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Anne's Reviews > Killing Floor
Killing Floor (Jack Reacher, #1)
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Anne's review
bookshelves: audio, crime, libby-app, read-in-2022, thriller-suspense, adventure-like-stuff
Dec 20, 2022
bookshelves: audio, crime, libby-app, read-in-2022, thriller-suspense, adventure-like-stuff
Oh.
I don't know what I thought the Jack Reacher books would be like, but I wasn't expecting what I got.
This was written in 1997 and it shows. A lot of macho man stuff.
Like, an unreasonable amount of macho man stuff.
I mean, I've known a couple of guys who used to work as MPs back in the day, and they weren't ninja assassins. At alllll. But according to Reacher, if you're military police then you have to track down scary military guys with all kinds of special training, so you have to be trained yourself. I'm not so sure about that. I would think if there's some kind of badass killer loose in the military, they will send another badass military killer after them, not a cop. Even a military cop.
I could be wrong.
And yet...
At one point Reacher says he knows a lot of fighting tricks because he and his brother were always the new kids at school.
Wait. School yard fights? That's your ace in the hole?
Maybe in the next book, he teams up with a guy who used to play D&D and was in the chess club. I'll bet that dude got his ass kicked plenty in school, too. According to Killing Floor logic they could take on some rogue Navy Seals and win!
Alright, I'm being a tad silly. But you will need to suspend disbelief and pull on your action movie panties for this one because there was just way more than one man's fair share of overbaked machismo wafting off of Mr. Reacher.
He's a lone wolf. A drifter. A mighty warrior. He's like Lou Ferrigno's Hulk just wandering around from small town to small town, righting the wrongs.
Except Jack is a panty melter, so he's going to get laid a bunch while he does it.
I know this is an introductory book but it was quite a bit longer than I thought necessary for what actually happened plot-wise. So, buckle up. It's not some fast-paced thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. There's a lot of meandering around while Reacher and his new friends try to uncover...a sinister counterfeit money ring in the small town of Margrave, Georgia.
Still. If you step carefully around the 90s plot holes, you might just have a good time.
This is a certain kind of book for a certain kind of reader. And in the same way that I know not everyone enjoys a good bodice ripper, not everyone will enjoy Killing Floor.
It has the same level of fantasy cheese that a trashy romance novel has, but in a Reacher novel, your audience is going to be mainly dudes.
I don't see anything wrong with it.
I hear there are about 700 books in this series, so there must be something that keeps fans coming back for more.
Recommended for fans of The Expendables.
I don't know what I thought the Jack Reacher books would be like, but I wasn't expecting what I got.
This was written in 1997 and it shows. A lot of macho man stuff.
Like, an unreasonable amount of macho man stuff.
I mean, I've known a couple of guys who used to work as MPs back in the day, and they weren't ninja assassins. At alllll. But according to Reacher, if you're military police then you have to track down scary military guys with all kinds of special training, so you have to be trained yourself. I'm not so sure about that. I would think if there's some kind of badass killer loose in the military, they will send another badass military killer after them, not a cop. Even a military cop.
I could be wrong.
And yet...
At one point Reacher says he knows a lot of fighting tricks because he and his brother were always the new kids at school.
Wait. School yard fights? That's your ace in the hole?
Maybe in the next book, he teams up with a guy who used to play D&D and was in the chess club. I'll bet that dude got his ass kicked plenty in school, too. According to Killing Floor logic they could take on some rogue Navy Seals and win!
Alright, I'm being a tad silly. But you will need to suspend disbelief and pull on your action movie panties for this one because there was just way more than one man's fair share of overbaked machismo wafting off of Mr. Reacher.
He's a lone wolf. A drifter. A mighty warrior. He's like Lou Ferrigno's Hulk just wandering around from small town to small town, righting the wrongs.
Except Jack is a panty melter, so he's going to get laid a bunch while he does it.
I know this is an introductory book but it was quite a bit longer than I thought necessary for what actually happened plot-wise. So, buckle up. It's not some fast-paced thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. There's a lot of meandering around while Reacher and his new friends try to uncover...a sinister counterfeit money ring in the small town of Margrave, Georgia.
Still. If you step carefully around the 90s plot holes, you might just have a good time.
This is a certain kind of book for a certain kind of reader. And in the same way that I know not everyone enjoys a good bodice ripper, not everyone will enjoy Killing Floor.
It has the same level of fantasy cheese that a trashy romance novel has, but in a Reacher novel, your audience is going to be mainly dudes.
I don't see anything wrong with it.
I hear there are about 700 books in this series, so there must be something that keeps fans coming back for more.
Recommended for fans of The Expendables.
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Reading Progress
December 18, 2022
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Started Reading
December 18, 2022
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December 20, 2022
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Comments Showing 1-50 of 58 (58 new)
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Susan
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Dec 20, 2022 08:16AM
Hah! Sounds like a perfect description!
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Susan wrote: "Hah! Sounds like a perfect description!"Thanks! Have you read any of these? I'm still debating on whether or not to continue.
Great review, you totally nailed the whole Reacher vibe.I read one of these years ago and didn't like it. Reacher is just too unbelievably flawless and therefore uninteresting. Still based on the bookstore I work at, there will be a bunch of Dad's and Grandad's getting the latest one this Christmas time.
![[Name Redacted]](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1347082397p1/287915.jpg)
I remember hearing him interviewed on NPR and admitting he wrote the first novel as a sort of wish-fulfillment after going to a high school reunion and imagining how much fun it'd be to slaughter all his former classmates...
Rory wrote: "Great review, you totally nailed the whole Reacher vibe.I read one of these years ago and didn't like it. Reacher is just too unbelievably flawless and therefore uninteresting. Still based on the ..."
Flawless is right! He's tall and sexy and smart and cool and emotionally detached and the best fighter and apparently a sniper with a handgun! lol
[Name Redacted] wrote: "I remember hearing him interviewed on NPR and admitting he wrote the first novel as a sort of wish-fulfillment after going to a high school reunion and imagining how much fun it'd be to slaughter a..."Oh, that's sweeeeet.
I read the first two 10/15 years ago and realized there were far better books out there. Still haven't watched the movies.
Chad wrote: "I read the first two 10/15 years ago and realized there were far better books out there. Still haven't watched the movies."I can't EVEN imagine how Tom Cruise envisioned himself in the role of a 6'5 character, but...yeah.
I got curious when I saw Prime (is is Prime?) had a show based off of the books.
Anne wrote: "I can't EVEN imagine how Tom Cruise envisioned himself in the role of a 6'5 character, but...yeah.I got curious when I saw Prime (is is Prime?) had a show based off of the books."
We watched Top Gun: Maverick last weekend and I was shocked there was a scene when you could see just how much taller Miles Teller was than Tom Cruise.
I think that series is on Prime. It's on my list of things I'm curious about but will probably never get around to watching. I heard it's decent.
My parents love the Reacher books the same way they love Stephanie Plum. It is just a brainless read. They hate the movies but say season one of the show on Prime was good.
I'm impressed you got to this one so quickly! So I admit, I was in high school when I read this, so take that as you will. It is definitely a red blooded American male fantasy, but you definitely will see some of his flaws as the series continues, but in the end, I feel like I read them because I know Reacher will find some sick minded villain and show him no mercy. Sometimes I just want to read that kind of escapist fantasy after seeing how little justice there is in the real world. The books are definitely formulaic, which may bother some readers, but I personally find it comforting. I don't expect any of these to win a Pulitzer. The author also admitted he wrote this one when he had just been fired from his television job in England and put a lot of his anger into the story. He also coined the name Reacher from a comment his wife made while he was in a supermarket, reaching up for something on a top shelf for an elderly woman, as he's apparently pretty tall in real life. His wife said he could be a "reacher" professionally, just do that sort of thing all day. I have never listened to an audiobook of this series, so I wouldn't know what to expect from that, but I have read every book in it, save for the one that just came out, 27 in all. Every once in a while I just find myself needing to read something where I don't have to worry about symbolism and the deeper meaning of it all. Sometimes I just want to see some a-hole get what's coming to him, and these books deliver that with generally a much lower amount of BS than other action heroes I've read.
Anne wrote: "[Name Redacted] wrote: "I remember hearing him interviewed on NPR and admitting he wrote the first novel as a sort of wish-fulfillment after going to a high school reunion and imagining how much fu..."It's honestly the only reason I added the first book to my "to-read" pile. XD I haven't gotten to it yet, though, because that first book is LONG and I have a lot of Neal Asher books to get through.
Apparently the Amazon (?) adaptation of the first book is pretty good. Even people who hate these kinds of male wish-fulfillment narratives have said they enjoy it.
As for Tom Cruise, the "Top Gun" franchise is ideal for him because Air Force pilots are supposed to be short. It's part of what kept my brother out and forced him into the Army! Though i do remember reading that most "great" actors are shorter than expected and have odd proportions because of how cinematography works...
Ronald wrote: "My parents love the Reacher books the same way they love Stephanie Plum. It is just a brainless read. They hate the movies but say season one of the show on Prime was good."I've heard the same thing! The actor who plays Reacher looks like he fits the part pretty well.
Rob wrote: "I'm impressed you got to this one so quickly! So I admit, I was in high school when I read this, so take that as you will. It is definitely a red blooded American male fantasy, but you definitely w..."I can see how this series would be like a comfort food book. And honestly, even with all the male fantasy stuff, it wasn't AS dated as it could have been. Like, I knew just from the way the female deputy was crying and sobbing into Reacher's shirt that this thing was written more than 20 years ago, but it still wasn't too bad. And I was honestly expecting her to get Fridged before the book was over. It was nice to see that Childs didn't feel the need to (view spoiler)
This isn't a series that I would say I'll never go back to because I just might at some point.
[Name Redacted] wrote: "It's honestly the only reason I added the first book to my "to-read" pile. XD I haven't gotten to it yet, though, because that first book is LONG and I have a lot of Neal Asher books to get through."YES! The length definitely surprised me. (view spoiler)
I thought this was a bit out of my wheelhouse but I'm glad I tried it. I'm betting that the first is not the best and that these get better as time goes on. Well, until they don't.
I would say the female characters have evolved considerably in the books since, but not to the point that anyone is ever the focus beyond Reacher. I personally would read them in order (though I definitely read the first ten or so all over the place) but "The Midnight Line" felt like a pretty standard deviation from the typical Bond girl-like female characters, as I recall.
Anne wrote:..."I saw that one coming a mile away! (view spoiler)
Neal Asher has a similar problem, admittedly, where his futuristic sci-fi setting is so dang interesting to write about that his future-spy characters all kinda blur together as broad macho archetypes. But he also seems to change genres and settings and eras whenever he gets bored. So he had four different "series" in different genres taking place in a single setting -- my favorite being the one about immortal quasi-Amish pirates and pseudo-whalers on a world in which literally everything is a carnivore and the same virus that makes the sailors immortal also makes all the monsters immortal.
I will also say, I think there's a sweet spot between the dated damsel-in-distress trope and the equally dated "4'9"-gal-who-can-singlehandedly-defeat-multiple-teams-of-hulking-special-ops-guys-all-at-once." The latter has been en vogue since "Buffy" in the '90s, and it drives my wife crazy -- she's barely 5', extremely athletic & trained in self-defense, but even she concedes that that trope is more fantastical than elves and dragons and such. A happy medium between the extremes is possible, but humans love extremes so we tend to gravitate towards them.
Rob wrote: "I would say the female characters have evolved considerably in the books since, but not to the point that anyone is ever the focus beyond Reacher. I personally would read them in order (though I de..."Oh, well I honestly wouldn't expect them to outshine Reacher. It's his book after all and if Childs wanted to to a spin-off with another character, then that's always an option.
I may try another one after the new year.
[Name Redacted] wrote: "I will also say, I think there's a sweet spot between the dated damsel-in-distress trope and the equally dated "4'9"-gal-who-can-singlehandedly-defeat-multiple-teams-of-hulking-special-ops-guys-all-at-once."I agree. I see some of the fight scenes and laugh. I appreciate the ones where the tiny girl is slippery and hard to catch and/or has a big-ass weapon.
Would you read the next one in order or would you want to pick one that might rank higher than the rest?
Don't they kind of build on each other?Then again, it may be better to skip forward a decade or so and see if I like the newer stuff.
On a different note, I watched a few episodes of the Prime show last night and you can definitely see where the screenwriters cleaned up some of the cringy stuff. They haven't changed the plot, which is good, but the damsel in distress stuff is gone and Reacher seems less like a complete cliche.
Some of them build on each other, but most of them are standalones where he arrives in a new town. The second and third books are sort of linked together, though I read them in reverse order without realizing it, and 61 Hours and one of the ones around it are linked. I'm drawing a blank right now. And yes, I personally liked the movies with Tom Cruise because I felt like he actually did a nice job embodying the spirit of Reacher, even though he obviously does not have the right physique.
The show was very solid. I think the guy playing Reacher needs a few more acting lessons but I definitely think they picked the right guy. I honestly don't remember Roscoe much from the book as I read it a very long time ago, but they definitely make her one of the biggest strengths of the series, and she even gives Reacher a pretty good slap at one point saying that she's not just some damsel in distress, or something to that effect. She's terrific in the show, and a lot of fans have called for her to be in the second season, though that would break entirely from the books where he really drifts from place to place and leaves everyone behind.
Cool review! I love the Reacher books but they're quite nostalgic too.. I know a lot of people call them brainless popcorn books, bit I think there is a bit of genius in them. Just as exercises in character voice alone, they're pretty cool. Also yeah the reason they're so popular is a big life-fantasy thing, and he actually has a pretty 50/50 split in readership gender-wise. At least according to him. Quite a lot of women, and even literary authors who are women love his books. As it goes, he does sort of make a point to make him an anti-Bond, where the women in the books are competent, respected and yet still human and vulnerable. The first book is probably my least favourite of the 6 or so that I've read. I love a Reacher once in a while, perhaps after a week listening to dumb people in work haha.. it can be satisfying to read this character just stomp on bullshittery
Carlos, I couldn't agree with you more!
Rob wrote: "Some of them build on each other, but most of them are standalones where he arrives in a new town. The second and third books are sort of linked together, though I read them in reverse order withou..."I haven't seen the movies, but I may check them out at some point.
roscoe in the show is completely different from Roscoe in the book. To be fair, she's very competent in the book. But she definitely breaks down crying a lot, and she gets too freaked out to go back to her house once they've seen the break-in. There's a lot of her burying her head into Reacher's chest and sobbing while he holds her tight and tells her that he won't let anything happen to her. Again, it's a fantasy sort of book. Like, who wouldn't (man or woman) want to be that sort of ROCK that takes care of people they love?
It's not a bad thing but I definitely got the 90s vibe from Roscoe and Reacher's relationship.
Carlos wrote: "it can be satisfying to read this character just stomp on bullshittery"I agree with that, too! I loved the fact that he just killed everyone. LOL!
The book itself doesn't hold up plotwise, but I can see where that genius of the fantasy comes in. And you're right, Roscoe isn't some dumb chick and Reacher isn't just using her for sex. I respect the hell out of the way this was written back then.
I would assume that Reacher grew along with the times and so did the plots.
Yes, that's truly my favorite part. Especially when he went through the house wiping out that crew one by one. I crave those kinds of action scenes for some reason. My favorite line from one of the movies was in response to one of those "What are you going to do?" type questions. He goes "If it were up to me, I'd just kill you." I honestly read the book in high school so I don't remember all the specifics, and I know that while I certainly wasn't an alpha male macho man back then, I definitely am more sensitive to that kind of thing now. I think Reacher hasn't totally lost the qualities you're speaking of, but I think he's definitely evolved considerably.
If you read out of sequence, "The Midnight Line," while far from the most suspenseful story, had a female protagonist that really went against the grain in these types of stories.
What's your favorite book in this series? Like, just if you had to pick one off the top of your head, Rob?
Bad Luck & Trouble and Without Fail I enjoyed most! I know I wasn't asked, but hey, it's the internet... Here we shout our opinions at people who don't ask for them hahaha
I read a few as a teenager and I don't even remember which ones
Shout it out! 😂 I’m looking for the most readable or enjoyable ones out there, so thanks!
Are you going to skip ahead Anne? I know you love to read series out of order.
“Gone Tomorrow� jumps out in my mind, personally. I’m not sure if it’s me being overly sentimental in part, though. My girlfriend at the time (my wife now) and I had been dating for about a year when she went on a scheduled vacation with a friend to Aruba and we didn’t have any kind of international texting or calling plan so we were completely out of contact for the week. Right before she left she bought me that book. She knew it was my favorite series and she said it would keep me distracted for the week! I remember it being suspenseful enough that I read it in three days, which for me is extremely quick. As much as I read, I’ve never been a speed reader by any means. It’s also one of the handful that are written in the first person, which I generally like, as “Killing Floor� was. Most of them are actually written in the third person. I think because of the circumstances around the book, I romanticize it a bit in my own head, but I do really remember enjoying it and not wanting to put it down, and I’ve considered it my favorite ever since.
“Without Fail� was the first one I read, and it didn’t turn out to be one of my favorites, but it was definitely interesting enough to get me hooked on the series. I also enjoyed “Worth Dying For,� which wasn’t a critical favorite, but he runs into a really sick family and responds exactly how you think he will. “Blue Moon� had a similar feel, heavy on the violent reactions. “Past Tense� and “Make Me� stood out to me because of the antagonists plots, which make me rub my hands together when Reacher figures them out and decides that he’s going to deal with them.
Honestly, though there were a few duds, I still enjoyed and tried to blow right through every one of them. There are always at least a few moments that make me want to cheer. They’re great to read on vacation.
My dad is reading this series at the moment. I think he complained that the books all follow the same structure. But they seem to be entertaining enough, as he keeps reading them�
Yes, Cathy, they are definitely formulaic for the most part. I personally find it comforting but I can definitely understand why it would frustrate some readers. It's sort of like the Bond movies.
Your review is killing me 😂😂😂😂😂😂. Good one.
He's not just a sniper with a hand gun, he's a sniper with a rifle too! Champion rifleman at that.The books are all a little formulaic, actually that's wrong they're very formulaic, but if read appropriately, they're an enjoyable diversion.
They're mental floss, read them between better books and they're fine. Read anymore than two back to back and they'll get really predictable. 'oh a young female character is introduced after page 35, well her underwear will be dropping soon' predictable.
Chad wrote: "Are you going to skip ahead Anne? I know you love to read series out of order."If it ain't broke...
Rob wrote: "“Gone Tomorrow� jumps out in my mind, personally. I’m not sure if it’s me being overly sentimental in part, though. My girlfriend at the time (my wife now) and I had been dating for about a year wh..."That is SUCH a good story. AwwwWWWwww. You should get some brownie points from the wife for that. I like the idea of the sicko family, too. Those all sound like good recommendations, tbh.
Cathy wrote: "My dad is reading this series at the moment. I think he complained that the books all follow the same structure. But they seem to be entertaining enough, as he keeps reading them�"Rob wrote: "Yes, Cathy, they are definitely formulaic for the most part. I personally find it comforting but I can definitely understand why it would frustrate some readers. It's sort of like the Bond movies."
I can't say ANYTHING about 'formula' books, as I've read the entire Bridgerton series. There are certain tropes that you like, even if you know you've read it 100 times before.
Nwannadi wrote: "Your review is killing me 😂😂😂😂😂😂. Good one."Thanks! lol
Darren wrote: "He's not just a sniper with a hand gun, he's a sniper with a rifle too! Champion rifleman at that.The books are all a little formulaic, actually that's wrong they're very formulaic, but if read a..."
Ha! That's funny! Yeah, I'm not making fun of the formula, as I like formula books myself. Like you said, mental floss. Comfort food. Good reads. It's all the same thing and there's nothing wrong with that at all. You need books that you can just chill with.
Tbf , i do like The Expendables.Is the Amazon show true to the book? I liked the first season
Dr Rashmit wrote: "Tbf , i do like The Expendables.Is the Amazon show true to the book? I liked the first season"
So did my husband! And I didn't mind it, either. Not a bad flick and it was fun to see all of those guys!
I used it as an example because if you HATED The Expendables (an action movie for fans of action movies), then you should probably just skip this book.
The first 3 or 4 episodes go almost EXACTLY like the book. I've noticed a few changes but not to the story, just a few minor changes that would have to be made for the story to make sense 20plus years later.
Hilarious review! Not my kind of thing but you gotta admire this amount of corniness in any genre!
Kemper gave me this one of the times we met up. I still haven't read it.
Dan wrote: "Kemper gave me this one of the times we met up. I still haven't read it."First, very cool that you've met with Kemper in the wild. And he didn't even give this a good rating! What kind of friend gives you bad books!? lol
Kai (CuriousCompass) wrote: "Hilarious review! Not my kind of thing but you gotta admire this amount of corniness in any genre!"It is admirable! lol
As a long time fan of this series, you are 100% correct.
Since I'm getting recommendations, what's your favorite Reacher book - just off the top of your head, enjoyment level-wise.
