Tag: Reacher

Exit Strategy by Lee Child and Andrew Child, Book Review

~ Veselin ~ 18 Comments

Exit Strategy is book 30 of the series about the retired military police officer Jack Reacher, no middle name. Reacher, a 60-something, overweight, and homeless, is traveling the country with a thin stack of cash, a debit card, and a toothbrush, like a modern version of the hitchhiker Arthur Dent. Exit Strategy is also a book from the Murderbot series by Martha Wells. The two books have many things in common, for example there’s no exit strategy at any part of the plot. Actually, Reacher only has one strategy, which involves using his massive size to crush the bad guys, just like the Murderbot.

Book 29 of the series was called In Too Deep. In my review from 2024, I awarded it with 1* and evaluated the whole series as unreadable, probably thanks to the new writer. I remember being surprised that it had over 4 on Goodreads, a mistake the readers have already corrected. Book 30 currently stands at 3.75, the lowest Jack Reacher has ever received. However, this is probably due to the piling disappointment after several sub-par or disastrous books that might’ve discouraged long-term fans of the series from buying it.

Exit Strategy is readable. Reacher crushes bones in a satisfying way. There are no Russians, no three-letter agencies, world-scattering conspiracies, or disposable femme fatales. The villain is some rich dude. This is already a major improvement. The best stories from the earlier years didn’t have complex plots or multiple espionage tropes either.

Reacher enters a town and finds another retired vet, who is in trouble. He forms a small crew to solve the problem in his way, Karateka style. He is, in a sense, still like the old Steven Seagal. Large, static, not very smart, linear, arrogant, quick with the choices. But the book is readable and offers many things the good Reacher books offered, including an unexpected ending that made sense.

I think, despite being sub-par compared to the books before Andrew Child, this is an okay thriller. I hope the duo keeps positive learnings with their next work. 4/5.

In Too Deep by Lee Child and Andrew Child, Book Review

~ Veselin ~ 4 Comments

I just completed book #29 from Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series called In Too Deep. I rated it 3/5 but it’s more like 1.5/5 and got a 1.5 point bonus because Lee Child is one of my favorite writers.

So, I asked myself a question, is it just me, or the series becomes unreadable? This is the ratings I gave the individual books, and the red line represents the community ratings on Goodreads.

Up to book 18, the community gives a pretty consistent 4.1-4.2 rating, then it hovers around 4 and goes under. The latest books may go under once they gain sufficient ratings as well. But unlike the community, my last 4 ratings are 3s and 4s, and I’ve been very generous. Feels like the community keeps liking the series.

According to some Goodreads sources, Lee Child felt like he runs out of steam and offloaded the actual writing to his younger brother, Andrew. Perhaps I just don’t like Andrew Child’s storytelling. Spoilers ahead.

Book 29 is about some world-scattering conspiracy. Reacher, a retired 60-something homeless vet who owns no phone, car, or ID, would interfere, overwhelming all the three-letter agencies in the US. There are stashes of property left unattended and owned by “the Russians”. There’s a hot police officer vigilante who wants revenge. What there isn’t is anything that’s remotely believable.

Of course, the Jack Reacher series doesn’t need to make sense but it follows certain math. Bullets are faster than people. Knives cut. A person attacks Reacher, Reacher punches back before person even sees it. This math is violated. We’ll see Reacher withdrawing, not using his head, not finding the location of enemies, and winning with absurd constraints that shouldn’t have been enforced in the first place because of the math. This enters the territory of the Marvel movies where the story is first, and whatever doesn’t make sense will be filled with CGI.

Reacher Book 29 – 1.5*/5. It’s like a Steven Seagal movie. The only thing missing is a chair for Reacher to sit during the book.