-
Welcome
to BookAndReader! We LOVE books and hope you'll join us in sharing your favorites and experiences along with your love of reading with our community. Registering for our site is free and easy, just CLICK HERE!
Already a member and forgot your password? Click here.
errors in Lee Child book
- Thread starter chiangmaifalcon
- Start date
:
canuck
Active Member
He showers regularly, brushes his teeth regularly, throws away his underwear after a couple of days, buys more, is very attractive to women, and always goes after the bad guys (a Reacher fan) 
I am a fan but I do think he could pay a bit more attention to his clothing, have to speak to Lee Child about that!
I am a fan but I do think he could pay a bit more attention to his clothing, have to speak to Lee Child about that!Norris Glass
New Member
LOL! Came looking for someone on the 'net who'd noticed some of the same stuff
Having tried before to read Lee Child's stuff but being unable to because of the errors, I finally forced myself to read four of them. And I'm glad I did. Some very good stuff in there. However, some of these errors ... yeesh!
For instance, chronologically-speaking (not in order of publication), the Reacher story "The Affair" covers how he left the Army. The story takes great pains, over and over again, to insist that the date is early 1997, March or May, I believe.
So, as of March-May 1997, Reacher leaves the military and start wandering.
The next tale, chronologically, the first story published, is "Killing Floor." The story is copyright 1997, but Reacher says in the first chapter that he's in a diner reading a newspaper article on "a president I didn't vote for the first time and wouldn't vote for this time."
That clearly makes the year of the story 1996 not 1997. Because there was no presidential election in '97; it was '96. And in '92 (when an incumbent ran), Reacher was in the military, not wandering the earth. And it can't be 2000 unless in 1997, Reacher was telling a story that would happen to him IN THE FUTURE.
Lee Child obviously didn't take into account his own dating of his own first story, "Killing Floor," when he went back several books later and wrote Reacher's "origin" in "The Affair" and set it in 1997, a year AFTER the first story was set.
Further complicating this, Reacher notes that he hadn't killed anyone in "a long time" in the first chapter of "Killing Floor." But, even assuming that it's set in 1997 after Jack left the military, he STILL killed three people in "The Affair," just a few months before.
Anyway, Lee Child's errors are ridiculous as heck, but I'm trying to laugh 'em off and not let them get in the way of what are otherwise great novels.
Having tried before to read Lee Child's stuff but being unable to because of the errors, I finally forced myself to read four of them. And I'm glad I did. Some very good stuff in there. However, some of these errors ... yeesh!
For instance, chronologically-speaking (not in order of publication), the Reacher story "The Affair" covers how he left the Army. The story takes great pains, over and over again, to insist that the date is early 1997, March or May, I believe.
So, as of March-May 1997, Reacher leaves the military and start wandering.
The next tale, chronologically, the first story published, is "Killing Floor." The story is copyright 1997, but Reacher says in the first chapter that he's in a diner reading a newspaper article on "a president I didn't vote for the first time and wouldn't vote for this time."
That clearly makes the year of the story 1996 not 1997. Because there was no presidential election in '97; it was '96. And in '92 (when an incumbent ran), Reacher was in the military, not wandering the earth. And it can't be 2000 unless in 1997, Reacher was telling a story that would happen to him IN THE FUTURE.
Lee Child obviously didn't take into account his own dating of his own first story, "Killing Floor," when he went back several books later and wrote Reacher's "origin" in "The Affair" and set it in 1997, a year AFTER the first story was set.
Further complicating this, Reacher notes that he hadn't killed anyone in "a long time" in the first chapter of "Killing Floor." But, even assuming that it's set in 1997 after Jack left the military, he STILL killed three people in "The Affair," just a few months before.
Anyway, Lee Child's errors are ridiculous as heck, but I'm trying to laugh 'em off and not let them get in the way of what are otherwise great novels.
Norris Glass
New Member
Uh, no. Even FICTION should maintain the illusion of truth. Too many mistakes destroys the illusion. Who taught you literary theory?I'm not "one of the guys" but if you read fiction writers like Harlan Corben, or Daniel Silva, expect the same thing as Lee Child's books. They have the same thing written on the copyright page.
That's what is meant by "fiction writers". Maybe you should read True Stories.Then you would have just cause to pick them apart.
canuck
Active Member
I had forgotten about this thread and went back and read the posts again. Loved the one where it was suggested that he cleaned his underwear with his toothbrush. :lol: I've read just about all of his books and I like the concept of a hero who goes about setting things right and eliminating the bad guys. The idea of his clothing was kind of an annoyance for me and the underwear thing was always a bit of a yuck factor but I enjoyed his stories. Not knowing a lot about firearms or US politics was probably a plus as I wouldn't spot the errors. Am interested in seeing how the movie turns out especially after reading all the outpouring of anger about the choice of actor on another forum. His latest book A Wanted Man is a bit different from previous books and not quite as interesting to me but there's always the next one.
Writers like Tom Clancy, and John Nance write fictional accounts which are exciting, yet believable. They research and know whereof what they write.
They have a veracity which strikes a chord in those who do know the themes they write on, as well or maybe better then the authors.
This gives them a form of veracity, for which i suppose there is or should be a name. In my own ignorance I'll call it "Clancy-ness"...
Whatever... Child has no clue and no claim to veracity, IMO...
canuck
Active Member
He is writing fiction for entertainment. Why read his books if they bother you?
To be fair, I do read some authors who have less than full credibility in some aspects of their writing.
C.J. Box writes wonderfully of Wyoming, and his fictional game warden "Joe Pickett" is very credible, to me.
But there are things that Box writes about ancillary characters and the military that are a bit clueless.
Randy Wayne White writes from a tremendous and experienced viewpoint of a saltwater angler, boater, and gulf coast resident. And he makes his biologist stuff believable to me, with my limited knowledge of such subjects.
Both of these authors write very well about what they know, and wander into the whimsical with marginal aspects of their works....
But the core of Child's character "Reacher" is developed around flawed and ridiculous premises.
C.J. Box writes wonderfully of Wyoming, and his fictional game warden "Joe Pickett" is very credible, to me.
But there are things that Box writes about ancillary characters and the military that are a bit clueless.
Randy Wayne White writes from a tremendous and experienced viewpoint of a saltwater angler, boater, and gulf coast resident. And he makes his biologist stuff believable to me, with my limited knowledge of such subjects.
Both of these authors write very well about what they know, and wander into the whimsical with marginal aspects of their works....
But the core of Child's character "Reacher" is developed around flawed and ridiculous premises.
PrincessFiona60
Member
I grew up in Wyoming, I just read the first chapter of a CJ Box book and I can pick that chapter apart for veracity. Just one chapter or I can choose to read it as the entertainment it is meant to be and enjoy the ride.
PrincessFiona60
Member
Just admit you don't care for Lee Child books...why pick them apart?
I do not care for Lee Child's books. I feel that they are poorly researched, lazily developed, and inelegantly written.
And I write these things because this is a venue for sharing opinions about books, and their authors.
If you like his stuff then you read it. Develop your own views.
But if you read Child's stuff you owe it to yourself to also read some J.C. Pollock, and Clancy, for a more accurate portrayal of the armed services and those who serve.
And I write these things because this is a venue for sharing opinions about books, and their authors.
If you like his stuff then you read it. Develop your own views.
But if you read Child's stuff you owe it to yourself to also read some J.C. Pollock, and Clancy, for a more accurate portrayal of the armed services and those who serve.
PrincessFiona60
Member
I've been reading Clancy for 30 years, at least...
PrincessFiona60
Member
My bad only 28 years...HFRO was first published in 1984.
JGL
Member
Comparing Child and Clancy is like comparing apples and oranges.
Child is straight thriller writer. His pace is breakneck, and his prose can be sparse and inelegant. He doesn't much worry about character development either, and why would he? He's got the perfect excuse to drum up new ones every time he writes a new novel. You don't go back to a Reacher novel to see a bunch of well rounded characters or an authentic take on the military. You go back to see what new superbad guy Reacher can beat to death with his bare hands this time.
Clancy is nothing if not a novelist. He works grew increasingly more complex, at least in Ryanverse, as he progressed and developed as a writer, and his side characters became increasingly more defined, dimensional, and central to the overall plot. Unlike Child, he works hard at making his novels authentic and realistic, at least within the realms of military culture and the intelligence community. I had an ROTC Instructor who did a stint with the NSA and he always talked about how he was surprised Clancy wasn't being investigated. I'm not sure how much of that was just him shooting off at the mouth, but you never know.
About to set off for the airport, and I was thinking of buying this. I looked on Amazon - it can't be faulted - then looked on Book & Reader. Thank you Chiangmaifalcon, and those that added to this thread. I'd have put it down and left it where it lay once I'd seen the follies of this tale.
canuck
Active Member
Unfortunately A Wanted Man is not one of his best books. However, his others are all pretty good unless you are a stickler for detail with guns etc. I don't know much about guns so any errors with ballistics etc. wouldn't be noticed by me. I just enjoy the plot. I think he writes entertainingly.
JanelB.
New Member
I could never get into Lee Child's books. I don't know, they just don't keep my interest.
Like previous posters, I do like Clancy. But, my absolute favorite writer of military fiction is W.E.B. Griffin....being a veteran himself he is well versed in all aspects of armed services and lifestyles therein. His Men at War series is really good.
Like previous posters, I do like Clancy. But, my absolute favorite writer of military fiction is W.E.B. Griffin....being a veteran himself he is well versed in all aspects of armed services and lifestyles therein. His Men at War series is really good.