I have to give credit where credit is due. Our former SSJ brother turned me on to Lee Child and the Jack Reacher series. There are 3 series that I read religiously: this one, the John Sanford Prey series, and any Tom Clancy that features Jack Ryan. Sadly, it's my understanding that due to some legal issues, there won't be any future Jack Ryan novels from Clancy, so I'm left with just 2 series. But that's OK, because they are both good enough and published often enough to satisfy me. While Child's descriptions of how guns or silencers work, or how long it takes certain caliber bullets to reach their target can get a bit tedious, I can overlook that. I love Reacher and while I know that no one person can get into this many dangerous and bizarre situations, I can also overlook that fact. Just as I overlook that Minneapolis/St. Paul can't have that many serial killers and freaks as described in the Prey series. I really enjoyed the opening of this novel - a decision that has to be made in seconds is described over numerous pages based upon a checklist created by the expertise of terrorism experts. And that decision unleashes a chain-of-events that takes Reacher from a late-night subway ride back to the 1980's and a secret that not only individuals want kept quiet, but governments and terrorists as well. The plot sounds complicated, but Child does a great job of moving the story and keeping you guessing. My only complaint was that I thought the "secret" wasn't that big of a deal, for any of the parties trying to keep it hidden. I think most people realise that yesterdays friend could be tomorrow's enemy (or visa versa) and especially over the period of 20-30 years. But, the journey and the story certainly made up for that small complaint. I can't say that I dislike any of the Reacher series - but I can say that Gone Tomorrow is certainly one of my favorites.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Gone Tomorrow
I have to give credit where credit is due. Our former SSJ brother turned me on to Lee Child and the Jack Reacher series. There are 3 series that I read religiously: this one, the John Sanford Prey series, and any Tom Clancy that features Jack Ryan. Sadly, it's my understanding that due to some legal issues, there won't be any future Jack Ryan novels from Clancy, so I'm left with just 2 series. But that's OK, because they are both good enough and published often enough to satisfy me. While Child's descriptions of how guns or silencers work, or how long it takes certain caliber bullets to reach their target can get a bit tedious, I can overlook that. I love Reacher and while I know that no one person can get into this many dangerous and bizarre situations, I can also overlook that fact. Just as I overlook that Minneapolis/St. Paul can't have that many serial killers and freaks as described in the Prey series. I really enjoyed the opening of this novel - a decision that has to be made in seconds is described over numerous pages based upon a checklist created by the expertise of terrorism experts. And that decision unleashes a chain-of-events that takes Reacher from a late-night subway ride back to the 1980's and a secret that not only individuals want kept quiet, but governments and terrorists as well. The plot sounds complicated, but Child does a great job of moving the story and keeping you guessing. My only complaint was that I thought the "secret" wasn't that big of a deal, for any of the parties trying to keep it hidden. I think most people realise that yesterdays friend could be tomorrow's enemy (or visa versa) and especially over the period of 20-30 years. But, the journey and the story certainly made up for that small complaint. I can't say that I dislike any of the Reacher series - but I can say that Gone Tomorrow is certainly one of my favorites.
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