Jack Reacher (fictional character)
Jack Reacher is the main character in the novels of the British - American thriller writer Lee Child .
Reacher (born October 29, 1960 on a US military base in West Berlin) was planned as a serial hero from the start. Since Child is convinced that the hero stays in the reader's memory and not the respective plot in which he is involved, the main focus is on Reacher as a person who appears in five parts of the novels as a first-person narrator .
Child wanted to create a protagonist who did not have the depression, an unprocessed past or alcoholism, which in his opinion had now become the crime convention. His hero should be normal, straightforward and decent. He chose an American hero for pragmatic reasons: because the US market is bigger. In addition, American geography, with its vastness and the enclaves it contains, opens up ideal locations for action - another analogy to the Western.
In contrast to his positive characteristics (intelligence, resilience, physical attractiveness, physical strength, leadership and willpower as well as unconditional advocacy for the weaker), Reacher's way of life stands: He does not have a permanent place of residence, does not enter into long-term relationships and has owned since the murder of his brother no family ties. Its only constant companion is a collapsible travel toothbrush. Since the tightening of security regulations in the USA after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 , he has also been forced to carry an identification document and an ATM card with him. He tries to leave as few traces as possible on his travels across the United States and therefore prefers cheap, anonymous accommodations where he can stay under a false name.
It was only in the 2007 volume Bad Luck and Trouble that Reacher began to critically question his own unsteady lifestyle when he learned that several comrades from his former military police unit are now leading a middle-class life and have made considerable fortunes. In the end, however, he still decides to continue his existence as a loner and eternal wanderer until further notice.
Reacher kills his opponents without remorse because the separation between good and bad is very clear to him. In response to the shocked question he once explains why he obviously doesn't mind having just killed five criminals, after all, you don't mind scattering anti- cockroach powder. In his cases, he teams up - intentionally or by force - with the police or the secret service.
The exact reasons for Reacher's departure from the US Army, on whose bases he grew up as the son of a Marine Corps officer all over the world , are described in the book The Affair (published 2011). Most of the times he himself mentions the downsizing of the US armed forces after the fall of the Iron Curtain . However, in several places it becomes clear that towards the end of his service life he had increasingly distanced himself internally from the army and therefore did not necessarily regret his departure. In the novel The hit list (The Enemy), which plays during Reacher's military service is described as well, as he always gets because of his uncompromising justice perception with supervisors in conflict and will eventually demoted from major to captain. When he was honorably dismissed in April 1996, at the age of 35, after a total of 13 years of service, he was again major. One of his last duties during his playing days was to assemble and direct an elite unit of the military police.
Novels
- 1997 Killing Floor, Putnam, New York City 1997, ISBN 0-399142533 .
- Megalomania , German by Marie Rahn, Munich: Heyne 1998. ISBN 3-453-87957-0
- 1998 The Trying
- Delivered in German by Heinz Zwack, Munich: Heyne 2000. ISBN 3-453-17867-X
- 1999 Tripwire
- His true face , German by Wulf Bergner , Munich: Goldmann 2002. ISBN 3-442-35692-X
- 2000 The Visitor - US title: Running Blind
- Zeit der Rache , German by Georg Schmidt, Munich: Goldmann 2002. ISBN 3-442-35715-2
- 2001 Echo Burning
- In the last second , German by Wulf Bergner, Munich: Goldmann 2003. ISBN 3-442-35577-X
- 2002 Without Fail
- Deadly intent , German by Wulf Bergner, Munich: Goldmann 2003. ISBN 3-7645-0164-2
- 2003 Persuader
- Der Janusmann , German by Wulf Bergner, Munich: Goldmann 2005. ISBN 3-7645-0181-2
- 2004 The Enemy
- The hit list , German by Wulf Bergner, Munich: Goldmann 2006. ISBN 3-7645-0182-0
- 2005 One Shot
- Sniper , German by Wulf Bergner, Munich: Goldmann 2008. ISBN 3-7645-0237-1
- 2006 The Hard Way
- Way Out , German by Wulf Bergner, Munich: Blanvalet 2009. ISBN 978-3-7645-0238-6
- 2007 Bad Luck and Trouble
- Trouble , German by Wulf Bergner, Munich: Blanvalet 2010. ISBN 978-3-7645-0355-0
- 2008 Nothing to Lose
- Outlaw , German by Wulf Bergner, Munich: Blanvalet 2011. ISBN 978-3-7645-0420-5
- 2009 Gone Tomorrow
- Underground , German by Wulf Bergner, Munich: Blanvalet 2012. ISBN 978-3-7645-0368-0
- 2010 61 hours
- 61 hours , Munich: Blanvalet 2013. ISBN 978-3-7645-0418-2
- 2010 Worth Dying For
- Waspennest , German by Wulf Bergner, Munich: Blanvalet 2014. ISBN 978-3764504199
- 2011 The Affair
- The last command, German by Wulf Berger, Munich: Blanvalet 2017. ISBN 978-3764505066
- 2012 A Wanted Man
- Der Anhalter , German by Wulf Bergner, Munich: Blanvalet 2015. ISBN 978-0593065730
- 2013 Never go back
- The hunted , German by Wulf Bergner; Munich: Blanvalet 2016. ISBN 978-3764505424
- 2014 staff
- Im Visier , German by Wulf Bergner; Munich: Blanvalet 2018. ISBN 978-3764506360 .
- 2015 Make Me
- 2016 Night School
- 2017 No Middle Name: The Complete Collected Jack Reacher Stories
- 2017 The Midnight Line
- 2018 Past Tense
Film adaptations
On January 3, 2013 the film Jack Reacher started with Tom Cruise in the title role in German cinemas. It is based on the ninth book Sniper . A sequel to the film with the title Jack Reacher: No Way Back came to German cinemas on November 10, 2016.
The film studio Paramount Pictures announced that no new films will be shot for the cinema. The studio is planning a TV series with author Lee Child .