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paganhill's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
I wish to start this review off with a caveat; this is not my type of book for reasons I don’t need to bore you with. I will try to keep the review objective as I can and leave my bias out of it. All I will say on that is I hope the other books in the Jake Reacher series are better than this one. I’ll never know.
Even with me realizing this book wasn’t written for me I feel it has a few issues that may pester even those that would enjoy this story.
Jack Reacher suffers from the John Carter(of Mars) problem. Everything they do is the correct action to take. Sure, in Killing Floor there may be two times a wrong choice was made but no consequences come from the tiny insubstantial challenge. Reacher is also in the right spot everytime. His guesses are always correct. Worst of all the people around him give no push back towards this monstrous stranger taking control over the situation. He doesn’t even take it. They meekly give it to him.
There is a part towards the end of the novel where Reacher mentions what good luck this is that this happened because in the past he is just a bag of bad luck. I will give the author the benefit that maybe bad shit did happened to Reacher in the past but none of that bad luck is shown in this novel. Reacher is only perfect and full of good luck.
I enjoy the author’s writing style but the inability to have Reacher fail in even the smallest way is frustrating.
A few other things I would have looked over if I enjoyed the novel: it feels dated but doesn’t want you to notice; it is fast paced but drags in scenes that are supposed to humanize Reacher, in dialogue, and other places; and the mysteries were not very mysterious and because of this it made everyone feel a little dumb when they were surprised by the reveals. Please don’t get me wrong the crime that was happening was good and enjoyable just not very mysterious.
I didn’t like this Suburban White Savior story. The A-Team does it better and knows what it is to be schlock.
The narration for the audiobook is lack luster.
Even with me realizing this book wasn’t written for me I feel it has a few issues that may pester even those that would enjoy this story.
Jack Reacher suffers from the John Carter(of Mars) problem. Everything they do is the correct action to take. Sure, in Killing Floor there may be two times a wrong choice was made but no consequences come from the tiny insubstantial challenge. Reacher is also in the right spot everytime. His guesses are always correct. Worst of all the people around him give no push back towards this monstrous stranger taking control over the situation. He doesn’t even take it. They meekly give it to him.
There is a part towards the end of the novel where Reacher mentions what good luck this is that this happened because in the past he is just a bag of bad luck. I will give the author the benefit that maybe bad shit did happened to Reacher in the past but none of that bad luck is shown in this novel. Reacher is only perfect and full of good luck.
I enjoy the author’s writing style but the inability to have Reacher fail in even the smallest way is frustrating.
A few other things I would have looked over if I enjoyed the novel: it feels dated but doesn’t want you to notice; it is fast paced but drags in scenes that are supposed to humanize Reacher, in dialogue, and other places; and the mysteries were not very mysterious and because of this it made everyone feel a little dumb when they were surprised by the reveals. Please don’t get me wrong the crime that was happening was good and enjoyable just not very mysterious.
I didn’t like this Suburban White Savior story. The A-Team does it better and knows what it is to be schlock.
The narration for the audiobook is lack luster.
edievdo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
jgraydee's review against another edition
3.0
Honestly, I was not as impressed with Jack Reacher as I had expected to be? This book was part thriller, part super hero and part Lifetime romance. Are the remaining novels the same type of reading? Or do they get better?
wholesome_chaotic's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
__kell__'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
olivertrumann's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jchoules's review against another edition
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
lauramay727's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
katykelly's review against another edition
3.0
Finally given in and tried it - can understand the appeal of the format
3.5 stars
Having worked in public libraries for half a decade, I have seen firsthand the popularity of each Lee Child new title but never been tempted to read one (or see the films).
Coming across the first in the series on audiobook recently (library copy of course), I thought I might as well sample the author and see what the fuss was about.
It's still not a genre I favour, but I can see why Jack Reacher is so popular, and also how the format and style have spawned so many since.
A mysterious ex-army man, travelling around the US is brought in for questioning after being found near a murder scene. Small town, gruesome murder, and Jack Reacher just so happens to be the perfect person to investigate it - military police, highly skilled.
He's the one to spot the clues, make the connections, and as the deaths pile up, and the plot thickens, he gets embroiled for personal reasons and takes us on a typical thriller journey of hidden conspiracies, flash-in-the-pan romances, torture and kidnap, and revenge.
Yes, there is appeal there, but without looking at other episodes, I can see a formula for future stories. Glad to have tried it and to know the origins of the character, but I don't think I'll be returning to his story.
3.5 stars
Having worked in public libraries for half a decade, I have seen firsthand the popularity of each Lee Child new title but never been tempted to read one (or see the films).
Coming across the first in the series on audiobook recently (library copy of course), I thought I might as well sample the author and see what the fuss was about.
It's still not a genre I favour, but I can see why Jack Reacher is so popular, and also how the format and style have spawned so many since.
A mysterious ex-army man, travelling around the US is brought in for questioning after being found near a murder scene. Small town, gruesome murder, and Jack Reacher just so happens to be the perfect person to investigate it - military police, highly skilled.
He's the one to spot the clues, make the connections, and as the deaths pile up, and the plot thickens, he gets embroiled for personal reasons and takes us on a typical thriller journey of hidden conspiracies, flash-in-the-pan romances, torture and kidnap, and revenge.
Yes, there is appeal there, but without looking at other episodes, I can see a formula for future stories. Glad to have tried it and to know the origins of the character, but I don't think I'll be returning to his story.