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Another (series of) flight(s), another Jack Reacher installment - I think this is number nine, and I'm pretty sure I'm reading them in order (with inconsistent breaks in between - I can't really imagine read a number of them back-to-back).
But this one was different because, well, this is the novel on which the Tom Cruise movie is based, which brings a couple of points to mind:
(1) While Tom Cruise was sufficiently entertaining and convincing in the title role (for a single movie), he's simply not BIG enough to be Jack Reacher - Tom Cruise is a (relatively) small man, and Jack Reacher is extraordinarily large, physically imposing, and, of course, intimidating - and his physical statute is very much a part of his nature, character, and persona. Again, it didn't matter for the purposes of a single movie, but Cruise simply couldn't/wouldn't work as Reacher over time. (Heck, in my mind's eye, Reacher could eat Tom Cruise!)
(2) On the one hand, reading this book, the classic Reacher experience was ruined for me having seen the movie (even if it was a couple/few years ago - on a plane, of course). Basically, I knew what was going on and what was going to happen - so where's the suspense? Yes, they made some minor tweaks for the purposes of the movie (hmmm, did they add one fight scene for the movie, or was it two?), and excised at least one hugely distracting tangential character, but, for the most part, the setup and the resolution felt relatively familiar. On the other hand, I'm glad I finally read the book because - but for the movie - I probably never would have started the series (and I think the series is pretty good in-flight entertainment). One of my reading buddies had been recommending Lee Child for some time, but I hadn't taken the plunge. Once I saw the movie, I was sufficiently intrigued, so I gave the first novel a try. I'm glad I did.
Without interjecting any spoilers, there's two other interesting twists: (1) after having gone backwards in time in the prior book (which felt like a background installment or prequel), Child appears to be marching forward again, although there wasn't a lot of temporal context (or, for example, current events) in this one. Also, (2) having vacillated between first-person and third-person in prior books, I sense that Child is settling into third-person (but I'll have to keep reading to see if that remains the case).
I'm not expecting any late career Pulitzer or Booker literary prizes for Lee Child, but that doesn't make the series - or the individual books - any less entertaining.
But this one was different because, well, this is the novel on which the Tom Cruise movie is based, which brings a couple of points to mind:
(1) While Tom Cruise was sufficiently entertaining and convincing in the title role (for a single movie), he's simply not BIG enough to be Jack Reacher - Tom Cruise is a (relatively) small man, and Jack Reacher is extraordinarily large, physically imposing, and, of course, intimidating - and his physical statute is very much a part of his nature, character, and persona. Again, it didn't matter for the purposes of a single movie, but Cruise simply couldn't/wouldn't work as Reacher over time. (Heck, in my mind's eye, Reacher could eat Tom Cruise!)
(2) On the one hand, reading this book, the classic Reacher experience was ruined for me having seen the movie (even if it was a couple/few years ago - on a plane, of course). Basically, I knew what was going on and what was going to happen - so where's the suspense? Yes, they made some minor tweaks for the purposes of the movie (hmmm, did they add one fight scene for the movie, or was it two?), and excised at least one hugely distracting tangential character, but, for the most part, the setup and the resolution felt relatively familiar. On the other hand, I'm glad I finally read the book because - but for the movie - I probably never would have started the series (and I think the series is pretty good in-flight entertainment). One of my reading buddies had been recommending Lee Child for some time, but I hadn't taken the plunge. Once I saw the movie, I was sufficiently intrigued, so I gave the first novel a try. I'm glad I did.
Without interjecting any spoilers, there's two other interesting twists: (1) after having gone backwards in time in the prior book (which felt like a background installment or prequel), Child appears to be marching forward again, although there wasn't a lot of temporal context (or, for example, current events) in this one. Also, (2) having vacillated between first-person and third-person in prior books, I sense that Child is settling into third-person (but I'll have to keep reading to see if that remains the case).
I'm not expecting any late career Pulitzer or Booker literary prizes for Lee Child, but that doesn't make the series - or the individual books - any less entertaining.