Book Thoughts: Persuader, by Lee Child
Jun. 22nd, 2007 12:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
texchanYep, another tardy "book report".
Persuader, by Lee Child
Book Read: June, 2007
Time stood still.
I stared at the cop. He was on his back in the gutter. His whole chest was a mess of red. It was all over him. There was no welling or pumping. No sign of a heartbeat. There was a big ragged hole in his shirt. He was completely still. His head was turned and his cheek was hard against the blacktop. His arms were flung out and I could see pale veins in his hands. I was ware of the blackness of the road and the vivid green of the grass and the bright blue of the sky. I could hear the thrill of the breeze in the new leaves over the gunshots sill roaring in my ears. I saw the skinny kid staring out through my van’s windshield at the downed cop and then staring at me. I saw the college security cruiser coming left out of the gate. It was moving slower than it should have been. Dozens of shots had been fired. Maybe they were worried about where their jurisdiction began and where it ended. Maybe they were just scared. I saw their pale pink faces behind their windshield. They were turned in my direction. Their car was doing maybe fifteen miles an hour. It was crawling straight at me. I glanced at the gold shield in the gutter. The metal was worn smooth by a lifetime of use. I glanced at my van. Stood completely still. One thing I learned a long time ago is that it’s easy enough to shoot a man. But there’s absolutely no way to unshoot one.
Jack Reacher, “Persuader” by Lee Child
And, thus begins another Jack Reacher adventure. “Persuader” is one of those books that starts out with a heart-thumping bang. The beginning leaves you wondering what the holy heck is going on -- like you stepped out of a very bad dream and can’t quite figure out where you are. And, the tension and plot twists continue to add up, right until the very last page of this thriller.
Not that I’m an expert on his work, but, in my opinion, Lee Child can more than deliver in the action/adventure/thriller category. I have only read a few of his books, but “Persuader” seems par for the course. And this is a good thing. A very good thing.
I have to admit that I love Jack Reacher. From his anti-social, loner personality, to his overly extensive knowledge of weaponry and military procedure, right down to his tendency to kill anyone who bothers him. Sure, he’s violent and murderous, but never fear -- there is no doubt that Reacher is one of the good guys. If the proverbial shit hit the fan, which it does, quite often, in Reacher’s world, I would definitely want this guy standing in my corner. It might be the only way I would make it out alive.
I felt like “Persuader” dragged a bit in the middle. I loved the plot, and the entire scenario/setup for the book, but I felt like it could have benefited from being a few dozen pages lighter in a couple of spots. Even so, the bang-up start and the slow, torturous wind down to the oh-so-satisfying conclusion more than made up for a little bit of drag.
All in all, I loved this book. It’s definitely one I’ll keep on my shelves.
Book Read: June, 2007
Time stood still.
I stared at the cop. He was on his back in the gutter. His whole chest was a mess of red. It was all over him. There was no welling or pumping. No sign of a heartbeat. There was a big ragged hole in his shirt. He was completely still. His head was turned and his cheek was hard against the blacktop. His arms were flung out and I could see pale veins in his hands. I was ware of the blackness of the road and the vivid green of the grass and the bright blue of the sky. I could hear the thrill of the breeze in the new leaves over the gunshots sill roaring in my ears. I saw the skinny kid staring out through my van’s windshield at the downed cop and then staring at me. I saw the college security cruiser coming left out of the gate. It was moving slower than it should have been. Dozens of shots had been fired. Maybe they were worried about where their jurisdiction began and where it ended. Maybe they were just scared. I saw their pale pink faces behind their windshield. They were turned in my direction. Their car was doing maybe fifteen miles an hour. It was crawling straight at me. I glanced at the gold shield in the gutter. The metal was worn smooth by a lifetime of use. I glanced at my van. Stood completely still. One thing I learned a long time ago is that it’s easy enough to shoot a man. But there’s absolutely no way to unshoot one.
Jack Reacher, “Persuader” by Lee Child
And, thus begins another Jack Reacher adventure. “Persuader” is one of those books that starts out with a heart-thumping bang. The beginning leaves you wondering what the holy heck is going on -- like you stepped out of a very bad dream and can’t quite figure out where you are. And, the tension and plot twists continue to add up, right until the very last page of this thriller.
Not that I’m an expert on his work, but, in my opinion, Lee Child can more than deliver in the action/adventure/thriller category. I have only read a few of his books, but “Persuader” seems par for the course. And this is a good thing. A very good thing.
I have to admit that I love Jack Reacher. From his anti-social, loner personality, to his overly extensive knowledge of weaponry and military procedure, right down to his tendency to kill anyone who bothers him. Sure, he’s violent and murderous, but never fear -- there is no doubt that Reacher is one of the good guys. If the proverbial shit hit the fan, which it does, quite often, in Reacher’s world, I would definitely want this guy standing in my corner. It might be the only way I would make it out alive.
I felt like “Persuader” dragged a bit in the middle. I loved the plot, and the entire scenario/setup for the book, but I felt like it could have benefited from being a few dozen pages lighter in a couple of spots. Even so, the bang-up start and the slow, torturous wind down to the oh-so-satisfying conclusion more than made up for a little bit of drag.
All in all, I loved this book. It’s definitely one I’ll keep on my shelves.