championlivi Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 I just recently started reading a series of Lee Childs novels where a Jack Reacher is the main character. Really enjoyed them, although the storylines are far fetched at times th ewriting and twists are good. just wondering if anyone else had read them and had any thoughts/opinions on the books..? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomDom Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 I'm a huge fan. Jack Reacher seems like a bit of a miserable git, but he's a hell of an investigator and I love reading how he gets from one thing to the next. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
championlivi Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Yeah he doesnt seem like someone that would be a great laugh down the pub but his ability to sniff out a clue or break in an investigation is second to none. Hell of a headbutt on him as well.. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
well fan for life Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 The Jack Reacher books are quality. I like One Shot and the Hard Way. I also like how he just knows what the time is. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomDom Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Yeah he doesnt seem like someone that would be a great laugh down the pub but his ability to sniff out a clue or break in an investigation is second to none. Hell of a headbutt on him as well.. Aye, that headbutt is an arguement winner in any pub. I also like how he just knows what the time is. I love that. And people always approach it like "how the f**k do you do that ?". "Meh.". 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
championlivi Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Yeah the telling the time thing is a great thing to have. Always fancied a crack at that Neagley bird he knows... He always manages to get the women does Jack. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paco Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 I've read a few of these myself. Not a great fan of the ones written in first person, although I think they're the earlier novels? My favourite is the one with the crazy Mexican girl who tries to get him to kill her husband, can't remember the name though. Good books. I too love how he knows the time. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Hutchwright Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 The Human Stain ~ Philip Roth Although I'm something of a fan of Roth's, I found it difficult to fully engage with this novel and consequently found it a wee bit of a slog. One problem was that I struggled to really care enough about the main protagonist; a college professor forced out of his job after being wrongly acused of racism. It's not exactly unusual for there to be a certain degree of ambiguity at the core of Roth's characters, and he doesn't always make them the easiest to like, but I found it hard to muster too much sympathy at all in this instance, regardless of the gross misjustice he was undeniably the victim of. It's difficult to say too much about the novel without giving too much away, but I also never felt that the motives behind the truly life changing decision the principal character made were really fully, or particularly convincingly, explained. However, Roth is such a wonderful writer that, for all the novels flaws, there were still occasions that I couldn't help but admire his sheer stylistic brillance. All that being said, it was by no means a bad novel, it just stands in pretty poor comparison when judged against some of the other books of his I've read, in particular American Pastoral. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chico Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Fan. Very readable and ideal escape from the day to day grind. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proud To Be A Diamond Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 I've only read one. The one where it goes back to his Military Police days? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugster Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Read them all, big fan. New one due it in a week or so. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDoctor Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Read them all, big fan. New one due it in a week or so. I've read the first four or five and I've found them all to be excellent reads so far. I've got more books to read, but haven't got to them yet. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted March 8, 2010 Author Share Posted March 8, 2010 Started off as quite an interesting series. Last couple have been absolutely dreadful. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted March 8, 2010 Author Share Posted March 8, 2010 "Doors Open" by Iain Rankine. Somewhat dull crime thriller set across the backdrop of Edinburgh's art world. Few guys plan an art heist, get involved with local gangster, things turn messy. Blah blah. Mildly enjoyable, but the characters are, for the most part, one dimensional and very unlikeable. Overall, just a bit meh. 4/10 Yeah, 4/10 is about right. I thought it was very ordinary - doesn't bode well for his post-Rebus career if this is the tat he's going to churn out. Can only imagine he wrote it on a wet weekend in Morningside. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Used to read them all the time on holiday, they are amazing. "Reacher said nothing" has to be the most used line haha. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawfield Stallion Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 I'm just about to start reading The Rum Diary by Hunter S, but I'm quite reluctant to do so as I've just finished reading Fear and Loathing and can't see how it'll be any better than that 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted March 8, 2010 Author Share Posted March 8, 2010 I read The Kite Runner again to see if it was as good as I remembered it. It was. What a terrific book. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renton Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 (edited) I'm just about to start reading The Rum Diary by Hunter S, but I'm quite reluctant to do so as I've just finished reading Fear and Loathing and can't see how it'll be any better than that The two are not really directly comparable, the tone is compeltely different. However, I personally found both to be excellent, the study in rum sodden boredom is just a fantastic read in it's own right. If you styill enjoy his writings afte reading that, fear and loathing on the campaign trail is a return to his more journalistic roots, whle the great white shark hunt is his collected articles and essays, and a few are absolute belters, particulary his Nixon obsession. Edited March 8, 2010 by renton 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monster Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 "Doors Open" by Iain Rankine. Somewhat dull crime thriller set across the backdrop of Edinburgh's art world. Few guys plan an art heist, get involved with local gangster, things turn messy. Blah blah. Mildly enjoyable, but the characters are, for the most part, one dimensional and very unlikeable. Overall, just a bit meh. 4/10 Yeah, 4/10 is about right. I thought it was very ordinary - doesn't bode well for his post-Rebus career if this is the tat he's going to churn out. Can only imagine he wrote it on a wet weekend in Morningside. I wouldn't disagree too much, maybe 5/10 However, the latest effort, 'The Complaints' is a little better. Rankin returns to 'safe' territory with a decent tale about a Policeman who investigates Police corruption. It jogs along quite the thing and keeps the interest, but it's far from the simmering tension of Rebus at his prime and I wouldn't call it compelling. 6.5/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morrison Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Finished 'Misery' by Stephen King last night. This is one of the better ones I've read, trotting along quite nicely. Good idea executed brilliantly. If King's your cup of tea, it's well worth a bash. 7 of 10. After a mention or two just a day or so ago, I've decided to at last get round to reading 'The Acid House' by Irvine Welsh. Early days. As for 'Doors Open', I quite enjoyed it, though I can see where others are coming from. On 'The Complaints', my mate was saying the main character had a Rebus feel to him, though I'm yet to get round to it myself to say whether that's fair. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.