Turns out to be “Jack Reacher”, the ex-Army superhero created by Lee Child. I just finished the 2009 title, “Gone Tomorrow”, so it seemed like a good opportunity to post some thoughts about the Lee Child “brand” and the means by which Mr Child has become a millionaire many times over (if you want to know how “big” he is as an author, he does almost nothing in social media—he’s rich enough not to care).

 

1) He has stayed with the same character from the beginning. Jack Reacher has had no “character arc”. He’s the same distant, violent, Super Alpha Male in Book #1 as in Book #20. This is the point of being a literary “brand”. The books deliver the same personality time after time. If, as a writer, you want to be a “brand” you have to be able to do this: produce the same reliable predictable book, time after time.

 

2) Child understands that his very loyal audience want comic book style events—but with a hint of reality, and more development of situations. But he also understands that they address the male desire to imagine violence. Most of the narratives include at least one scene where Reacher kills someone. Or at least injures someone very badly. Always in a good cause, of course (the repeated theme that “the end justifies the means” makes him a very Christianist hero, even though he is not a Christian). He makes mistakes, of course. But doesn’t dwell on them. Being a Super Alpha Male, he’s a force of nature: and there’s no real machinery for regret. Guys love this. That you never have to be sorry for anything.

 

3) Women simply surrender to his Super Alpha Maleness—and he nails at least one woman in every book (except “Echo Burning”). Of course the sex is “no strings attached” because he is so emotionally distant that he cannot connect with other human beings except through his cock, or through a gun. He remains defiantly alone...forever. Despite his bedroom gymnastics, he's also childless. A drone. The Super Alpha Male cannot actually create anything. He can only destroy. But this is what the Jack Reacher audience wants, of course. They are busy taking their kids to soccer practice—so it makes a nice contrast to see a guy with no responsibilities to anyone.

 

4) If you’re writing for men, make sure to keep it “tech-y”: statistics on weapons, how wounds are created, specifications for explosives, how a car engine works, the tools criminals use. Guys love numbers and gadgets.

 

Getting back to the actual book I just read, “Gone Tomorrow” is hardly one of his best—and the little bit of sexual crumpet he gets near the end seems almost like an afterthought. But would I buy it at an airport for something to read? Sure: I would recognize the author’s name, and instantly understand what the book is like. That’s what being a brand means: no surprises.