Ex-military policeman Jack Reacher is a drifter. He’s just passing through Margrave, Georgia, and in less than an hour, he’s arrested for murder. Not much of a welcome. All Reacher knows is that he didn’t kill anybody. At least not here. Not lately. But he doesn’t stand a chance of convincing anyone. Not in Margrave, Georgia. Not a chance in hell.
If you realize you're in for a macho action book, then you'll be pleasantly surprised that there's some nuance. (Of course, some not also.) These are a step above a pulp novel, and serve the same purpose.
I did realize what I like about these books though: Reacher comes up against a conspiracy, and Child is able to take us through the mystery without it getting too confusing with the complexity. (This is only the second one I've read though.)
Op mijn iPad vond ik de eerste Jack Reacher thriller. Geen idee hoe die daar op komt. Heb ik die ooit zelf gekocht? Gekregen (heel vroeger kreeg je van Apple rond de kerstdagen nog wel eens van die gratis downloads, ik dank er een EP van Ed Sheeran, een korte film met Minions, en misschien ook wel deze Jack Reacher)?
Hoe dan ook, ik las het nooit eerder. En bij gebrek aan beter besloot ik dat nu wel te doen.
Het plot was nog niet eens onaardig, zo vaak kom je geen thrillers tegen over valsmunterij. De uitvoering was er echter een van dik hout zaagt men planken. Bordkartonnen karakters, een held en vele schurken. De held is seksistisch, de schurken overdadig gewelddadig. Nou ja, en andersom eigenlijk ook.
Het meest schokkend nog vond ik de quote van Haruki Murakami: "De beste hedendaagse auteur van crime fiction." Heeft hij dat …
Op mijn iPad vond ik de eerste Jack Reacher thriller. Geen idee hoe die daar op komt. Heb ik die ooit zelf gekocht? Gekregen (heel vroeger kreeg je van Apple rond de kerstdagen nog wel eens van die gratis downloads, ik dank er een EP van Ed Sheeran, een korte film met Minions, en misschien ook wel deze Jack Reacher)?
Hoe dan ook, ik las het nooit eerder. En bij gebrek aan beter besloot ik dat nu wel te doen.
Het plot was nog niet eens onaardig, zo vaak kom je geen thrillers tegen over valsmunterij. De uitvoering was er echter een van dik hout zaagt men planken. Bordkartonnen karakters, een held en vele schurken. De held is seksistisch, de schurken overdadig gewelddadig. Nou ja, en andersom eigenlijk ook.
Het meest schokkend nog vond ik de quote van Haruki Murakami: "De beste hedendaagse auteur van crime fiction." Heeft hij dat werkelijk ooit gezegd? Nergens op internet is er bewijs voor te vinden, al heeft de Italiaanse uitgever van de Jack Reacher reeks dezelfde quote gebruikt.
En om positief te eindigen: het las wel lekker vlot en er zaten een paar aardige verwijzingen naar bluessongs in. Maar dat is niet genoeg om ook de volgende 25 delen te willen lezen.
I can see where its “hard boiled” style might grate for some, but I mostly enjoyed it (or didn’t particularly notice); I just got pulled along by its rhythm. The detective plotting is strong—revealing the right details and insights at the right times—and I like the Reacher character, even if the movie version is totally different (in his own excellent way).
An explosive start to the Jack Reacher series - I have already seen the movies and was always wondering how the novels could be better (because the books always are!). I'm not normally a fan of first-person narration but it fits the character superbly. Through the books, I get a much deeper sense of Jack Reacher's intellect, which was on display by Tom Cruise but this is magnitudes better.
I also loved the detective aspect - by keeping the narration from the first person and never switching viewpoint, I could also attempt to solve the mystery. It made the book twice as exciting. A great start to a series I look forward to finishing.
This novel is much better than the movie. It is interesting that the film adheres to the novel quite closely but from the mid-point on each are quite different from the other. I found this tale a bit slower than other Lee Child novels I have read; however, it remains quite good, and is clearly a worthwhile read.
It is the first book that you should start with Jack Reacher!
5 stars
If you want to know more about Jack Reacher and his back story and his family, then this is the first book you should read first. This is the introduction of the world Jack Reacher lived in and how/why he is Jack Reacher!
As others have said, the prose is unbearable if you have a healthy appreciation for fluid sentences and coherent usage of punctuation. I didn’t get past the first chapter, despite having an interest in the plot.
As others have said, the prose is unbearable if you have a healthy appreciation for fluid sentences and coherent usage of punctuation. I didn’t get past the first chapter, despite having an interest in the plot.
I knew his girlfriend needed to be disposed of for the good of the next book so I was sure she'd be killed. It might have worked out as a better story that way.
And there were unbelievable deductions, the worst being how he finds Hubble, even "figuring out" the name he is using as an alias.
And I guessed about the source of paper for the counterfeiting long before I was supposed to.
This isn't the kind of book you read because the characters are believable. You read it because you like a story where an almost magically capable guy puts things right against overwhelming odds. I enjoyed it.
Bought the first three books of the Reacher series for my buddy a the library book sale and got sucked back into book 1. I really enjoyed the first 6 or so, then they started feeling a bit samey, so I stopped reading them. But it's been a while and I really enjoyed this one, the only one written in the first person (for some reason, all the following books are written in the third person).
It's a non stop actioner and keeps you guessing right up to the end. I almost literally couldn't put it down.
The paperback edition I picked up had a new forward by the author, where he talked about how he started writing the series, which I found particularly interesting.
This is everything you would expect from a cheesy action movie, but as a book I would of liked more than bad lines and over-the-top action sequences. Jack Reacher is an ex-marine drifter who ended up at the wrong place at the wrong time. With the knowledge he has learnt from his life as a Military Police Major, Reacher has to try and clear his name and solve the murder of his brother; this leads him into a huge cover up happening in the small town of Margrave, Georgia.
I was interested in seeing what a Jack Reacher would like, and too be honest it was enjoyable but nothing special. I have heard the books do get better so I might actually read another book at some point.
