Reacher

Axe_meister

Given some of his killings, why is he not done for murder? I.e. let a minion fly off and then shoot down the helicopter.
At least badman tries not to kill peopl;e.

Reverend

AK99 said:

Ah didn't know that, thx Reverend.

 Kinda fits - somebody channelling a lot of suppressed anger into a 'Don't fk with me pal or I'll kill you' alter-ego  

he used to work on Coronation Street, which is almost the same thing as US Military Police 

AK99

If I had to listen to the Gail Platt character moaning about anything and everything on the planet for any length of time I think I'd be up for killing anybody who looked sideways at me too ..

darthed1981

I have to admit the James Patterson bits bring down the "new Michael Crichton" book Eruption a fair bit... the conclusion being...

The F-15 was definitely going to have to crash

The main character was going to die.

Definitely

OMG things just got worse.

They are proper fucked now.

Definitely dead.

Oh hang on everything's fine.

Nitefly

Philly_Q said:

^^ @fretmeister I don't mind them, if I was on sitting bored on a train and someone had left a James Patterson book, I'd be more than happy to read it.

But they're so lazy and formulaic.  It does make me laugh how the chapters get shorter...
...and shorter
to give the illusion that the book's...
...really fast paced. 
And not just...
...short.

LOL,

7. No more than one sentence in a paragraph
8. No more than three pages in a chapter

 
 

Philly_Q

darthed1981 said:

I have to admit the James Patterson bits bring down the "new Michael Crichton" book Eruption a fair bit... the conclusion being...

The F-15 was definitely going to have to crash

The main character was going to die.

Definitely

OMG things just got worse.

They are proper fucked now.

Definitely dead.

Oh hang on everything's fine.

I didn't know Patterson had completed a Crichton book.  He probably did it on a wet Tuesday afternoon, in between writing a Michael Bennett book and the next Women's Murder Club opus.

That's a deadly combination though.  I have to say, of the two I'd rather read Patterson.  I've only read one Crichton - Congo - but I can confidently say it's one of the most badly-written, boring books I've ever read.

darthed1981

Philly_Q said:

darthed1981 said:

I have to admit the James Patterson bits bring down the "new Michael Crichton" book Eruption a fair bit... the conclusion being...

The F-15 was definitely going to have to crash

The main character was going to die.

Definitely

OMG things just got worse.

They are proper fucked now.

Definitely dead.

Oh hang on everything's fine.

I didn't know Patterson had completed a Crichton book.  He probably did it on a wet Tuesday afternoon, in between writing a Michael Bennett book and the next Women's Murder Club opus.

That's a deadly combination though.  I have to say, of the two I'd rather read Patterson.  I've only read one Crichton - Congo - but I can confidently say it's one of the most badly-written, boring books I've ever read.

Oh I like most of Crichton's stuff - got into him through Jurassic Park and the sequel.

Congo was middling at best for his stuff - very eccentric movie made of it with Tim Curry in though.

koneguitarist

I hated the Tom cruise films as the whole premise of Reacher is that he is intimidating, 6’5” and very muscular, but not in a bodybuilder kind of way.  

Cruise does not fit Reacher in anyway. 

First series I thought was quite good and close to book.
2nd season was just too dark, could hardly see what was going on it was so dark. 

I would much prefer him alone in a town as he often is and stumbling in to something. 

Enjoyable if you like that type of escapism, it’s not Oscar winning playwright type of stuff so shouldn’t be judged that way. 

Headphones

darthed1981 said:

Philly_Q said:

darthed1981 said:

I have to admit the James Patterson bits bring down the "new Michael Crichton" book Eruption a fair bit... the conclusion being...

The F-15 was definitely going to have to crash

The main character was going to die.

Definitely

OMG things just got worse.

They are proper fucked now.

Definitely dead.

Oh hang on everything's fine.

I didn't know Patterson had completed a Crichton book.  He probably did it on a wet Tuesday afternoon, in between writing a Michael Bennett book and the next Women's Murder Club opus.

That's a deadly combination though.  I have to say, of the two I'd rather read Patterson.  I've only read one Crichton - Congo - but I can confidently say it's one of the most badly-written, boring books I've ever read.

Oh I like most of Crichton's stuff - got into him through Jurassic Park and the sequel.

Congo was middling at best for his stuff - very eccentric movie made of it with Tim Curry in though.

Nah, Crichton definately writes the same book over and over, just changes a few words.  Jurassic Park Is quite blatantly Westworld revisited.  Probably the most blatant example.

TimmyO

re Reacher, I read the first book some years back and for what it is (the book in the reading rotation that fills the "don't have to think too much just read and let your brain relax type entertainment") I enjoyed it. 

There wasn't a particular reason I didn't read any more of them, I may yet. 

The TV show is a bit different - I think it does a less good job of revealing much about Reacher and how he thinks (to be fair a lot of that is exposition and recollections in the book) - the scene at the ATM at the start of the first season is the kind of thing that he 'thinks' about a lot in the book but it's not something tapped in to so much in the show. 

And I can see why the OP made the autism link - it does come across like that in the show 

darthed1981

Headphones said:

darthed1981 said:

Oh I like most of Crichton's stuff - got into him through Jurassic Park and the sequel.

Congo was middling at best for his stuff - very eccentric movie made of it with Tim Curry in though.

Nah, Crichton definately writes the same book over and over, just changes a few words.  Jurassic Park Is quite blatantly Westworld revisited.  Probably the most blatant example.

Of course it is - but both are interesting in their own ways and I wouldn't want to live in a world without either franchise.

Everything is really a twist on something - the entire alien invasion genre is just a tweak of War of the Worlds really.

Plenty of room for Charles Dickens and Lee Child on bookshelves!

Reverend

Crichton went full climate change denial weirdo. Wrote a book with a story even Dan Brown would have struggled with

darthed1981

Reverend said:

Crichton went full climate change denial weirdo. Wrote a book with a story even Dan Brown would have struggled with

Yup, that one is called "State of Fear" - and it is very odd indeed.

Blueingreen

koneguitarist said:

I hated the Tom cruise films as the whole premise of Reacher is that he is intimidating, 6’5” and very muscular, but not in a bodybuilder kind of way.  

Cruise does not fit Reacher in anyway. 

First series I thought was quite good and close to book.
2nd season was just too dark, could hardly see what was going on it was so dark. 

I would much prefer him alone in a town as he often is and stumbling in to something. 

Enjoyable if you like that type of escapism, it’s not Oscar winning playwright type of stuff so shouldn’t be judged that way. 

I've seen that point (about Cruise) made several times. I don't think it's just a one-way street though.  Cruise is, to put it mildly, a more nuanced actor than Alan Ritchson.  I thought the experiment of having Reacher played by a physically more accurate lump of wood and sticking more closely to the book worked surprisingly well for the first series.  By the second series though the limitations of that approach started to become very obvious.  The Reacher character was too cartoony for me to believe in him or care about him.  I didn't make it to the end of the series.  I'd be far more likely to watch a new Reacher if he was being played by Cruise than Ritchson, no matter how physically "wrong" he is.

Placidcasual79

I am ashamed to say that I have read all 28 books...... I can't really explain why. There are perhaps 26/27 too many of them and the variation between them is minimal. I think it would be fair to describe them as formulaic.

I am not sure why I have persisted as they are almost entirely without redeeming features....... there is no jeopardy or any real invention. I am a compulsive reader.  Maybe it's some form of perverse punishment - I think I should speak to my therapist about it. The popularity of the books reflects poorly on the population..... but then hugely popular films, music, books or tv are usually terminally compromised as a result of having to ensure their appeal is broad and that the brand is securely strapped to the middle of the road. 

The issue of ASD is never raised in the (ahem) Reacher Universe..... which is interesting as it could be done in any number of interesting, fun, insightful or meta ways. Child has chosen not to. 

I think the right wing fantasy thing is, sadly, an extension of the middle of the road broad appeal trajectory of the Reacher brand. Child has chosen to persist with it. 

He's got a contract and he churns them out. Takes the money to the bank, says hello to Nickleback then goes back to the bar to wrestle with his muse. 

TimmyO

Placidcasual79 said:

I am ashamed to say that I have read all 28 books...... I can't really explain why. There are perhaps 26/27 too many of them and the variation between them is minimal. I think it would be fair to describe them as formulaic.

I am not sure why I have persisted as they are almost entirely without redeeming features....... there is no jeopardy or any real invention. I am a compulsive reader.  Maybe it's some form of perverse punishment - I think I should speak to my therapist about it. The popularity of the books reflects poorly on the population..... but then hugely popular films, music, books or tv are usually terminally compromised as a result of having to ensure their appeal is broad and that the brand is securely strapped to the middle of the road. 

The issue of ASD is never raised in the (ahem) Reacher Universe..... which is interesting as it could be done in any number of interesting, fun, insightful or meta ways. Child has chosen not to. 

I think the right wing fantasy thing is, sadly, an extension of the middle of the road broad appeal trajectory of the Reacher brand. Child has chosen to persist with it. 

He's got a contract and he churns them out. Takes the money to the bank, says hello to Nickleback then goes back to the bar to wrestle with his muse. 

He doesn't wrestle with his muse. He stares it down and it chooses to leave the bar. :-) 

darthed1981

Placidcasual79 said:

I am ashamed to say that I have read all 28 books...... I can't really explain why. There are perhaps 26/27 too many of them and the variation between them is minimal. I think it would be fair to describe them as formulaic.

Sounds like you might, whisper it, enjoy them...

Not everything published recorded or performed needs to be "great art" to justify itself you know - even less so on a forum of classic rock fans - some things can just be enjoyable (like a classic rock compilation is almost guaranteed to be).

Philly_Q

darthed1981 said:

Placidcasual79 said:

I am ashamed to say that I have read all 28 books...... I can't really explain why. There are perhaps 26/27 too many of them and the variation between them is minimal. I think it would be fair to describe them as formulaic.

Sounds like you might, whisper it, enjoy them...

Not everything published recorded or performed needs to be "great art" to justify itself you know - even less so on a forum of classic rock fans - some things can just be enjoyable (like a classic rock compilation is almost guaranteed to be).

Wait just a minute... steady on old chap... are you saying classic rock isn't great art?

darthed1981

Philly_Q said:

darthed1981 said:

Placidcasual79 said:

I am ashamed to say that I have read all 28 books...... I can't really explain why. There are perhaps 26/27 too many of them and the variation between them is minimal. I think it would be fair to describe them as formulaic.

Sounds like you might, whisper it, enjoy them...

Not everything published recorded or performed needs to be "great art" to justify itself you know - even less so on a forum of classic rock fans - some things can just be enjoyable (like a classic rock compilation is almost guaranteed to be).

Wait just a minute... steady on old chap... are you saying classic rock isn't great art?

We all know that, for example, "Don't Fear The Reaper" - while a great song - falls short of being great art due to shortness of cowbell.

Philly_Q

darthed1981 said:

Philly_Q said:

darthed1981 said:

Placidcasual79 said:

I am ashamed to say that I have read all 28 books...... I can't really explain why. There are perhaps 26/27 too many of them and the variation between them is minimal. I think it would be fair to describe them as formulaic.

Sounds like you might, whisper it, enjoy them...

Not everything published recorded or performed needs to be "great art" to justify itself you know - even less so on a forum of classic rock fans - some things can just be enjoyable (like a classic rock compilation is almost guaranteed to be).

Wait just a minute... steady on old chap... are you saying classic rock isn't great art?

We all know that, for example, "Don't Fear The Reaper" - while a great song - falls short of being great art due to shortness of cowbell.

Yeah, but The Beautiful South covered it, and they're cred and hip and cool, ergo it must be great art.