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80 of 82 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Shockingly pedestrian, June 28, 2008
After reading about 8 of Child's Jack Reacher books, I finally found a dud. It started out thrilling, as expected, but quickly become almost boring. I can not believe I am typing those words.
Reacher's repeatedly doing the same thing, over and over (returning to a bad place) was tedious and so unlike our hero's usual behavior. The plot wandered all over the place and the book was too long.
I found it impossible to buy into the far-fetched "conspiracy theory" with its pathetic "villains" and was surprised at Child's foray into political opinion (putting his opinions into Reacher's mouth -which completely changed Reacher's character). This was totally out of place, I thought, and awkward at best.
I just hope that Child has not run out of stories and that he will return Reacher to his previous inventive adventures.
I only read the Amazon reviews after finishing the book, and must say I am not surprised that there are 110 reviews and the average is an abyssmal 2.5 stars. Most of his other books have averaged 4 stars.
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235 of 256 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Rare miss for Child, June 9, 2008
Disappointing. After reeling off 11 good to (often) great Reacher novels, Lee Child struck out with this one. It starts promising enough. Despair had all the makings of a great stage for Reacher to be Reacher, reminiscent of the Killing Floor. But the promise is never fulfilled. The meandering plot doesn't pull you in. Unlike previous stories, the villain is flat, two dimensional and far from frightening - a death sentence for any story of good vs. evil. The action is sparse.
Previous Reacher novels were impossible to put down. You were torn between your desire to get to the end and your hope that the story would keep going. After all, it would be another year before you got the next one. Sadly, that was not true here. The ending seemed slapped on, left lots of loose ends untied and seemed very uncharacteristic for Reacher. But worst of all, it didn't come too soon. It could have come 100 pages sooner.
These were the big problems with the book. Reacher's detour into politics and criticism of the war did seem out of character but not because I had any assumptions about his politics. He always struck me as outside of politics - outside of almost everything for that matter.
Lee, everyone is entitled to a miss, especially after the roll you have been on. Here is hoping the next one is back to your old form
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97 of 108 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
"Nothing to Lose" except time wasted reading this one., July 16, 2008
Lee Child/Jack Reacher novels are "Gotta get the hardback today" books for me. His previous efforts range from very good to great. His plots/locales have varied, but his formula for a page-turning thriller has not. "Nothing to Lose" not only lacked the usual page-turner formula, but was actually a chore to finish. This novel has to be compared to Child's previous efforts to appreciate it's failings.
"The Hook"- Child can set the hook like no other author. The action starts hard and heavy, and is mysterious enough to keep the reader engaged. "Nothing to Lose" had no hook. By page 45, I was still waiting for the hook to get me interested. Never happened.
"The Bad Guys"- Child always has fascinating and diabolical bad guys, often with a clever plot twist to throw reader off of who's good-who's bad. But by the end of the novels, I can't wait for Jack to take care of these guys as he always does. The End Times preacher was a [yawn] low-grade baddie who [yawn] only truly gets defined as a baddie after he's been blown up [yawn].
"The Roller Coaster"- Every Reacher book to date has hit a point where I cannot put it down until it is finished. I call this the "top of the roller coaster"- usually about 100 pages from the end. 3 AM, have to be up at 7AM- too bad. Have to finish the Reacher book. In Nothing to Lose, 75 pages from the end, I just lost interest, and put it down for three days. I forced myself to finish it.
"Politics"- If Lee Child is actually interested in continued sales of his novels, he might be wise to realize several points. Jack Reacher probably doesn't have mass appeal for left-wingers, peaceniks, or academic liberals. Also, the Jack Reacher character is almost by definition apolitical. "Nothing to Lose" is basically a platform for Child to espouse his anti-Iraq War, anti-administration views and twist them into a discoherent plot.
"Memorability"- Within one hour of finishing most Reacher novels, I could recite a fairly tight outline of the main story lines. It's now an hour since I finished Nothing to Lose, and realize I can't do it. Let me try. Jack wanders back and forth from Despair to Hope. Beats up some guys who weren't really bad, but pissed him off. Goes back and forth a few more times and occasionally beats up some more guys. Finds out the town is weird with something going on. Gov't/current administration coverup of gross failures in Iraq exposed. Pitiful brain injured Iraq vet demonstrated for all to see. Pipeline for military deserters desperate to escape duty in Iraq and head to Canada left unexposed. Gets the babe. Blows up the dirty bomb which really wasn't that dirty. The end. Hmmmm.
Technical Accuracy- OK. It's just a story. A few loose ends are inevitable and forgivable. Truth can be stretched for novels sake. Nothing to Lose took these liberties to the point of constant distraction. Acute radiation sickness from depleted uranium??? Come on. Massive Abrams battle tank losses covered up by the gov't??? Come on. His description of a chronic brain-injured patient was so off base it was distracting. (If Child would like an MD/surgeon to proof his next book, I volunteer).
In summary, No Hook, Bland Bad Guys, an 8 ft. roller coaster, politically polluted, unmemorable, and technically inaccurate. Worst Reacher book of all times. I think I'll wait for the paperback when "Gone Tomorrow" comes out.
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