[hmorphone]

Seems I've heard zackddog, and maybe beukies mention him, but I haven't read any books that had a character by that name that I can recall.

Am I missing out?

Is it like Bohica and the Mercy Thompson series where I just don't know what I'm missing?

Inquiring minds want to know!

[sherlockx]

Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth.

A sort of freelance amateur american James Bond , sans ......
No I had better not

[Beukies]

My dear hmorphone, you don't know what you are missing! (If you want ALL the Jack Reacher books in sequence, let me know).

Here is a short synopsis of Jack Reacher:

Jack Reacher is a former United States Army Military Police Major. He was born on a military base in Berlin on October 29, 1960. At age 24, he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. After graduation, he served 13 years as a Military Policeman, during which time he became part of a fictional military police unit, the 110th Special Investigations Unit, formed to handle exceptionally tough cases, especially those involving members of the United States Army Special Forces. And then he "retired" from the service.

Since leaving the Army, Reacher has been a drifter. He wanders throughout the United States because he felt he never got to know his own country, having spent his youth living overseas on military bases.

Reacher is skilled at fighting, although he is not an expert in any particular martial art. In 61 Hours his military record describes his combat skills as being expert on all small arms, outstanding on all man-portable weaponry, and beyond outstanding at hand-to-hand combat. Reacher's favorite techniques include elbow strikes, uppercuts, and headbutts. His tremendous strength aids him in fighting, as he is significantly stronger than most of his opponents. In addition to his fighting prowess, a common element of the Reacher novels is his overall propensity for brutality when necessary. Reacher's capacity for violence is enormous, although those he harms are nearly always villains worthy of what they receive (In other words: "You cross Jack and you WILL be hurt!")

During his travels, he invariable ends up in a place where someone needs help or someone needs fixing.

Reacher has a fascination with mathematics. (Almost as illogical as our friend the Evil Riddle Master )

You want more, read the books !!!! Now!!!

[hmorphone]

Thanks, I was beginning to suspect from a comment here and there that I was missing something important.
I've obtained the series best I can yesterday, have 1 thru 16.
As far as I can tell, this just means I'm missing some short stories?

[Beukies]

Plus a short story of Reacher as a kid "Second Son" (not an ordinary kid) viewtopic.php?f=121&t=226961&hilit=lee+child

I first found Reacher a few years back when I left my bag with my in-flight entertainment (aka a couple of novels) at home when leaving for a business trip. The novel Persuader was in paperback at the book store in the airport and the display caught my eye. Over the course of that business trip I bought almost all the preceding books and read them (it was an 8-day trip) and now I do my best to pick up the latest one whenever it comes out. I find Lee Child's writing style to be quite conducive to those late-night can't-stop-reading-even-though-I-need-to-sleep sessions - so be forewarned.

[merry60]

I first found Reacher a few years back when I left my bag with my in-flight entertainment (aka a couple of novels) at home when leaving for a business trip. The novel Persuader was in paperback at the book store in the airport and the display caught my eye. Over the course of that business trip I bought almost all the preceding books and read them (it was an 8-day trip) and now I do my best to pick up the latest one whenever it comes out. I find Lee Child's writing style to be quite conducive to those late-night can't-stop-reading-even-though-I-need-to-sleep sessions - so be forewarned.

I could have written that myself, except the book was Echo Burning and the trip was not business
I visited this site looking for more of his books to add to my brand new e-reader, but I ended up posting them myself.... and the rest is (my) history.

[Beukies]

Who knows when the next novel will be out?

[zackddog]

I first found Reacher in a little compilation of Brit writers in a short story titled "James Penney New Identity" with Jack hitching a ride from a man down on his luck and trying to get away from his life traveling in a brand new Firebird. After guessing more or less what had happened to the guy, Reacher hands the man a wallet with money, credit cards and enough documents to get a new identity. The wallet came off of an army officer that was getting ready to run from justice, but Reacher said nothing and killed him. If you read the books, you'll figure out who was killed and why. Needless to say, I went and bought the books to find out who and why.

And yeah, don't bother with the new book. Other than introducing a new girl, it was mostly a rehash of things that had been hinted at in the past. Nothing new, which a lot of us were expecting.

Next book should be out in the Fall of 2012. That's usually when the books are released.

In addition to the Lee Child "Jack Reacher" books there r follow up stories by others Diane Capri created a "Hunt for Jack Reacher" book series with 2 FBI agents looking for him. (this series is approved by Lee Child, he enjoyed them and thought they were a fitting addition. Scott blade also has a series "Get Jack Reacher" but I have yet to read those. I did enjoy the "Hunt for Jack Reacher" series though.