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129 reviews for:

High Heat

Lee Child

3.67 AVERAGE

charles__'s review

2.0

That I read the Jack Reacher series is my shame. Recently, Childs has been bulking-out his output stream by sprinkling novellas in-between the previously written books, X.5 style.

At this writing, there are 22 books and five (5) novellas. This story (17.5) is wedged in-between the [b: A Wanted Man|13359067|A Wanted Man (Jack Reacher, #17)|Lee Child|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1333623254s/13359067.jpg|18587348] and [b:Never Go Back|17262159|Never Go Back (Jack Reacher, #18)|Lee Child|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1467947214s/17262159.jpg|23756807] books. They're all wretchedly formulating at this point.

This one is a bit different than previous books and novellas, in that Reacher is 16-years old. Its the youngest Reacher 'flashback' story so far. However, he's really 40-year old Jack Reacher described as being 16. (No 16-year old is that smart.) This one is also somewhat different in that the naughty bits are more graphic than I remember. (Maybe this story first appeared in Playboy Magazine?)

This is a mindless beach or airplane read where your concentration needs to be shared. I'd pass on it, if you can think of something more important to do.

The latest full-Reacher novel [b:The Midnight Line|33378951|The Midnight Line (Jack Reacher, #22)|Lee Child|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1489630986s/33378951.jpg|54120408] (#22) is published in November, 2017. Paperback will be avialable for summer reading.

High Heat was a great little novella. It didn't matter that this one was super short it pack all the satisfaction of a full length novel. It was intense and the pages turned themselves. I am totally crushing on young Jack. He is such a bad ass! This story was packed with action and even brought a little heat. I can't wait for the next installment. Definitely a must read.
challenging dark tense slow-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
jennareadsthings's profile picture

jennareadsthings's review

2.0

Less believable

fr8train's review

4.0

Good novella that made me think about what I was doing during the events of the Summer of 1977. I appreciate Lee Child giving us a glimpse of the young Jack Reacher and how his military brat childhood shaped and formed his character. Though at times I feel Reacher's actions and thought process is a stretch for a 17 year old even in the '70s. After all, Reacher has not yet joined the military and developed his keen abilities.
stephloves's profile picture

stephloves's review

5.0

I've recently got into short stories and as soon as I found out Lee Child has written a handfull of Jack Reacher short stories, I downloaded them all to my Kindle.

This is the first of the short stories I've read and it's a brilliant one. As ever. Nice to read about Jack Reacher as a 16 year old kid and see where his roots have come from.

If you're a big Jack Reacher fan like me, this is definitely worth a read.
adventurous mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: N/A
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

A review in four, short parts:

  1. Oh this is good!
  2. WTF!? (iykyk)
  3. Time to kick butt!
  4. WHAT?!

kimlynne's review

3.0

Seems like he wrote the character more mature than believable even for a young Jack Reacher.
mkultra_tech's profile picture

mkultra_tech's review

4.0

Good Story and Short book. If this is what a 16-year-old Reacher can do, I can't wait to find out more!!

katep's review

3.0

Well, its good to know that Reacher's ability to find serious trouble long predates the first book! Had to suspend disbelief a bit, but otherwise fun.