Die Trying

Much better than the first in the series. Maybe because my expectations were different (lower) or maybe because I kept picturing the characters from the show Reacher which is awesome and the reason I gave this series a second chance.

Good action. Decent writing.

I loved this one!
Started strong and didn't disappoint throughout.
The author is the absolute best when it comes to setting a scene and giving you a little too much details, without boring you with them. I think it's safe to say that if you're looking for a military related thriller, you will struggle to find a better written one.

Exquisite, nonsensical, gun-loving, frequently absurd, testosterone-laden pulp.

i now know everything about the ballistic flightpath of a rifllebullet

I'm a harsh critic as a book reviewer as, being a huge movie fan, I often find it hard to be immersed in a book the same way I am a really good film. This book was a great action book, Jack Reacher gets a lot done with very little effort and, as with both Lee Child books I've read so far, there are always plenty of little twists to keep you going. Alongside these twists you learn a lot about weapons, tactics, how to be a spy and a lot of other really fascinating tips that Reacher has learned over the years that you really hope ring true. Solid book, solid storyline and will definitely continue this series, I'm just difficult to sell to!

“Get a problem, solve a problem,” he said. “That's my rule.”

Die Trying is the second novel in the Jack Reacher series written by Lee Child. Published in 1998, Jack Reacher (a former military policemen) makes the Terminator look effeminate. He's what our American colleagues would call a “bad ass”. He wanders the USA getting into all manner of scrapes. Living off the grid, ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time and kicking bottom.

Having run short on cash, Reacher has paused in his travels. He is working in Chicago as a doorman when he stumbles into the kidnapping of FBI agent Holly Johnson. Thugs whisk the pair across the United States. Back in Chicago Holly's colleagues piece together the puzzle of her sudden disappearance. And so Reacher gets involved in a kidnapping plot that has massive implications for the U.S. government. As you do ....Arriving in a remote area of Montana, Reacher and Holly find themselves up against the Militia. Beau Borken is their leader, a ruthless megalomaniac intent on more than simple secession from the Union. Holly is the daughter of a US Army general officer - the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She's defensive about her family connections and has had to work hard to dispel notions of nepotism. So it's a while before she reveals to Reacher that she's also connected in a significant way with the President.Further complications only add to the chaos and confusion. The FBI has a mole named Jackson working under deep cover within the militia. But the militia itself has a mole infiltrated into the Chicago FBI team. They keep Borken informed of every step taken against him.There are also political complications too, since Holly is the President's own beloved godchild. Much against his natural inclination, the President rejects the advice of Attorney General Ruth Rosen. Rosen favours an all-out assault on the militia hideout. Instead, the President backs the hard nosed White House Chief of Staff Dexter. He is apprehensive of the political repercussions of a Waco-style bloodbath. This would make the militiamen into victims and martyrs. So, Dexter on behalf of the President instructs the FBI and Army to avoid using their full force.Unfortunately, the FBI believe that Reacher is the leader of the kidnap team. Major Reacher's old commanding officer, General Leon Garber, arrives to convince them otherwise. To the White House's relief, the events in northwest Montana remain unknown to the general American public. In the end efforts by militia survivors to get media attention are discredited due to their resorting to exaggerations and conspiracy theories.

In my opinion, this is a better tale than the first Reacher book: Killing Floor. Why? Well, this is much more a straightforward action hero story. Killing Floor had Reacher playing detective. It also had a first person narrative too. This meant that it was up to Reacher to tell the reader how awesome he is. As Child writes Die Trying in the third person other people react to Reachers actions. This makes it more more readable and the narrative is more powerful.

So, in the end, of course the plot is daft. And yes, its like something from a 1980s action movie. But its all entertaining enough despite its obvious flaws. This novel went beyond my expectations. But make your own mind up, read it for yourself!

Time to pick up a copy of the next book ....

Took a break from the weird to get back to crime fiction. Doesn't get much lighter than a return to Jack Reacher, the 6-foot-5 ex-MP who ends up in trouble all the time. In a kidnapping screw-up, Reacher gets abducted along with a hot FBI agent named Holly Johnson. Bad guys get what they deserve. Hey, while I'm on the subject, does anyone out there know which book the new Jack Reacher movie (starring 5-foot-7 Tom Cruise) is based off of?

Stretches the imagination a little too much in parts

It's been a little while since I read the first Jack Reacher novel and after reading quite a few ‘girly' books I decided I'd have a bit of a change and try something a little grittier.

I found the book burst out of the starters gate getting immediately into lots of action with the kidnapping of FBI agent Holly Johnson and the innocent passerby Jack Reacher who gets embroiled in her seizure. The only problem is Reacher is no innocent passerby he's a highly trained military police man with nothing to lose. The start of this book was engaging as we follow Jack and Holly as they are transported across the country to an unknown location. We are given glimpses into their intended destination through cryptic chapters and we are also given glimpses into the FBI hunt for them. It's all high octane action and I was engrossed very quickly in the story.

From approximately half way through though it began to dip a little for me. After the big reveal of who was doing the kidnapping and why I just couldn't love it so much. It went from having an espionage feel to being very military and cultish. The action became a bit samey, I lost count of how many times Reacher escaped and was recaptured. I just began to find the group responsible a little unorganized and unbelievable.

It was all a bit confusing, too many FBI agents who might be rogue and not enough dialogue. By the time I got to Chapter 30 something I just wanted it to be over already. I didn't care how. I was skimming pages galore and praying for Reacher to just shoot them all already.

This was a great start let down by poor execution.

What an awful book. Could not wait for it to be over. I would write more it just is not worth my time or effort.

What an awful book. Could not wait for it to be over. I would write more it just is not worth my time or effort.

This was my second experience with Lee Child and I wasn't the least bit disappointed. I can understand why there are so many fans of the Reacher series!

took a little too long to get going i think

This was a good suspenseful thriller. I liked the interaction between Reacher and Holly Johnson as they both try to escape and figure out who captured them and why. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Tripwire.

Destinazione inferno, in originale “Tripwire” è un romanzo di Lee Child del 1999, pubblicato in Italia nel 2001 per Longanesi. Il libro costituisce il secondo episodio della serie Jack Reacher.

Jack Reacher è ovviamente un personaggio immaginario dell'autore: è un ex Maggiore nel Corpo di Polizia dell'esercito militare degli Stati Uniti, che decide di lasciare all'età di 36 anni per poi cominciare a viaggiare senza una meta fissa in tutti gli Stati Uniti prendendo lavoretti saltuari e per indagare nelle varie situazioni sospette e spesso pericolose che si troverà ad affrontare tra capo e collo.

Da questo personaggio e dai libri -per adesso solo due- che sono già stati tutti opzionati dalla Paramount Pictures, è già uscito il primo film con protagonista Tom Cruise.
Il personaggio di Lee Child è menzionato più volte anche nel romanzo di Stephen King “Under the Dome”.

Jack Reacher, chiamato semplicemente Reacher anche dalla madre, nasce in una base militare a Berlino in quanto il padre è un militare in carriera il 29 ottobre 1960 e verrà poi costretto a viaggiare per tutta la sua infanzia e adolescenza in tutto il mondo dovendo seguire il padre che in base alle varie missioni viene assegnato in molteplici basi militare americane. Anche lui entrerà nella Accademia Militare di West Point e grazie alle sue straordinarie doti investigative raggiungerà il grado di maggiore risolvendo casi eccezionalmente difficili. Guadagnerà la “Bronze Star”, “Superior Service Medal”, la “Legion of Merit”, una “Silver Star” e la “Purple Heart” per le ferite e le azioni nel bombardamento a Beirut nel 1983. Successivamente lascerà l'esercito e diventerà un vagabondo errante per l'America; le sue peregrinazioni sono anche spinti dal desiderio di sperimentare il paese ha servito per così tanto tempo, senza mai aver vissuto in esso. Vivrà sempre pagando in contanti, vivendo in motel economici, portando nessun bagaglio se non i vestiti che indossa e che abitualmente cambia adattandosi al clima e alle varie località.

Reacher è alto 1,96 m di altezza e pesa sui 110 Kg. (e qui non si capisce molto come venga scelto Tom Cruise per interpretarlo sul grande schermo), è abile in varie forme di arti marziali, abile tiratore e usa la sua notevole intelligenza con la conoscenza tecnica e militare avanzata. Ha una capacità innata di contare il tempo senza fare riferimento a un orologio, che gli consentono di riposare o svegliarsi in qualsiasi momento che sceglie. Ha anche una predisposizione naturale con i numeri, che solleva la possibilità di essere affetto di una forma lieve della sindrome di Savant. Ama il blues, il caffè che prende nero e forte in grandi quantità.

La maggior parte dei romanzi sono ambientati negli Stati Uniti, da grandi aree metropolitane come New York e Los Angeles a piccoli centri della Midwest e del Sud degli Stati Uniti e i romanzi sono scritti sia in prima persona che in terza persona.

La trama di questo libro è la seguente: Reacher sta aiutando Holly Johnson, una donna giovane e attraente alle prese con le stampelle davanti ad una tintoria su una strada di Chicago, quando all'improvviso vengono rinchiusi in un furgone da tre individui armati. Jack Reacher ha un'unica certezza: si è trovato nel luogo sbagliato al momento sbagliato. Trovandosi intrappolati in un luogo apparentemente remoto e sconosciuto, devono lavorare insieme per trovare le risposte che li aiuteranno a scappare.

Ora se siete appassionati del genere action-thriller e non avete mai letto un libro di Lee Child, cominciate pure a nascondervi che vi mando Reacher a stanarvi e saranno cazzi acidi per voi. Questo è la commistione di James Bond, John Mclane e Rambo, vi basta? Sa fare tutto: usa il cervello, l'istinto, spara, corre, salva il mondo e nel frattempo si tromba il trombabile.
A parte gli scherzi, se amate i ritmi incalzanti, descrizioni minuziose di armi e tecniche di combattimento, rocamboleschi colpi di scena e tanta tanta azione, correte in libreria e cominciate a leggere i libri di Lee Child.

Vi suggerisco di cominciare dai primi e di andare avanti, perché purtroppo dopo il sesto le trame cominciano a calare un po' e anche il personaggio perde un po' di smalto.