read by Dick Hill & George Guidall
Having just polished off both these best books in the last week, I thought I’d tackle them
together. Mitch Rapp (protagonist of American Assassin) and Jack Reacher (of
Worth Dying For) have some similarities in terms of the roles they play. Both
are powerful, but somewhat world-weary men…who find themselves having to sling
the problems of others over their shoulders to carry their burdens, and who are
willing to go to any lengths at all to see that “the cause of right” triumphs
in the end.
In the case of Mitch Rapp, the story is solid
enough. Probably not my favorite Rapp novel to date, but we get a lot more
backstory this time…where he came from, his early training, etc…what’s led up
to the man he is today. A man who has no patience with political correctness,
and for whom, the end does indeed justify the means. The inevitable comparison
to Jack Bauer would be apt. So if you enjoyed 24, you’ll like Mitch Rapp. I
did, and I do.
In the case of Jack Reacher, he’s still fairly
mysterious…though, on some level, also somewhat predictable. But that’s not a
complaint…if I didn’t want to hear it spelled out anyway, I wouldn’t keep
listening.
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| Best Books And Best Novels OF Worth Dying Fro |
Rapp is on the trail of some pesky Middle Eastern
characters who have kidnapped and are torturing American agents. It’s his job
to rescue them and bust up the guys who took them. And that’s about all you
need to know. It’s very similar to the previous novels in the series. Still
enjoyable. I like Flynn’s storytelling ability, as well as the insight into
agencies, strategies, weaponry, etc. I think there’s only one Rapp novel that I
haven’t listened to so far, and I’ve enjoyed them all about equally.
Jack Reacher has recently survived the trauma
covered in the previous story in the series (61 Hours), and he’s still on the
mend as he wanders into small-town Nebraska and is confronted by a rather
insidious family (the Duncans) who have made the town their little fiefdom and
the residents their personal slaves. They employ a bunch of former Nebraska
college football players as enforcers…and then we’ve got some organized crime
types who jump into the mix as well. Reacher can’t seem to decide whether to
stay and deal with it, or to head to Virginia in search of a mysterious lady
from 61 Hours. I’ll cut right to the chase: He stays. Surprised? Me neither.
However, there is a very interesting angle to this story that doesn’t fully
reveal itself until later, and I won’t even hint at it…except to say that it
made this story the most interesting of the Reacher novels to date for me. A
couple strong thumbs up on this one.
As to the readers: George Guidall is the best
I’ve ever heard. He’s solid as usual on the Flynn book. I like this guy so much
that I actual scour the back catalog of his work to find things I might want to
listen to…just so I can listen to him do what he does. I’ve been waiting for
American Assassin for the last couple months just to hear him again. Dick Hill
is the voice of the Reacher series, as he has been for years. He’s not my
favorite reader. His characterizations are not that strong overall, but he does
bring a certain tone (cynical, maybe?) that works well overall. There are
times, though, when his voice just doesn’t work for me. Some of the characters
just don’t sound right with that hard-bitten, smart-ass tone. He has sort of a
Chicago wise-guy sound (this may not be a very accurate description, but it’s
what comes to mind when I hear him). I wouldn’t put him in the same class as
Guidall or John Lee or Will Patton or some of the others I’ve heard, but he’s
still solid and his voice is pretty strongly associated with the Reacher series
in my head.
So, yes, I liked American Assassin, but of these
two…Worth Dying For turned out to be the real winner here for me. Check ’em out!
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