Personal

Jack Reacher, Book 19

De: Lee Child

Narrado por: Dick Hill

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • THE BLOCKBUSTER JACK REACHER SERIES THAT INSPIRED TWO MAJOR MOTION PICTURES AND THE STREAMING SERIES REACHER

“The best one yet.”—Stephen King

Someone has tried to kill the French president. How many snipers can shoot from three-quarters of a mile with total confidence? John Kott—a U.S. Army marksman gone bad—is one of them. After fifteen years in prison, he’s out . . . and there’s a G8 summit coming up, packed with enough world leaders to tempt any assassin.

If anyone can stop Kott, it’s the man who beat him before: Jack Reacher. And though he’d rather work alone, Reacher is teamed with rookie analyst Casey Nice. They’re facing a rough road, full of local thugs, double-crosses, and no backup if things go wrong. Reacher never gets too close. But this time it’s personal.

This edition includes the bonus short story “Not a Drill.”

©2014 Lee Child (P)2014 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Reacher is the stuff of myth, a great male fantasy. . . . One of this century’s most original, tantalizing pop-fiction heroes . . . [Lee] Child does a masterly job of bringing his adventure to life with endless surprises and fierce suspense.”—The Washington Post

“Yet another satisfying page-turner.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Reacher is always up for a good fight, most entertainingly when he goes mano a mano with a seven-foot, 300-pound monster of a mobster named Little Joey. But it’s Reacher the Teacher who wows here.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times

Man, Can it get any better?

What did you love best about Personal?

Just about everything!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Absolutely, especially when you realize even the smallest comment from Reacher has a big meaning.

What about Dick Hill’s performance did you like?

He is a wonderful narrator who makes Reacher the character he is.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Watch your back, then watch it again.

Any additional comments?

Nope, except read the book or listin to it.

Feels like Lee Child just mailed this one in. . .

As fans of the Reacher books know, Lee Child's style is to frequently take a minor point or situation and milk it over and over from every irrelevant angle possible, leaving the main story for long stretches at a time, with the seeming intent of making the book longer and cementing his "unique style" (e.g. taking a distance in miles and repeating it in kilometers and feet and inches and millimeters, etc., with no obvious forwarding of the plot. Or time. Or even roadway signs, repeated exit after exit, or how you enter a password on a computer, and so on.)
This was okay in earlier books with enough action and excitement to make you forgive and forget, but in this one (as in some other recents), my wife and I found ourselves begging him out loud to "get on with it". The end has a decent enough twist, but it doesn't compensate adequately for the struggle to get there.
Finally, Dick Hill as the narrator. I know he is "much beloved" by many Audible fans but I find that his universally whiny-sounding female characters (I now believe that's how he thinks he has to sound to make them seem "female") are grating to the extreme. And some characters voices are so contrived and exaggerated ("Little Joey" Green, for example) that we simply couldn't understand what he was saying! I sadly may have to take a break from Reacher, and Dick Hill, for awhile. . .

it was ok

as far as Jack Reacher books go, this one was not in my top 5 maybe not in my top 10. you have a hulking Behemoth of a bad guy that they set up from early on that you know Reacher is going to fight sooner or later and of course I waited with great anticipation that scene.

taking down the main bad guy was anti-climatic even though there was a little action after that. it wasn't necessarily a bad book, but at the same time like I said not one of my favorite Reacher books.

Very Disappointing!!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I love Lee Child books and Jack Reacher. This book was very slow and dragged on for too long. The heroin was weak and not up to caliber as other past characters and JR was not as quick as he usually is in other books. This is the first time I was ever disappointed with a L. Child novel. Hope the next one is much better!!

Good Reacher book but wordy

Good Jack Reacher book with the usual strong read by Dick Hill.
But it seemed like Lee Child had a goal for so many words and ran out of fresh ones.
It is his style to repeat points and that works very well usually.
But this time he seemed to go on and on with repetitions of the same thing like his descriptions of the size dimensions within the bad guy's house. I found myself zoning out during those times.

Love it.

One of my favorite Reacher novels. This Is the one they should have made into a movie.

Reacher on Rewind

Would you try another book from Lee Child and/or Dick Hill?

Yes

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Predictable and it took a very, very long time to get there.

Which character – as performed by Dick Hill – was your favorite?

I always enjoy Dick Hill's performances but I hate to say he didn't have a lot to work with in Personal.

Did Personal inspire you to do anything?

No.

Any additional comments?

I do enjoy a Reacher novel but it seemed as if the story was continually moving two steps forward and one step back. I listen to Reacher novels when I'm working outside. An hour later I'd find the lawn mowed and I had tuned out, only hearing Dick Hill's words but not Lee Child's story, yet it made no matter because the story hadn't advanced in any significant way.

Mr. Hill the wrong "REACHER" for me ...

Some of the reviews here have been unfair to Dick Hill as if he somehow is an awful narrator, old and tired. My opinion has just always been --- he is the wrong voice for Jack Reacher. The publisher and perhaps Lee Child disagree. And in the Reacher books NOT written in the "first person" I think Dick is fine. But in books like this, narrated "BY Reacher" --- it is just never going to ring true for me.

And the editor and engineer (did Dick record and edit this on his own?) did not do the audiobook a service as the "old and tired" comments may be more aimed at the CONSTANT dry mouth lip smacks and pop sounds than the actual narration. Incredibly annoying and grating to listen to --- perpetually in this book. At times it made it seem like Dick was missing his back teeth. Yeah. That bad. And probably why there are so many "old voice" comments. A glass of water or a lemon for Mr. Hill would have helped this entire book out immensely.

That said, whenever I have listened to Mr. Hill when it is NOT a Reacher book I have enjoyed his work. He is a talented narrator so nothing against him personally or his work. He will just never be Reacher for me and that probably goes to Lee Child's fantastic characterization. Reacher is a character SPECIFIC to EVERY reader's imagination. That is why in the movie (even though there is never reference to his size --- a crucial character plot point) Tom Cruise, as entertaining as it was, could NEVER be Reacher because that character needs to be someone more in the tall studly vein like, say, a Hugh Jackman. But, for narration, almost anyone would be better --- perhaps a Michael McConnohie type.

Anyway, as a Reacher fan I will always enjoy these books and will recommend them. But I cannot recommend, ever, Dick Hill as the "voice of Reacher." Just not for me.

Alfred Hitchcock plays Jack Reacher.

It was hard to visualize Jack Reacher while listening to a narrator that reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock. Tisk tisk.

Another good J. Reacher book.

Jack made more judgement errors in this book then in previous books. Maybe the author is trying to make Jack more realistic. The female character was a little too timid. But all in all I enjoyed the book.