Last month (most likely in an attempt to transfer some of her book collection out of her room and into mine), my mom introduced me to an author named Lee Child. Actually, the real reason was because I mentioned seeing a trailer for a movie called Jack Reacher that looked good even though it had Tom Cruise in it and she informed me that Reacher was one of her favorite literary characters. But I think that getting rid of some books was also part of her motivation. We've always had similar taste in reading material, so it was only natural that I would quickly come to love the series.
The first thing I want to note, since I've already brought up the upcoming movie, is that putting Tom Cruise in this role is possibly the worst casting I've ever seen. And I'm a girl who's grown up being disappointed at big screen adaptations of books that I love. I used to watch the Nancy Drew tv series, so this is really saying something. In the books, Jack Reacher, the character Cruise will be playing, is described as an extremely tall (6'5", I believe), powerful, intimidating blond man who sticks out in a crowd just because you plain old can't miss him. Does that sound even remotely like Tom Cruse to anyone? No? I didn't think so. Re-watching the trailer after having read a few of the Reacher books only made this more clear. Everything is wrong. But that's beside the point.
I just finished Die Trying, which is the second Reacher novel. In this one, he accidentally gets kidnapped because he happens to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. It turns out that it's a pretty good thing he did because he plays a major role in saving the day at the end of the book. I hope that's not too spoilery; I figured it was more or less obvious. The kidnapping sets off a cross-country journey of events that leaves Reacher out in the middle of the woods. It's out there that he seems to be more in his element than in any other situation his character has been in (at least as far as I've read). The ending is quite a page-turner and I ended up staying up half the night to finish it. I'm not kidding: it was 4 am before I finally went to bed. It's funny how "I'll just read one more chapter" never seems to work out that way.
What makes Reacher a great character is that he's a thinker. He's smart. Sure, he's supremely capable when it comes to physical violence--he excels at fighting and was a decorated sniper, but when it comes down to it, he succeeds where others fail because he can out-think his opponents. He manages to stay a step ahead of them and in the end, that's what gets him through the troubles he finds himself in. Plus, once he comes across an injustice or someone who's doing bad things to innocent people, he won't rest until he eliminates the aggressor. He's got the kind of black and white view of justice that's supremely entertaining in literature, even if it's a lot less practical in real life.
I definitely recommend checking out the Reacher books, especially if you plan to see the movie. I'm an avid book-before-the-movie believer. It might only serve to rile you up as you watch Tom Cruise try to play Reacher, but the books are well worth it.
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