# Who is Jack Reacher?



## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

I know that he is a character in a series....by what author?

I'm about 3/4 of the way thru Stephen King's Under the Dome and he's mentioned him as a commando type a couple of times, like he really exists and his characters have interacted with him. Found that curious.

But anyway, was wondering what series and what author created him? I've downloaded a few samples of other crime/action/thriller authors and he's probably in there somewhere.

I"ve seen authors do this before, including King...mentioning (mostly) their peers or their characters.


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## gspeer (Nov 10, 2010)

Lursa (aka 9MMare) said:


> I know that he is a character in a series....by what author?
> 
> I'm about 3/4 of the way thru Stephen King's Under the Dome and he's mentioned him as a commando type a couple of times, like he really exists and his characters have interacted with him. Found that curious.
> 
> ...


Jack Reacher is an ex-Army M.P. character created by mystery/suspense writer Lee Child. He is one of the best writers -- and Reacher one of the greatest characters -- in the current myster/suspense/thriller genre, in my opinion. Google Lee Child or search for his stuff on Amazon and you'll find maybe 10-20 books (don't know the exact count) by Child, and I think they are all Jack Reacher novels.

Terrific writer and terrific series of books!

Gary


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Just as further inspiration to read Lee Child's Reacher series, here's a pic of Lee Child:










Love the Reacher series; it's one that I'm accumulating on my Kindle because I reread them.

Betsy


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

Thanks very much. I think I picked up one or two of his in sales so I will check my Kindle.

If not, anyone know the first in the Jack Reacher series off the top of their head?


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

Killing Floor is the first one.  There are currently, I believe, 18 books in the series (or perhaps it's that the 18th will be released soon).

ETA: My mistake, the 17th book will be released in September.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/lee-child/


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

Thanks!


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

Well, they still want $9.99 for Killing Floor, Kindle or mm paperback...for a book many yrs published.

So, I wont be buying that anytime soon, unless I find it in a 2nd hand bookstore.

I'll have to take ya'll's word on Lee Childs. I dont even pay that for my favorite fiction authors.


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## Ann Chambers (Apr 24, 2011)

A good Jack Reacher story is worth any price - but do check out your local used bookstore. I just got home from mine and picked up a Lee Child book. They had a lot of them (but only the 1 that I didn't already have). Should be easy to pick up a paperback on the cheap and see if you like Reacher. 

Last I heard, which was a while ago, they are working on a movie of one of the Reacher books. It's a wonder they haven't made movies of them already.


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

I'm gradually working my way thru the series too.  Love the character - the plots are unusual - not the usual from many other books of the genre,  many twists and Jack is just the most perfect male specimen!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Lursa (aka 9MMare) said:


> Well, they still want $9.99 for Killing Floor, Kindle or mm paperback...for a book many yrs published.
> 
> So, I wont be buying that anytime soon, unless I find it in a 2nd hand bookstore.
> 
> I'll have to take ya'll's word on Lee Childs. I dont even pay that for my favorite fiction authors.


Lee Child's books are available as ePub and Kindle ebooks through my library system; you might check yours. There's 25 people waiting for _Killing Floor_ in our system, but I just put a hold on the book I'm interested in and wait for the email. Lots to read in the meantime.

Betsy


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

Well that's true too, I have lots of other books yet to be read on my K.

But I think it's a ripoff to ask $10 for e-books that have been out for, what, a decade or more?

One of my favorites (& also a top seller), Ridley Pearson, has about 5-6 of his earliest works priced at about $3.79....I scooped them up last week even tho I have the hard copies. And I think the rest are mainstream paperback priced, $6-7.


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## Kathelm (Sep 27, 2010)

I read the first Jack Reacher novel a while ago.  I generally enjoyed it, but the Britishisms in a book where the narration is first person from an American's point of view kept pulling me out of the story.  Did Child get better about that as the series went on?


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## fancynancy (Aug 9, 2009)

I recently finished Killing Floor and thought it was very well written.  I've heard that Reacher can be rather "detached" from his emotions, but I've only read the one book and some of the characters in it really stayed with me, and personally I did not find Reacher to be detached.


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## Jedidiah (Mar 7, 2012)

I have read the first 8 Reacher novels and some of them are better than others but I have enjoyed them all. I purchased all mine on paperback because you can get them for under $5.00 usually. I agree that $9.99 is a little steep for an ebook but I have gladly paid $7 for a well known author. I don't mind paying the people who make me so happy.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Lursa (aka 9MMare) said:


> Well that's true too, I have lots of other books yet to be read on my K.
> 
> But I think it's a ripoff to ask $10 for e-books that have been out for, what, a decade or more?
> 
> One of my favorites (& also a top seller), Ridley Pearson, has about 5-6 of his earliest works priced at about $3.79....I scooped them up last week even tho I have the hard copies. And I think the rest are mainstream paperback priced, $6-7.


I bought _Killing Floor_ when I first got my Kindle--it was $8.99 then. Publishers are experimenting with prices; right now it's what the traffic will bear. I don't know that I would have paid $9.99 for _KF_ when I got it, but $8.99 was close enough to my "no more than the paperback price" limit that I went ahead and got it. If anyone feels a product is priced too high, not buying it is the thing to do...which is why I suggested the library.

You might also contact the publisher and let them know.

But I do love the Reacher series...and have picked them up at those times when I have a fat Amazon Gift Card balance...

Betsy


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## Sean Patrick Fox (Dec 3, 2011)

Ann Chambers said:


> A good Jack Reacher story is worth any price - but do check out your local used bookstore. I just got home from mine and picked up a Lee Child book. They had a lot of them (but only the 1 that I didn't already have). Should be easy to pick up a paperback on the cheap and see if you like Reacher.
> 
> *Last I heard, which was a while ago, they are working on a movie of one of the Reacher books. It's a wonder they haven't made movies of them already. *


Reacher will be played by Tom Cruise, though...


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## Jedidiah (Mar 7, 2012)

> Reacher will be played by Tom Cruise, though...


Yeah I am highly agitated by that fact. I loved all the MI movies and most of his others but how do you get a guy so small to play a character that is so large? Especially when his size is played on throughout every book. Makes no sense to me. Are they going to make Reacher a brunette or Cruise a blond


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Sean Patrick Fox said:


> Reacher will be played by Tom Cruise, though...


Really? I like Cruise, still, but not as Reacher. Like you say...the size... Reacher's blonde? I don't remember that detail, LOL! I guess that wasn't my image of him so I discarded it. I kind of thought of him as having brown hair. A younger Kevin Costner perhaps but more massive. The hair color doesn't matter that much to me....

Though, I suppose if they were casting by size, they might cast the Rock...which would have other problems for me.

Who would y'all like to see as Reacher?

Betsy


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Ann Chambers said:


> A good Jack Reacher story is worth any price - but do check out your local used bookstore. I just got home from mine and picked up a Lee Child book. They had a lot of them (but only the 1 that I didn't already have). Should be easy to pick up a paperback on the cheap and see if you like Reacher.
> 
> Last I heard, which was a while ago, they are working on a movie of one of the Reacher books. It's a wonder they haven't made movies of them already.


Yep, Tom Cruise is playing Reacher (which is a stretch...so to speak...) - not based on the first book, but I'm guessing that might be one reason it's priced at $9.99. More importantly - published by Penguin, who's notorious for high prices on their books.

Good books, though.


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

Lately - I have been buying older books in various authors' series (I have a best friend who has mucho time to read and she keeps making recommendations...) - and have found them to vary from $7.99 to $9.99.  I am just grateful that they aren't over $10... as so many of the newer books are.  If  the author is good and the books have good reviews - I'm willing to spend up to $10.


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher??  That's just....wrong.  I like Matt Damon, but I'm not sure he'd be right size-wise either.  What about Hugh Jackman?  I don't think I've seen him blond before.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

what about that guy who played Thor....
Liam Neeson or Jason Statham

any would be better than Tom Cruise playing Tom Cruise


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## Ann Chambers (Apr 24, 2011)

I had heard the Tom Cruise thing a while back. Didn't mention it because I was hoping the movie people would change leads. Cruise as Reacher is insane. His size is so important in the stories and in his attitude. Sigh.


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## LilianaHart (Jun 20, 2011)

You have to read all the Jack Reacher books. It's one of the best series out there. 

I can't even talk about Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher. It's craziness. Yet I'll have to see it, because Tom Cruise somehow always manages to come across exactly as he's supposed to. I've hate that they've retitled the movie "Jack Reacher" though.


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

I had a free short story of Lee Child's on my K. It was the introduction to Jack Reacher...he was 13 yrs old.

He has a very abrupt, choppy sentence type writing style, and young Jack's powers of deduction were ridiculous...Sherlock Holmsian...does he do that in all the books?

However it does focus on details and in many ways the short, choppy sentences can serve that well...and I like having my story details served up straight and clear. (Altho the deductive abilities of boy Reacher really did border on Fantasy..which I avoid) 

If I ever find any of the Reacher e-books reasonably priced, or hard copies in 2nd hand bookstores (which I rarely visit now that I have my K!), I'd pick some up. But not at $10 a pop. Sorry.


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## Harriet Schultz (Jan 3, 2012)

Lursa (aka 9MMare) said:


> Well, they still want $9.99 for Killing Floor, Kindle or mm paperback...for a book many yrs published.
> 
> So, I wont be buying that anytime soon, unless I find it in a 2nd hand bookstore.
> 
> I'll have to take ya'll's word on Lee Childs. I dont even pay that for my favorite fiction authors.


You can probably find his books at your local public library. That's what I plan to do because these sound like very good reads.


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## padowd (Jan 14, 2010)

My husband loves these books. I feel like I know Jack Reacher because he tells me everything that is happening in the book and them tells me I have to read them. LOL They do sound really good. Jack is a really tough guy. I may have to break down and read some of them one of these days.


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

Harriet Schultz said:


> You can probably find his books at your local public library. That's what I plan to do because these sound like very good reads.


Oh sure, I know. But as I said to ....and agreed with...I have loads of other books all ready to read on my Kindle. So the effort of checking out hard copy books at the library is just less appealing.

But...who knows?

Thanks.


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## Jedidiah (Mar 7, 2012)

> what about that guy who played Thor....
> Liam Neeson or Jason Statham


I was thinking the same thing about the guy who played Thor would be pefect. Liam as well. I actually picture someone like Liam when I think of Reacher. I loved the line Child used in the one book where he described Reachers fighting ability as "having a running chainsaw thrown at you" and I just don't see Cruise pulling that off. But whatever, I will still watch it and hope for the best!


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

Oooh....Liam Neeson is very appealing to play Reacher.  Stoopid movie people.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Lursa (aka 9MMare) said:


> Oh sure, I know. But as I said to ....and agreed with...I have loads of other books all ready to read on my Kindle. So the effort of checking out hard copy books at the library is just less appealing.
> 
> But...who knows?
> 
> Thanks.


Actually, Lursa, when I mentioned the library earlier, I was talking about Kindle and ePub versions being available at the library....  I don't read paper. 

Betsy


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## Gayle (Aug 31, 2009)

I've been able to read all of the series except for one book on my Kindle by checking them out at my library. I've been on the waiting list several times, but it wasn't too long of a wait.


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## J. Tanner (Aug 22, 2011)

Kathelm said:


> I read the first Jack Reacher novel a while ago. I generally enjoyed it, but the Britishisms in a book where the narration is first person from an American's point of view kept pulling me out of the story. Did Child get better about that as the series went on?


I started in the series late. All the later books I've read so far are 3rd person, and no britishisms have stood out to me. Killing Floor is always checked out and I'm too lazy about doing the waiting list thing.

On the other topic of who could play Reacher, Tom Cruise just can't muster the hulking physical presence that Jack commands. (I think of Russel Crowe in his prime as Bud in LA Confidential.) Cruise can bring intensity and you could probably make that work plotwise, but it loses that force of nature aspect that seems pretty important to Reacher books. The plots aren't all that special--it's who Reacher is and how he interacts unusually with the standardish elements of the plot that makes the books special. It's kind of like having Cruise play Columbo...


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Actually, Lursa, when I mentioned the library earlier, I was talking about Kindle and ePub versions being available at the library....  I don't read paper.
> 
> Betsy


Yes Betsy thanks very much . I should have quoted you when I answered you on the first page. It was 'Well that's true too, I have lots of other books yet to be read on my K."........


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## fancynancy (Aug 9, 2009)

Liam Neeson is a great idea!  He has a very tall appearance, does intensity very well, and is a great actor.  Good thinking, Chad.


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

Just re-discovered this series!  I had read one of the later books a while back, but I think for this series, I really needed to start with book 1, which I really enjoyed reading last week.  The violence is a little more graphic than my usual reads, but didn't seem gratuitous, so I plan to keep reading.

I also don't see Tom Cruise as Reacher.  Maybe Thor guy, if he were a little older.  Or Gerard Butler, or is he already Mitch Rapp?

N


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

Neekeebee said:


> Or Gerard Butler, or is he already Mitch Rapp?
> 
> N


Ooooo... is that true? Need to check it out!


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## Kathelm (Sep 27, 2010)

> I started in the series late. All the later books I've read so far are 3rd person, and no britishisms have stood out to me.


Good to know. Thanks.

And of course I agree that Tom Cruise is wrong for the role. He's good at running away from explosions, but to play Reacher, one needs to be a bit more believably brutish.


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## Bill44 (May 25, 2012)

Kathelm said:


> I read the first Jack Reacher novel a while ago. I generally enjoyed it, but the Britishisms in a book where the narration is first person from an American's point of view kept pulling me out of the story. Did Child get better about that as the series went on?


The reason for the "Britishisms" in the book stems from the fact that Lee Child is actually an ex-pat Englishman now living in the US. They do tend to disappear in later books.


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## Kathelm (Sep 27, 2010)

Yeah, I inferred that he was English.  Didn't know about the ex-pat part.

They only bothered me because the first book was written in 1st person from an American character's POV.  The move to 3rd person makes my complaint go away.


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## jaimee83 (Sep 2, 2009)

I read one as a suggestion, have since read every one.  Also another side story, Don't Know Jack, by another author about the feds trying to find Jack Reacher (he's almost invisible).  One or two were a little slow but the last 6 or 8 left one waiting for the next.  Good reading


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## Harriet Schultz (Jan 3, 2012)

AAAK is my very writer-ish reaction to Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher. Just another example of the Hollywoodization of novels. Think Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum.

To decide what you think of Mr. Cruise in the role, check out the trailer"

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/07/03/watch-tom-cruises-jack-reacher-trailer


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## LDB (Oct 28, 2008)

Sean Connery would be a better choice than Tom Cruise but then so would almost anyone. On a more realistic level Scott Foley would be better than Cruise as well.


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

Liam Neeson always come to mind. Tom Cruise? Not so much. He shouldn't touch that part with a 5' 6" pole.


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## Meb Bryant (Jun 27, 2011)

Who is Jack Reacher? He's the perfect specimen of a hero.


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## Jedidiah (Mar 7, 2012)

> To decide what you think of Mr. Cruise in the role, check out the trailer"
> 
> http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/07/03/watch-tom-cruises-jack-reacher-trailer


Ok...now I am even more upset. He is horrible for the part. And what the hell? I don't remember Reacher ever driving a fast car. What are they doing to my beloved Reacher!?!?!?! 
Just the voice of Cruise is all wrong. Cruise is shown fighting tactically as a smaller person would and not utilizing what should be brute force because of his size and weight advantage.

Son of a... the bad thing is that I am still going to watch this because I'm such a huge fan of Lee Child but I will probably have to put this one right up there with the butchering of Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series.

Sad times...


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## Meb Bryant (Jun 27, 2011)

Harriet Schultz said:


> To decide what you think of Mr. Cruise in the role, check out the trailer"
> 
> http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/07/03/watch-tom-cruises-jack-reacher-trailer


Mr. Cruise, although a box office draw, has no business playing Jack Reacher.


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## nmg222 (Sep 14, 2010)

Lursa (aka 9MMare) said:


> I had a free short story of Lee Child's on my K. It was the introduction to Jack Reacher...he was 13 yrs old.
> 
> He has a very abrupt, choppy sentence type writing style, *and young Jack's powers of deduction were ridiculous.*..Sherlock Holmsian...does he do that in all the books?
> 
> ...


Wait until you read the series. Some of the most ridiculous, contrived problem solving I've come across. I quit after the 5th book.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

It would be nice if all Jack Reacher fans skipped the movie and taught Hollywood a lesson about proper casting...but they probably wouldn't get it


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## fancynancy (Aug 9, 2009)

nmg222 said:


> Wait until you read the series. Some of the most ridiculous, contrived problem solving I've come across. I quit after the 5th book.


I don't disagree with this, and I haven't continued to read the series, but I just have to add, because it's relatively rare, Child IS a pretty good writer. I find that some of his characters stay with me longer than even those from series I am reading a lot of. For example, in the Killing Floor, the character Hubble really stayed with me.


Spoiler



I like that he was not what he appeared and that he found his strength and grew through his experiences


.


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## LDB (Oct 28, 2008)

I will wait for the cable version as I refuse to directly subsidize hollywood and especially certain actors like cruise by paying at the cinema. I'm sure it doesn't teach them anything but it works for me.


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