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Authors > Lee Child any good?

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message 1: by Vaelin (new)

Vaelin hey guys

Just wanted to know if Lee Child is any good or the hype of the movie has blown him out of the park??

I have read Killing Floor and enjoyed it....are the rest of the Reacher novels good or pulp trash??


Also.... Larry Correia ....never heard of the guy but apparently a good writer??


Long live adventure novels!!!


message 2: by Lisa P, My weekend is all booked up! (new)

Lisa P | 2081 comments Mod
Vaelin wrote: "hey guys

Just wanted to know if Lee Child is any good or the hype of the movie has blown him out of the park??

I have read Killing Floor and enjoyed it....are the rest of the Reacher novels good..."


I think you'll find that Larry Correia's Monster Hunter International books have quite the following here in the A/A Aficionados group. I can't comment on Lee Child since I haven't read him, but others here seem to like his works.


message 3: by Eileen (last edited Jan 10, 2013 06:36PM) (new)

Eileen Vaelin wrote: "hey guys

Just wanted to know if Lee Child is any good or the hype of the movie has blown him out of the park??

I have read Killing Floor and enjoyed it....are the rest of the Reacher novels good..."



I've only read the first two in the series and thought they where both well written. I'm a Jack Reacher fan. Now, the movie and Tom Cruise playing Reacher is another story. Which I won't get into now.

Vaelin, if you don't read IMO Monster Hunter International you'll be missing out on a great read. One of my favorite reads of 2012.


message 4: by Tracy (new)

Tracy | 115 comments I have read almost all of the Reacher novels and they are EXCELLENT! Non of them are cheesy and I have absolutely fallen in love with Jack. Seriously, Child can't help it that Hollywood put Cruise in a Reacher movie. In case I was not being clear, YES Lee Child is that good!


message 5: by Vaelin (new)

Vaelin I purchased The Visitor by Lee Child yesterday for a few Euros ....a good read?


message 6: by Ctgt (new)

Ctgt I have read and enjoyed the first few Reacher novels. I have also read and loved the MHI series by Larry Correia, pretty much straight up action. I also really liked Hard Magic, more of an alt/history, steampunk vibe but still really good.


message 7: by Tracy (new)

Tracy | 115 comments Vaelin wrote: "I purchased The Visitor by Lee Child yesterday for a few Euros ....a good read?"

I haven't read that one Vaelin but I don't think you could mess up to much with Lee Child.


message 8: by Danielle The Book Huntress , Literary Adrenaline Junkie (new)

 Danielle The Book Huntress  (gatadelafuente) | 5175 comments Mod
I've read Killing Floor and The Affair (which is a long stretch between books) and I find the books well-written. They are basically about a tough guy who has a basic approach to solving problems. It depends on what you're going into the books for whether you'll enjoy them or not.


message 9: by The Pirate Ghost, Long John Silvers Wanna-be (new)

The Pirate Ghost (Formerly known as the Curmudgeon) (pirateghost) | 5326 comments Mod
I've read the first two, "The Killing Floor" and "The affair(?)" I liked the Killing Floor the best. Reacher's a cool hero.


message 10: by Patricia (new)

Patricia (pattipunkin) | 267 comments Vaelin wrote: "hey guys

Just wanted to know if Lee Child is any good or the hype of the movie has blown him out of the park??

I have read Killing Floor and enjoyed it....are the rest of the Reacher novels good..."


Jack Reacher is one of my favorite characters of all time. He is tough, but is above all smart. He reasons out everything. Childs style is rather odd, but I enjoy it. I have read all of his novels. Can't wait for the next one. The Affair was the first one to include love scenes, and good ones they were. It is his latest that I have read. Of course, some are better that others.


message 11: by Greg (new)

Greg Rumpel (rumps) | 16 comments I am about to start into the Jack Reacher world, Killing Floor.
Thanks to all who have commented on this thread, I am looking forward to reading the series !


message 12: by Joan (new)

Joan | 10 comments I have read many of the Jack Reacher novels and love them. I haven't seen the movie yet and have to admit I have doubts since Reacher is 6'5" and the actor is nowhere near that. However, Cruise is an actor. I reserve judgment. No matter what, though, I'll continue to read Lee Child's books.

Joan K. Maze
writing as J. K. Maze
The Hierophant, a police procedural/thriller now available on B&N and Amazon as an ebook. Paperback follows.


message 13: by Patricia (new)

Patricia (pattipunkin) | 267 comments Greg wrote: "I am about to start into the Jack Reacher world, Killing Floor.
Thanks to all who have commented on this thread, I am looking forward to reading the series !"


You don't have to read them in order. They are kind of random in time.


message 14: by Bev (new)

Bev (greenginger) | 109 comments I have read them all and they are all brilliant.


message 15: by Eileen (new)

Eileen Greg wrote: "I am about to start into the Jack Reacher world, Killing Floor.
Thanks to all who have commented on this thread, I am looking forward to reading the series !"


I'll be interested to hear what you think. Keep us updated.


message 16: by Eileen (new)

Eileen Patti wrote: "Vaelin wrote: "hey guys

Just wanted to know if Lee Child is any good or the hype of the movie has blown him out of the park??

I have read Killing Floor and enjoyed it....are the rest of the Reac..."


I haven't read The Affair yet. Wondering if I should listen to the audio version or read the hard copy I have. Any thoughts?


message 17: by Danielle The Book Huntress , Literary Adrenaline Junkie (last edited Jan 14, 2013 02:06PM) (new)

 Danielle The Book Huntress  (gatadelafuente) | 5175 comments Mod
Eileen, I liked the audio version. The narrator has a gruff, no-nonsense voice which suits a Reacher novel. The love scenes made me giggle though. :)


message 18: by Patricia (new)

Patricia (pattipunkin) | 267 comments Eileen wrote: "Patti wrote: "Vaelin wrote: "hey guys

Just wanted to know if Lee Child is any good or the hype of the movie has blown him out of the park??

I have read Killing Floor and enjoyed it....are the re..."


I don't follow audios very well, but as Lady D. said, I would think how you like to have the love scenes would make the difference.


message 19: by Eileen (new)

Eileen Thanks for your input, I think I'm leaning towards the audio version, I've only read the Jack Reachers books. It will be fun to see if it matches up with the image in my head.


message 20: by Joan (new)

Joan | 10 comments I absolutely love Lee Child's books - can't get enough of them. They keep getting better and better. I can't quite imagine Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher but have heard he did a wonderful job.

Joan K. Maze
writing as J. K. Maze


message 21: by Vaelin (new)

Vaelin Where did you obtain the audio version from?? Amazon? torrents? please provide a site

cheers everyone


message 22: by Danielle The Book Huntress , Literary Adrenaline Junkie (new)

 Danielle The Book Huntress  (gatadelafuente) | 5175 comments Mod
Hi Vaelin. I checked the audio of The Affair out from my library. I believe they are all on audible.com.


message 23: by Vaelin (new)

Vaelin How much do each of these audiobooks go for?? a few euros/dollars?


message 24: by Danielle The Book Huntress , Literary Adrenaline Junkie (new)

 Danielle The Book Huntress  (gatadelafuente) | 5175 comments Mod
I don't buy audiobooks because they are too steep for me. I think you can get them cheaper from Audible.


message 25: by The Pirate Ghost, Long John Silvers Wanna-be (new)

The Pirate Ghost (Formerly known as the Curmudgeon) (pirateghost) | 5326 comments Mod
You have to pay a monthly membership to Audible.com which is usually around $14.95 USD. That gets you a "Credit" which you can use to purchase a book (most books cost one credit, despite the dollar price if you've used your credit already).

Members may also benifit from shopping on Audible's 150 tiltes at $5.95 list. (Don't use your credit there) so, for about $20 USD a month, you can get two quality Audiobooks. That's a pretty good price. (one for the credit youget for paying dues, the other off the 150 titles for $4.95 list.)


They have different signing bonuses and different deals for membership so read the small print before you commit.


message 26: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimmaclachlan) I use the library. I'm listening to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, the The Hunger Games trilogy, & the Parker series by Stark, all for free from the library.

Some of these are WMA files so are DRM protected, as are most Audible files. There are DRM removing programs cheap ($25) which will allow you to turn them into MP3 files which will play on devices that don't support DRM, like many car CD players.


message 27: by Pete (new)

Pete (petemedina) | 6 comments Liked the first book, but after enjoying the movie "Jack Reacher," I may read even more of them.
I thought the movie was good, it got lots of bad reviews, but there are several online reviewers who seemed to like it.
It's rare I like a movie that critics have dumped on, but this was one I've seen twice. Nice car chase, liked the way the action was done, could see what was going on.


message 28: by Kevin (new)

Kevin (spiralcity) I think I'll give he Reacher book's a go. It seems like most readers enjoyed them.


message 29: by Bev (new)

Bev (greenginger) | 109 comments Kevin wrote: "I think I'll give he Reacher book's a go. It seems like most readers enjoyed them."

Very well written kevin and a likeable main character. Good plots and they are all different stories.


message 30: by Stephen (new)

Stephen Henning (henningopolis) | 7 comments The Reacher series is brilliant. Great character and I have read each book. So yes, give anyone of them a go and you won't be disappointed.

My only caveat to that is that (and this is purely personal) I find the ends a bit disappointing. Also I wasn't so keen on the latest one. Still very good, but it just felt a bit light. So I guess I'm judging it a bit harshly based on the books that have gone before.

Have a look at my review if you are interested.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

cheers
Steve


message 31: by Larry (new)

Larry Seeley (lfseeley) | 82 comments They are fair. Same plot in each book; same character; pretty much the same action. Hasn't a clue about writing a romantic scene or sex. Caters to the visceral thrill an immature reader might get when the bad guy is tortured then killed.


message 32: by Melissa (new)

Melissa Krueger | 37 comments I like his work because he always throws the clues out early. You read them but don't know you've read them. Then two-thirds of the way through, Reacher tells a character, "I figured it out." Like in Gone Tomorrow when he figured out where the thumb drive was, or in One Shot when he figured out the man was innocent. The author has shown you the evidence and you don't put it together. But Reacher does, explains it to you, then goes out and kills the bad guys (Like Larry just said... guess I'm an immature reader :)


message 33: by Bev (new)

Bev (greenginger) | 109 comments Larry wrote: "They are fair. Same plot in each book; same character; pretty much the same action. Hasn't a clue about writing a romantic scene or sex. Caters to the visceral thrill an immature reader might get w..."

I agree about the romance scenes however I think each book has something different to offer. I dont get the visceral thrill comment though.


message 34: by Danielle The Book Huntress , Literary Adrenaline Junkie (new)

 Danielle The Book Huntress  (gatadelafuente) | 5175 comments Mod
I don't think it's fair to call someone immature just because they enjoy a certain author's writing, Larry. To each their own.


message 35: by Larry (new)

Larry Seeley (lfseeley) | 82 comments I didn't call anyone immature. Simply pointed out one of Child's selling points. I do the same in my novels. Men, in particular, like to see the good guy kicking butt.


message 36: by Danielle The Book Huntress , Literary Adrenaline Junkie (new)

 Danielle The Book Huntress  (gatadelafuente) | 5175 comments Mod
It's a value judgment to use the term immature reader. Maybe you didn't mean it that way, but that's how it came out. There are plenty of mature readers who enjoy Lee Child and books of that nature, for whatever reason they enjoy it. It's a big world, and I think we can discuss books without criticizing people's tastes in books.


message 37: by Larry (new)

Larry Seeley (lfseeley) | 82 comments And you know this how?


message 38: by Bev (new)

Bev (greenginger) | 109 comments Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress wrote: "It's a value judgment to use the term immature reader. Maybe you didn't mean it that way, but that's how it came out. There are plenty of mature readers who enjoy Lee Child and books of that nat..."

I agree that some people may find Lee Childs books not to their taste but I dont think they are written in a childish or juvenile way. Some of the stories are actually complex and they would not be an easy read, violence and sex put to one side, for kids or people with a low reading tolerance.


message 39: by Dipanjan (new)

Dipanjan | 51 comments Lee Child simply rocks. The books are racy, complex, full of attitude and most importantly - INTELLIGENT. The perfect recipe for a true thriller. And here is an important statistic - One Lee Child Book sells every second. Mature, immature, who cares? What is loved is loved. If you don't like it, don't read. Simple.


message 40: by Eileen (new)

Eileen One every second?!? Now that's an authors dream!

I'm a huge fan of the Jack Reacher series.


message 41: by Dipanjan (new)

Dipanjan | 51 comments @ Eileen - Yup. Fox News confirmed that when they were interviewing Mr. Child for "Worth Dying For".


message 42: by Bev (new)

Bev (greenginger) | 109 comments Dipanjan wrote: "Lee Child simply rocks. The books are racy, complex, full of attitude and most importantly - INTELLIGENT. The perfect recipe for a true thriller. And here is an important statistic - One Lee Child ..."

Agreed and he is English ;)


message 43: by Dipanjan (new)

Dipanjan | 51 comments With a French mom.


message 44: by Bev (new)

Bev (greenginger) | 109 comments Dipanjan wrote: "With a French mom." Indeed


message 45: by Alex (last edited Feb 08, 2013 08:33AM) (new)

Alex (goodreadscomalexsheridanwrites) | 64 comments Dipanjan wrote: "Lee Child simply rocks... And here is an important statistic - One Lee Child ..."

I love Lee Child's Reacher series, and have read all of them of multiple times because Lee manages to do what few authors have - clean tight writing, a hero we all love (men and women, alike) that walks into interesting situations. Lee spins a web of intrigue/mystery in along with Reacher's vigilante kick-a*s moves, and does it all without ever needing the crutch of 'a world threat' or a 'world-wide conspiracy' that so many thrillers contain.

I got my mom addicted too, she blazed through every one of Lee's books in 90 days and now she's jonesing like the rest of us Reacher Creatures. I told her not to!


message 46: by Dave (new)

Dave | 1 comments Read the first two books. Loved The Killing Floor ( book 1). Can't seem to get into the third book, Tripwire.


message 47: by Gary (new)

Gary (stedanko) | 2 comments Lee Child is one of my favorite authors. Plot and storylines are imaginative, and his sense of humor can have me laughing out loud. A similar author is Robert Crais. Both are outstanding.


message 48: by Vaelin (new)

Vaelin Dave wrote: "Read the first two books. Loved The Killing Floor ( book 1). Can't seem to get into the third book, Tripwire."

Killing Floor was brilliant, Ive also read The Visitor book 4....i think its called running blind in the US

interesting, i was going to skip book 2 cos it sounds a bit far fetched...good stuff though?


message 49: by Vaelin (new)

Vaelin Gary wrote: "Lee Child is one of my favorite authors. Plot and storylines are imaginative, and his sense of humor can have me laughing out loud. A similar author is Robert Crais. Both are outstanding."

Agreed Robert Crais is solid...what are your top 3 Crais books? Ive only read the first one and Chasing Darkness


Michael Connelly is the king of crime stuff


message 50: by Eileen (new)

Eileen I've read both Killing Floor and the second on the series, Die Trying. The first was brilliant that maybe that's why some people were a little letdown after reading Die Trying. Personally, I really liked Die Trying and hopefully I'll be able to get to the rest of the series, soon.


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