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A review by laurapk
The Midnight Line: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child
1.0
I only struggled to the end because I'm trying to familiarize myself with crime fiction publications discussing the opioid epidemic.
But oh my, did I find it poorly written. The fight details were the most annoying: slow-motion doesn't work well in print (rarely works well in cinema anyway). So I skipped every fight scene since we all know how it ends - the main character beats the other guys up, yey! Also, I wonder if the inordinate amount of details given was to pad up the book and reach a minimum word count (those damn one book a year contracts! they should be abolished). Otherwise, does the author really think I need to know that a person walked to the door, turned the knob and pushed it open? Because I know how to open a door, Mr Child.
Things I learned: technology talk ages poorly if you try to present it as cutting edge (Reacher's inability to use phones and GPS made him look dumb to a future reader, not edgy).
Another reason why the book aged poorly: the way Lee Child writes women. The sisters were beautiful, oh so beautiful, such a tragedy that the most beautiful woman in the army was maimed, oh but her beautiful sister is so beautiful that everyone always stops to gawk at her (even while they're being robbed at gun point). Come on! Also, the non-injured twin was described as 'the normal woman' (why not just the blond woman?). And ugh...(suppressing nausea)... the sex talk ... I'd like to take everything off?
First and last Reacher book for me.
But oh my, did I find it poorly written. The fight details were the most annoying: slow-motion doesn't work well in print (rarely works well in cinema anyway). So I skipped every fight scene since we all know how it ends - the main character beats the other guys up, yey! Also, I wonder if the inordinate amount of details given was to pad up the book and reach a minimum word count (those damn one book a year contracts! they should be abolished). Otherwise, does the author really think I need to know that a person walked to the door, turned the knob and pushed it open? Because I know how to open a door, Mr Child.
Things I learned: technology talk ages poorly if you try to present it as cutting edge (Reacher's inability to use phones and GPS made him look dumb to a future reader, not edgy).
Another reason why the book aged poorly: the way Lee Child writes women. The sisters were beautiful, oh so beautiful, such a tragedy that the most beautiful woman in the army was maimed, oh but her beautiful sister is so beautiful that everyone always stops to gawk at her (even while they're being robbed at gun point). Come on! Also, the non-injured twin was described as 'the normal woman' (why not just the blond woman?). And ugh...(suppressing nausea)... the sex talk ... I'd like to take everything off?
First and last Reacher book for me.