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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
I read the new Reacher novel every year. They are all the same, now. But I still can't stop reading them. Well, I can, as Reacher would point out, I just choose not to. They are short and entertaining enough for me to pick them up each fall. In this latest installment there's again international involvement, which means I won't enjoy it as much. And indeed it turned out to be one of the weaker Reacher novels. Not really recommended.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Having readjusted my expectations after positively abysmal "Blue Moon" (which was beyond bad even by the genre standards), I approached the new Jack Reacher book cautiously. I obviously lied when I had proclaimed a year ago, that it was time for me to part ways with our beloved unkempt wandering protagonist - the habit is difficult to kick and who is not a sucker for some well deserved justice, where you know with confidence that evil will be punished and any kicks and punches missed by our Hero not only won't cause any harm but more likely will have a healing shiatsu effect on him...
Well, apologies for sounding too dramatic, but there are good news and there are bad news... The good news is that the book is positively better than the last year's one. There is a somewhat meaningful plot. The writing style is night and day (who knows, maybe it is due to the beneficial influence of Mr. Child's brother who co-authored the book). The books feels much less like a console shooter from the 80s...
On the flipside... Well, maybe there is no flipside after all - these are the rules of the genre and our expectations should be calibrated accordingly. The plot - as usual - sticks to the tried and true "Veni, Vidi, Vici" paradigm and has more holes than a bar wall in a Western movie. The writing style... Let's just say, if you've grown fond of repeated sentences, extremely detailed descriptions of the dynamics of fistfight and "somewhat limited familiarity" with how technology works - you won't be disappointed.
To summarize - if you are much like me (don't be like me!) and treat the never-ending Jack Reacher's saga as a once-a-year guilty pleasure, you'll enjoy it for what it is. Yes, Jack will stop for a moment only to be thrown into the plot by sheer accident. Yes, evil will be cast into Ye Lake of Fire. No, Jack will not stay - he has a bus to catch.
Verdict: recommended (with caveats).
Well, apologies for sounding too dramatic, but there are good news and there are bad news... The good news is that the book is positively better than the last year's one. There is a somewhat meaningful plot. The writing style is night and day (who knows, maybe it is due to the beneficial influence of Mr. Child's brother who co-authored the book). The books feels much less like a console shooter from the 80s...
On the flipside... Well, maybe there is no flipside after all - these are the rules of the genre and our expectations should be calibrated accordingly. The plot - as usual - sticks to the tried and true "Veni, Vidi, Vici" paradigm and has more holes than a bar wall in a Western movie. The writing style... Let's just say, if you've grown fond of repeated sentences, extremely detailed descriptions of the dynamics of fistfight and "somewhat limited familiarity" with how technology works - you won't be disappointed.
To summarize - if you are much like me (don't be like me!) and treat the never-ending Jack Reacher's saga as a once-a-year guilty pleasure, you'll enjoy it for what it is. Yes, Jack will stop for a moment only to be thrown into the plot by sheer accident. Yes, evil will be cast into Ye Lake of Fire. No, Jack will not stay - he has a bus to catch.
Verdict: recommended (with caveats).
Not on par with the older Jack Reacher novels but ok. Found reacher a bit cocky and not quite the same style as before and less depth to the story as seen in Lee Child's previous books.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Timely subject matter. Reacher is an automaton, moving from fight to fight. He's like a one dimensional creature in a video game. For some reason, we are no longer allowed inside his head to see his morals, his feelings. He develops no relationships with anyone. He loses depth and dimension because of this. It's boring.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It took a few chapters to get used to a Reacher book not entirely written by Lee Child but once I did I didnt think it was really any weaker than those written by Lee alone.
It didnt have some jarring moments that some of the others have had but equally nothing really that interesting or surprising or overly compelling happened but it was a fine and easy book to enjoyably pass the time with. Not peak Reacher but very easy to enjoy if you are so minded.
It didnt have some jarring moments that some of the others have had but equally nothing really that interesting or surprising or overly compelling happened but it was a fine and easy book to enjoyably pass the time with. Not peak Reacher but very easy to enjoy if you are so minded.
If you like these books, you are more than willing to suspend your disbelief, but the totally unbelievable dialogue and thin characters made this one a two-star for me. The story did pick up about half way through, but I persisted only out of loyalty. Interesting to see how the Childs are handling Reacher's Luddite tendencies in a story about cybercrime.
l love this series but this one could not hold my attention