Killing Floor

So remember that fairly terrible Tom Cruise move that came out a while ago, Jack Reacher? Yeah...so, this is the first book in the series that inspired that lousy movie! The truth is that I actually really liked that movie. I was particularly interested in the character of Jack Reacher, who is a recently retired military policeman who specialized in homicide investigations for the army. He's a dogged investigator with his own sense of justice and morality, and now that he's out of the army he's traveling around 'Murica with nothing. No phone, no backpack, no driver's license. He just gets money from Western Union every now and then and wears a pair of clothes until they're dirty then buys another pair at a thrift store. Reacher's liberated lifestyle is fascinating, and I enjoyed briefly taking part in this fantasy of freedom.

The plot and characters of this book are completely irrelevant. Basically Reacher shows up in a small town completely by chance, and then gets drawn into a murder investigation when he (spoiler alert) gets accused of/framed for murder. He then proceeds to kick butt, take names, and try to clear himself so he can go on with his merry life. Naturally the plot thickens several times, there are twists and turns, and that's all I'm going to say. 

The characters are pretty flat and unsurprising. The sinister people stay sinister, the cool people stay cool, and nobody gets developed very well except Jack himself and possibly some guy at a barbershop. 

Now if the plot and characters are predictable, the writing itself is just downright awful. This is honestly one of the most poorly written books I've ever read. The language was clunky and ugly, the descriptions were vague and inconsistent, and the tone was repetitive and dull. My favorite line from the whole book demonstrate the echelon of writing in which this book falls. Jack is on a stakeout in a borrowed Bentley (of course), and he realizes his car stands out a bit. He muses to himself "It was about as distinctive as the most distinctive thing you could ever think of." Wow! That's quality writing if I've ever seen it! What a great simile! I love it when people compare an abstract concept with itself in a bid for clarity! Seriously, this writing is bad. Consider yourself warned.

But you know what? None of that stuff matters. I didn't care that the writing sucked, or that the plot was predictable, or that the characters were flat. This is just a fun book to read. It's a page turner in every sense of the word. It's the book equivalent of a J.J. Abrams movie: at it's core it really sucks, but it's fun enough to distract you from the fact for a while. I read this book quickly and frankly loved it the whole way through. It's flaws made me laugh, while it's story kept me entertained. Ultimately that's what books like this should do, so I deem it a success and give it my seal of approval. If you liked the movie or find the concept intriguing go ahead and give this book a shot. There're about a billion Jack Reacher books by Lee Child, but I hear the first one is the best.

Score: 7/10

Read this book if: You want to shut off your brain and have some fun. It's like watching a movie, but you'll look sophisticated while doing it!

Don't read this book if: You have even the slightest compunction about reading a book that is, in every measurable way, terrible and stupid.