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Well, this felt as though Lee Child decided to write a book to air his political and religious views. What. I loved his other book but this one became a vehicle for the author's opinions. Reacher trudges back and forth to a metal plant and along the way finds common cause with army deserters. Are you kidding. I simply found this totally unbelievable in terms of character and plot.
Will I pick up the next new release. Not the best of the bunch and a plot that reached a little too far for plausibility BUT I like the series. Also, I think many of the reviews here are right on the money and maybe say a little something about how next we'll spend our money. Sure, because Lee Child is still a talented writer and that tends to shine through as most of us here agree.
Plenty of my friends are liberals and we get along just fine, but then again we keep politics out of it. The liberal seeming anti-war, anti-christian Reacher was surprising. I want to reiterate what others are saying about this novel. And that's how a good novel should be. I never thought of Reacher as being liberal or conservative, just a soldier doing his duty. This book definitely puts Reacher left of center. Besides, fiction should be for escapism, not to be reminded of the current controversial issue. Not sure I'll be as anxious to pick up another Reacher novel.
Where to start. There are plenty of good Reacher novels, but this one is a gutter ball. I'll start at the end and save you, dear reader, some time. Simply put, DO NOT read this book. Even Reacher seemed pissed about having to work his way through the tedious and totally nutty plot. another one like this and Reacher's going to get on a bus, find Child in some hipster coffee shop in NYC, and give him a well-deserved pubic drubbing.
I've always been drawn to the Rambo-type story line: Man against corrupt town. It's very sad we've lost some of our guys there, but it is beyond doubt that the international scene of today is far more complex than during the days when the U.S. But my biggest gripe with Child is his terrible, hackneyed stereotype of Christians. Unlike some other readers, it did manage to hold my interest fairly well. Sure, there are still some crazy, even dangerous, cults out there who claim they're teaching the Bible, but Child doesn't differentiate between those and the traditional Church that does far more good in society than most are aware of. I didn't mind the repeated trips into Despair. So I dove into this book with gusto. could ignore most military uprisings or terrorist hotbeds, knowing they would not dare attack on our soil.
However, it was disappointing to see Child's climb atop a soapbox. Okay, so he's against the war in Iraq. That's something even Hollywood has partially abandoned for inaccuracy. Child is such a fine writer this so-so offering won't hurt him in the long run.
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