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Jack Reacher #17.5
High Heat
Thriller master Lee Child returns with an exclusive eBook short story. In the midst of a savage heat wave and an infamous murder spree, a blackout awakens the dark side of the city that never sleeps—and a young Jack Reacher takes action as only he can.
Don’t miss the exciting preview of Lee Child’s highly anticipated Jack Reacher novel, Never Go Back!
July 1977. Jack Reacher is almost seventeen, and he stops in New York City on the way to visit his brother at West Point. The summer heat is suffocating, the city is bankrupt, and the mad gunman known as Son of Sam is still on the loose. Reacher meets a woman with a problem, and agrees to help her . . . but then the power grid fails and the lights go out, plunging the lawless city into chaos. What does a visiting teenager do in the dark? If that visiting teenager is Jack Reacher, the answer is plenty.
Don’t miss the exciting preview of Lee Child’s highly anticipated Jack Reacher novel, Never Go Back!
July 1977. Jack Reacher is almost seventeen, and he stops in New York City on the way to visit his brother at West Point. The summer heat is suffocating, the city is bankrupt, and the mad gunman known as Son of Sam is still on the loose. Reacher meets a woman with a problem, and agrees to help her . . . but then the power grid fails and the lights go out, plunging the lawless city into chaos. What does a visiting teenager do in the dark? If that visiting teenager is Jack Reacher, the answer is plenty.
64 pages, ebook
First published August 6, 2013
About the author
Lee Child
314 books31.7k followersLee Child was born October 29th, 1954 in Coventry, England, but spent his formative years in the nearby city of Birmingham. By coincidence he won a scholarship to the same high school that JRR Tolkien had attended. He went to law school in Sheffield, England, and after part-time work in the theater he joined Granada Television in Manchester for what turned out to be an eighteen-year career as a presentation director during British TV's "golden age." During his tenure his company made Brideshead Revisited, The Jewel in the Crown, Prime Suspect, and Cracker. But he was fired in 1995 at the age of 40 as a result of corporate restructuring. Always a voracious reader, he decided to see an opportunity where others might have seen a crisis and bought six dollars' worth of paper and pencils and sat down to write a book, Killing Floor, the first in the Jack Reacher series.
Killing Floor was an immediate success and launched the series which has grown in sales and impact with every new installment. The first Jack Reacher movie, based on the novel One Shot and starring Tom Cruise and Rosamund Pike, was released in December 2012.
Lee has three homes—an apartment in Manhattan, a country house in the south of France, and whatever airplane cabin he happens to be in while traveling between the two. In the US he drives a supercharged Jaguar, which was built in Jaguar's Browns Lane plant, thirty yards from the hospital in which he was born.
Lee spends his spare time reading, listening to music, and watching the Yankees, Aston Villa, or Marseilles soccer. He is married with a grown-up daughter. He is tall and slim, despite an appalling diet and a refusal to exercise.
Killing Floor was an immediate success and launched the series which has grown in sales and impact with every new installment. The first Jack Reacher movie, based on the novel One Shot and starring Tom Cruise and Rosamund Pike, was released in December 2012.
Lee has three homes—an apartment in Manhattan, a country house in the south of France, and whatever airplane cabin he happens to be in while traveling between the two. In the US he drives a supercharged Jaguar, which was built in Jaguar's Browns Lane plant, thirty yards from the hospital in which he was born.
Lee spends his spare time reading, listening to music, and watching the Yankees, Aston Villa, or Marseilles soccer. He is married with a grown-up daughter. He is tall and slim, despite an appalling diet and a refusal to exercise.
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July 25, 2021
High Heat (Jack Reacher, #17.5), Lee Child
July 1977. Jack Reacher is almost seventeen, and he stops in New York City on the way to visit his brother at West Point.
The summer heat is suffocating, the city is bankrupt, and the mad gunman known as Son of Sam is still on the loose.
Reacher meets a woman with a problem, and agrees to help her . . . but then the power grid fails and the lights go out, plunging the lawless city into chaos.
What does a visiting teenager do in the dark?
If that visiting teenager is Jack Reacher, the answer is plenty.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز یازدهم ماه فوریه سال 2018 میلادی
عنوان: گرمای زیاد کتاب هفده و نیم از سری جک ریچر؛ نویسنده لی چایلد؛ موضوع داستانهای نویندگان بریتانیا - سده 21م
در ماه جولای سال 1977میلادی؛ «جک ریچر» نزدیک به هفده سال دارد، و در راه برای دیدار با برادرش در «وست پوینت»، در شهر «نیویورک» است؛ گرمای تابستان خفقان آور است، شهر ورشکسته است، و فرد مسلح دیوانه ای که به نام «پسر سام» نامدار است هنوز در آنجاست؛ «ریچر» با زنی که مشکلی دارد، دیدار میکند، و میپذیرد تا به او یاری کند؛ ...؛ اما پس از آن، شبکه ی برق از کار میافتد، و چراغها خاموش میشوند؛ و شهر بی قانون را به هرج و مرج میکشانند؛ یک نوجوان در انتظار دیدار در تاریکی چه میتواند بکند؟ اما اگر آن نوجوان دیدار کننده «جک ریچر» باشد چه، پاسخ مشخص است
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 02/05/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
July 1977. Jack Reacher is almost seventeen, and he stops in New York City on the way to visit his brother at West Point.
The summer heat is suffocating, the city is bankrupt, and the mad gunman known as Son of Sam is still on the loose.
Reacher meets a woman with a problem, and agrees to help her . . . but then the power grid fails and the lights go out, plunging the lawless city into chaos.
What does a visiting teenager do in the dark?
If that visiting teenager is Jack Reacher, the answer is plenty.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز یازدهم ماه فوریه سال 2018 میلادی
عنوان: گرمای زیاد کتاب هفده و نیم از سری جک ریچر؛ نویسنده لی چایلد؛ موضوع داستانهای نویندگان بریتانیا - سده 21م
در ماه جولای سال 1977میلادی؛ «جک ریچر» نزدیک به هفده سال دارد، و در راه برای دیدار با برادرش در «وست پوینت»، در شهر «نیویورک» است؛ گرمای تابستان خفقان آور است، شهر ورشکسته است، و فرد مسلح دیوانه ای که به نام «پسر سام» نامدار است هنوز در آنجاست؛ «ریچر» با زنی که مشکلی دارد، دیدار میکند، و میپذیرد تا به او یاری کند؛ ...؛ اما پس از آن، شبکه ی برق از کار میافتد، و چراغها خاموش میشوند؛ و شهر بی قانون را به هرج و مرج میکشانند؛ یک نوجوان در انتظار دیدار در تاریکی چه میتواند بکند؟ اما اگر آن نوجوان دیدار کننده «جک ریچر» باشد چه، پاسخ مشخص است
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 02/05/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
January 5, 2020
4.5★
“So they got out into the heat and walked to the corner through air thick enough to eat. The sky was as hot and hard as an iron roof at noontime, and it was still flickering in the north, with the kind of restless energy that promised plenty and delivered nothing.”
New York City, July 1977, with high heat that is becoming more commonplace as the planet continues to cook.
I’ve read a few odd (well, not odd, just stories I happened upon) Jack Reacher stories in the past, and I’ve been listening to interviews with author Lee Child (love the way he chose his nom-de-plume and Reacher’s name*) and decided it’s time to read some more Reacher.
Where to begin? Hmm . . . this newish one was available, and I found it’s the earliest chronologically. Reacher is not quite 17 years old, and he’s on his way to visit his older brother at West Point. Meanwhile, he’s in NYC and immediately upsets a ‘made’ guy (killer) by speaking up to defend a woman the guy is threatening. Reacher's considerable size (a muscular 6’5”, 220 lbs) isn’t scaring this bad dude, and the woman warns him to get the heck outta Dodge!
Instead, he meets a girl (a lot of girls, actually, but one hangs with him) and while they head off to find some music, we worry about his welfare. Especially when the bad dude turns up again.
Then, hey presto! The lights go out! Remember the Big Blackout? Nobody has any idea what’s happened.
“There was a hugeness to it. Not just a room or a building or a block, but the entire city, slumped inert and defeated all around them, as if it was ruined, as if it was dead, like a relic from the past. And maybe it was more than just the city. There was no glow on any horizon. Nothing from across either river, nothing from the south, nothing from the north. Maybe the whole Northeast was out. Maybe all of America. Or the whole world. People were always talking about secret weapons. Maybe someone had pulled a trigger.”
Hot, sticky, awful and then completely dark. Perfect looting opportunity, but hard to see when the enemy is near. What’s more, serial killer Son of Sam was still on the loose, and he makes an appearance here. It’s pretty full-on for a short story!
He may be only 16+, but Reacher’s a smart kid with an old head on his young shoulders. Raised in the Marines overseas, he’s seen it all and learned all the tricks. I did find him a little unbelievably experienced and clever, but I was more than happy to suspend disbelief to enjoy the story. And I did.
Of course we know he lives to fight another day!
This is the ‘first’ Reacher (unless Child decides to take him further back into his childhood), so I’ve decided to start here. Here’s a link to different ways to sort the series.
https://www.bestreadingorder.com/2015...
* I’ve heard him explain both his name and Reacher’s. Wikipedia includes that in his entry here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Child
Of course, the author’s own website has links to interviews and all sorts of interesting bits an pieces. https://www.leechild.com/
“So they got out into the heat and walked to the corner through air thick enough to eat. The sky was as hot and hard as an iron roof at noontime, and it was still flickering in the north, with the kind of restless energy that promised plenty and delivered nothing.”
New York City, July 1977, with high heat that is becoming more commonplace as the planet continues to cook.
I’ve read a few odd (well, not odd, just stories I happened upon) Jack Reacher stories in the past, and I’ve been listening to interviews with author Lee Child (love the way he chose his nom-de-plume and Reacher’s name*) and decided it’s time to read some more Reacher.
Where to begin? Hmm . . . this newish one was available, and I found it’s the earliest chronologically. Reacher is not quite 17 years old, and he’s on his way to visit his older brother at West Point. Meanwhile, he’s in NYC and immediately upsets a ‘made’ guy (killer) by speaking up to defend a woman the guy is threatening. Reacher's considerable size (a muscular 6’5”, 220 lbs) isn’t scaring this bad dude, and the woman warns him to get the heck outta Dodge!
Instead, he meets a girl (a lot of girls, actually, but one hangs with him) and while they head off to find some music, we worry about his welfare. Especially when the bad dude turns up again.
Then, hey presto! The lights go out! Remember the Big Blackout? Nobody has any idea what’s happened.
“There was a hugeness to it. Not just a room or a building or a block, but the entire city, slumped inert and defeated all around them, as if it was ruined, as if it was dead, like a relic from the past. And maybe it was more than just the city. There was no glow on any horizon. Nothing from across either river, nothing from the south, nothing from the north. Maybe the whole Northeast was out. Maybe all of America. Or the whole world. People were always talking about secret weapons. Maybe someone had pulled a trigger.”
Hot, sticky, awful and then completely dark. Perfect looting opportunity, but hard to see when the enemy is near. What’s more, serial killer Son of Sam was still on the loose, and he makes an appearance here. It’s pretty full-on for a short story!
He may be only 16+, but Reacher’s a smart kid with an old head on his young shoulders. Raised in the Marines overseas, he’s seen it all and learned all the tricks. I did find him a little unbelievably experienced and clever, but I was more than happy to suspend disbelief to enjoy the story. And I did.
Of course we know he lives to fight another day!
This is the ‘first’ Reacher (unless Child decides to take him further back into his childhood), so I’ve decided to start here. Here’s a link to different ways to sort the series.
https://www.bestreadingorder.com/2015...
* I’ve heard him explain both his name and Reacher’s. Wikipedia includes that in his entry here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Child
Of course, the author’s own website has links to interviews and all sorts of interesting bits an pieces. https://www.leechild.com/
May 2, 2016
I love when Lee Child writes stories of a young Jack Reacher, (Tom Cruise still would be too short to play this part as well. ;-) because we meet a 16 year old JR and he is as tall and built as he is ever going to be. But at this point in time, he has the young body and shear bravado that he will carry for the rest of his life. He is traveling through NYC on his way to meet his older brother at West Point, when he comes upon a man assaulting a woman. So he does what any 16 year old would do, he jumps in and beats the man up. Right???? :-) We already knew that Jack wasn't your typical 16 year old, we have known since he was 7 that he was a force of nature. So when the guy lets Jack know that he has two hours to get out of town or he is going to kill him, of course Jack decides that the Big Apple is his home for the night. Of course he didn't count on a black out in NYC nor the Son of Sam stalking couples in cars to come into play. Oh did I mention that the woman that was being hit was a deposed FBI agent. Once Jack gets her story, he is determined to help her, no matter what she says. He may only be 16, but the inhabitants of the Big Apple better get prepared because they don't know JACK!
December 21, 2023
It’s very cool to read about Reacher as a young man. He is, of course, very smart, and capable, and just the man we imagine him to be at this pre adult stage. He is, as expected, smarter than everyone, and just as good as he is now. It seems he was never green, which is fine by me. Seeing lots of reviews saying how implausible this all is doesn’t bother me at all as I believe it suits the character, and this series is all about this man who is above any type of conceptual norm.
Reacher is on vacation, and as we hear him tell the many characters he comes across, he lives all over, caught a couple of planes and buses and here he is, in New York in the middle of a heat wave, and shortly after, a black out. It’s 1977, and we witness his first major sexual encounter, the way he puts himself forward and even bluff his way if need be. It was sweet, he didn’t really know how to approach a group of girls in the real world, he’d been on base overseas. He just went for it, pleasant and courteous, and a little cheeky.
He steps in when needed (or not, according to the FBI agent who’d been forced into sick leave but still out there trying to catch the head of the mob controlling the city and doing all things bad. There also happens to be a serial killer on the loose, and Reacher stumbles across him, too.
I am not always so interested in the plot lines (though I do enjoy them of course). What I do love is Reacher the character, and the way creates this guy. We see his thought process and unique personality, the way he quickly ascertains what needs to be done and carries it out. Here he is 16 years of age and we can see that as he grows, what he’s able to achieve is not a stretch. I think it’s a great idea showing snippets of the man child.
I loved seeing him interact with the girl he met, the impact of his encounter with her and the promise he made to her. Oh, do I love Reacher! And I don’t care if it is sometimes a stretch in the story line. It’s what it’s all about.
I listened to this via the BorrowBox app and my public library, Jeff Harding doesn’t narrate these fillers, and it’s our loss. I found this title in the book No Middle Name and broke it down that way, as I am now reading in chronological order.
Reacher is on vacation, and as we hear him tell the many characters he comes across, he lives all over, caught a couple of planes and buses and here he is, in New York in the middle of a heat wave, and shortly after, a black out. It’s 1977, and we witness his first major sexual encounter, the way he puts himself forward and even bluff his way if need be. It was sweet, he didn’t really know how to approach a group of girls in the real world, he’d been on base overseas. He just went for it, pleasant and courteous, and a little cheeky.
He steps in when needed (or not, according to the FBI agent who’d been forced into sick leave but still out there trying to catch the head of the mob controlling the city and doing all things bad. There also happens to be a serial killer on the loose, and Reacher stumbles across him, too.
I am not always so interested in the plot lines (though I do enjoy them of course). What I do love is Reacher the character, and the way creates this guy. We see his thought process and unique personality, the way he quickly ascertains what needs to be done and carries it out. Here he is 16 years of age and we can see that as he grows, what he’s able to achieve is not a stretch. I think it’s a great idea showing snippets of the man child.
I loved seeing him interact with the girl he met, the impact of his encounter with her and the promise he made to her. Oh, do I love Reacher! And I don’t care if it is sometimes a stretch in the story line. It’s what it’s all about.
I listened to this via the BorrowBox app and my public library, Jeff Harding doesn’t narrate these fillers, and it’s our loss. I found this title in the book No Middle Name and broke it down that way, as I am now reading in chronological order.
March 18, 2015
A very enjoyable novella about a teenage Jack Reacher beating up the bad guys in New York in 1977. It's a little bit silly and the reader has to suspend belief for a while because Jack is an unbelievably mature sixteen year old. Nevertheless it is written in Lee Child's inimitable way and and is enormously readable and fun! I rarely read novellas but may make an exception for these ones.
May 24, 2024
Book 17.5 in the Jack Reacher series and probably the short story I've enjoyed the most so far.
I love the full-length novels, but these short stories feel like a cash grab. They don't add value or even feel like a Reacher book.
While Reacher does not feel 17 in this book and reads like a full-grown man in his 40s, I did enjoy this one, and it felt like it could fit within the Reacher canon.
Three stars.
I love the full-length novels, but these short stories feel like a cash grab. They don't add value or even feel like a Reacher book.
While Reacher does not feel 17 in this book and reads like a full-grown man in his 40s, I did enjoy this one, and it felt like it could fit within the Reacher canon.
Three stars.
June 19, 2020
A Jack Reacher Novella published 2013.
This was an entertaining if implausible novella.
Jack Reacher is 16 years old and footloose in New York. It’s stinking hot and Jack is out and about taking in the sites when he sees a woman being slapped across the face by an older man. Jack comes to the woman’s aid but is told in no uncertain manner to get lost. This Jack is not about to do. Things get physical the older man getting the worst of it. It turns out that Jack has just beaten the crap out of a made man in the local mafia. Jack is told that he is a dead man walking. Now this would put the fear of God into any 16 year old but not our Jack.
Jack is about to take on the New York Mafia!!!!
Short and implausible but entertaining for all that.
4 stars
This was an entertaining if implausible novella.
Jack Reacher is 16 years old and footloose in New York. It’s stinking hot and Jack is out and about taking in the sites when he sees a woman being slapped across the face by an older man. Jack comes to the woman’s aid but is told in no uncertain manner to get lost. This Jack is not about to do. Things get physical the older man getting the worst of it. It turns out that Jack has just beaten the crap out of a made man in the local mafia. Jack is told that he is a dead man walking. Now this would put the fear of God into any 16 year old but not our Jack.
Jack is about to take on the New York Mafia!!!!
Short and implausible but entertaining for all that.
4 stars
August 6, 2013
“They could have kept on walking”
HIGH HEAT is a very satisfying short story for Reacher fans. It’s far better than the earlier Reacher eBooks SECOND SON and DEEP DOWN. The writing is typical Lee Child (superb) and the plot is typical Reacher – he wanders into town, finds a lady or two, and a lot of trouble. And it’s pretty awesome.
Reacher is on his way to visit his brother at West Point when he stops off in NYC to check out the music scene and the college girls at NYU, but what he finds is a city gripped in fear of the Son of Sam and suffering from a relentless heat wave.
Immediately Reacher witnesses what appears to be a female in distress. And Reacher being who he is – “I’m not a Marine. I’m the son of a Marine.” – he’s compelled to intervene. He’s only sixteen, but he’s already a fully developed machine that’s been fine tuned by street brawls on and off-post at military installations the world over.
But it turns out he’s really stepped into it, because he’s crossed paths with the Croselli crime family and the boss isn’t about to be shown up by some punk kid who’s just rolled into town. Warned off by an out-of-favor female FBI agent, Reacher hooks up with a college girl just as the city is plunged into darkness from a power outage.
As Reacher and his companion explore the surreal scene that is NYC without power, they cross paths with someone who Reacher believes is the Son of Sam. Using his unusually keen ability to observe and record information that’s such a prominent part of this series, Reacher believes he’s deducted a useful piece of information that might help the police catch a killer.
With that in mind, Reacher doesn’t even flinch to head back into the crime family’s controlled area, looking for a disgraced FBI agent, trying to find a way to give her information that can get her career back on track and end the Son of Sam’s killing spree.
If you’re a fan of the series, then you’re going to love Reacher in this eBook – from “the clock in Reacher’s head” ticking to midnight to his pretty simple logic in dealing with bad guys: “They could have kept on walking.”
This is a teenage Reacher at his absolute best, on the verge of becoming the soldier cop and with all the wit and skills and attitude that readers have come to love about him.
Highly recommend, especially if you’re already a fan – but it’s also a great place to start if you’re new to the series.
HIGH HEAT is a very satisfying short story for Reacher fans. It’s far better than the earlier Reacher eBooks SECOND SON and DEEP DOWN. The writing is typical Lee Child (superb) and the plot is typical Reacher – he wanders into town, finds a lady or two, and a lot of trouble. And it’s pretty awesome.
Reacher is on his way to visit his brother at West Point when he stops off in NYC to check out the music scene and the college girls at NYU, but what he finds is a city gripped in fear of the Son of Sam and suffering from a relentless heat wave.
Immediately Reacher witnesses what appears to be a female in distress. And Reacher being who he is – “I’m not a Marine. I’m the son of a Marine.” – he’s compelled to intervene. He’s only sixteen, but he’s already a fully developed machine that’s been fine tuned by street brawls on and off-post at military installations the world over.
But it turns out he’s really stepped into it, because he’s crossed paths with the Croselli crime family and the boss isn’t about to be shown up by some punk kid who’s just rolled into town. Warned off by an out-of-favor female FBI agent, Reacher hooks up with a college girl just as the city is plunged into darkness from a power outage.
As Reacher and his companion explore the surreal scene that is NYC without power, they cross paths with someone who Reacher believes is the Son of Sam. Using his unusually keen ability to observe and record information that’s such a prominent part of this series, Reacher believes he’s deducted a useful piece of information that might help the police catch a killer.
With that in mind, Reacher doesn’t even flinch to head back into the crime family’s controlled area, looking for a disgraced FBI agent, trying to find a way to give her information that can get her career back on track and end the Son of Sam’s killing spree.
If you’re a fan of the series, then you’re going to love Reacher in this eBook – from “the clock in Reacher’s head” ticking to midnight to his pretty simple logic in dealing with bad guys: “They could have kept on walking.”
This is a teenage Reacher at his absolute best, on the verge of becoming the soldier cop and with all the wit and skills and attitude that readers have come to love about him.
Highly recommend, especially if you’re already a fan – but it’s also a great place to start if you’re new to the series.
October 21, 2018
My least favourite of the Reacher novellas.
Heading to see he’s brother in West Point 16 year old Jack stops in New York. Stopping to aid a women who is getting assorted, Reacher soon gets entangled with a crime family.
I just couldn’t connect with this story. I like that Child is introducing more back story to the character, but he just feels to experienced for he’s tender age.
A much more inexperience novice would be far more interesting.
It’s still a relatively quite easy read with Child’s style stampede throughout.
Heading to see he’s brother in West Point 16 year old Jack stops in New York. Stopping to aid a women who is getting assorted, Reacher soon gets entangled with a crime family.
I just couldn’t connect with this story. I like that Child is introducing more back story to the character, but he just feels to experienced for he’s tender age.
A much more inexperience novice would be far more interesting.
It’s still a relatively quite easy read with Child’s style stampede throughout.
August 8, 2013
It was 1977 and sixteen year old Jack Reacher was on his way to visit his brother, Joe. He found himself travelling through New York city in the dark of the evening, with the unbearable heat like a blanket over the city. When he came across a situation which seemed threatening, he quietly observed, ready to step in if necessary. Suddenly the man slapped the woman, hard. After Reacher had taught the man a lesson (as only he could) they watched him stumble away into the darkness. “You don’t know what you’ve done” she said…..
Later on that evening, Reacher was in the company of a young lady by the name of Chrissie when the power went off – the whole city went off the grid. The danger was immediate; with a mad gunman on the loose, plus the person Reacher had upset earlier after him and looting bound to occur, where could they go in the city to be safe? But Reacher wasn’t a guy to head for safety when things needed doing….
What a great thriller – short but oh, so sweet! Full-on Reacher, even though he is a teenager in this novella. Highly recommended.
Later on that evening, Reacher was in the company of a young lady by the name of Chrissie when the power went off – the whole city went off the grid. The danger was immediate; with a mad gunman on the loose, plus the person Reacher had upset earlier after him and looting bound to occur, where could they go in the city to be safe? But Reacher wasn’t a guy to head for safety when things needed doing….
What a great thriller – short but oh, so sweet! Full-on Reacher, even though he is a teenager in this novella. Highly recommended.
November 8, 2023
A very early story in Jack Reacher's life, and one of the best of Lee Child's short story.
A clear and strong story, and at nearly seventeen his confidence was there. Nice to know another side of Jack Reacher, the tough side, but also the softer side.
July 1977. Jack Reacher is almost seventeen, and he stops in New York on his way from South Korea to visit his brother at West Point. The summer heat is suffocating, fires are raging in the Bronx, the city is bankrupt, and the mad gunman known as Son of Sam is still on the loose.
Reacher meets a woman with a problem, and agrees to help her . . . and then the power grid fails and the lights go out, plunging the lawless city that never sleeps into chaos.
All I would have liked was a couple more pages to the story to know why, cannot say anymore. You will know what I mean if you read this book.
Still a full story in this short story. Four stars
What does a visiting teenager do in the dark? If that visiting teenager is Jack Reacher, the answer is: plenty.
A clear and strong story, and at nearly seventeen his confidence was there. Nice to know another side of Jack Reacher, the tough side, but also the softer side.
July 1977. Jack Reacher is almost seventeen, and he stops in New York on his way from South Korea to visit his brother at West Point. The summer heat is suffocating, fires are raging in the Bronx, the city is bankrupt, and the mad gunman known as Son of Sam is still on the loose.
Reacher meets a woman with a problem, and agrees to help her . . . and then the power grid fails and the lights go out, plunging the lawless city that never sleeps into chaos.
All I would have liked was a couple more pages to the story to know why, cannot say anymore. You will know what I mean if you read this book.
Still a full story in this short story. Four stars
What does a visiting teenager do in the dark? If that visiting teenager is Jack Reacher, the answer is: plenty.
October 12, 2017
Enter Reacher at the youthful age of 17 years old visiting the big Apple on his own and when he steps in a situation where a man slaps a woman he finds himself in a situation where he is opposed by a made man. Then throw in a blackout of a major city and even the son of Sam and you've got the ingredients of a nice short stay in the Reacherverse.
While generally the novels by Lee Child do enjoy a certain level of suspended level of disbelieve this hort tale takes that a few steps further. Too far for my personal taste. The feats this 17 year old fellow is able to perform is stretching it a wee bit far.
But is is still a fun and fast read, not sure if you miss anything if you never read this novella.
It passes the time when using public transport, and that says it all.
While generally the novels by Lee Child do enjoy a certain level of suspended level of disbelieve this hort tale takes that a few steps further. Too far for my personal taste. The feats this 17 year old fellow is able to perform is stretching it a wee bit far.
But is is still a fun and fast read, not sure if you miss anything if you never read this novella.
It passes the time when using public transport, and that says it all.
August 9, 2021
I haven't read any Jack Reacher books for a long time, so I decided to read this short one as an easy read, and it was easy and quick.
It takes place a little before Reacher's 17th birthday, when he lived in Korea where his father was posted as a Marine, and Reacher was on a trip by himself to NY on the way to visiting his brother.
It's typical Reacher even back then. He sees a man being violent with a woman, and steps in to offer help. The man tells him to get lost, and the woman agrees. But he can tell the woman is not related to the man, so he persists in trying to help, and of course, eventually gets into a fight with the guy. But even at 16, he's big and a good fighter, and has no fear. He defends himself easily, and the guy leaves after threatening to kill him later.
The rest of the book is typical Jack Reacher. He meets up with a beautiful young college girl, helps solve a few crimes, beats up a couple more people, and then continues up to his brother's house. If you've never read any Jack Reacher books, this might be a good place to start; but if you haven't, you probably don't want to or you've been hiding under a rock, so perhaps I should say if you like Jack Reacher stories, you'll probably like this one.
It takes place a little before Reacher's 17th birthday, when he lived in Korea where his father was posted as a Marine, and Reacher was on a trip by himself to NY on the way to visiting his brother.
It's typical Reacher even back then. He sees a man being violent with a woman, and steps in to offer help. The man tells him to get lost, and the woman agrees. But he can tell the woman is not related to the man, so he persists in trying to help, and of course, eventually gets into a fight with the guy. But even at 16, he's big and a good fighter, and has no fear. He defends himself easily, and the guy leaves after threatening to kill him later.
The rest of the book is typical Jack Reacher. He meets up with a beautiful young college girl, helps solve a few crimes, beats up a couple more people, and then continues up to his brother's house. If you've never read any Jack Reacher books, this might be a good place to start; but if you haven't, you probably don't want to or you've been hiding under a rock, so perhaps I should say if you like Jack Reacher stories, you'll probably like this one.
October 13, 2013
This is silly beyond belief, a cartoon. Here is a protagonist, who at 16 years old must be a high school junior-- baby Jack Reacher. Yet he has all the moves of James Bond and speaks like a 40 year old well-educated man of the world. But every time he opens his mouth you will cringe. His voice doesn't work the way it should. He talks tougher than Clint Eastwood and Bruce Willis even as the peach fuzz on his upper lip refuses to grow. He lives in Korea with his Marine Corps Daddy but knows the streets of Manhattan like the back of his hand ("I studied it from afar"). This is well before the internet mind you.
He slaps around made mafiosos with impunity. During the epic 1977 Northeast blackout he sees, for 20 seconds, in total darkness, a man that might and might not be the Son of Sam. He proceeds to articulate a spot-on profile of the killer's entire life, criminal and otherwise. The dark, ghostly figure that he glimpsed briefly carried himself like a guy who would have enlisted in the Army and served in Korea. Eleventh-grader, 16 year old Jack Reacher could just tell.
The ending, the fate of Reacher's new friend and FBI agent Jill Hemingway, makes no sense whatsover. Much more than just crap, this is gag-worthy dumpster fodder. The author should not do hard time for writing this. But a bit of community service might be in order.
Curious about the Jack Reacher novels, I thought it a good idea to begin with the prequel. It was a mistake. And for all you Reacher fans, I understand the notion of a super-hero, of a brilliant kick-ass crime-solving savant. I get it. But that doesn't make this any good.
He slaps around made mafiosos with impunity. During the epic 1977 Northeast blackout he sees, for 20 seconds, in total darkness, a man that might and might not be the Son of Sam. He proceeds to articulate a spot-on profile of the killer's entire life, criminal and otherwise. The dark, ghostly figure that he glimpsed briefly carried himself like a guy who would have enlisted in the Army and served in Korea. Eleventh-grader, 16 year old Jack Reacher could just tell.
The ending, the fate of Reacher's new friend and FBI agent Jill Hemingway, makes no sense whatsover. Much more than just crap, this is gag-worthy dumpster fodder. The author should not do hard time for writing this. But a bit of community service might be in order.
Curious about the Jack Reacher novels, I thought it a good idea to begin with the prequel. It was a mistake. And for all you Reacher fans, I understand the notion of a super-hero, of a brilliant kick-ass crime-solving savant. I get it. But that doesn't make this any good.
August 21, 2013
I'm a huge fan of Lee Child, but his short stories are not his best work.
This story ties too many historical events together with a too-strong-and-too-smart teenager. Mr. Child wrote a short story about Jack Reacher's childhood, which was credible, but this one takes Jack Reacher into the mid-teens and yet the character acts exactly like the fully grown Jack. Didn't work for me.
I'm not sure what's driving Mr. Child to write these short stories (novella in this case) but I don't see it as worthwhile.
Nonetheless, the writing is among his best works and he includes a sex scene that would make a romance author blush.
Peace, Seeley
This story ties too many historical events together with a too-strong-and-too-smart teenager. Mr. Child wrote a short story about Jack Reacher's childhood, which was credible, but this one takes Jack Reacher into the mid-teens and yet the character acts exactly like the fully grown Jack. Didn't work for me.
I'm not sure what's driving Mr. Child to write these short stories (novella in this case) but I don't see it as worthwhile.
Nonetheless, the writing is among his best works and he includes a sex scene that would make a romance author blush.
Peace, Seeley
January 23, 2024
Summer 1977. New York City is in the midst of a blackout and a famous serial killer is on the loose. Reacher is in town at the age of 16 heading towards West Point. While all this is going on, Reacher gets involved with a lady cop on a mission to stop a drug lord. Of course our boy helps capture a bad, bad man. Plus some wishful thinking on another one. Definitely recommended
October 5, 2023
Decent short review of Reach at 17 years old.
Blackout, Mafia Bosses, and coffee and women.
Blackout, Mafia Bosses, and coffee and women.
December 30, 2013
Totally ridiculous, but fun nonetheless. Jack Reacher makes for the most unrealistic sixteen-year-old boy ever put to paper. In HIGH HEAT, not only does Reacher take down a drug kingpin and help catch the Son of Sam, he also navigates New York City during a blackout, saves the career of an FBI agent, and gets all hot and sweaty with a nubile college girl he picks up at a coffee shop. Even James Bond would find it a bit over-the-top.
May 24, 2021
I loved ❤ this book's storyline. I loved ❤ the action in this story. I loved ❤ Reacher's character. I loved ❤ the ending. Awesome job Mr. Child.
September 1, 2013
It is July 13, 1977 in New York City as the High Heat: A Jack Reacher Novella opens and Jack Reacher is three months shy of his 17th birthday. It is 8:30 in the evening on a day that has been a scorcher. He has just witnessed some sort of altercation between a man and woman that has resulted in the woman being slapped in the face.
A son of a Marine does not allow that to go unchallenged.
Being the son of a Marine that was stationed all over the world means that Reacher knows how to fight. In the aftermath of the inevitable, Reacher learns that the woman is an FBI agent named Jill Hemmingway and the vanquished guy was an organized crime figure named Croselli. Croselli made threats and will be one of several reasons why Reacher will be late visiting his brother, Joe.
While the story is decent enough as it goes, this novella that includes a preview excerpt of the upcoming novel Never Go Back does have issues. The Reacher of High Heat does not come off as a 16 year old kid. Not only is he fully formed physically and has many excellent fighting skills because of having to deal with fellow kids all over the world at various bases, the 16 year old Reacher sounds exactly as he would now in his use of language. The same adult sarcasm streak is not only present; he uses the same type of phrases, verbal tactics, logic progression comments, etc. It is very hard to believe in reading Reacher’s dialogue that this is a sixteen year old kid. If one accepts that then one has to deal with other issues in the novella.
Several believability issues can't be addressed simply because to do so here would reveal key plot points later in the short book. However, it is worth noting that for rather unbelievable reasons, the female FBI agent eventually accepts Reacher's help in her case.
While some have questioned whether or not Lee Child actually wrote this book, I don't have that issue with High Heat: A Jack Reacher Novella. To this reader the book definitely reads as if Lee Child wrote it. My issue with the book is that it has weaknesses and primarily comes across as a marketing tool that is being used to fill time between novels as a way to advertise the upcoming book. Since I am not one of those readers that read preview excerpts at the back of books that aspect is meaningless to me.
If one can get by the idea that a 16 year old Reacher would sound the same as a middle aged Reacher as well as some of the other coincidences and plot points in High Heat: A Jack Reacher Novella delivers a read that has all the Reacher hallmarks. A little fighting, a little loving (even at 16 Reacher has his way with the ladies) and a lot of Reacher observing and assessing his environment and tactical situations. It is enjoyable if you can steadfastly maintain your willingness to suspend your disbelief.
High Heat: A Jack Reacher Novella
Lee Child
http://www.leechild.com
Delacorte Press (Random House Publishing Group)
http://bantamdell.com
2013
ISBN# 978-0-345-54664-7
E-book (print length estimated 73 pages)
$1.99
This material was purchased for my use in an objective review by using a gift card received from my participation in the Amazon Associates Program.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2013
A son of a Marine does not allow that to go unchallenged.
Being the son of a Marine that was stationed all over the world means that Reacher knows how to fight. In the aftermath of the inevitable, Reacher learns that the woman is an FBI agent named Jill Hemmingway and the vanquished guy was an organized crime figure named Croselli. Croselli made threats and will be one of several reasons why Reacher will be late visiting his brother, Joe.
While the story is decent enough as it goes, this novella that includes a preview excerpt of the upcoming novel Never Go Back does have issues. The Reacher of High Heat does not come off as a 16 year old kid. Not only is he fully formed physically and has many excellent fighting skills because of having to deal with fellow kids all over the world at various bases, the 16 year old Reacher sounds exactly as he would now in his use of language. The same adult sarcasm streak is not only present; he uses the same type of phrases, verbal tactics, logic progression comments, etc. It is very hard to believe in reading Reacher’s dialogue that this is a sixteen year old kid. If one accepts that then one has to deal with other issues in the novella.
Several believability issues can't be addressed simply because to do so here would reveal key plot points later in the short book. However, it is worth noting that for rather unbelievable reasons, the female FBI agent eventually accepts Reacher's help in her case.
While some have questioned whether or not Lee Child actually wrote this book, I don't have that issue with High Heat: A Jack Reacher Novella. To this reader the book definitely reads as if Lee Child wrote it. My issue with the book is that it has weaknesses and primarily comes across as a marketing tool that is being used to fill time between novels as a way to advertise the upcoming book. Since I am not one of those readers that read preview excerpts at the back of books that aspect is meaningless to me.
If one can get by the idea that a 16 year old Reacher would sound the same as a middle aged Reacher as well as some of the other coincidences and plot points in High Heat: A Jack Reacher Novella delivers a read that has all the Reacher hallmarks. A little fighting, a little loving (even at 16 Reacher has his way with the ladies) and a lot of Reacher observing and assessing his environment and tactical situations. It is enjoyable if you can steadfastly maintain your willingness to suspend your disbelief.
High Heat: A Jack Reacher Novella
Lee Child
http://www.leechild.com
Delacorte Press (Random House Publishing Group)
http://bantamdell.com
2013
ISBN# 978-0-345-54664-7
E-book (print length estimated 73 pages)
$1.99
This material was purchased for my use in an objective review by using a gift card received from my participation in the Amazon Associates Program.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2013
April 2, 2014
This was a good short about Jack when he was 16. It's hard to picture JR ever being young so this was just a little insight into how worldly and mature he was very early on in his life.
It's the 70's and Jack is on his way to visit his brother at West Point when he stops off in NY for a very full night of fun, that includes: a female FBI agent, the mob, a blackout, an unexpexted death, scorching heat, Son of Sam, a trist with a college girl and lots of action packed fighting. Just a night in the life of Jack Reacher.
It's the 70's and Jack is on his way to visit his brother at West Point when he stops off in NY for a very full night of fun, that includes: a female FBI agent, the mob, a blackout, an unexpexted death, scorching heat, Son of Sam, a trist with a college girl and lots of action packed fighting. Just a night in the life of Jack Reacher.
February 27, 2021
Another great nice Novella/short story.
Jack Reacher(17) stops in NY going to South Korea to visit his brother at West Point. He finds trouble with mysterious lady overcoming trouble.
A mobster who gets in the way, wants to kill Reacher. And as usual, his resilience, firepower defeats any obstacle, as he saves the woman & the hero emerges again...
Going down the road again to his next mission.
Jack Reacher(17) stops in NY going to South Korea to visit his brother at West Point. He finds trouble with mysterious lady overcoming trouble.
A mobster who gets in the way, wants to kill Reacher. And as usual, his resilience, firepower defeats any obstacle, as he saves the woman & the hero emerges again...
Going down the road again to his next mission.
August 1, 2014
How delightful to read a short story starring almost 17 year old Jack Reacher. Coupled in delight by the location in 1977 summer NYC Black Out night, yet.
Oh Reacher! You are just as delectable without any scars, and with all your brand new and shiny grown-up teeth still intact.
Almost a 5 star, but then I really don't give short stories 5 star unless they all pile perfect on each other in a collection.
Oh Reacher! You are just as delectable without any scars, and with all your brand new and shiny grown-up teeth still intact.
Almost a 5 star, but then I really don't give short stories 5 star unless they all pile perfect on each other in a collection.
September 9, 2018
This short novella is a flashback to Jack Reacher's teen years and ties in a couple of actual events: the New York City blackout in the summer of 1977 and a serial killer named David Berkowitz (aka Son of Sam) on the loose, striking panic into the city.
Of course it is totally unrealistic that a sixteen year-old Reacher talks, thinks, and acts exactly like he does as an adult after his MP training, but I've gotten pretty used to suspending disbelief when reading Reacher books. As long as I was able to do this, I found this to be a fun, fast read in between full-length installments in the series. It had a bit more "oomph" and plot than the other novellas in the series and kept me turning the virtual pages.
Of course it is totally unrealistic that a sixteen year-old Reacher talks, thinks, and acts exactly like he does as an adult after his MP training, but I've gotten pretty used to suspending disbelief when reading Reacher books. As long as I was able to do this, I found this to be a fun, fast read in between full-length installments in the series. It had a bit more "oomph" and plot than the other novellas in the series and kept me turning the virtual pages.
November 17, 2018
Free supplement - bonus material - that came with one of the books in series. Worth every penny that I paid for it.
October 10, 2016
Jack Reacher as a young man, just shy of his 17th birthday, brings a mobster to his knees and a serial killer to justice. I liked this short story, but not nearly as much as I like the full on books that give us that urge to whoop for joy when he goes after the bad guys. There wasn't enough time to develop a relationship with the characters and somehow I found it almost unbelievable for the most part. Sixteen and already packed with that underdog awesomeness he shows later? Nahhh, he may have grown up in the military but his reputation for street fighting would still be something new, inexperienced, and somewhat innocent. It felt like Jack Reacher just stepped out of this book and immediately became....well.....Reacher, overnight. Come on, really?!?
I only read this book because my challenge for reading 70 books this year is way behind. On to another short story. LOL
I only read this book because my challenge for reading 70 books this year is way behind. On to another short story. LOL
July 31, 2016
I've only delved into a few of the Jack Reacher books and, while I find their plots a little ridiculous, they certainly are fun. This novella takes us back to "pre"-Reacher days, when Jack was still in his teens and visiting New York City. Unfortunately, what could have provided Child a great opportunity to showcase the difference between the seasoned Reacher and his younger self instead reads as more of the same.
Only even less believable.
You have a 16 year old military brat telling an FBI agent how to operate her plan. You have Reacher running into the same FBI agent not twice in the same night, under random occurrences, but THREE times... In New York City?!? Seriously? You have a teenager showing up (and beating up) Mafioso, identifying a killer just by the way the man moves, and risking his life to help this same FBI agent with no real motive other than that he's Jack Reacher.
With writing sprinkled with lazy metaphors and the amount of sheer coincidences populating the plot, this really felt more like somone's bad version of fan-fiction than something a NYT best-selling author would release into the world. When a hero is so infallible that you can't find awkwardness and mistakes even in his youth, it's time to add a layer of believability to your characters before your audience just starts losing interest.
Only even less believable.
You have a 16 year old military brat telling an FBI agent how to operate her plan. You have Reacher running into the same FBI agent not twice in the same night, under random occurrences, but THREE times... In New York City?!? Seriously? You have a teenager showing up (and beating up) Mafioso, identifying a killer just by the way the man moves, and risking his life to help this same FBI agent with no real motive other than that he's Jack Reacher.
With writing sprinkled with lazy metaphors and the amount of sheer coincidences populating the plot, this really felt more like somone's bad version of fan-fiction than something a NYT best-selling author would release into the world. When a hero is so infallible that you can't find awkwardness and mistakes even in his youth, it's time to add a layer of believability to your characters before your audience just starts losing interest.
September 21, 2021
A short ebook taking us back in time to when Reacher was 17, trying to decide what to do with his life, and visiting NYC on his way to see his brother at West Point. While there, he intervenes to protect an FBI agent and becomes involved in her case trying to capture a drug dealer. Meanwhile, there is a major power outage, so most of the action takes place in the dark. A pretty good story, if you like Reacher stories, which I do.
January 13, 2021
Super awesome. That was a lot in some a short morsel. Son of Sam and the hot summer of New York is the backdrop to another Reacher adventure.
December 15, 2022
Second Son (Jack Reacher #0.15) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (13 years old Reacher)
High Heat(Jack Reacher #0.25) ⭐⭐⭐⭐(17 years old Reacher)
Running Blind (Jack Reacher #7) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Serial women killer)
One Shot (Jack Reacher, #11) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Sniper terrorist)
High Heat(Jack Reacher #0.25) ⭐⭐⭐⭐(17 years old Reacher)
Running Blind (Jack Reacher #7) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Serial women killer)
One Shot (Jack Reacher, #11) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Sniper terrorist)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,014 reviews