Jack Reacher - any good?

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Discussion

droopsnoot

11,809 posts

241 months

Friday 9th February 2018
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As a standalone film I didn't think it was too bad - it's not that difficult to forget about reading the books and how every single one describes how physically imposing Jack Reacher is. Not sure whether he's more annoying in the second film, I've only seen the first one. I'm also not that great at remembering book plots (read loads of different books in no particular order) which meant that if there were any significant deviations from the book to the film, I didn't notice.

Short Grain

2,743 posts

219 months

Tuesday 13th February 2018
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droopsnoot said:
As a standalone film I didn't think it was too bad - it's not that difficult to forget about reading the books and how every single one describes how physically imposing Jack Reacher is. Not sure whether he's more annoying in the second film, I've only seen the first one. I'm also not that great at remembering book plots (read loads of different books in no particular order) which meant that if there were any significant deviations from the book to the film, I didn't notice.
Didn't realise there was a second film TBH, will have to Google it.




Mr2Mike

20,143 posts

254 months

Wednesday 14th February 2018
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Finally got started on the "John Milton" series, just finished the third book. Virtually identical premise to Reacher, though he is an ex-SAS soldier turned black-ops assassin rather than ex-military police, but still wanders around the USA (so far) stumbling onto people in bad situations and helping them. Pretty well written, certainly no worse than Reacher.

BigBen

11,610 posts

229 months

Wednesday 14th February 2018
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Mr2Mike said:
Finally got started on the "John Milton" series, just finished the third book. Virtually identical premise to Reacher, though he is an ex-SAS soldier turned black-ops assassin rather than ex-military police, but still wanders around the USA (so far) stumbling onto people in bad situations and helping them. Pretty well written, certainly no worse than Reacher.
He also has the recovering alcoholic angle a la Harry Hole from Jo Nesbo's books.

I prefer the Milton books to Reacher as the character is a bit less implausible, for instance he has never been shot and survived because his muscles were so big!

Mr2Mike

20,143 posts

254 months

Wednesday 14th February 2018
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BigBen said:
He also has the recovering alcoholic angle a la Harry Hole from Jo Nesbo's books.

I prefer the Milton books to Reacher as the character is a bit less implausible, for instance he has never been shot and survived because his muscles were so big!
I prefer them mainly because because the writing style in Reacher grates a bit. The multiple sentences. Short sentences. Used throughout. Throughout the book. To describe things.

soad

32,825 posts

175 months

Wednesday 14th February 2018
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Short Grain said:
I've read a few Jack Reacher paperbacks, they're an easy, decent paced boys adventure, nothing more but I enjoy them.

Only gripe is Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher in the recent film, can't even remember the title as I couldn't equate Cruise, all 5 foot and a peanut of him with Jack Reacher at 6 foot 5 inches of muscle or whatever he is!

Sainsburys near me has a few back titles at £2.99, so a bargain at the moment.

Wouldn't buy them in hardback though!!
Night School is £20! At least cooking books have photos. hehe

Hard cover = larger font. Makes it easier to read, I suppose. wink

LordGrover

Original Poster:

33,531 posts

211 months

Thursday 1st November 2018
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Finally got round to getting Midnight Line.
Rather fallen out of love with Jack Reacher for the last year or two, but this is, so far great fun - a return to form.

So easy to put down only to pick up again when I get ten minutes. Wish I could find other similarly paced, action/crime books - formulaic or not.

yellowjack

17,065 posts

165 months

Thursday 1st November 2018
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After falling out of love with books entirely for a couple of years, I dipped my toe back into the water via picking up 'No Middle Name' in the hospital charity bookshop a couple of months ago.

Currently I've got about a third of the way through it. It's a collection of short stories, so far going back as far as his school days getting dragged around the world by his Marine Corps dad.

As stories go, they're no better than "OK, I suppose" so far. But they shed a little more light on Reacher and his back story. Basically, it would seem, Reacher has been brought up from birth to be a hulking great knight in shining armour. As early as his mid teens he was taking on mobsters, assisting the FBI, and solving serial murders. Even as a fan of the novels, though, you'll need a healthy suspension of disbelief to buy into the tales.

I think I'll finish this one, however many 'shorts' are left, and then get back into 'Night School' and 'The Midnight Line' which are hanging around in a pile of books somewhere in the house.

I also re-watched the films fairly recently. I've got to say that I preferred the first one (aka: One Shot) over Never Go Back, but both worked OK for me as stand-alone movies. I was quite annoyed with Cruise being cast as Reacher before I saw the films, but to be honest it wasn't that big a deal (the height/weight thing) in the end. That'd be the ol' Hollywood magic, I suppose.

Watch out for a TV series though...

https://metro.co.uk/2018/08/29/jack-reacher-being-...
http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/feature/a865422/...
https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/9924...

If it's done well it should be good. The novels have plenty in them to keep a drama going for a season each. Plenty of opportunity for squeezing in some flashback explanations from the short story collection too. Tom Cruise apparently "doesn't do telly" so there'll be a new lead actor, and Mr Cruise is busy with movies anyway. I'd hope to see a younger actor start the TV role, simply because it takes so long to make TV drama. Reacher needn't age at all in the years between novels (Lee Child cna even tae him back in time if he wants to), but unfortunately, actors have an annoying habit of getting progressively older, so Tom Cruise would be too old to start in the TV role anyway, at 56, if the TV series were to have a long run.

It'll be interesting to see if this comes off, but Lee Child seems to be on board with the idea, so that sounds promising.

Apparently there's another Reacher novel (No 23!) due this month too. It'll be called 'Past Tense', published on the 5th November, if I read the article correctly...



Edited by yellowjack on Thursday 1st November 16:05

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

197 months

Thursday 1st November 2018
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Just checked out Goodreads that I log all the books I’ve read (it gives started and end date).

To my surprise the last Jack Reacher book I read was Boxing Day to mid Jan 2015!!!

Monkeylegend

26,226 posts

230 months

Thursday 1st November 2018
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LordGrover said:
So easy to put down only to pick up again when I get ten minutes. Wish I could find other similarly paced, action/crime books - formulaic or not.
Have you tried Michael Connelly ?

American crime fiction writer with good story lines and usually with a surprising twist in the tail. One of his main characters is a police Detective, later turned Private Investigator Harry Bosch. Worth trying if you haven't already.

If you like Jack Reacher/Lee Child, in my opinion Michael Connelly is far superior.

Two others worth reading are Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay, both light hearted American crime fiction writers.

Haven't read this thread so sorry if this has been covered before smile


LordGrover

Original Poster:

33,531 posts

211 months

Friday 2nd November 2018
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Yep. Read all the Michael Connelly books, all very good.
Not come across the others, will check them out. Ta.

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

197 months

Friday 2nd November 2018
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LordGrover said:
Yep. Read all the Michael Connelly books, all very good.
Not come across the others, will check them out. Ta.
Have you tried Val McDermit?

surveyor

17,767 posts

183 months

Friday 2nd November 2018
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Nelson Demille John Corey series also with a look

NDA

21,485 posts

224 months

Friday 2nd November 2018
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I'm reading through the Inspector Rebus series at the moment - Edinburgh detective. Not Reacher by a long shot, but very good.

Fastchas

2,640 posts

120 months

Friday 2nd November 2018
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surveyor said:
Nelson Demille John Corey series also with a look
My favourite writer with his hero John Corey, although he has lost his way with the last couple of books (Panther, A Quiet End).
I have just finished 'Wildfire' again. I think I've read it 4 or 5 times now!

If you like DeMille then I heartily recommend his other novels.
The Charm School is excellent, but recommended is Word of Honour & Up Country.

I have not read his latest, A Cuban Affair but Amazon reviews aren't great.

LordGrover

Original Poster:

33,531 posts

211 months

Friday 2nd November 2018
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Most excellent - thanks all.
Plenty for me to be going on with.

Harpoon

1,860 posts

213 months

Friday 2nd November 2018
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I'd highly recommend Tom Wood's "Victor the Assassin" series

https://www.goodreads.com/series/98326-victor-the-...

droopsnoot

11,809 posts

241 months

Friday 2nd November 2018
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Fastchas said:
If you like DeMille then I heartily recommend his other novels.
I've read a couple of his, and found them quite different to each other. I did very much enjoy "By the rivers of Babylon", much more than I recall liking another of his, which I think was "Up country" but might have been something else.

Fastchas

2,640 posts

120 months

Tuesday 6th November 2018
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droopsnoot said:
Fastchas said:
If you like DeMille then I heartily recommend his other novels.
I've read a couple of his, and found them quite different to each other. I did very much enjoy "By the rivers of Babylon", much more than I recall liking another of his, which I think was "Up country" but might have been something else.
I think 'Mayday' was the first novel I read of his.
Plum Island is very good and a good introduction into the character, John Corey.

Prolex-UK

3,007 posts

207 months

Tuesday 6th November 2018
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Latest Jack Reacher is on my Kindle

Second comments above about John Milton series. Well worth a read. A lot of the story lines are based on real like events as well. The latest had a hint of events in Salisbury.....where author lives as well !