Publication
Bantam, c2008.
Collection
Series
Status
Available
Description
It wasn't the welcome Reacher expected. He was just passing through, minding his own business. But within minutes of his arrival a deputy is in the hospital and Reacher is back in Hope, setting up a base of operations against Despair, where a huge, seething walled-off industrial site does something nobody is supposed to see...where a small plane takes off every night and returns seven hours later...where a garrison of well-trained and well-armed military cops --the kind of soldiers Reacher once commanded--waits and watches...where above all two young men have disappeared and two frightened young women wait and hope for their return. Joining forces with a beautiful cop who runs Hope with a cool hand, Reacher goes up against Despair--against the deputies who try to break him and the rich man who tries to scare him--and starts to crack open the secrets, starts to expose the terrifying connection to a distant war that's killing Americans by the thousand.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member seldombites
This was an OK book. The characters were well written, but a little cliched - the drifter who used to be a cop blowing into town just in time to save the world and emotionally rescue the small-town female cop with a tragedy in her past. I also found parts of this book a bit MacGyver-ish for my
If you can look past the faults, this is an enjoyable story. However, it is not one I'll be reading twice.
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taste. After all, who repeatedly bats heads with fanatical terrorists bent on kick-starting Armageddon and still comes out on top? The other thing that annoyed me about this book was the strong political message contained within. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with books that have a moral to the story - but could we be a little more subtle about it?If you can look past the faults, this is an enjoyable story. However, it is not one I'll be reading twice.
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LibraryThing member infjsarah
I'm glad this wasn't my first Jack Reacher book as it would have put me off the rest. I just didn't like it much. It was Meh. Too much driving around, too many plots that didn't make much sense - too long.
Don't start here for Jack Reacher.
Don't start here for Jack Reacher.
LibraryThing member YogiABB
I just finished reading Lee Child's "Nothing to Lose." It is one of his Jack Reacher novels. I had never heard of Lee Child or the Jack Reacher series before I read this book. I'm hooked.
This book is from a genre I have never heard of before: "Revenge Fantasy." Jack Reacher, the narrator and
In a diner, in Despair, Colorado, where four toughs are trying to get him to leave,
Tough: "You need to get going"
Reacher: "Going?"
"Out of here."
"Out of where?"
"Out of this restaurant."
"You want to tell me why?"
"We don't like strangers."
"Me either," Reacher said. "But I need to eat somewhere. Otherwise, I get all wasted and skinny like you four."
The book is full of dialog like that. I loved it. What nerd wouldn't? Who needs a story with dialog like that.
Yes there is a story. Jack Reacher is walking from Maine to San Diego and he walks through Hope, Colorado on his way to Despair. He runs into trouble in the diner and gets arrested for vagrancy and then driven to the edge of Despair back to Hope.
He meets a policewoman, Vaughn, a woman with a secret, who is sympathetic to him. Eventually she consumates her sympathy with him. Later, Reacher finds out her secret. They also work together through a bunch of adventures to find out why the people of Despair including the fundamentalist, industrialist, mayor, are so hostile to outsiders.
What kept me going through this book is Reachers reparte with the various bad guys he comes up against. The story was ok but not very compelling. The problem with books with a mystery is that most of the time I am disapointed with the secret of the mystery. It is kind of like monster books. The buildup is the best part. The revealed monster is alwasy disappointing.
I give this book 2.5 stars out of 5. I'll read more books by Lee Child.
This book is from a genre I have never heard of before: "Revenge Fantasy." Jack Reacher, the narrator and
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protagonist of the book, is a former MP who is now one hard dude. He walks everywhere he goes with nothing but the clothers on his back and an ATM card in his pocket. He doesn't take any crap from anybody. Some of my favorite dialog:In a diner, in Despair, Colorado, where four toughs are trying to get him to leave,
Tough: "You need to get going"
Reacher: "Going?"
"Out of here."
"Out of where?"
"Out of this restaurant."
"You want to tell me why?"
"We don't like strangers."
"Me either," Reacher said. "But I need to eat somewhere. Otherwise, I get all wasted and skinny like you four."
The book is full of dialog like that. I loved it. What nerd wouldn't? Who needs a story with dialog like that.
Yes there is a story. Jack Reacher is walking from Maine to San Diego and he walks through Hope, Colorado on his way to Despair. He runs into trouble in the diner and gets arrested for vagrancy and then driven to the edge of Despair back to Hope.
He meets a policewoman, Vaughn, a woman with a secret, who is sympathetic to him. Eventually she consumates her sympathy with him. Later, Reacher finds out her secret. They also work together through a bunch of adventures to find out why the people of Despair including the fundamentalist, industrialist, mayor, are so hostile to outsiders.
What kept me going through this book is Reachers reparte with the various bad guys he comes up against. The story was ok but not very compelling. The problem with books with a mystery is that most of the time I am disapointed with the secret of the mystery. It is kind of like monster books. The buildup is the best part. The revealed monster is alwasy disappointing.
I give this book 2.5 stars out of 5. I'll read more books by Lee Child.
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LibraryThing member WaltNoise
I found this very formulaic: Reacher wanders into town, finds something fishy, beats up bullies, gets involved with a woman, solves mystery, wanders off. I still couldn't put it down, though. A good read, just I was hoping for better from Child.
I also thought that Reacher's sudden vehement
I also thought that Reacher's sudden vehement
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political views were both out-of-character, and unlikely for someone with his background. Apparently, Child had to vent his own views through his character. Next time, Lee, invent a character who could realistically be expected to have your views, instead of putting them in Reacher's mouth. Show Less
LibraryThing member Romonko
I don't agree with some of the highlighted reviews that say this book is a miss for Child. As far as I'm concerned a not-quite-as-good Lee Child is better than some other authors' best efforts. Lee Child knows how to write a story, and Jack Reacher is just as wonderful in this book as he is in
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others. In this book Jack is caught in between Hope and Despair (these are actually two small towns in Colorado that are about 14 miles apart in distance, but miles apart in everything else. Hope is a clean, happy little town, and there's a pretty cop there that Reacher hooks up with. Despair is a closed-ugly-company-factory town that does not like strangers, and they are hiding a very deep, dark secret. Of course, Reacher cannot rest until he uncovers that secret. When he does, it's even more ugly than even he imagined. I enjoyed the book. I love Reacher. Bring it on Lee Child! Show Less
LibraryThing member reading_fox
Very average, almost poor for a Jack Reacher novel. The first 9 of these have been thrilling and at times gripping accounts of Jack's investigation of odd happenings he stumbles upon. This however is a co-incidence laden meandering and at times unexplained, contrived and best only mildly
The initial premise is good. Jack passes through the township of Hope, and sees that the next town is Despair. Well who wouldn't go and check it out. And then when you are rudely run out of town by the local cops for no reason, it is entirely in Jack's character that he'd hang around for a few days to find out why, and what it is they are hiding.
The rest however is just very poor. Jack gets an unlikely instant aid from the Hope police, of whom he only ever meets the one woman. The entire town of Despair is in on the secret which again is just ridiculous. The whole postulated scenario is unbelievable, in its causes and predictable in what passes for twists. Also the bad guys just stand around waiting for Jack to make his next move - unlike any of the generally quite clever bad guys (yep they've all been guys) in the previous books, which is part of what has made them so good. There are supposedly two sub-plots going on, of which only one is ever explained and the other left unresolved. The ending itself is just weak, unlikely, unbelievable in context and not properly resolved. Also annoying is that in the opening lines Reacher states he would regret going to Despair – and yet compared to all of his previous troubles he gets into very little danger or damage at all. And the title refers to nothing at all in the story, unlike all previous novels.
Some of the classic Reacher violence and investigation still remains, but not very much. There are a couple of almost compulsory fist fights, which are usually the low points, but because the plotting is so bad, actually are almost the highlights of this book. The usual women interest, although the clichéd 2 hours in his presence and they are ready to rip their clothes off is starting to get a bit monotonously sexist. It’s not a dire book by any means. Lee Child knows how to write and pace a story well, and Jack is just such a great character that he is always entertaining to read about. But compared to the previous books this just isn’t anywhere near as good.
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entertaining account of Jack in Colorado. The initial premise is good. Jack passes through the township of Hope, and sees that the next town is Despair. Well who wouldn't go and check it out. And then when you are rudely run out of town by the local cops for no reason, it is entirely in Jack's character that he'd hang around for a few days to find out why, and what it is they are hiding.
The rest however is just very poor. Jack gets an unlikely instant aid from the Hope police, of whom he only ever meets the one woman. The entire town of Despair is in on the secret which again is just ridiculous. The whole postulated scenario is unbelievable, in its causes and predictable in what passes for twists. Also the bad guys just stand around waiting for Jack to make his next move - unlike any of the generally quite clever bad guys (yep they've all been guys) in the previous books, which is part of what has made them so good. There are supposedly two sub-plots going on, of which only one is ever explained and the other left unresolved. The ending itself is just weak, unlikely, unbelievable in context and not properly resolved. Also annoying is that in the opening lines Reacher states he would regret going to Despair – and yet compared to all of his previous troubles he gets into very little danger or damage at all. And the title refers to nothing at all in the story, unlike all previous novels.
Some of the classic Reacher violence and investigation still remains, but not very much. There are a couple of almost compulsory fist fights, which are usually the low points, but because the plotting is so bad, actually are almost the highlights of this book. The usual women interest, although the clichéd 2 hours in his presence and they are ready to rip their clothes off is starting to get a bit monotonously sexist. It’s not a dire book by any means. Lee Child knows how to write and pace a story well, and Jack is just such a great character that he is always entertaining to read about. But compared to the previous books this just isn’t anywhere near as good.
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LibraryThing member phoenixcomet
Reacher's wandering across the country and he's between the town of Hope and Despair, CO. He's booted from Despair for no apparent reason, and well, Jack Reacher, doesn't like anyone telling him what to do.
LibraryThing member polutropos
Expectations are so vital. Having loved all of Lee Child's previous novels, I expected the same with this one. And it is too long, and considerably less action-packed than his others. A disappointment, then, although most likely from another author I would have loved it. Even the great Lee Child is
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allowed a lesser book, I guess. Show Less
LibraryThing member eviltammy
They charged Jack Reacher with vagrancy and ran him out of town. Bad move.
Somewhat less action-packed than the others, and a lot more political, Child's style still kept me reading right along.
Somewhat less action-packed than the others, and a lot more political, Child's style still kept me reading right along.
LibraryThing member TallyDi
Jack Reacher is one of my favorite characters, and I grab each new Reacher book as soon as it hits the shelves. As usual, Reacher's military background is key to solving the mysteries. In this one I wondered how Lee Child could possibly pull together all the threads of the story, but in the end he
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does. Show Less
LibraryThing member youthfulzombie
Yes, it's more political, yes there is less action than in most of Reacher's escapades, but still, my only complaint is that as Canadian, I don't like the fact that our Army is "3 guys and a dog" documented in type - we try to keep that on the down low.
LibraryThing member MSWallack
Neither the best nor the worst of Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels. As in prior novels like Killing Floor and One Shot, the locale in which Nothing to Lose is set comes alive much as if it were another character in the story. And, once again, Reacher is aided by an interesting female police officer
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(I'm not sure if there are many female cops left that he Reacher hasn't met). I saw some aspects of the eventual resolution to the mystery coming, but all-in-all, the storyline kept my interest. As usual with a Reacher story, the story and plot themselves are almost secondary to Reacher himself and, after Nothing to Lose Reacher remains one of the most interesting current characters in the thriller genre. Show Less
LibraryThing member jsharpmd
Another great Jack Reacher book. Ex Military Police for 10 years. Super tough guy takes on the bad guys. Pretty girl cop in the good town of Hope. They take on the mystery of nearby company town of Despair run by a religious fanatic. Reacher as usual very analytic about situations which is
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informational. A good read. Show Less
LibraryThing member RachelfromSarasota
This is the latest of the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child. It is a fast paced contemporary thriller, with one of the more interesting of the noir protagonists of the last decade. Jack Reacher is a former military policeman, whose wanderings bring him into contact with people in trouble and needing
This latest addition to the series is a real page-turner. Reacher is evicted for vagrancy from a tone aptly named Despair. Angry at being given the bum's rush, Reacher decides to find out why the beaten down people of Despair are so anxious to keep strangers out of their tiny hamlet. What he discovers involves the US Army, the current war in Iraq, and a group of born again Christians who are doing everything they can to prepare themselves for the end times they are certain are upon us.
To the casual eye Reacher might seem like a modern McGyver -- but in this book Child is careful to draw a clear line between cause and effect. Reacher's skills, both pugilistic and investigative, are clearly explained and traced back to both his childhood and his military training. I found his actions and his motivations entirely believable.
Reacher is a substantial force for good wherever he finds himself -- and I often regret he is only fictional.
Very highly recommended.
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the skilled help he is willing to give. Owning little, freed from conventional human ties, Reacher is nevertheless a bright, caring, and compassionate man -- who is willing to use his remarkable skills to put right what has often gone wrong.This latest addition to the series is a real page-turner. Reacher is evicted for vagrancy from a tone aptly named Despair. Angry at being given the bum's rush, Reacher decides to find out why the beaten down people of Despair are so anxious to keep strangers out of their tiny hamlet. What he discovers involves the US Army, the current war in Iraq, and a group of born again Christians who are doing everything they can to prepare themselves for the end times they are certain are upon us.
To the casual eye Reacher might seem like a modern McGyver -- but in this book Child is careful to draw a clear line between cause and effect. Reacher's skills, both pugilistic and investigative, are clearly explained and traced back to both his childhood and his military training. I found his actions and his motivations entirely believable.
Reacher is a substantial force for good wherever he finds himself -- and I often regret he is only fictional.
Very highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member BigBadJock
Sadly not quite up to the usual standard. Reacher breezed through it with no real feeling of danger or show of emotion.
LibraryThing member missmath144
I didn't enjoy this as much as other Jack Reacher novels. Reacher was more of a jerk than usual, just looking for a fight at every turn, and his reasoning wasn't very clear. Also, the author got off on an anti-war tangent, basically saying that there hadn't been a war worth fighting since 1945.
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This leads me to believe that Lee Child doesn't really know his history. In 1939-44, WWII was no more popular than the Korean War, the Vietnam War, or the Iraqi War. The only reasons we look back on it favorably are that we won and that we defeated Hitler, but U.S. citizens didn't want to get involved in an overseas war, and no one really cared about the Jews until after the war. Show Less
LibraryThing member othersam
The previous two books in the Reacher series (THE HARD WAY and BAD LUCK AND TROUBLE) weren’t /quite/ as much fun as the others, imho. I’m therefore all the more delighted to tell you that NOTHING TO LOSE is /terrific/ - right up there with my personal favourites, PERSUADER, ECHO BURNING and ONE
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SHOT. The way Reacher mows into town like a man-sized Godzilla is, as always, intensely satisfying. But seeing, in this one, some nutcase End Times fans meet an early personal apocalypse just gave me a special warm glow. You don’t need to read the series in order, so if you haven’t met Jack Reacher or Lee Child before, here is a grand place to start. If you like fast, thrilling storytelling you’ll be glad you did. Show Less
LibraryThing member Grandeplease
It is Reacher, Jack Reacher - James Bond sans the babes & expensive gadgets. Maybe a MacGyver with a chip on his shoulder. Anyway, Reacher tales are as believable as Bond & MacGyver, but if you are willing to leave reality behind and simply go for a ride with Jack Reacher in Nothing To Lose, you
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won't be disappoinated. Show Less
LibraryThing member edwardsgt
Jack Reacher is walking into a town called Despair in Colorado and they make the mistake of running him out of town as a vagrant. No-one does that to Jack Reacher! As always a fast-paced action story which has the reader keeping turning the pages to find out what happens next and why Despair
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doesn't welcome visitors and what secret the metal recycling plant is hiding... Show Less
LibraryThing member nakmeister
Lee Child's 12th book I think, about Jack Reacher, the ex military cop. Not one of his best, not one of his worst. If you like the Reacher books, you'll like this. If you've never read them before, start with Killing Floor or one of his other early books.
LibraryThing member cameling
Ex-military MP, Jack Reacher decides to live his life encumbered by belongings. He doesn't want to live in one place, doesn't want to own anything but the clothes on his back and travels whereever he pleases, stays a long as he wants and moves on. Or so he thought when he decided one day to walk
Now if ever there was a challenge, that's one for Jack. He needs to know what the town of Despair is hiding that they need to keep throwing people out of their town. With the reluctant help of a Hope policewoman, Jack starts to discover some very strange goings-on indeed in Despair, after he stumbles over a dead body in the dark, and a plane that flies in and out of a metal plant every night.
In typical Jack Reacher fashion, his tenaciousness uncovers military secrets, bullies he gets to beat up, people he tries to help and odd mysteries to solve.
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across the country from Maine to California. With just his passport, his ATM card and some cash in his pocket, he passes through the town of Hope and crosses into the town of Despair. The name of the town itself should have given him pause for thought but then Jack doesn't like turning back, so he walks on ... and finds himself in a strange and hostile town that doesn't welcome strangers. In a span of minutes, he manages to punch a deputy sheriff, gets himself arrested for vagrancy, jailed for the night, appears before a judge and is unceremoniously informed he is not welcome in the town of Despair and is driven back to Hope with firm instructions not to return.....ever!Now if ever there was a challenge, that's one for Jack. He needs to know what the town of Despair is hiding that they need to keep throwing people out of their town. With the reluctant help of a Hope policewoman, Jack starts to discover some very strange goings-on indeed in Despair, after he stumbles over a dead body in the dark, and a plane that flies in and out of a metal plant every night.
In typical Jack Reacher fashion, his tenaciousness uncovers military secrets, bullies he gets to beat up, people he tries to help and odd mysteries to solve.
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LibraryThing member Michaenite
This is an excellent thriller about religious nuts, the Iraq War and corporate profits. Child is excellent at creating a sense of place, creating interesting characters and probing into the American mind. The protagonist is a loner who can observe society from a distance and act accordingly. It is
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modestly paced and takes time to present and observe the importance of small details in daily life and how they relate to culture, social policy, religion and human relations. Show Less
LibraryThing member theforestofbooks
This author’s books always seem to dominate the crime shelves whenever I go into a bookshop, and I’ve been a little dismissive of this author in the past; considering his books a little too thriller’ish for my tastes. A bit of a sweeping conclusion to draw on my behalf without ever having
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read any of his books. I was prompted to try this author, by a book podcast which reviewed his latest book and it sounded intriguing so I thought I’d give previous book a go. I’m glad I did. The central character is Jack Reacher, a former military cop who now travels through America giving aid to a cause he believes in. Although the concept does follow the lines of a thriller, Reacher is such a no nonsense guy, that I got pulled into the book just by his attitude of having total belief in himself. As well drawn as the character is, and this is an ongoing series so the author has had time to flesh him out, it’s the dialogue which just pulses off the page. Sharp, snappy. And at times very amusing. There’s no use of ‘he said/she said’, just great flowing dialogue. My only slightly complaint, is Reacher is a guy who can measure distances mentally, can weigh up a person when he walks into a room (he even has an eternal clock) and sometimes that level of technical information, for me bogged the story down at times. Personally I’d’ve liked to have seen the story edited a little tighter, but that’s just my personal preference. In the end, this is still a series I want to track down and immerse myself in. Show Less
LibraryThing member nbmars
Guys love Jack Reacher, the recurring protagonist in a series of thrillers by Lee Child. He’s an ex-military policeman, big, strong, attractive to and successful with women, and nobody can knock this guy down. He observes the tiniest details about people and places, has an unerring internal clock
Reacher, not working since his military days, decides to cross the country diagonally from Calais, Maine, to San Diego, California. On the way, he stops in the little town of Hope, Colorado. He finds that the next town over is called Despair, and is unable to resist seeing it as well. But the townspeople aren’t so welcoming. He is picked up by the police for “vagrancy” and driven back to the line marking Hope Township. There, he is met by a Hope policewoman, Vaughan, who drives him back into town.
Reacher doesn’t like to be told what to do, and decides to go back to Despair and find out why they’re running visitors out of town. He keeps trying, and keeps getting attacked. Nothing stops Reacher though. In a bar where it is six big guys against just him (or, as Reacher analyzes it, “twelve hundred pounds against two-fifty”), he easily repels all six, then finishes his beer.
Repeated incursions into the town with the help of Vaughan (who can’t resist him, needless to add), reveal a religious cult, a military conspiracy, and an environmental disaster. All routine diversions for Reacher, who takes care of all of it, including the lonely Vaughan, before leaving town once again.
Evaluation: The story isn’t all a video-game-as-a-book. The author injects poignant observations about casualties in Iraq, perceptive comments about foreign policy, and trenchant observations about crowd psychology. Still, it’s basically a book you read when you want to take a break from more rigorous reading. I find the Lee Child novels diverting, and the men I know who read them get positively giddy over the character of Jack Reacher. This one isn’t the best I’ve read, but it will do just fine for an airplane book.
Series Note: Although this is a series, these books stand quite well on their own.
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and distance calculator, and a near photographic memory. Otherwise, he’s just like you and me. Reacher, not working since his military days, decides to cross the country diagonally from Calais, Maine, to San Diego, California. On the way, he stops in the little town of Hope, Colorado. He finds that the next town over is called Despair, and is unable to resist seeing it as well. But the townspeople aren’t so welcoming. He is picked up by the police for “vagrancy” and driven back to the line marking Hope Township. There, he is met by a Hope policewoman, Vaughan, who drives him back into town.
Reacher doesn’t like to be told what to do, and decides to go back to Despair and find out why they’re running visitors out of town. He keeps trying, and keeps getting attacked. Nothing stops Reacher though. In a bar where it is six big guys against just him (or, as Reacher analyzes it, “twelve hundred pounds against two-fifty”), he easily repels all six, then finishes his beer.
Repeated incursions into the town with the help of Vaughan (who can’t resist him, needless to add), reveal a religious cult, a military conspiracy, and an environmental disaster. All routine diversions for Reacher, who takes care of all of it, including the lonely Vaughan, before leaving town once again.
Evaluation: The story isn’t all a video-game-as-a-book. The author injects poignant observations about casualties in Iraq, perceptive comments about foreign policy, and trenchant observations about crowd psychology. Still, it’s basically a book you read when you want to take a break from more rigorous reading. I find the Lee Child novels diverting, and the men I know who read them get positively giddy over the character of Jack Reacher. This one isn’t the best I’ve read, but it will do just fine for an airplane book.
Series Note: Although this is a series, these books stand quite well on their own.
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LibraryThing member Aloel
If they'd only served him a cup of coffee, the citizens of Despair would have had a typical day. It would have been a bad day, but not Reacher's problem. A little caffeine and he'd have moved on. But these people want to run him out of town—back the way he came. Bad idea.
What does Despair need to
What does Despair need to
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hide so desperately that just one look at Reacher scares them stupid? Show Less
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
9780553824414
Original publication date
2008-04-24