Movie Review: “Ready Player One”

“I’ll wave to you from the finish line, McFly” — Art3mis in “Ready Player One”

First things first...

I need to give some love to Steven Spielberg. The preeminent sci-fi/action director of the 1980s is back. Just when you thought the 71-year-old storyteller had permanently settled into vanity projects like “Lincoln” and “Bridge of Spies,” he decides to do a flashy popcorn movie that makes a statement. 

Way to show you still got it, Spielberg! 

“Ready Player One” is based on Ernest Cline’s science fiction novel of the same name — an engrossing ode to 1980s pop culture. I reviewed the novel in 2017 (click here to read my review).

Before I talk about “Ready Player One” (the film), I should get something out of the way. The movie adaptation varies wildly from Cline’s novel. For fans of the book, that fact means the RPO movie is both a jarring ride, and a wholly original experience. 

Don’t be wary. Cline was involved every step of the way (he penned the screenplay with Zak Penn). 

“Ready Player One” tells the story of teen Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan). Watts lives in the year 2045 in Columbus, OH (it was Oklahoma City in the novel). Earth in that era is largely dystopian in nature (early in the movie, they mention societal unrest from a “Corn Syrup Drought” and “Bandwidth Riots”). Watts lives in the “stacks” — mobile homes and RVs piled high on stilts — with his aunt.

Most of Earth’s inhabitants spend their days in the OASIS — a virtual reality world created by a software developer named James Halliday. Wade is fully ensconced in the OASIS, and roots around for fun and reward via his avatar “Parzival.”

The reclusive creator of the OASIS leaves a short video message when he dies. He has hidden an Easter egg somewhere in the virtual world. The individual who finds the egg wins control of the virtual world (along with a cash prize). But the task requires solving three seemingly impossible tasks. 

Wade and his fellow “gunters” (a fusion of “egg hunters”) obsess over the search, and analyze various aspects of Halliday’s life to find three keys in their pursuit (references involve 1980s pop culture — including movies and videogames of the era). 

Watts has a friend in the virtual world named Aech (Lena Waithe) who helps him in his quest. He also has a rival/crush named Art3mis (Olivia Cooke). 

In addition to the “gunters” searching for clues, a corporation named Innovative Online Industries (IOI) is in the hunt. The communications conglomerate is trying to gain permanent control over the OASIS so they can fully monetize the artificial world. Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn) is the CEO — and main antagonist in the “Ready Player One.” 

 

That’s the setup for the story. From there on out, “Ready Player One” basically becomes “Raiders of the Lost Binary Code.” 

Viewers are treated to a variety of pop culture nuggets strewn throughout the film.

For example, Wade/Parzival and Art3mis dance in The Distracted Globe nightclub to the Bee Gee’s song “Stayin’ Alive” — on a floor that looks like it stepped out of the Odyssey Disco Club in the movie “Saturday Night Fever”:

There are references to films like “Back to the Future” and “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.” Wade’s avatar drives Doc Brown’s DeLorean from BTTF — which features K.I.T.T.’s pulsing light from the TV series “Knight Rider”:

I learned after I saw the movie that a Gremlin makes an appearance somewhere in the movie. I didn’t see it, but Steven Spielberg mentions it in this interview on NBC’s “Today Show”:

While some of these references stray from the book (it was likely an insane task trying to secure the rights to the varying properties featured in the novel), the filmmakers do a decent job coming up with relevant substitutes.

Of those new references, I liked the OASIS game piece called the “Zemeckis Cube” — basically a Rubik’s Cube that (once solved) can be used to turn the clock back 60 seconds (named after “Back to the Future” director Robert Zemeckis). 

The main concern I had going into this adaptation of “Ready Player One” had to do with how “compelling” it would be watch digital avatars for most of the story’s narrative. 

Spielberg does well balancing real-world interactions with the avatar world. Wade gets to meet the human counterparts to Aech and Art3mis (among others) within a reasonable amount of time.

Let me put it this way: the movie tries diligently to avoid becoming a tome geared solely to video game geeks. I think Spielberg is largely successful in that quest. 

Composer Alan Silvestri (“Back to the Future”) serves up the musical score for “Ready Player One” (largely futuristic-sounding compositions), and the movie also features a healthy does of popular songs from the 1980s. 

Spielberg told Billboard magazine how he selected the classic ‘70s and ‘80s tunes for the movie (click here to read the article). The track list includes “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” by Tears for Fears and “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister.

While a movie is never able to fully capture the immersive feel a first-person novel can invoke, “Ready Player One” does a solid job capturing the tone and feel Cline was going for. It is paced well, and rarely lets off the accelerator. 

Spielberg has created a sci-fi movie that tastes like a bowl of Lucky Charms chased down with a box of Hi-C Ecto Cooler — sugary fun that’s a sweet head rush.

In a world where so many sci-fi/fantasy movies are rehashes and reboots of older material, it is rather unusual to see something that feels fresh and new. 

That, my friends, is worth applauding. 

Previous post: Book Review: "Night School" By Lee Child 

Book Review: “Night School” By Lee Child

I’ve read a lot of Jack Reacher books this year. 

A little over a month ago, I made it my mission to read all the remaining Lee Child novels I had yet to complete. I have completed and reviewed four of the six I have remaining. In this review, I tackle the fifth on my list — “Night School.”

As was the case with my review of “The Enemy” a few days ago, “Night School” finds Reacher in another “prequel” story set in the 1990s. 

It was sort of serendipitous that I happened to read these books back-to-back. “Night School” was published in 2016 — 12 years after “The Enemy.”

Both novels feature Reacher during his tenure as a military police officer. Both involve stories centered on the changing face of the military in the European theater. 

“Night School” takes place in 1996, and starts off with Reacher receiving a medal for his service in The Balkans. Our independent-minded MP isn’t one for accolades. He is an individual focused on his duty — and doing the right thing in the cause of justice. 

Others apparently admire that quality, and Reacher is soon ordered to report to a corporate office park in McLean, Virginia — a place called Educational Solutions Incorporated. Reacher, along with two men named Waterman and White (from the FBI and CIA, respectively), find themselves under the purview of the NSA. 

They are tasked with solving a puzzle for the intelligence agency. An Iranian informant, who lives in an apartment with three Saudis in Hamburg, Germany, believes he has uncovered a secret plot that could pose a threat to the United States. 

An unexpected messenger from the Middle East has visited the apartment — a courier on a mission unrelated to the informant and his roommates.

The informant overhears a conversation between the messenger and one of the Saudis. Apparently, the messenger was in Hamburg to be told something (not to deliver a message). An “opening statement,” in a manner of speaking. 

The statement the messenger received was this: “The American wants a hundred million dollars.”

Warning klaxons sound throughout the intelligence community. Reacher and Co. need to find out what the message means, and who is involved. 

Reacher ropes Sgt. Frances Neagley into the investigation (a character who has appeared in a number of Reacher novels, including “Without Fail,” which I reviewed in February). In fairly short order, the pair leaves the office park and heads to Hamburg to hunt down clues (because, as Reacher puts it, “[The NSA] said we’d get anything we want.”)

“Night School” finds Reacher in a race against time as he and the team try to track down the rogue American — and learn what is being sold for $100 million. 

Typically, Lee Child structures his stories where the narrative stays firmly with Reacher — whether he is telling the story using a first person narrative, or a third person narrative. 

He’ll often offer glimpses of an antagonist in the story (peeks around the corner), but those moments are typically short and mysterious. He rarely reveals too much.

In “Night School,” Child bounces around between various characters — using an approach that is more multi-threaded in nature. It's something you see in a number of espionage thrillers. 

That structure can reveal too much information to the reader. Too many glimpses into the antagonist’s activities make “Night School” less of a mystery, and more of a thriller. 

This appears to be conscious decision on the part of Child for the novel. In this interview from March 2016, Child reveals details about his yet-to-be-titled novel (“Night School,” which was published later in the year):

Child says, “For the new book [“Night School’] I’m making it less novelistic and ... more like a movie. Not in the sense that it is a screenplay disguised as a novel ... I’m trying to induce the same feeling in the reader’s mind that they would have if they were watching a movie. In other words the speed, the flow … and critically, certain conventions in movies that manage exposition slightly differently.” 

I can tell the difference. I’ve been working on writing my own novel the past couple of years, and Lee Child is one of the authors I like to study — in terms of pacing, dialogue structure, and exposition. 

“Night School” ultimately works as a thriller, but Child’s change in style makes the engrossing process of Reacher solving a mystery much less compelling than other entries in the series. 

Yet there are still moments where we see Child at his best. For instance, this passage where Reacher is getting a shave at a Hamburg barber shop illustrates the author’s terrific prose:

“[The shave] turned out to be a luxurious experience. The water was warm, and the lather was creamy. The steel was perfect. It hissed through, on a molecular level.”

If you are interested in seeing Lee Child in person — and live in the Omaha area — I highly recommend attending the Marion Marsh Brown Writers Lecture Series at the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Baxter Arena on April 11. The event is free, so you have nothing to lose.

Here is the link with event and ticket information. 

Previous post: Movie Review: "Game Night" 

Movie Review: “Game Night”

“Man, glass tables are acting weird tonight!” — Kevin in “Game Night”

Sometimes a movie surprises you. 

“Game Night” is one of those movies. 

The story starts off with a stylized opening credits montage that introduces us to Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie (Rachel McAdams) — competitive gamers who fall in love after they both know the name of one of the Teletubbies (the purple one) at a bar’s trivia night. 

The couple eventually marries, and is in the process having a child. Max’s stress is proving an impediment to the process. His problem is this: Max has unresolved feelings of inferiority in relation to his older brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler). 

Brooks is a big shot who apparently invested in Panera before it became big. He’s a foot-loose-and-fancy-free bachelor — handsome, confident, and financially successful.

Max and Annie host a weekly game night at their home. A hand-picked group of friends comes each week — including Ryan (Billy Magnussen), Kevin (Lamorne Morris) and Kevin’s wife Michelle (Kylie Bunbury). 

Max and Annie have a creepy neighbor named Gary (Jesse Plemons) who hasn’t been invited to game night since he and his wife divorced — much to Gary’s chagrin. Max and Annie do everything in their power to avoid the subject of game night with him.

On one particular game night, Brooks shows up “loud and proud” in his vintage Corvette Stingray — and offers to host the next get-together at his new rental home. 

When the gang shows up for game night at Brooks’s crib, he informs them that they’ll be playing in an interactive mystery — one person in the room will be taken; the winner will be the one who finds the victim. To sweeten the pot, Brooks says the victor will win the keys to his Corvette. 

Before we know it, a man comes to the door claiming to be an FBI agent — ready to dispense instructions about the game. Moments later, two masked gunmen burst through the door, get into a violent brawl with Brooks, and haul him away. 

Max, Annie, and their crew think this is all an elaborate setup for the murder mystery (put on by a company called “Murder We Wrote”). At first they take it all in stride, but soon discover that this is no mere game. 

“Game Night” epitomizes a simple premise well executed. Rarely is a joke belabored, and the story keeps its momentum throughout. There are fun twists and turns along the way, and the characters are likable. 

Comedy tastes can be very specific. It is relatively rare these days to find comedies that strike a perfect chord (especially those geared toward grown-ups). 

“Game Night” isn’t perfect, but it has a nice beat. 

My brother saw the movie a few days ago and told me it was fun. He was right. I found myself laughing a lot. 

Considering the subject matter, “Game Night” could have veered too dark, or relied on “potty humor” to keep the laughs rolling. Instead, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (who also worked on the script for last summer’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming”) opted for a lighter touch. The pair wrote and co-directed “Game Night,” and I’m impressed with the results. 

Be sure to stay through the entire credit sequence to see the easter egg at the end. 

In an age where many movies are dark and overly melodramatic, it is nice to be able to go to the theater, check your brain at the door, and have fun watching a movie. 

I recommend you attend “Game Night.”

Previous post: "I Don't Wanna Grow Up": Toys 'R' Us and the Decline of Retail Icons 

“I Don’t Wanna Grow Up”: Toys ‘R’ Us and the Decline of Retail Icons

It’s kind of sad when bright, shiny, and iconic retail operations leave our landscape. 

Sure, we’ll all soldier on, but things will be different.

Stores like RadioShack, Sears, and Kmart have fallen by the wayside. We learned last week that Toys ‘R’ Us and teen jewelry chain Claire's will soon be joining the fold — forever relegated to a footnote in shopping history. 

Nostalgia buffs like me continue to lament the demise of brick-and-mortar stores, but we do little to stop the bleeding. 

Things like “one-click ordering” and various digital shopping cart options — decorated with a collage of optimized PNGs and JPEGs — prove far too alluring and handy to resist. 

Online giants like Amazon are convenient. That cannot be denied.

The great irony is that Amazon is now considering buying some Toys ‘R’ Us locations for retail operations. In 2015, they also discussed purchasing dormant RadioShack locations.

It’s like the victors at the end of a long war, trudging ahead to the vanquished castle, ready to take a seat on the empty throne. 

I remember how much fun it was to go to a toy store as a kid. 

There would be times when I’d get rewarded with a trip to the toy store for doing certain things — for example, reading a designated number of books was a benchmark that often resulted in a prize. 

There would be other times when I’d get to go to the toy store “just because.”

I remember in 1978 when my mom and dad bought me my first set of Kenner “Star Wars” action figures at the Brandeis toy department at Crossroads Mall (located in the basement of the store...facing Dodge Street). Those figures — along with a shiny new Landspeeder — were important to me as a kid. 

The C-3PO figure we purchased was one that the clerk at the register had been “limbering up” — because the hard-plastic joints were really stiff on the golden droid, and some customers had complained they broke easily. 

That experience happened 40 years ago, but I remember the kind lady who made the experience of buying the figures special. 

I recall moments when I’d be trying to decide between two Matchbox cars, and couldn’t make up my mind. My mom (God bless her heart) would often buy me both. 

(I was either indecisive, or a master manipulator...)

I even had the opportunity to witness the next generation become "incentivized" with toys when my niece and nephew needed an extra nudge to go off the diving board at the pool. 

There was something wonderful about perusing toy store aisles — like an explorer, you were curious to see what you’d discover around the next turn. 

I went to my first Toys ‘R’ Us store in Austin, Texas, back in 1983. My brother had moved down there for work. We didn’t have the retail toy giant in Omaha at that time. 

I was excited to check out the selection of “Star Wars” and “G.I. Joe” action figures and assorted vehicles. There is something soothing about gazing at row upon row of shiny action figures, trapped in plastic bubbles on flashy-cardboard backers. 

The toy chain has one of the catchiest jingles in advertising history:

I mean, who didn’t “wanna be a Toys ‘R’ Us kid”...?

The toys we played with as children helped create the fabric of who we are. A couple months ago I reviewed the Netflix series “The Toys That Made Us” (read my full review of that show). The show focuses on the stories behind some of the most famous toy brands. 

I can’t help but think that the rise and fall of Toys ‘R’ Us might one day be featured in a documentary of that sort. 

The YouTube channel “Retail Archaeology” takes a look at the demise of Toys ‘R’ Us, and tours one of the stores being liquidated:

Apparently, a deal with a private equity firm in 2005 led to the current fate of Toys ‘R’ Us. The debt was substantial, and kept the chain from making improvements to its stores...

Like the narrator in the video, I’ve heard suggestions that the world of “analog toys” will die with subsequent generations because today’s kids are more interested in playing with their iPads and iPhones. 

Maybe that’s true. Maybe it isn’t...

The tactile experience of playing with LEGOs and Lincoln Logs as a kid helped develop my creativity. I don’t know that I’d be doing the graphic design work I do today without moments putting together buildings and vehicles with those sorts of thoughtful toys. 

But the wheel turns...and the clock ticks onward.

The cynical minded will say these sorts of operations had their fate coming. They’ll argue that change is inevitable.

But at times, you wonder if all the change is good. 

“I don’t wanna grow up, cuz baby if I did, I wouldn’t be a Toys ‘R’ Us kid...” 

Previous post: Book Review: "The Enemy" By Lee Child 

Book Review: “The Enemy” By Lee Child

One of the neat aspects of a Lee Child novel is that the author is unafraid — at random points — to do “prequel” novels featuring his protagonist Jack Reacher in the past. 

In “The Enemy,” we find Reacher in North Carolina on Jan. 1, 1990. 

Reacher is suddenly swept away from his assignment in Panama (Operation “Just Cause”) and dispatched to Fort Bird and the 110th Special Unit — a mysterious move happening with MP XOs at installations across the map.  

When a two-star general named Kramer is found dead at a seedy North Carolina motel — located next to a strip club — it sets into motion an intricate puzzle for Major Reacher to solve. Hours later, the general’s wife is found dead in her Virginia home...and the body count doesn’t stop there. 

Reacher enlists the aid of Lt. Summer — an ambitious female officer Reacher plucks out of the O Club while eating lunch. 

“The Enemy” is the second novel in a row (after “Persuader”) where Child employs the first-person narrative. As is the case with benchmark detective fiction, the first-person structure allows a reader to track down clues — and solve the mystery — alongside the narrator. 

"The Enemy" is more “procedural” in nature than some of the other entries in the Jack Reacher series. We are treated to autopsies, plaster casts, database analysis, and a variety of other forensic data the military police has at its disposal.

It turns out the dead general was on his way to a conference in California. He was from XII Corps in Germany — a big-deal tank operation put in place in case of war with the Soviet Union. 

The novel twists and turns its way into a vast conspiracy — involving the future of the military in a post-Cold War world. As the Berlin Wall is being dismantled in "The Enemy," a 40-year-old military strategy is starting to see its foundations crumbling.  

There is an enjoyable subplot in “The Enemy” involving Reacher’s mother, who lives in Paris. Reacher reunites with his brother Joe to visit the ailing woman — giving a familial connection that we don’t often see in Child’s novels. 

Wistful and sentimental moments give additional insight into Reacher. For example, the origin of his love of coffee is covered in this passage:

“Joe was probably the only other human being on the planet who liked coffee as much as I did. He started drinking it when he was six. I copied him immediately. I was four. Neither of us has stopped since. The Reacher brothers’ need for caffeine makes heroin addiction look like a little take-it-or-leave-it sideline.” 

Believe it or not, there is actually a line of Jack Reacher-branded coffee available for fans to order — https://www.baltcoffee.com/catalog/jack-reacher-coffee:

While at times it might seem like today’s thrillers and mysteries lack refinement, Lee Child has the ability to weave in little metaphors — that act as connective tissue in his stories. 

As Reacher and Summer track down clues in the death of General Kramer, they come across a hardcover book Kramer owned about the Battle of Kursk — a famous World War II tank battle between the Germans and the Russians in 1943. 

Reacher refers to that battle a number of times as the narrative unfolds. In this passage — as he and Lt. Summer try to determine their next move in the investigation — Reacher thinks:

“I was quiet for a long moment. Thought back to Kramer’s hardcover book. This was like July thirteenth, 1943, the pivotal day of the Battle of Kursk. We were like Alexander Vasilevsky, the Soviet general. If we attacked now, this minute, we had to keep on attacking until the enemy was run off his feet and the war was won. If we bogged down or paused for breath even for a second, we would be overrun again.” 

I have been “binge reading” all the Reacher novels I had yet to read in anticipation of Lee Child’s upcoming free appearance at UNO’s Baxter Arena on April 11 — part of the annual Marion Marsh Brown Writers Lecture Series.  

If you are interested in attending that event, you can find more details and ticket information at this link. 

Previous post: About That New "Avengers: Infinity War" Trailer"   

About That New “Avengers: Infinity War” Trailer

“Let’s talk about this plan of yours. I think it’s good, except it sucks...” — Peter Quill to Tony Stark in “Avengers: Infinity War”

Today, Marvel Studios dropped the new “Avenger: Infinity War” trailer online — the same day that tickets went on sale for the April 27 theatrical release. 

This Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been building up to this for the past decade. 

Marvel movies have changed the box office landscape. They've redefined how blockbuster movies are structured. In the final sum game, they are the bond that holds together the movie-going experience. 

Am I giving Marvel/Disney too much credit?

I don’t believe so. I believe the MCU is so integral to the movie business that you’d be hard pressed to imagine the industry without Marvel. 

You can’t simply make a string of blockbusters (and requisite sequels) anymore. Quite the contrary, in fact. 

If you look at the trend line on tentpole movies that garner theatrical releases, you see an interwoven framework where characters and storylines are blended in a multi-dimensional manner — creating a tapestry that is more like a graphic novel series. 

While “Avengers: Infinity War” might very well stand on its own as a movie, part of the narrative is built on everything that has come before. It started in 2008 with the first “Iron Man” movie, and rose to a fever pitch last month with “Black Panther.”

I’ve intentionally stayed away from spoilers for “Avengers: Infinity Wars” — as I have with the entire MCU. 

There have been some fan theories that this might be the “end” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it. What those prognosticators mean is anyone’s guess. Does it mean that Marvel will focus its efforts on developing a new slate of characters from their large catalog? Does it mean we might see “reboots” of popular characters in the next few years?

Some have even speculated that Captain America might meet his demise in this movie. 

I don’t know. I don’t want to know. I just want to take a moment and savor how good this drink has been for movie fans. 

In addition to the new trailer for “Avengers: Infinity War,” both Collider and “Entertainment Tonight” have “behind-the-scenes” features and interviews focusing on the making of the movie.

In this full interview from “Entertainment Tonight,” Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) and Chris Evans (Captain America) talk about how the cast has changed over the years (most notably, the number of babies on the set). The interviewer also mentions the well-worn tidbit that the movie includes 64 Marvel heroes (including Brie Larson as Captain Marvel):

Collider has an exhaustive collection of “talking head” reactions (that seem to grow by the minute) about “Avengers: Infinity War.” In this feature, we learn that “Infinity War” takes place two years after “Captain America: Civil War” and five years after “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2”:

Kevin Feige — seer and shepherd of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — stated in a 2017 teaser: “What we always try to do at Marvel Studios as we’re building the cinematic universe is we look at the big picture... how things relate across movies... and across years. ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ is the culmination of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe as it started in May of 2008 with the release of ‘Iron Man’...”

Whatever Marvel is planning to do with the MCU, I’m looking forward to “Avengers: Infinity War” (and the yet-to-be titled sequel coming in 2019). I own the entire Marvel series on blu-ray (and 4K blu-ray), and make seeing each entry in the theater a priority.

Please check out the previous blog reviews I have written about Marvel Cinematic Universe movies:

Published July 22, 2017 - It’s “Spider-Guy!” 

Published Nov 12, 2017 - “Thor: Ragnarok” Illustrates Disney’s Recent Emphasis On Humor 

Published March 7, 2018 - Movie Review: “Black Panther” 

Previous post: Book Review: “The Terminal List” By Jack Carr 

Book Review: "The Terminal List" By Jack Carr

“Reece was coming. Death was coming for them all.” — "The Terminal List"

I promised myself at the end of last year that I would read more books in 2018. I typically consume several mysteries and thrillers on an annual basis, but the past couple years I devoted less time to the hobby I love. 

Former Navy SEAL sniper Jack Carr mentions in the “Acknowledgements” section of his novel “The Terminal List” that his mom instilled in him a passion for reading at a young age. 

That passion was evident as I flipped the pages of “The Terminal List” — a ballsy debut thriller from the newest operator in the genre. 

“The Terminal List” follows the exploits of Lieutenant Commander James Reece — a U.S. Navy SEAL, husband, father, and noble warrior. Early on in the novel, we find Reece and his men on an ill-fated mission in Afghanistan — the SEAL troop is ambushed; the team is decimated by the enemy. 

Adding insult to injury, a doctor soon discovers that Reece (along with two other men tested in his unit) has a malignant brain tumor — an oligodendroglioma. Two percent of all brain tumors are this type. Rare and deadly.

In addition, higher ups in the Navy appear to be setting up Reece as the “fall guy” for the deaths of the SEALs under his command in Afghanistan.

Furthermore, when the battle-weary Reece returns home from his final mission to Coronado, CA, one of his compatriots in the Teams (Boozer) is found dead in his apartment (a suspected suicide). Making matters worse, Reece’s wife Lauren and daughter Lucy have been found gunned down at home in what authorities deem to be a random act of gang violence. 

But none of these disparate events are a mere coincidence. There is a vast conspiracy that runs through the highest corridors of power in the federal government...and Lieutenant Commander James Reece is in the middle of the maelstrom.

Somewhere, somehow, someone is going to pay. 

Carr’s novel is a strong cocktail.

“The Terminal List” combines a shot of Vince Flynn’s “Term Limits” with a dash of Stephen Hunter’s “Point of Impact,” tosses in a sprinkle of the movie “The Fugitive,” and mixes it all together with the visceral vengeance of David Morrell’s “First Blood.” 

The result is a story that stings the throat and clears the sinuses — bold, brutal, and unwavering.

I found “The Terminal List” to be a fast read, and a very intriguing story. Revenge tales tend to make terrific page turners, and Carr’s novel is no exception to that rule. 

What makes “The Terminal List” so compelling is the character of James Reece. He isn’t some vanilla, tough-guy character with superhero-like abilities. Reece is drawn with more subtlety and nuance. You truly feel for him as he grieves the death of his wife and daughter, and his fallen SEAL Team comrades. This is a man who has lost everything, and his entire being is threatened by a deadly brain tumor. 

Reece has an affinity for Toyota Land Cruisers, loves coffee, and dislikes sandwich condiments. 

Reece is aided in his mission of vengeance by Kate Buranek (an investigative reporter), Ben Edwards (a womanizing intel spook), Liz Riley (a helicopter jockey Reece rescued during a mission overseas), and Marco del Toro (Reece’s “Mexican benefactor”). 

Because of the security clearances Carr held when he was a Navy SEAL, he had to submit a manuscript of "The Terminal List" to the DOD Office of Prepublication and Security Review. Certain "redacted" passages are blacked out in the novel. The author could have revised or reworked those instances in the novel, but he left them "as is" (which, in a way, adds to the authenticity of the novel):

Readers are treated to various tools of the trade (a time-honored tradition in this genre), and I am thankful that they decided to include a “Glossary of Terms” in the back of the book (something I enjoyed as a reference in novels of this type back in the 1980s). 

Carr recently did an interview with Guns & Ammo magazine about the authenticity of the weaponry used in “The Terminal List.” The former special operator knows his stuff, and you can get a glimpse of Carr using some of these tools in this bad ass promotional video on his official YouTube channel:

“The Terminal List” isn’t a novel for the timid, but it is a well-drawn debut thriller for Jack Carr. I look forward to reading more... 

“In Judges, Gideon asks God how to choose his men for battle. The Lord told Gideon to take his men down to the river and drink. The men who flopped down on their bellies and drank like dogs were no good to him. Gideon watched as some of his men knelt down and drank with their heads watching the horizon, spears in hand. Though they were few, they were the men he needed. You’ve always been one of the few, James. Keep watching the horizon.” — “The Terminal List”  

Related posts on Jack Carr: 

> TV Review: Pratt’s Performance Elevates Visceral “The Terminal List” 

> Book Review: “True Believer” By Jack Carr 

> Book Review: Jack Carr’s “Savage Son” is a Modern Thriller With Retro Flair 

Previous post: Movie Review: "Black Panther"