Reacher Said Nothing: Lee Child and the Making of 'Make Me'

Even the most devoted fans of Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels are likely to find this rambling account of the latest entry's creation hard-going. Martin (The Boxer and the Goalkeeper), an unabashed fan of Child's work, conveys his excitement at hanging out with Child during the seven-month writing of the 20th Reacher novel, Make Me. He was more than just a removed observer, participating in the creative process by offering suggestions about character and plot. Martin's enthusiasm carries him to hyperbolic lengths, however, such as describing the experience as akin to the particle collisions that take place in CERN's Large Hadron Collider: "the cataclysmic Big Bang... the expansion of a fictional universe, which is still growing." His flights of literary fancy are not always easy to follow, as when he describes Make Me as a "form of pre-Socratic flux, equipped with endless cups of coffee." Child himself does not always come off to best advantage; it's hard to make sense of Martin's explanation as to why Child was affected more by the Yankees' loss of the 2001 World Series than by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Readers who prefer watching movies with the director's audio commentary on may enjoy this as the literary equivalent; others can stick to reading Make Me. (Dec.)