Although I have been a life-long admirer and would-be practitioner of science-fiction stories, I also read a lot of thrillers.
As a genre, thrillers have a wide range and the ones I enjoy most border on the literary. I’m thinking here of the intense emotional action and complex characters of Karin Slaughter, as one good example. Another was the long-running series by the sadly missed John D. MacDonald featuring Travis McGee which while formulaic in some respects created a character that seemed like a fully rounded human being.
The writing teacher John Truby in his book Anatomy of Genres puts thrillers and detective stories in one related category, although he is careful to distinguish the two.
To him detective stories are about asking questions, searching for truth and assigning guilt. The thriller story strategy is to place a vulnerable hero in a tightening vise and show them trying to escape by finding the truth. “In the best thrillers, the hero’s investigation into a potential crime also becomes an investigation into fear itself.”
Andrew Child and Lee Child
I remember reading many of the earlier titles in the Jack Reacher series and enjoying retribution being brought against the bad guys. And overcoming the fear caused by them.
The thriller series was authored originally by Lee Child for most of its books, and now by Andrew Child, his younger brother (although Lee still gets credit on the cover). It features ex-military policeman Jack Reacher and began in 1997. It has now gone on for 27 books.
Big and tough
Our hero Reacher is big, tough, and travels around at random without any belongings. He continually finds himself in situations where authority is being abused, or criminals have the upper hand, or violent conspiracies are afoot. He always impressively takes command and gets revenge or brings justice to despicable human beings, while protecting the more-or-less innocent. There is a predictable sequence of events in these stories, which I’m sure fans expect.
There came a point, though, a few years back (when Lee Child was still at the helm) when Reacher’s actions in a particular entry in the series became so improbable that I had to put the book down.
I don’t remember the title, but I do recall Reacher taking on single-handed without a proper weapon a score of bad guys in an impregnable bunker, and yes, without a scratch, kills them all in violent and brutal ways to save the day. (Violent and brutal consequences for the villains is one distinguishing mark of the series and I suspect increasingly so as the series goes on with the continued coarsening of our culture.)
But, remembering what I did like about the series, I picked up the latest recently, No Plan B. After reading it, I looked at the cover again and found a flattering endorsement by Karin Slaughter, a writer as mentioned I admire. This is a shame, since Slaughter’s work is head and shoulders above the Reacher books.
But this is a window into the publishing industry, where established authors must hype each other’s novels to the heavens in cover blurbs for marketing purposes. No doubt we’ll see lavish praise from Lee Child/Andrew Child on the next Slaughter novel. Whether these people actually read each other’s books is unknown.
The Reacher novel in question has on the back cover a full length photo of Lee and Andrew in leather coats posed to look as grim and ready to rumble as readers must imagine their hero to be.
A free spirit?
So who is this Jack Reacher guy? He roams around the country on buses or by hitchhiking, mainly, without any luggage or other belongings. He may have a toothbrush. No cell phone.
Clothes? Apparently he buys a new set whenever he needs them. ID? Expired military. Money? This is left completely unclear, but he always seems to have enough cash on him (no credit cards please) to pay for a hotel for himself and characters he protects. If you have ever tried to pay for a hotel room these days with just cash, you know how unlikely that might be, especially with out-of-date ID.
At the beginning of this novel, in a strange town, Reacher is interviewed by a police detective, who never asks about Reacher’s background or address, but somehow gets a copy of Reacher’s impressive, we’re told, military record. The detective supplies him with all kinds of information, eventually even pleading with Reacher for help in his investigation.
Reacher is a man in this portrayal with only a shred of an inner life. In this book he confesses to an interest in Civil War artifacts, but that’s about it. He has no friends, no companions, no lovers, although he will have sexual encounters with different friendly females on rare occasions.
He just wanders around really enjoying tearing bad guys limb from limb. We have to be glad that as far as we know, his gimlet eyes and hulking frame haven’t set on some innocent target by mistake or by enthusiasm. Although occasionally he can act like a bully.
But dealing with bad guys is his forte. Here’s a typical passage: “Its blade was only three inches long. But it was sharp. … Reacher held it up for Hix [a bad guy] to see. He said, ‘I watched you on the stage this morning. … Like you loved the attention. The cameras. So tell me this: Would the cameras still love you if I slice your nose off and make you eat it?’”
In this book, Reacher successfully invades a corporate-run prison and saves a prisoner being prepared for organ donation. Of course the prison is mightily guarded. “He was in the heart of enemy territory. Massively outnumbered. Competely outgunned.”
The writing style is that of very short sentences, which adds to the impact and pacing of action scenes, but becomes ripe for parody after awhile.
Contrast with Travis McGee series
Contrast Reacher with the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald, which Lee Child has acknowledged informed the creation of Reacher. (The last of the 21 Travis McGee books was published in 1984.) McGee is not a cop or private detective but a “salvage consultant” who lives on a houseboat. He’s big, formidable in a fight, but he has a life with friends and lovers and interests. Between action scenes he may even discuss philosophy.
The clients in the McGee thrillers/mysteries are people who have been taken advantage of (typically by unscrupulous or illegal means) and come to McGee for help.
As one fan puts it: “… The real pleasure of McGee’s colorful world comes from his inner monologue. Over the span of his adventures, McGee observes and comments on nearly every aspect of an ever-changing America. He also provides insight on the wonderfully fleshed-out characters he meets.”
“Fleshed-out” is not an adjective that many would apply to the characters of Jack Reacher’s world, including the big guy himself.
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