REVIEW: ONE SHOT by Lee Child

Annoying.

I didn't buy this to like it! I bought it to see what best sellers read like. I didn't expect to zip through it in little over a week and actually enjoy it.

Bugger. No, no, no. That wasn't the idea at all.

I was feeling a bit smug at the start as I struggled with the opening. But brave old me persevered and when Jack Reacher finally turned up in the pages of his own book, all six-five, broad expanse of him, dressed like someone out of Miami Vice, I found it a rewarding experience. Although Tom Cruise playing him in the movie??? Let me check Reacher’s description again…

Let’s move on to the writing, which flowed like blood into the drains around the town square where five seemingly innocent people get shot down by a sniper. Lee Child even has his own style quirk, starting some sentences midway through. I like writing quirks. And it's refreshing to find them floating around in the mainstream.

The plot was tight, the writing convincingly American, given the writer hails from my side of the pond. It’s easy to see why the Reacher series is so popular, he’s a likeable outsider, well versed in the stealthy moves needed to evade the various nasties who want to ‘pop a cap in his bottom’ to use watered-down parlance.

Yes, maybe the ending was over a little quickly, but that’s how Reacher likes to operate. Get in, do the business and then get out before any of the ladies he’s impressed try to tie him down.

****

REVIEW: IT by Stephen King

Got there.

It took over a year but I finally nailed this epic doorstop of a tome.
But I'm not sure how I can review it, as I can't remember the first half of it (like I said, it's taken me over a year). All I know is a lot of people died, some getting dragged into the gutter, like loose dog stools. Nasty way to go.

It was long, IT. Short title, long book. Could it have been trimmed in places? Quite possibly. But I'm no editor or hairdresser.

It was certainly episodic, flipping between viewpoints and locations and eras, the 1950s childhood of its seven protagonists raised in Derry the main focus, together with their 1985 return to deal with the 'demon' that lurked within the sewers of their hometown.

This was my first taster of the king, King, and I'm not sure if it's his jewel in the crown, but hey, there was enough to keep me interested for a year and 1116 pages (of small, tightly packed words).

There was plenty of the nasty side of humunkind on display within its many and yes, varied pages, as well as more swearing than I expected. Dunno why I expected less, just did.

You've got to read some King in your life, aintcha, and I've done that now, and I might be back for more, though I'll be aiming for something a bit more concise that'll take me less than a year. ***

PS I struggled to find an exact replica of the cover of the version of the book I read. The one above is closest, although on mine, the author's name is in gold with King way bigger than Stephen, and the balloon is on the other side of the gutter. Have I got a rarity on my hands here, or does this cover move like that picture Bill Denbrough has? Don't answer that, I've got to sleep tonight.