BOOK: Die Trying (1998)

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Die TryingYear: 1998Author: Lee ChildLength: 859 minutes / 14.32 hours After reading the first Jack Reacher book, The Killing Floor, I wasn’t terribly impressed by the overly macho, masculine wish fulfillment presented in that book. Despite this, I gave the second book in the series, Die Trying, a shot. I was much more impressed with this book as it seemed to contain an actual plot and plenty of intrigue. Of course, it still had the random male wish fulfillment bits in it, but I’ll take any improvements I can get. I definitely see why the series has continued for so long after this outing. The appeal of Jack Reacher as a character is his complete competence based on the specific skills he obtained while serving in the military. And while a case of mistaken identity kicked The Killing Floor off, Die Trying leaned into the “wrong place and wrong time” trope to get Reacher tied into the main series of events. That...
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MOVIE: Jack Reacher – Never Go Back (2016)

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Jack Reacher: Never Go Back Year: 2016 Rating: PG-13 Length: 118 minutes / 1.97 hours The follow-up sequel to Jack Reacher (2012), Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016) is almost a warning to the audience in the title alone. I understand how a long-running book series like the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child is advantageous for the author by allowing the reader to pick up any book in the series and not need the background of the previous titles. However, with these self-encapsulated scenarios, Jack Reacher is probably better aligned with a television series than a series of movies. Not everyone can be the James Bond series, which has been able to get away with this for as long as it has. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the original Jack Reacher movie, as it seemed to channel the “man with no name” / high-plains drifter / Ronin style that was prevalent in Westerns and Samurai films. His skills and calm demeanor unquestionably imply military...
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BOOK: The Killing Floor (1997)

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The Killing Floor Year: 1997 Author: Lee Child Length: 1,067 minutes / 17.78 hours The first book in the Jack Reacher series is certainly a thriller, through-and-through. I certainly can understand its appeal, especially for male readers, since it has plenty of violence and sex while also exhibiting a number of action sequences. Consequently, it felt somewhat “pulpy” in that it was entertainment for entertainment’s sake. Sure, it’s a fun thrill-ride, but certain elements didn’t invest me in the characters. Jack Reacher himself is probably the majority of this issue, as he’s a drifter with little-to-no connections to anything or anyone, merely acting as a conduit to make action/killing happen. As for the core mystery of The Killing Floor, it was a fascinating premise and had a slow unraveling to keep me intrigued along the way. This was undoubtedly the strength of the book since it was a unique and intriguing twist on a pretty common crime. With a small cast of characters, the plot...
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BOOK: Hard Road (2013)

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Hard Road Year: 2013 Author: J.B. Turner Length: 322 pages ***THIS BOOK WAS RECEIVED FROM A GOODREADS GIVEAWAY*** I’m finding that I really like the thriller genre, and books like this convince me that it’s the most exciting genre out there. Practically from page one, the pace is set and is blindingly fast. There’s no time to rest when the fate of the nation is at stake. Equal parts Liam Neeson from Taken (2008) and Tom Cruise from Jack Reacher (2012), Jon Reznick is skilled beyond measure and I wouldn’t be surprised if this novel is made into a film of its own. That being said, I don’t really know why this book was called Hard Road other than all the driving that takes place in it. J.B. Turner manages to keep the reader in the dark about much of the plot that thrusts Reznick into a race against time and terrorists until about half-way through this book. While this was an impressive feat, part of...
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