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: Ignore the haters
Summary: 4 Stars
When it comes down to it, Nothing to Lose is not the greatest Jack Reacher novel Lee Child has written. However, it certainly isn't bad. I was a bit turned off when I got my copy in the mail and checked the Amazon reviews to see the slew of 1-star reviews that Child has gotten this time around. However, the negative reviews are ridiculous. I was taken completely by surprise at the sheer number of Reacher fans that really identified with his "politics" and that this novel totally broke that illusion for them. Where have we EVER gotten a glimpse of Reacher's political views? Child leaves so much of Reacher's character to the imagination, that most people read "ex-military police" and see "will do anything for his country no matter the cost." It is frustrating to see an endless brigade of 1-star reviews for a novel that isn't poorly written or in bad taste - it just happens to take a stance on an unpopular war that rests a bit on the liberal side. The blasphemy in question amounts to LITERALLY a page and a half of Reacher talking, and somehow Child has jumped the shark with this novel.
People need to just grow up. Lee Child is a fantastic novelist, and consistently puts out entertaining thrillers that read like action flicks. Nothing to Lose, while not amazing, is a wholly adequate Reacher novel, and it houses in its pages one of the best bar fights Reacher has been in since Echo Burning. Don't pass on this novel for a page and a half of liberal ideas - give it a whirl. It's not his best but it's damned entertaining, and don't let the naysayers tell you otherwise.
Book Review: Despicable
Summary: 1 Stars
I don't want to repeat ad nauseum what has already been said in previous reviews, so I'll be brief. I am a Jack Reacher fan, at least I was until I reached the end of the latest Lee Child novel. There for all to read was our tough, sensible hero telling someone who essentially lost her husband in military action in Iraq that the act of desertion from the military was now fully justified because the war was NOT justified. In fact, Child tells us that the last war worth the blood and treasure we paid was World War II. His argument, as simplistic as it was, is an insult to the intelligence of all those who have served their country and risked their lives doing so in the last six decades. In a cheap manipulative twist, Child has the woman do a 360, from being angry with Reacher for his views on desertion, to admitting she had begged her husband before his tour in Irag to desert, but that he had refused. Despicable. By forcing his political views on us through Reacher, Child has done considerable damage to Reacher, the character, and has alienated a loyal fan. Even prior to the desertion rant, I was less than pleased with the book. The prose fell far short of the clean, spare style that graced previous Reacher novels. The plot meandered and turned back in on itself several times. Having reached the desertion dissertation at the end of the book, I figured out why. To force feed us his shallow political views, Child was compelled to make the plot more intricate than it needed to be. I will think twice before renewing my acquaintance with Jack Reacher.Book Review: Nothing to Gain
Summary: 1 Stars
After reading the first one-hundred pages of Nothing to Lose, I was curious to see if others were as disappointed as I was. I discovered that virtually everyone commenting in this forum felt the same: a keen sense of disappointment combined with hope that the book is an aberration
A highlight of most Reacher novels has been his outside-the-box solutions to problems. They have invariably been both logical and entertaining. In Nothing to Lose, all that remains is the outside-the-box part. Reacher's reasoning when he calculated that the deputy outside the diner would not shoot him, when he concluded that no one was armed in the bar fight, when he told the female deputy not to call the State Police, and in too many other instances, was pathetic.
Sadly, except for the author's continuing overuse of the word "maybe,"and one of the funniest vignettes I have ever read beginning on page 334, the only thing the book will be remembered for is his use of the story to vent his anti-war views. Hear this Mr Child: even if we agree with you--and many of us probably do, (although most real soldiers do not)--we don't read a Reacher novel to listen to your political opinions, or to even be reminded of the issues involved! On the contrary, we pay you to take us to a better world, where good--in the form of Jack Reacher--triumphs and does so in extraordinarily satisfying ways.
Like other ardent Reacher fans, I hope that Nothing to Lose will prove to be an anomaly. In any case, I look forward to the next one. Maybe.
Book Review: Dead to Us! Why Can't We Give This Book a Zero.
Summary: 1 Stars
What a sad disappointment! Three members of my family have been avid Jack Reacher fans. We buy the hardbacks because we believe in supporting authors we like, we have bought multiple copies rather than wait for one person to finish for the same reason, and one of us always buys the unabridged book tape version. But after this book we will never spend another dime on an item that might provide profit to this author. In fact, for the first time we threw a book in the trash.
Once again, our "betters" can't just write a book that entertains people. They must educate their "stupid" readers about what to think about political views. And God forbid that they write plots about the actual Muslims who blow people up on a daily basis. No - once again we are subjected to those crazy so-called right-wing Christians as the bad guys and Jack Reacher of all people encouraging desertion in an all-volunteer military.
Enough already - this is so old and tired as to be beyond belief. And what a coward Lee Child must be to take this approach - Go ahead Lee. Attack the Christians and "speak truth to power" because you are such a brave individual. We encourage everyone to go look at the discussion thread to see Lee Child's comments about those "neocon dittoheads" who are so immoral they can't rise up to his high level. We are sick and tired of this attitude. Lee Child - you are entitled to your opinion and your sanctimonious elitist attitude but we are also entitled to say you and Jack Reacher are dead to us.
Book Review: Me too. I'm think I'm done as well.
Summary: 1 Stars
Sorry, Mr. Child, but you kind of did me in on this one. It started with the abrupt change of the character in the last book. Reacher became . . . different. It wasn't just his apparent endorsement of PETA. There were aspects of the man's person that changed. I always felt that Reacher's character was based on things like justice, honor, concern for what is just plain right, no matter what the odds. That started to melt away in the earlier book.
In Child's lastest work, Reacher suddenly gets involved in pushing political positions that did not seem to arise from the character, but instead came from the author. And Reacher became a puppet. Unfortunately for Child, I don't think he will find a lot of readers that would support his position. And the earlier Reacher would never accept it, either. How did he intend us to understand this? Are we to suddenly realize that Reacher has been a closet liberal for all these years? You lost me, Mr. Child, and I DO wonder. How would you explain? He was temporarily captured, programmed and possessed by aliens? I don't think this is capable of being repaired. And it's a sorrowful thing because he was such a fine character.
I won't recommend this book, or any book that so blatantly veers away from the character's history to become the political arm of his creator. I mean, Child is free to do it of course, but I don't have to read his books. And I won't.
I'm sorry for you, but I'm more sorry for me. I'm one of the big losers here.