Nothing to Lose (Jack Reacher, No. 12)
by Lee Child
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Book Reviews of Nothing to Lose (Jack Reacher, No. 12)
Book Review: The least-thrilling Jack Reacher novel so far . . . fails to meet high standards
Summary: 3 Stars
Lee Child's creation, Jack Reacher, has earned his legions of fans the hard way - through kicking butt and taking names. He's a surprising combination of loner, warrior, and detective and gifted with a surprising talent for finding trouble.
Thanks to Child's twisted imagination, Reacher has met several diabolical characters in his wanderings. Indeed, these villains are among the best features of these books. But the villain in the twelfth Reacher novel just doesn't rise to the usual level. And this makes for a rather boring Reacher tale.
To be fair, a relatively boring Jack Reacher novel is better than most thrillers. But we must weigh expectations, and they just aren't met here.
This novel follows the usual plot-line. The book starts out with a sinister death, Reacher shows up and gets involved in trying to figure out what is going on. Along the way he breaks some bones and uses his gifted detective's mind to thwart the dastardly villain. Along the way he drinks a lot of coffee and romances a Reacher Girl - a competent, clean, beautiful, no-nonsense woman who shares Reacher's sense of adventure.
In this book, Reacher wanders into the Colorado towns of Hope and Despair. Despair is where the action is. Reacher tries to order a cup of coffee and is set upon by four grown men who want to kick him out of town. Nobody kicks Jack Reacher out of town - they just don't know it yet. Reacher tries to figure out what's going on in the company town - owned by an End Times religious fanatic of a businessman. He does so with the help of Vaughan, a gorgeous cop from Hope who has a dark, painful secret.
What ensues, unfortunately, is a lot of driving around, walking, scaling of walls, and talking. This has to be one of the least action-filled Reacher novels. Yes, it tries to be "about something" by bringing up Iraq, conscientious deserters, and duty, but ultimately the novel fails to satisfy. This book reminds me of when you drive for two hours to your favorite restaurant, craving your favorite dish, only to be told they have a new chef and he doesn't get it just right.
Here's hoping the prolific Child returns to form quickly - Reacher is too good a character to waste.
Book Review: Falls far short of the other Reacher novels
Summary: 1 Stars
I am sorry to say that this one was a major disappointment. It is an antiwar propaganda leaflet, not an exciting thriller. Reacher finally takes up arms in the War on Terror, but not in the way you'd expect.
Reacher is called upon to stop a "dirty bomb" that is about to be detonated in an American city. The nefarious villain masterminding this terrorist plot is not a Al Qaeda extremist, but -- of course -- a fundamentalist Christian businessman who is trying to bring about events foretold in the Book of Revelation. The bomb is made of depleted Uranium from salvaged American tank armor, and Reacher gives one of the other characters a detailed briefing on the grave dangers posed by highly toxic depleted Uranium munitions -- a briefing that would do a MOVEON activist proud.
We learn that Reacher is against the war in Iraq when he refuses to expose a network of deserters being smuggled to Canada, stating that he has great sympathy for the deserters and that what they do takes "even more courage" than remaining in combat. His love interest in the book is a wife of an American soldier who has been turned into a vegetable by a brain injury. Reacher and the wife go to visit this wounded veteran, and we learn that they can actually see his brain protruding from the side of his head. Naturally, the conditions in his long-term care facility are appalling; the rooms are filthy, there are mice everywhere, and the staff is surly and unfeeling.
I am a flag-waiving conservative who supports the war in Iraq. However, I do have an open mind. I recognize that many who oppose the war do so in good faith. Moreover, I am not looking for a book that reinforces my own prejudices. And even if I were, I can certainly be entertained by a book even though I might disagree with its message.
But this isn't a book -- it's a ham-fisted piece of left-wing propaganda. The plot is like something dreamed up by a bunch of European college students upon their return from an anti-globalization protest. Every cheesy left-wing cliche imaginable was used in the book, and it is simply awful. At the end you are left wondering when Reacher will sign up for human shield duty in Iraq, it's that bad.
Book Review: A terrific read
Summary: 5 Stars
A terrific read
Let me preface my remarks by saying I was a little surprised by the many negative comments; most concerning Mr. Child's politicizing. Sorry, as a 3 time combat veteran of Vietnam, Panama, and Desert Storm I did not read the novel that way. I read it as simply a book not a statement. Perhaps I'm wrong but I enjoyed it.
The old Lee Child is back with his trademark staccato writing style. Simply a terrific read. Jack Reacher is a man's man and a loner's loner. He likes his women strong and his coffee stronger. At 6' 5" he takes guff off no one. As a former Army cop he is well versed in detective ways and always seems to find the action; even between the lonely towns of Hope and Despair. Only Jack Reacher can find trouble simply ordering a cup of coffee, or maybe trouble finds him. Nothing to Lose is a Lee Child tour De force. It is an action packed page turner but at the same time is driven by a good mystery. Just what the heck is the town of Despair all about? Couple that with a husband mystery, strange midnight flights, stranger town folk, and Army MPs stationed in the middle of nowhere and you have a novel of intense proportion. Don't try to second guess Mr. Child as he will simply lead you down a dead end. Sit back and enjoy Jack Reacher as he does his "thing" and figures all the angles. Again an outstanding read.
Excellent character development. This is the 12th Jack Reacher novel and Lee Child continues to develop this wonderful character. I know this will sound insignificant, but I totally enjoyed Mr. Child's description of Reacher's perfect coffee mug. We all know how much Jack likes his coffee, now we know what kind of coffee mug he likes! Now that is character development of the mega kind.
Typical Jack Reacher violence but all germane to the storyline. No gratuitous sex or language.
Highly recommended. If you like Lee Child you will thoroughly enjoy Nothing to Lose. It is the perfect book for the beach or that long airline flight. I read the novel in 2 sittings so be aware if you think it will last through a vacation. It is simply too good to put down.
Book Review: THIS is Reacher?? (This is Child??)
Summary: 2 Stars
I discovered the Reacher novels a few months ago, bought the first 5 in hardback, really liked them, so bought all the rest in hardback. I've now read them all in order (just finished #13, which is quite an improvement over this one, #12). The series is just a bit uneven, but overall up through #11 I still enjoyed them all, usually finishing each in a few nights' worth of compulsively turning the pages. (Even an average Reacher book was better than many other books I've read for fun.)
Nothing to Lose was disappointing -- not the worst book I've ever read, but nowhere near the standards of the others. The story itself just isn't that interesting -- Reacher keeps going back and forth between two towns that are named in a cartoonish way that seems beneath the Reacher books. The plot is odd and unbelievable. I know that some suspension of belief is often required in these kinds of books, but when I ask myself, "why is Reacher doing what he's doing?," that's a problem.
My biggest problem with the book, though, was that not only was Reacher doing things that seemed idiotic, he was also SAYING things that seemed a complete reversal of what he had said and thought in 11 previous books. In the interest of full disclosure, let me say that I grew up in the military (although the Air Force, not Reacher's Army) and so I really enjoy the military details in these books while sharing Reacher's feelings about the great aspects of the military as well as the problems (e.g. incredible bureaucracy). Now Reacher has decided that military DESERTERS are OK with him? No way. He wouldn't feel that way (especially after meeting the police officer's husband!). And maybe it's arrogant of me to feel like I know what Reacher would say more than Lee Child does, but come on -- the words coming out of Reacher's mouth were just bizarre and very annoying.
Overall disappointing, although I didn't give up on the series and went on to #13, which I finished in 2 nights and really liked. Hopefully #14 will stay on track.
Book Review: Child Gets Polemical, with Mixed Results
Summary: 2 Stars
I've read most of Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels, and some of them, like KILLING FLOOR and ONE SHOT, are the very best thrillers that you will ever read. Others Reacher are less impressive, usually bogged down my implausable plotlines, irrelevant details, and cartoonish characters. For the most part, NOTHING TO LOSE falls into the latter category.
NOTHING TO LOSE takes place in a small town in Colorado, where Jack Reacher gets in trouble with the town's inhabitants. What results is pretty much a bunch of recycled scenes from earlier Child novels: Reacher gets into a bunch of fistfights, and wins them easily. Reacher meets an attractive (and tough and smart) law enforcement official, and beds her within a few days. Reacher drinks a lot of coffee. This is fun as far as it goes, but very little of this is original.
Unfortunately, the villains in NOTHING TO LOSE are more pathetic than threatening. Reacher has become such a superhero that you rarely worry about his personal safety, which adds up to zero suspense. This novel also meanders quite a bit, especially during the middle, when Reacher literally seems to be walking in circles, getting from point A to point B with excruciating slowness.
Even worse, Child has decided to inject his own politics into NOTHING TO LOSE, which turns into a heavy-handed polemic against the Iraq war and religious fundamentalism in the United States. The last third of this book is pretty much dominated by Child's obvious contempt of the American right-wing. While I don't mind political themes in books, Child is so heavy-handed and didactic in his approach that I found this novel rather exasperating in spots.
Child is a genuine superstar of thrillerdom, and even his bad books are readable to a degree. Still, I would really avoid making NOTHING TO LOSE your first Jack Reacher book. My advice is to try KILLING FLOOR first, to see what Child is truly capabale of when he's writing at his best.