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Thread: Jack Reacher - Books, TV & Movie thread

  1. #1
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    Jack Reacher - Books, TV & Movie thread

    I know there are some fans of Lee Child's Jack Reacher books on here, I thought I might start a discussion thread about the new one and the upcoming TV series.

    TV first.
    Personally I didn't mind Tom Cruise in the movies - yes, he lacked the physical presence (a 5ft 5" slightly built bloke playing a 6ft 5" brick shithouse, basically) but he still brought an air of menace and capability to the screen which simply can't be adequately portrayed in the books. He wasn't a good representation of the "unstoppable force" fans of the books know and love but I enjoyed both films regardless.

    Anyway, after tens of thousands of complain letters Lee Child has relented and agreed to a Netflix series based on the novels, which in hindsight will probably work much better.
    No actor has been named as a replacement so it might be fun to speculate here. Loads of Hollywood names have been thrown up (The Rock, Vin Diesel etc) but realistically for a TV series I'm pretty sure they will use a lesser known actor who hasn't already been typecast into a specific role or genre (and should come in a damn sight cheaper).

    When I first read that they had decided on a TV series re-boot it made it sound like each episode was going to be a stand-alone story. I was picturing the A-Team but with Jack Reacher, which would have been just horrible. Luckily Lee Child has now stated that each of his books will be broken down into a 10-12 episode series, so we should get a fairly close representation of the books.


    The novels themselves are pretty easy reading and usually quite formulaic (although the last couple have been a bit fresher). Importantly though, they are fun to read. I usually have two or three books on the go at any one time and guaranteed one of them will be either a Clive Cussler or a Lee Child - it's the sort of stuff that is very easy to dip in and out of.

    That said, has anyone got the new one, Past Tense? It's a good read, but where there are usually a couple of nicely interwoven stories that come together around the middle, this one feels like two separate books which just happen to cross right at the very end. I wasn't hugely impressed. The idea of the sub-plot feels like an off-shoot of "Make Me" which

    **SPOILER ALERT**

    culminates in the discovery of a studio making sick snuff movies using victims who think they are headed to a luxury Euthanasia clinic. I think a seed from that planted the idea of the Past Tense story but it went off on a bit of a weird tangent.



    Who else is a fan, and who else is looking forward to a Tom Cruise free screen adaptation?

  2. #2
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    Phew, just managed to avoid the spoiler... haven't read the new one yet.

    I think the TV show sounds good, especially as it looks as though each of the books will be spread over a series. I wasn't a fan of the films simply because I'd read the books and had 'got to know' Reacher (and he wasn't Tom Cruise by any stretch of the imagination!). As for the new actor, I'd hate it to be one of the current crop of action heroes. For me, it would have to be someone with an air of quiet menace... maybe a Michael Shannon type.

  3. #3
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    I’ve read them all apart from the latest and enjoyed them. Tom Cruise was always going to be a love or hate thing for the role but it might have never been a film without him. He basically doesn’t meet the physical criteria for the role. A 10-12 episode per book seems a bit of a stretch tbh. Maybe half that per book. But they have got scope for a lot of series on that basis.

  4. #4
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    Reading the latest right now. Netflix’s ? Haven’t got it, or Amazon. Pay enough for the beeb license without adding insult to injury. Happy with the books and don’t need a visual moneyspinner.

  5. #5
    Grand Master JasonM's Avatar
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    Ive read the whole lot more than once, Im a big fan, I read the latest one the day it came out in the same day!
    It was OK, the thing is, when you reread them all you can really see that the early ones are better written, this last one niggled me, it was good classic Reacher until the end, it really wrapped up too quickly, the town 'issues' he had really fizzled out, more could have been done with that part of the storyline.
    The early books kept you guessing a bit more, the later ones more formulaic and you know whats coming.
    Still great though.
    Cheers..
    Jase

  6. #6
    Whilst I didn’t agree with Cruise’s casting, I could overlook it, but I thought both films were quite uninspired. They were well-enough made and enjoyable for what they were, but could really have been films about any have-a-go-hero, failing to translate the pace & excitement of the books, and not quite doing justice to Reacher as a character. I think that’s a real shame, given the existing fan base opportunity created by the books, and the Studio presumably agrees, as I suspect they hoped it would be a ‘tent pole’ franchise.

    As for the books, I loved & re-read the early ones – with ‘Killing Floor’, ‘Without Fail’ & ‘The Enemy’ being particular favourites – but in recent years I think Child has been phoning them in, perhaps pressured by a publisher needing a book a year. My Father-in-Law generously keeps buying me them out of tradition and I keep reading them – because they’re fun, undemanding & diverting escapism – but increasingly with much less enthusiasm and a little irritation.

    ’61 Hours’ marked the beginning of the end – hundreds of pages of Lee Child finding every way under the sun to repetitively tell the reader how very cold it is (yes, Lee, we get it, no need to pad-out 30 pages by describing the weather), really boring (very little action, with a rent-a-mob meth biker gang rolled out of central casting just to give Reacher someone to pound), capped by a ludicrous ending with a ludicrous ‘baddie’ in a ludicrous location with a ludicrous escape, and with a cheap-shot ‘To Be Continued’ finish. Really, really poor.

    It annoys me that I’m quite negative about the series now, because I still heartily recommend the early books to anyone looking a good summer read, but the character has become tired & almost a parody.

    I’ll look forward to the TV series though, and hope the extra space & time allows them to explore the character better – although a problem might be that Reacher as a character is quite thinly sketched to start with. They need a sharply-scripted actor with physical presence and a smart mouth, but also to seem intelligent and decent at heart. I know Liam Neeson makes about 10 ‘beat-em-up’ films a year, but it’s a shame he wasn’t 20-odd years younger, as a younger incarnation would fit the bill nicely.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stringer View Post


    .....’61 Hours’ marked the beginning of the end – hundreds of pages of Lee Child finding every way under the sun to repetitively tell the reader how very cold it is (yes, Lee, we get it, no need to pad-out 30 pages by describing the weather), really boring (very little action, with a rent-a-mob meth biker gang rolled out of central casting just to give Reacher someone to pound), capped by a ludicrous ending with a ludicrous ‘baddie’ in a ludicrous location with a ludicrous escape, and with a cheap-shot ‘To Be Continued’ finish. Really, really poor......

    I have just re-read that one. A serious laugh-out-loud moment towards the end when he contemplates kicking the baddies head "off". Not in, OFF!

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    Too many fight sequences. I thought they had guns over there. It would be far easier if somebody just shot him.

  9. #9
    Jack Reacher makes up at least one of the titles for my annual haul of books which I take on holiday with me. This year was no different. I think I bought the one which was released before the most recent one.

    Yes they are formulaic but they are an easy read.

    There seems to be a pattern that his female interests in most of the novels are always slight oriental girls??!!
    Last edited by kungfupanda; 20th November 2018 at 18:14.

  10. #10
    Grand Master JasonM's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kungfupanda View Post
    Jack Reacher makes up at least one of the titles for my annual haul of books which I take on holiday with me. This year was no different. I think I bought the one which was released before the most recent one.

    Yes they are formulaic but they are an easy read.

    There seems to be a pattern that his female interests in most of the novels are always slight oriental girls??!!
    Maybe because Reacher spent his formative years growing up in the Philippines ?
    Either that or Lee Child has a fantasy woman in his mind.
    Cheers..
    Jase

  11. #11
    Grand Master snowman's Avatar
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    Funnily enough 61 Hours is one of my favourites, probably because it's different.

    A lot of the others I couldn't tell you anything about them from the title.

    A few plots stick in my mind, but I don't recall the title they related to.

    I think 12 episodes a book will be glacial...

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    I've read 8-10 Reacher books and seen the movies. I'll continue to watch the new movies but I've stopped reading the books. It's like reading the same book over and over again! Reacher is SO skillful and SO smart and SO intuitive and SO indestructible that I just get bored with the "perfection."

  13. #13
    The Cruise films were quite well done. Any casting has got to get the character right, or it will be a mess - just look at the Alex Cross films
    It's just a matter of time...

  14. #14
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    I've dropped out of love for the books a little. They all blended into one. Reacher in a mid-west American town battling the local criminal family.
    Meh.

  15. #15
    Grand Master JasonM's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave O'Sullivan View Post
    I've dropped out of love for the books a little. They all blended into one. Reacher in a mid-west American town battling the local criminal family.
    Meh.

    Very true, which is why I like the 'Army days' ones better, adds a new dimension to the formula.
    Cheers..
    Jase

  16. #16
    I have read them all and the new ones are a step down in quality from the earlier books. The most recent was a good read but nothing special. The middle years seemed the best for me when the stories overlapped a little and characters from several books came and went and it tied them all nicely together.

    I would watch a series as they could make them very good, agree 12 epidoes per book would take some serious padding!

    The movies are ok, cruise was a bad cast for reacher - if you had not read the books it would have been ok as a stand alone film.

  17. #17
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    The last book (Midnight Line) was a brave step away from the usual formula. They did shoe-horn in a small town hood (the chap who owns a laundrette) and a small town gang (the biker dudes) for him to bash up at the very beginning, but generally speaking it was a bit more thoughtful and mysterious.

    Ditto with Make Me, it was another of those "right place at the right time" affairs because he liked the place name, but I liked the direction it took.


    As far as casting for the series, Jon Bernthal is very much what I imagine Reacher to look like. Rough and ready, a bit untidy but could still get the girl - as Reacher usually does.
    Sadly he's already playing The Punisher so it's very unlikely, plus he's an inch under 6 foot and I feel like they are going to cast someone bigger - at least 6'2" - after all the furore Tom Cruise generated.
    (**Edit - he's also got dark hair. Apparently Jack Reacher has blonde hair**)



  18. #18
    Finished the new one (Past Tense) at the weekend. Decent enough, though one storyline sort of petered out for unexplained reasons. A satisfactory number of beatings delivered, and some decent kills.

    The "primary" storyline was also remarkably similar to one of the other books where he stumbled across the assisted suicide thing, but different enough that I wasn't totally disappointed.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by kevkojak View Post
    The last book (Midnight Line) was a brave step away from the usual formula. They did shoe-horn in a small town hood (the chap who owns a laundrette) and a small town gang (the biker dudes) for him to bash up at the very beginning, but generally speaking it was a bit more thoughtful and mysterious.

    Ditto with Make Me, it was another of those "right place at the right time" affairs because he liked the place name, but I liked the direction it took.


    As far as casting for the series, Jon Bernthal is very much what I imagine Reacher to look like. Rough and ready, a bit untidy but could still get the girl - as Reacher usually does.
    Sadly he's already playing The Punisher so it's very unlikely, plus he's an inch under 6 foot and I feel like they are going to cast someone bigger - at least 6'2" - after all the furore Tom Cruise generated.
    (**Edit - he's also got dark hair. Apparently Jack Reacher has blonde hair**)


    I was thinking he would do well in the role, he was excellent in the punisher series

  20. #20
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    What's the order of the books if anyone knows please?

    Sent from my SM-G950F using TZ-UK mobile app

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    Grand Master JasonM's Avatar
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    Killing Floor (1997) Description Book eBook
    Die Trying (1998) Description Book eBook
    Tripwire (1999) Description Book eBook
    Running Blind / The Visitor (2000) Description Book eBook
    Echo Burning (2001) Description Book eBook
    Without Fail (2002) Description Book eBook
    Persuader (2003) Description Book eBook
    The Enemy (2004) Description Book eBook
    One Shot (2005) Description Book eBook
    The Hard Way (2006) Description Book eBook
    Bad Luck And Trouble (2007) Description Book eBook
    Nothing To Lose (2008) Description Book eBook
    Gone Tomorrow (2009) Description Book eBook
    61 Hours (2010) Description Book eBook
    Worth Dying For (2010) Description Book eBook
    The Affair (2011) Description Book eBook
    A Wanted Man (2012) Description Book eBook
    Never Go Back (2013) Description Book eBook
    Personal (2014) Description Book eBook
    Make Me (2015) Description Book eBook
    Night School (2016) Description Book eBook
    The Midnight Line (2017) Description Book eBook
    Past Tense (2018) Description Book eBook


    Cheers..
    Jase

  22. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by pacifichrono View Post
    I've read 8-10 Reacher books and seen the movies. I'll continue to watch the new movies but I've stopped reading the books. It's like reading the same book over and over again! Reacher is SO skillful and SO smart and SO intuitive and SO indestructible that I just get bored with the "perfection."

    That's exactly what I found with the books too, for me they just got a bit dull. In the earlier ones he seemed more like just a regular chap (as far as 6' 5" ex MP tough as nails types go) but in the later books he was more like bloody Superman.

    The casting of Tom Cruise & Lee Childs defence of it (when the books made such a feature of Reachers size) also irked me.

  23. #23
    Master Mark020's Avatar
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    Recognize the feeling. Bit too perfect. New book is not bad too be honest

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Slamdoor View Post
    Reading the latest right now. Netflix’s ? Haven’t got it, or Amazon. Pay enough for the beeb license without adding insult to injury. Happy with the books and don’t need a visual moneyspinner.
    If you don’t watch live TV or BBC iplayer then you don’t need a licence. I think it’s criminal that the BBC through the licensing people want money even if you never watch any live BBC channel but will fine you for watching ITV etc

    https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ104

    My gf never watches live TV at her flat and has endured a year of written threats bordering on harrassment from the licensing people.

    Plenty of TV Licensing Goon Baiting videos on You Tube.

    Back to JR. Only read the first one but it didn’t grab me.

  25. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by broxie View Post
    If you don’t watch live TV or BBC iplayer then you don’t need a licence. I think it’s criminal that the BBC through the licensing people want money even if you never watch any live BBC channel but will fine you for watching ITV etc

    https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ104

    My gf never watches live TV at her flat and has endured a year of written threats bordering on harrassment from the licensing people.

    Plenty of TV Licensing Goon Baiting videos on You Tube.

    Back to JR. Only read the first one but it didn’t grab me.
    Bloody BBC! They will only stop sending their letter for around 6 months after you advise either that you don’t watch live tv; or if it’s an investment property, or undergoing a refurb and nobody lives there - picking up the junk mail including BBC licensing’s threatening letters is a pain!
    It's just a matter of time...

  26. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by Omegamanic View Post
    Bloody BBC! They will only stop sending their letter for around 6 months after you advise either that you don’t watch live tv; or if it’s an investment property, or undergoing a refurb and nobody lives there - picking up the junk mail including BBC licensing’s threatening letters is a pain!
    Don't return anything, don't admit anything or give them your name or anything. They are not the BBC, they are revenue driven goons. My gf has ignored everything on the basis they can't take "The Occupier" to court. As soon as you fill in their online form, they have a name and possibly more contact info.

    Admit nothing. Or get a B&W licence. There was a period when "detector vans" might have existed that could detect the IF frequency from a nearby TV and see what channel (out of a choice of 3) they might be watching. In those days it was impossible for them to detect whether it was a colour or B&W set so for a long time, I maintained my B&W licence until they wrote to me (and this was in the late 1970s) and said that it was extremely rare that anyone had a B&W TV anymore.

    Apparently not .. Thousands still watch TV in black and white

    And there's a whole world of TV licence avoidance information around, including:

    https://www.tvlicenceresistance.info/forum/index.php
    Last edited by broxie; 22nd November 2018 at 22:55.

  27. #27
    Master OliverCD's Avatar
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    To my mind, this is how Reacher looks. Huge lump with sandy hair.





    Currently mid way through Never Go Back... enjoyable as every. They are similar but thats a bonus with the series – nice to have a good old adventure with the man once or twice a year.

  28. #28
    Master vagabond's Avatar
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    Yes, I've always thought that Dallaglio was a perfect "fit" for Reacher - around 6'4"/5" and 250 lbs - built like the proverbial brick sh1t house, rugged good looks and blonde too.

  29. #29
    Master Alansmithee's Avatar
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    There is a reason that image comes to mind:

    https://www.odt.co.nz/sport/rugby/au...r-rugby-legend

  30. #30
    Master OliverCD's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alansmithee View Post
    There is a reason that image comes to mind:

    https://www.odt.co.nz/sport/rugby/au...r-rugby-legend
    I have never read that before!! So Child clearly hit the mark....

    Thanks for the link.

  31. #31
    Master vagabond's Avatar
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    ^^^ Ditto. Thanks.

  32. #32
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    I have been listening recently to midlight line and killing floor on audio books. These two stem from Childs earliest to his latest books. Each audio book is about 13 hours long, I listen when out for a walk or doing boring chores at home. A 13 hour book is so granular, the information and detail so precise. I watched the Reacher film this week on TV and felt short changed.

    Then I realised what Child puts into his books and the big screen misses is his thinking. On the big screen you get big jumps from one scene to another, in his books he walks you though the detail.

    Got to admit Im sold , about 6 books Read so far

    Steve
    Last edited by higham5; 23rd November 2018 at 18:56.

  33. #33
    Grand Master magirus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OliverCD View Post
    To my mind, this is how Reacher looks. Huge lump with sandy hair.





    Currently mid way through Never Go Back... enjoyable as every. They are similar but thats a bonus with the series – nice to have a good old adventure with the man once or twice a year.
    To be fair Cruise didn't do a bad job................... for a leprechaun.......

































    F.T.F.A.

  34. #34
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    I always get the Reacher books on my kindle, really enjoyable, brain in neutral sort of read. I think the earlier novels and the military ones are the strongest. Having said that Midnight Line was the best I've read in a while. Now that Reacher is getting on a bit it would interesting to see him take a whack or two, there's always someone younger and faster.
    I remember reading an interview with Lee Childs when he explained how he came about the character name. He had the first name sorted but couldn't settle on a surname. In a supermarket one day he helped an old lady get something off a high shelf (Childs is a bit of a beenpole and was unemployed at the time.) when he got home he told his wife and she said, "Well you could always be a reacher." A legend was born.
    I have always thought that Dolph Lundgren had the Reacher look. Terrible actor though.
    J

  35. #35
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    Lee Child on Radio 4 today , available on catch up , program is open book and it aired at appx 4 pm . Child is first on and lasts for about 10 mins

    Steve

  36. #36
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    A bump from the depths!

    I've just read the excerpt from the forthcoming novel "The Sentinel". I think its the first chapter which has been published on one of the book review sites - I tried to add a link but cant from my phone.
    I would encourage any fans of the series to have a read of it and report back. It's the first one written by Lee Child's brother (co-written by Lee too, supposedly) but after that first chapter it feels somehow different. Some of the Jack Reacher personality and dry sense of humour is missing. I'm not liking it. He still kicks some ass and sets up the full story, but it didnt leave me itching to read the next bit as they so often do.

    On that topic... why the collaboration do we think? Churn out two books a year instead of one, or just to take some pressure off Child snr? The last interview I read said he writes for 6 months then promotes for 6 months with virtually no down time. I can appreciate that's a bit of a grind but it's not without reward, hes a multi millionaire off the back of it.

  37. #37
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    I am a big Reacher fan, or should say "was". The most recent ones have been a bit - meh.

    I'm sure Child's earned more than enough from these books, as one of the most read authors in the world - and I don't begrudge him a penny. However passing the mantle to his brother just doesn't seem the right thing to do - though I completely understand why he's done it. Many other popular authors have gone down that route and I'm sure Child won't be the last.

  38. #38
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    As a big Reacher fan through audio books I have over the last 3 years or so listened to 20 of his novels. I still remain firm that killing floor, his first or Jack Reacher1 was his best work. Certainly his 2019 Blue Moon was comedic at times in terms of the plot as he takes on two mobs single handed.


    I particularly liked No Middle Name, a selection of short stories ( audio 60 mins each) that in many ways fleshes out the character and background of Jack Reacher also the relationship with his brother. That makes the Killing Floor so more poignant

    The Sentinel Im sure will be different, and maybe take a needed change of direction.

    Ps If you like Lee Child , try the David Baldacci ( Will Robie) series , 3 I believe.
    Last edited by higham5; 23rd May 2020 at 07:42.

  39. #39
    Master mickylall's Avatar
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    The books have certainly got worse over the years, they are so formulaic that you can almost predict exactly what is going to happen next.
    Passing the character on to someone else won’t do the series of books any favours , it hasn’t worked on the Dragon Tattoo books that Lagercrantz has been writing, the characters just don’t feel right. Don’t think I’ll be bothering with the ‘new’ ones

  40. #40
    Master Alansmithee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by higham5 View Post
    As a big Reacher fan through audio books I have over the last 3 years or so listened to 20 of his novels. I still remain firm that killing floor, his first or Jack Reacher1 was his best work. Certainly his 2019 Blue Moon was comedic at times in terms of the plot as he takes on two mobs single handed.
    I thought Blue Moon was daft as well - there is generally always a Civilian who gets involved but... taking on russian special forces and cutting off people's heads within hours of meeting Reacher?

  41. #41
    Master mickylall's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by higham5 View Post

    Ps If you like Lee Child , try the David Baldacci ( Will Robie) series , 3 I believe.
    He's also done a few books featuring John Puller, a total ripoff of Child's books but still a good read

  42. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by mickylall View Post
    He's also done a few books featuring John Puller, a total ripoff of Child's books but still a good read
    Mick Ive read / listened to them as well.

    I notice you are listed as Burnley, My daily walk was from Higham down to the Calder then ether up to Duke bar (Lidl) or Padiham ( Tesco) and back. Each walk was just over two hours so I burned through some audio books.

  43. #43
    Master mickylall's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by higham5 View Post
    Mick Ive read / listened to them as well.

    I notice you are listed as Burnley, My daily walk was from Higham down to the Calder then ether up to Duke bar (Lidl) or Padiham ( Tesco) and back. Each walk was just over two hours so I burned through some audio books.
    I've listened to them also rather than read them, the narrator does a great job
    I think the Baldacci books pissed Child off a bit, in A Wanted Man the idiot cop is called Puller and another clueless character is called Ronald David Baldacci

  44. #44
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    The Sentinel came out yesterday, I'm about halfway through it.
    As feared, Jack Reacher minus Lee Child is poop.
    The series will endure because child did such a great job over the past 24 books, but Andrew Child simply doesn't have the skill with a quill of his big brother.
    Pity, it reads completely differently 😔

  45. #45
    Master Alansmithee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mickylall View Post
    I've listened to them also rather than read them, the narrator does a great job
    I think the Baldacci books pissed Child off a bit, in A Wanted Man the idiot cop is called Puller and another clueless character is called Ronald David Baldacci

    The Puller books are sort of weird because they veer in an entirely different direction.

  46. #46
    Grand Master JasonM's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kevkojak View Post
    The Sentinel came out yesterday, I'm about halfway through it.
    As feared, Jack Reacher minus Lee Child is poop.
    The series will endure because child did such a great job over the past 24 books, but Andrew Child simply doesn't have the skill with a quill of his big brother.
    Pity, it reads completely differently 😔
    I was afraid of that, this is the first time I haven’t bought it and read it on the first day of release, even the last few books have lacked something form the early ones, I’m sure I will buy it soon but I’m going to have to try to have a open mind when reading.
    Cheers..
    Jase

  47. #47
    I am about halfway. I did not release it was written by his brother but I had thought it did not read like a normal reacher book. Seems ok, similar to the last few, nothing on the early books.

  48. #48
    Grand Master snowman's Avatar
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    I've got about 4 or 5 Reachers left to read, scattered around the house, but increasingly I find I'll pick up something else instead.

    Most of these series of books seem to run out of steam after a while.

    I've greatly enjoyed the Ben Hope series by Scott Mariani, but the last one, set in India was truly dire and the couple of books set in Africa were a tangent I really didn't enjoy - Again, I have a couple to read, that are going unread.

    I picked up 12 books (on Kindle) in the John Milton series - To be honest I almost didn't bother continuing after the first book, but I found the 2nd and 3rd really enjoyable and I'm looking forward to the next one, but I'm sure they'll become formulaic and my enthusiasm will wane.

    The only series I've read in recent years that seems consistently good are the Bosch novels.

    M
    Last edited by snowman; 30th October 2020 at 17:51.
    Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?

  49. #49
    Master vagabond's Avatar
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    I may have mentioned it here or in the "good books" thread - Tom Wood's Victor the Assassin series is worth a read if you like Reacher etc.

  50. #50
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    Just finished the new book... its a bit crap (I'm sensing a trend).
    Nothing wrong with Andrew Child/Grant but he has totally lost the pacing with his two efforts so far. I'm a bit gutted, it's my fave series for an easy pick up and read.

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