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His anti-Americanism and his contempt for the American people(which he had kept the lid on in his previous novels although there were hints of it even in those) finally boiled over. The villain was as bad of a caricature as a rabid left-winger could concoct. The plotline was just an excuse to try to paint Christians as wacko and just as bad as Muslim terrorists and to spout his views on America’s involvement in Iraq.

And when people on Amazon complained about Child’s injection of leftist politics into the series, Child had this to say on his blog:

“Always nice to be home, if only briefly. With access to my big computer I read the forum and the Amazon reviews. Seems some people aren’t happy. Some aren’t happy with the book itself. But I stand by it. I agree it’s more allegorical and contemplative and less slam-bang than some of the others, so people will react differently depending on their preferred mix of strengths and weaknesses. But I’m happy with it and glad it came out the way it did.

And some chickenhawk dittoheads aren’t happy with the “politics.” Ah, well. Critics say Reacher is the thinking person’s action hero, so I suppose that explains it. Actually I think the issues in the book are way beyond politics. Politics is trivial compared to death and maiming in a nation’s service. And I’m amused to see they think this stuff is “Lee Child’s politics.” For the record all views in the book are taken verbatim from active-service military. They aren’t my views. My views are much worse. They would make Trotsky blush. I’ve always had a soft spot for old Leon. Especially his uncompromising determination. He said, “If you cannot acquaint a fascist with reason, you must acquaint his head with the sidewalk.” Also he advised, “Spread love and understanding. Use force if necessary.”

But it has been a serene couple of weeks. None of the chickenhawk dittoheads showed up at my events. Just like they didn’t show up in Vietnam, or Iraq, etc.”

I’d been able to overlook the silliness of his writing that occured from time to time, such as people in the next room not being able to hear the report of a gun because it was a .22. I knew he was a Brit and was willing to cut him some slack on firearms related errors because I liked the Reacher character and up until Nothing to Lose Child had been pretty dependable at spinning a good yarn. Child ruined the series for me with the blatant politicization of that novel.