Jack Reacher [View All]

That name mean anything to anyone?

I'm usually a Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror and Non-Fiction guy. A few months ago I was in Norway, in a little convenience store that had a few books. I needed something to read but only one book was in English. It was a Lee Child novel, Gone Tomorrow. Now I'm not usually into these tough guy book series but there was a little blurb from Stephen King(my favorite living fiction writer) on the back cover so I grabbed it. Not really much choice anyway.

Well, I have now finished 13 Jack Reacher novels and I'll be damned if they aren't the shit. Reacher is an Ex Military Cop with a brain like Sherlock Holmes and a body like The Rock. Child has a way of making this guy so cool and so righteous that you can't help but love him. His writing style is gripping, enough description so you get a real feel for everything, but not so much that it puts the breaks on the breakneck pace of these stories. I have a problem with writers who spend page after page on technical jargon and descriptions, and Child's sparse style was right up my alley. He keeps the story moving. A couple of them were so good I read them in a single sitting.

Check out this quote from Entertainment weekly, they summed it up better than I ever could:

"Reacher is a modern day Sherlock Holmes with Zen professionalism and logical deductions. He outwits his opponents every time. Then he kills them.


All of the Reacher novels have been optioned for films. I feel sorry for the casting director who has to come up with the right person to play this guy.