needing to depend on someone and their laptop.

The Thing Everyone’s Talking About

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (which seems like a smart move in 2020, to be honest), you know that Lee Child has started backing away from writing and is handing over the reins to his brother Andrew. As part of that, the two co-wrote this book, a first for both (I believe).

So automatically you know (or at least you should), this is going to feel different than a typical Reacher novel (although, Lee Child’s been good about changing the flavor to one degree or another in each book). And it does—Reacher’s a bit talkier than we’re used to (although he still says nothing fairly often); the prose isn’t as sharp, as punchy; and so on. It’s not bad, it’s just not Lee Child (which ought to be patently obvious).

While it’s not strictly a Lee Child book, with his style, it’s still good. The plotting is as good as Child at his prime, the fights are as well choreographed and violent, and Reacher’s essence is unchanged. At the end of the day, Lee Child picked his successor (unlike Robert B. Parker, Ian Fleming, etc.), if he’s satisfied, I can get used to this new style (while Andrew Child catches his stride)

So, what did I think about The Sentinel?

Reacher’s general approach to driving was to find someone else to do it. He was capable of operating a vehicle, in a technical sense, The army had provided thorough training. He’d never killed anyone with a car. At least not by accident. He’d never had any collisions, Not unintentional ones. His problem was mainly one of temperament, Good driving called for a balance of action and reaction, speed and restraint, measurement and control. A middle ground, stable and sustained. Reacher on the other hand was built for extremes. His default was to move extremely slow or extremely fast. One moment he could appear languid, lazy, almost comatose. The next he could erupt into a frenzy of action, furious, relentless, for as long as necessary, then relapse into serene stillness until the next threat presented itself.

The Sentinel has all the things you need in a Reacher novel—an individual in need of help, a physical challenge (actually, one of the toughest I can remember for him), a truly evil antagonist (you’ll have multiple reasons to root against this guy), and plenty of justice for Reacher to mete out.

Is it Reacher at his best? No. But he hasn’t been at his best for a couple of years anyway. Is it Reacher that provides solid adventure? Yup. Even a mediocre Reacher is entertaining (and this isn’t at that point), it’s going to take Andrew a little bit to fit into his brother’s mold (or as close to it as he wants to go), I’m willing to let him figure out how to do that, and will jump back for #26 as soon as I can.

3.5 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

The Nicotine Chronicles edited by Lee Child is a thing I read

By HCNewton

On October 21, 2020

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Lee Child

The Nicotine Chronicles

edited by Lee Child

Paperback, 271 pg.
Akashic Books, 2020

Read: September 26-October 19, 2020

I’ve tried to stop smoking.

I know it’s important not to smoke. In fact, it’s stupid to smoke. I smoke, but I try not to smoke. Every time I light a cigarette I think, I should not be doing this.

I want a better life. But it’s an uphill battle, it is an uphill battle because I try to do the right thing, but I don’t do the right thing. And…I smoke anyway.

Fuck it, I don’t smoke that much. The chances that something really bad will happen to me as a consequence of my smoking habit are slim. In fact, the chances that something else might happen to me for other reasons are far greater. Something will happen to me, though.

Sooner or later. That’s guaranteed.

What’s The Nicotine Chronicles

This is an anthology of stories centered around nicotine—users, their delivery system of choice, and how it shapes their thinking/lives. (you can read an excerpt from Child’s Introduction here to flesh this out a bit). There’s one or two that discuss cigars, vaping only shows up once, the rest of these focus on cigarettes (oh, I can think of one mention of a pipe, too). If you care about things like that.

Some of these sixteen stories would fit under the “Crime Fiction” umbrella, one is sort of speculative fiction, and the rest would be “General Fiction.” Not all wax rhapsodically about nicotine or tobacco—in fact, it’s usually portrayed as a pretty negative habit/substance—actually, I think it’s a positive thing only once (and not directly). So even non-/anti-smokers can read this without having to put up with a celebration of smoking or anything.

The Names I Knew

On the whole, these authors were new to me, with four exceptions.

So, I knew Eric Bogosian from miscellaneous roles, and I wasn’t surprised to see that he writes a little. His essay/monologue/first-person rant, “Smoking Jesus,” starts with the paragraphs I started this post with. It’s the best thing in this collection. Sadly, it’s only 4 pages of it. That just isn’t right.

I was surprised to see that Michael Imperioli writes, but I’m glad he does. His contribution was one of the better and more imaginative pieces.

Lee Child and Joyce Carol Oates, are names, of course, that I recognized because I’ve walked into a bookstore/library at least once in the last twenty years. Child’s story wasn’t the kind of thing that fans would expect, but was pretty decent. I appreciated what Oates was doing, but it felt a little…obvious? Unnecessary? Clichéd?

The Names that were New to Me

That leaves 12 names I’m pretty sure I’ve never run across before. None of them moved me to seek out other work of theirs, but there were only two that I actively disliked. I’d be open to reading things from all of them were I to stumble across them.

So, what did I think about The Nicotine Chronicles?

I craved a cigarette right then like I was missing not some foreign chemical but a part of my own, soul, and from each cell of my throat and my lungs, I thanked the universe that I had one.

Every story was well-written, well-executed. I’m not going to complain about the technical aspects—top-notch work, really. But the overwhelming majority of these left me cold. And even with the ones I felt most positive about I could only muster mild interest over.

I have no real animus about this, but no real reason to recommend it. It’s just something I read.

2 Stars

Blue Moon by Lee Child: A Very Timely Novel Puts Reacher in One of the Most Dangerous Positions He’s Been In

By HCNewton

On December 9, 2019

In Fiction, Jack Reacher, Lee Child, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Blue Moon

by Lee Child
Series: Jack Reacher, #24

Hardcover, 356 pg.
Delacorte Press, 2019

Read: December 2-3, 2019

Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

“We should be magnanimous in victory. Someone said that.”

“Full disclosure,” Reacher said. “I told you before. I’m a certain kind of person. Is the guy in the trunk still breathing?”

“I don’t know,” Abby said.

“But there’s a possibility.”

“Yes, there’s a possibility.”

“That’s me being magnanimous in victory. Normally I kill them, kill their families, and piss on their ancestors’ graves.”

“I never know when you’re kidding me.”

“I guess that’s true.”

“Are you saying you’re not kidding me now?”

“I’m saying in my case magnanimity is in short supply.”

“You’re taking food to an old couple in the middle of the night.”

“That’s a different word than magnanimous.”

“Still a nice gesture.”

“Because one day I could be them. But I’ll never be the guy in the trunk.”

“So it’s purely tribal,” Abby said. “Your kind of people, or the other kind.”

“My kind of people, or the wrong kind.”

“Who’s in your tribe?”

“Almost nobody,” Reacher said. “I live a lonely life.”

Reacher is on a bus bound for somewhere. He sees an older man being targeted for a mugging (both he and the would-be thief have noticed a fat envelope that seems to be holding cash). When the man and his predator get off at some city, Reacher abandons his planned trip to follow along.

Obviously, he foils the mugging, but the older man is injured, so Reacher appoints himself a guardian and assistant until he can get the man home. He learns that this man and his wife are in debt to a Ukrainian loan shark, and it’s not looking good. They got in this state due to some incredibly believable bad luck, and Reacher decides to take it upon himself to get them out of it. Maybe not permanently, but at least for the foreseeable future. He has essentially one week to extricate them from their current predicament, and Reacher is hopefully going to beat that clock and get back on the road.

We’re not told what city this takes place in, it doesn’t matter—it’s a small-to-medium sized city with two competing crime syndicates. One is a Ukranian mob, the other is an Albanian mob. They each control half the city, with a very clear line of demarcation. They’re currently enjoying an uneasy peace, and are nervous about a new police commissioner coming soon—neither group has been able to find a way to manipulate or bribe him and they’re in his sights. Before I forget, I want to say that I love that both groups speak/write in unbroken English—I get why other authors use broken English for these kinds of characters, but it feels less cartoonish this way.

Once Reacher starts doing his thing, a little comedy happens. Reacher is trying to do X. The Ukrainians see the effects and assume the Albanians are doing Y. The Albanians see the effects and assume the Ukrainians are up to Z. The clear messages Reacher is sure he’s sending aren’t being received by anyone. Before long the two factions are on the brink of war—which is the last thing that anyone wants.

While he’s trying to help out this older couple, Reacher befriends a waitress, Abby. Soon, she leads him to some other allies—a couple of musicians (one a former Marine) and a security consultant who used to be a Company Commander in an Armored Division in Europe during the Cold War. There’s some good-natured chest-thumping between the three veterans which helps lighten to tension.

Abby is tough and smart. She reminded me a lot of Patty from Past Tense—she adapts to the dangerous situation she finds herself in pretty well. She’s not crazy about it, she’s pretty freaked out, honestly. But she pulls herself together enough to help Reacher as well as being his conscience occasionally (she’s less willing than he is to leave a trail of bodies in their wake). Like Patty, once things get rolling, Abby starts analyzing her situation and what’s going on with the Ukrainians/Albanians in a very Reacher-esque way.

What makes this one distinctive from others in the series? It feels very ripped-from-the-headlines. Not in the sense that Law & Order based stories on actual events, but in that it addresses a handful of things that are in the news practically every day lately. Sure, Reacher frequently deals with real issues, but this seems the most timely since Gone Tomorrow a decade ago (I could be wrong about that, but that’s the one that jumps to mind without taking time to review the details of each of the 23 previous novels). I don’t think Child could/should keep that up, but doing something so fresh-feeling every now and then would be a great idea.

Also, Reacher seems a bit different—still Reacher, I’m not saying that Child’s changing him, but he’s not quite his usual self. For starters, he seems more inclined to a “kill ’em all” approach to the various criminals (especially later in the novel). Now, this could be because he wants to ensure the safety of this older couple who really can’t defend themselves, so he’s getting the defense in pre-emptively. The other possibility I can think of is that he assumes there’s only one language both organizations will understand.

The other difference is Reacher seems more mortal, at least more aware of his mortality. He tells Mrs. Shevick that he knows he will be beaten one day—but today isn’t that day. He’s also more obviously lonely (not just because of the semi-joking material quoted above). It’s like being that lone wandering warrior is taking its toll on Reacher. We’ve seen this before from time to time, but it seems to be growing lately. I remember reading in Martin’s Reacher Said Nothing that Child had considered retiring the series around The Midnight Line, I can’t help but wonder if this is a sign of that becoming imminent.

A stronger cast of non-“Bad Guy” characters than we’re used to seeing from this series, a winning female lead, some tragic victims, a bunch of ruthless criminals, a lot of bullets flying and Reacher at his toughest. There’s so little to not like here. One of my favorites lately.

4 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

The Hero by Lee Child: Lee Child Traces the Development and Use of “The Hero”

By HCNewton

On November 29, 2019

In Lee Child, Non-Fiction

The Hero

by Lee Child

Hardcover, 77 pg.
TLS Books, 2019

Read: November 28, 2019

Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

There are only two real people in fiction—the storyteller and the listener. The story proceeds based on the teller’s aims and the listener’s needs. If the listener needs light entertainment, and the teller aims to be loved, then light entertainment is what the listener will get. But if the listener needs reassurance of some kind, or consolation, and the teller aims to better equip her family for future trials, then the story will likely be suspenseful in nature, replete with dangers and perils, over which a memorable character will eventually triumph in a decisive manner, such that the listener finishes the tale with a tight and determined smile, with moist eyes fixed on the distant horizon.

Child’s first Non-Fiction look is an essay exploring the concept of the hero through human history. On the one hand, I had no idea what to expect from Child doing Non-Fiction. But if anyone has something interesting to say about the idea of Hero, it’s gotta be Child, right?

I’m glad I came into it with almost zero expectations because I wouldn’t have guessed this.

Child starts off with a brief discussion of the history of opium, right up to the point where heroin needed to be named.

Then he treats us to a theory of the concept of hero, using a combination of evolutionary theory and speculation, history, and a little more speculation. He begins this look with Neanderthals, so there’s a lot of ground to speed through in a work so brief. Finally, on page 60, we come full circle and get back to heroin before getting to the good stuff.

Child has three definitions of “Hero,” all with separate uses. He then discusses them for a few pages. It’s these last 17 pages or so that we get to the meat of the subject—you could think of the first part of the book as a prolonged introduction (and you’d be a little right).

We get a brief look at The Iliad and The Odessey and their heroes, and even briefer assertion that Dr. No and a work by Ovid about Theseus are the same. I’m not that familiar with Ovid, but given the way we recycle stories now. It’s not too difficult to think that our narrative culture is the only one to be that redundant.

The best part of the book is the several paragraphs looking at the character of Robin Hood. Child looks at how the Outlaw was originally depicted, and then how that grows and changes through time—as well as how the story of Robin Hood added characters and perspectives. By this point, I was starting to hope that the book had just been a few examples like this.

Finally, he talks a little bit about his own understanding and application of the concept and why our contemporary narratives need Heroes.

What is the purpose of fiction? I think it can be summed up in a simple phrase: To give people what they don’t get in real life.

While I did think this was an interesting little book, with a couple of great points and insights. But I’m really looking forward to the next Reacher book—because unlike this dose of real life, it’ll be tightly organized, compelling and a joy to read.

Still, I’d recommend the book—it’s intriguing, thought-provoking, and gives a good look at the way Child thinks. Serious fans would appreciate this for the insight into Child. People interested in the development of Hero might be a bit disappointed overall but will appreciate the last part of the book (maybe I’m the only one who isn’t grabbed by the buildup).

3 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Just the Clothes on My Back – a collaboration with Lee Child by Naked Blue: Jack Reacher Rocks

By HCNewton

On December 31, 2018

In Fiction, Jack Reacher, Lee Child, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Just the Clothes on My Back – a collaboration with Lee Child

by Naked Blue
Series: Jack Reacher

CD, 10 tracks
Bluetick Records, 2018

Mutual fans/friends Naked Blue and Lee Child collaborated on this album — 10 songs from Jack Reacher’s point of view. Well, 9 from his POV and 1 (“Reacher Said Nothing”) that could be the soundtrack for about 90% of the books.

I’ve listened to this album a lot since it came out and I’ thoroughly enjoy it. I think it does a great job capturing the “inner essence” of Reacher (a concept he’d probably boggle at) and delivering it with some great bluesy-rock/Americana tunes. Even if you’re not Reacher-obsessed, or you don’t think about the character the songs hold up just fine — you don’t even have to know anything about the album to appreciate it. But if you are a Reacher fan, you’ll enjoy it a lot more.

“Just the Clothes on My Back” and “Big Man” do great jobs of encapsulating Reacher’s approach to life. “Killing Floor” and “Blessed or Cursed,” are almost as good. All of them have great tunes that get into your head and threaten to take up earworm-like residence.

It’s not all about the action-hero side of Reacher. “The Midnight Line” does a great job of capturing a chapter (or part of one) with the allusions and euphemisms for sex and “Sanctuary,” also does a fine job of recreating the kind of scene in a Reacher book that I skim. This doesn’t mean they’re bad songs, in fact, they’ll be selling points for many. They just don’t work for me.

As for “Reacher Said Nothing”? An almost entirely instrumental piece (with some vocals by Lee Child himself) — how that hasn’t become my ringtone is beyond me. Just love that song.

Now, Jennifer Ferguson Smith might not seem the ideal person to give musical voice to the 6’5″, 210–250 lbs., ex-MP with a 50″ chest, but she somehow pulls it off. The vocals are great — I don’t really know how to describe someone’s singing voice, so I’m not going to try. They match the rootsy-bluesy-rock well. I don’t know if it’s helpful to anyone, but she reminds me of Amy Rigby.

A great album for fans of Reacher. An album that should earn Naked Blue some new fans/listeners. A good album just in and of itself. Give it a whirl.I’m going to give it 4 stars, but based on the way that music like this tends to grow on me, if you ask me in 6-9 months, I’ll probably rate it higher.

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4 Stars

Past Tense by Lee Child: If this wasn’t a Reacher book, I’d probably like it more…

By HCNewton

On December 31, 2018

In 2018 Library Love Challenge, Fiction, Jack Reacher, Lee Child, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Past Tense

by Lee Child
Series: Jack Reacher, #23

Hardcover, 382 pg.
Delacorte Press, 2018

Read: December 6 – 7, 2018
Shorty and Patty are a young couple from a rural Canadian community on their way to New York City to sell off some beloved possessions in order to make enough money to go to Florida and start their lives. Which sounds like a great idea (assuming they’re not ripped off in NYC) — if only they’d ever done basic maintenance on the car they’re driving. They end up breaking down outside a small town in New Hampshire, nowhere near a decent city.

The owners of a newly refurbished hotel outside town take pity on them and rent them a room for a little cheaper than they should and offer to help with getting their car going again — they even invite them to dinner their first night with them. Yes, I said first night — home repairs aren’t doing the job, so they have to call a tow truck/mechanic to fix the car — which is going to pretty much wipe the couple out. But what choice do they have?

Still, something doesn’t seem right about the whole thing. Shorty’s a trusting guy and rolls with everything that happens, but Patty smells something. She thinks a lot — incidentally, she thinks a lot like Reacher. Which is annoying when you’re reading a book starring Reacher that you get a clone. But it’s good for her and Shorty and just might end up saving their lives. It’d be better for the both of them if she had any of Reacher’s skills other than his ability to analyze a situation, but, I guess you take what you can get.

Meanwhile, Jack Reacher comes into the same town those two are stranded outside of. He was passing near by and on a lark decides to stop in Laconia, his father’s birthplace. He’s never met anyone from that side of the family, and his father said almost nothing about his childhood experiences there. So Reacher’s a bit curious about the town — he doesn’t even know if there might be a cousin or three around. It turns out that finding anything about his family is almost impossible in the official records — and there’s a decent chance that there’s no one around who knows anything about them that’s not in the official records.

While that’s going on, in the middle of the night Reacher encounters an attempted sexual assault and, ahem, dissuades the attacker. This attacker doesn’t press charges or anything, but it turns out that he’s connected to a significant crime family in the Northeast. Reacher is informed about this and is encouraged to leave town soon by a former MP turned local law enforcement officer that he’s become acquainted with. Reacher doesn’t like to be told what to do — by anyone — and there’s something about his father’s past that has him more curious than he’s been before and wants to track that down.

These two stories run independently of each other, while happening very near each other. Reacher does come to the hotel and asks a couple of questions about his quest about the same time that Patty’s getting suspicious, but the two don’t cross paths.

Now, I didn’t right down the page number when Reacher’s story intersects with Shorty’s and Patty’s — but I do know that it hadn’t happened by page 245 (of 382). Which is pretty astounding, and is definitely a new way to bring Reacher into the main events of a novel. I doubt it’s a trick Child can pull off again, but I’d like to see him try. If he doesn’t show up, bad things will happen — and will likely continue to happen — but it’s hard to say just how bad it’d all be. But Reacher does show up, and he does his usual thing, and many more people live than otherwise would have. Which isn’t to suggest that no one dies after he shows up, it’s just that most of them aren’t the people that seemed likely to die 30 pages earlier.

There’s little violence until the end of the book (there’s Reacher’s dissuasion, and two other minor — by Reacher’s standards — fights), but once the fighting starts, it doesn’t stop until there’s a whole lot of violence and bloodshed. Tension and unease that’s been mounting slowly over the whole book, are unleashed – and most of the last twenty percent (or so, I’m just guessing) of the novel is as violent and action-packed as you could hope for. Once that switch is flipped, it’s on.

This wasn’t my favorite Reacher novel — by far — but it was a really engrossing read. I enjoyed it — and really think if Jack Reacher hadn’t been the fly in the ointment for the people trying to manipulate and hurt Shorty and Patty, I think I’d have enjoyed this much more. But I expect more from Lee Child than I do other writers, and this time, I just don’t think he pulled it off. I’m willing to bet he does better next year, and I’ll content myself with that hope.

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3.5 Stars