The September Mini-Reviews! Jack Reacher x 2, Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Thousand Thorns

Jack Reacher

Jack Reacher’s a drug that I can’t stop using. I first got addicted to the gruff ex-MP (military police, not member of Parliament) at the age of 15, with the thirteenth novel penned by Lee Child, Gone Tomorrow – what a wild ride that was! I revisited him about two years ago, listening to the very first novel written by Child on audiobook — . I’ve listened to two others over the last ten days or so, and I’m close to finishing a third. Here’s what I thought about the ones I listened to completion.

Persuader (Jack Reacher #7)

High-tension opening that immediately got me invested into reading further. Reacher comes in, guns blazing, and finds himself in one of the most tense, life-threatening situations he’s ever been in. Before long, Jack’s at the beck and call of a drug dealer, forced to play a dangerous game to survive.

I didn’t just like this one, I loved it. Jack is at his best when he’s cornered and working multiple angles, with a clock ticking down and spelling trouble for him; and the fact is, this is one of those first-person Reacher novels, which I love to death. Child does wonderful work whenever he shares in Reacher’s headspace completely – the prose, short, concise and brutal; the way Jack thinks, assaulting any and every problem without pause, dealing with his enemies with deadly efficiency.

With a cast of compelling side characters and several looming antagonists, as well as a series of flashback sequences, Persuader is a fantastic read for newcomers and veteran readers of Child’s alike. Jeff Harding’s narration embodies the essence of the character perfectly, and he does fantastic job with the remainder of the cast, too. My score for this is a 5/5.

Without Fail (Jack Reacher #6)

I listened to this one after completing Persuader. The blurb caught my eye:

Skilled, cautious, and anonymous, Jack Reacher is perfect for the job: to assassinate the vice president of the United States. Theoretically, of course. A female Secret Service agent wants Reacher to find the holes in her system, and fast – because a covert group already has the vice president in their sights. They’ve planned well. There’s just one thing they didn’t plan on: Reacher.

And boy, is that a bad miscalculation. This one is a bit of a slow-burner, going more in-depth into Reacher’s relationship with his deceased brother Joe, Joe’s ex-girlfriend who is now in charge of the Vice-President’s security detail…Joe’s very capable Secret Service girlfriend M. Froelich, capable of finding Reacher in a single day, despite the fact he lives completely off the grid.

I loved this one in part because Reacher teamed up with an old Army buddy of his, a former Master Sergeant by the name of Neagley who is as tough as Reacher; hell, she makes him look like he’s in his tightie whities, time to time.

My only issue is that the climax towards the end of the book felt a little bit too lucky. Of course, Child set up a great explanation but it still felt a little more of a stretch than I’m used to. That said, Without Fail packs one hell of an emotional punch two-thirds the way in, and I can’t stay mad at Lee Child even if the last 15 minutes were a bit less mindblowing than I’d originally hoped. My score for this Reacher goodness is 4.5/5.

The Thousand Thorns by Suzannah Rowntree (A Fairy Tale Retold #5)

This one, I was surprised by. I purchased it as a part of the recent Asian-inspired Fantasy Sale. Took me a while to get used to the setting, the way the characters addressed one another but about 15-20% in, I was all in. Fun characterisation, a somewhat predictable plot twist (though no lesser for it), good action scenes, this is a great retelling of Sleeping Beauty.

A few things struck me about it: this is most definitely a great introduction to Chinese military epics, the genre known as wuxia. I’ve heard more and more of it of late, but until this, I hadn’t been properly introduced. I think it’s a good way to go about acquainting yourself with wuxia, on account of the familiar fairy-tale elements with the unique genre twist. Certainly, this is a love letter by someone who enjoys Chinese epics and knows them well enough to create an amalgamation that bleeds with respect towards its inspirations.

Iron Maiden was a really fun character to read about — I would read a whole novel with her as the lead, if I had the opportunity. Good antagonists, whose interactions between one another were filled with tension. Clouded Sky was a very flawed protagonist, crippled by self-doubt and loss, very much unwilling to go awaken some princess-y sort resting in a mountain.

Most of the twists and turns along the story (save one) were predictable – my suspicions as to the identities of both villains came true without any surprise. My biggest criticism here is, the revelations felt somewhat choreographed. Loved the play on the novella’s title, though (you guys who’ve read this know wot I mean!).

I found this an enjoyable enough read to add more of Suzannah Rowntree’s works to my To-Read list; my score for The Thousand Thorns is a very respectable 3.5 (scored up to 4 on Goodreads)! I’m really looking forward to finding out what else Rowntree has in store for her readers!

Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl

First time I’ve picked up something by Roald Dahl – this was a charming little children’s story which has ultimately been overshadowed by the brilliant movie by Wes Anderson. There’s just not that much here – the audiobook is a little over an hour long, and it consists of our fantastic mister, this fox fellow, being hunted by three farmers. The more they try to dig the foxes out, the deeper the foxes dig themselves in. Repeat ad nauseum. Some fantastic narration by Chris O’Dowd — made the experience more entertaining than it would’ve otherwise been.

My score? A very average 2.5 out of 5 stars.