I'm huge spy/assassin story fan so I have been looking forward to picking this up off my TBR pile. This is Eisler's first novel (from '02) and having read his most recent, Fault Line, I must say it's wonderful to see how far he's come as a writer. Not that Rain Fall is a poor first novel, far from it. I found this first book of the Rain series to be a solid, entertaining read.


Although the character's aren't overly developed (I would like to know a little more about Kawamura's daughter, Midori), Rain is a likable sum of his experiences. Eisler does a nice job of infusing back story throughout the novel, keeping the reader's interest by weaving a little more plot exposition with each back flash. I did find the plot a little far fetched at times (for an assassin, Rain has an astonishing ignorance of the workings of the intelligence communities ~ and what paranoid assassin hands over valuable intel to a soft target civilian???) and at times a little repetitious (his recon around several blocks every time he goes to a meet or a stake out), but at least Rain is consistent. It was almost written like a movie script, so it was no surprise to find out it had been turned into a film (Gary Oldman!); unfortunately, it seems to only have been released in Japan, Rein fôru: Ame no kiba.

Personally, I wasn't crazy about the ending, but not from a writing standpoint. I was routing for Rain on a personal level, but the ending that Eisler wrote is far more realistic. I look forward to reading the rest of the series ...and just maybe I'll try and rent the Japanese movie when it comes out on DVD (praying for English subtitles).

http://girlsjustreading.blogspot.com/...

I wasn't expecting too much from this book, but it turned out to be a surprisingly complex and well-written thriller that never lost its forward drive. It stands out from other books in this genre because of the atmosphere that Eisler has captured with his strong sense of place, his authenticity, and his articulateness. There are a few images in this book that are stunning, such as his description of Japan's lights at night.

Eisler has also managed to fill this book with soulfulness while never letting go of the action. John Rain is a highly proficient assassin, but Eisler manages to reveal his turmoil without weakening Rain's effective exterior. All the concepts fit together: his homelessness both because of his physical identity and the person he became through the atrocities he committed in Vietnam, his need to keep swimming like a shark, the ghosts that haunt him, why he must always live in the shadows. Rain's final scene with Crazy Jake left me in tears. After that, the karmic parallel between his former relationship with Deidre and his new one with Midori was an irony approaching the sublime. And with Midori, Eisler handles it beautifully so that I felt both the great (yet guilty) passion between these two characters and the fragileness of that link.

This book isn't perfect. Some of the dialogue is excellent and surprisingly funny, but most of the longer conversations are info-dumps complete with explanations of all the acronymns used. I can forgive the unrealistic dialogue, though, because it was still riveting to listen to the complex political machinations revealed. Plus, often dialogue was followed up with an insight that would blow my mind, for example how "practical objections" meant that the speaker had made a leap from 'not doing something' to 'how will it get done.' Finally, the spycraft is fascinating.

Overall, one of the best thrillers around.

Almost gave this a 5-star. The story sticks to the action, even when it is flashing back to Rain's Vietnam service...however, there is still enough room left for character backstory....all nicely done. The hero is not one of the myriad politically correct heroes of most crime/spy fiction. This guy eliminates targets for money (his few rules include no women or children).

The setting is Tokyo and Eisler takes pains to give rich details of the areas John Rain visits. There is quite a bit of surveillance that takes place, giving ample time for details of the setting. The only question I had was why after so many successful missions was Rain all of the sudden quite sloppy in his actions. Regardless, this is an excellent first entry in this series.

Das erste Buch in einer Serie, um einen Vietnam-Veteranen (Special Forces), der zu einem Auftragskiller für die Behörden wurde. In diesem Buch wird er angeheuert einen Politiker zu töten, der für die Bauabteilung arbeitet. Die liberaldemokratische Partei vergibt überflüssige Bauaufträge, an denen sowohl die Politiker selbst als auch die Yakuza verdienen. Aus diesem Grund erhält John den Auftrag diesen zu täten. Am Tatort beobachtet er wie ein Gaijin (Ausländer) die Leiche des Politiker durchsucht. Als er später die Tochter des Politikers, Midori, kennenlernt, erfährt er, dass der Politiker im Besitz einer CD war, die nun von einer unbekannten Anzahl an Parteien gesucht wird. Um Midori zu schützen, taucht er mit ihr unter und versucht nun diese CD selbst zu finden.

Ich habe diese Buch ausgesucht, da ich mich schon immer für Japan und die Kultur interessiert habe. Anhand des japano-amerikanischen Haupthelden gewährt einem Eisler sehr gute Einblicke in diese Welt. Die Story braucht ein bisschen, um in Fahrt zu kommen, ist dann aber sehr spannend. Teilweise habe ich gefunden, dass John ein paar dumme Fehler gemacht hat (z.B. kontaktiert er im Laufe des Buches einen Reporter wegen der CD, ohne sich scheinbar darüber im klaren zu sein, dass dieser wahrscheinlich unter Beobachtung steht und die Gespräche abgehört werden). Allerdings muss man sich vor Augen halten, dass John ein Auftragsmörder und nicht ein Spion war. Trotzdem erinnert die Serie ein bisschen an James Bond, auch wenn John am Ende das Mädchen nicht bekommt. Da er ihren Vater getötet hat, wäre es aber auch sehr seltsam gewesen, wenn er am Ende mit ihr in den Sonnenuntergang reitet.

Das Buch wurde Anfang 2000 geschrieben. Bis auf die Erwähnung von Pagern und Erinnerungen an den Vietnam-Krieg fällt dies aber gar nicht auf. Ich habe mir schon den zweiten Teil besorgt.

I really enjoyed this book, so much that I started it this morning and finished it this afternoon.
A thriller with a difference, the main character is an assassin working in Tokyo. The author makes the assassin likeable and very intriguing in a fast paced thriller.
I am interested to read that many of the reviewers on Goodreads consider that this series gets better so I intend to read more.

Eisler’s *Livia Lone* series might be one of my favorite series ever and John Rain showed up in book #3—inspiring me to give these books a shot.

Intriguing first entry, I'm down for more John Rain!

“I wandered the earth a mercenary, daring the gods to kill me but surviving because part of me was already dead."

“The person who returns from living abroad isn't the same person who left originally... Your outlook changes. You don't take things for granted that you used to. For instance, I noticed in New York that when one cab cut off another, the driver who got cut off would always yell at the other driver... and I realized this was because Americans assume that the other person intended to do what he did, so they want to teach the person a lesson. But you know, in Japan, people almost never get upset in those situations. Japanese look at other people's mistakes more as something arbitrary, like the weather, I think, not so much as something to get angry about.”

“People like to say the West is a guilt-based culture, while that of Japan is based on shame, with the chief distinction being that the former is an internalized emotion while the latter depends on the presence of a group.

Reprezinta primul roman din seria "John Rain", un asasin profesionist japonez care este angajat sa rezolve treburile murdare ale unor organizatii guvernamentale, CIA, partidele politice din Japonia sau in general oricui doreste sa-si elimine un adversar astfel incat sa para o moarte naturala.
Autorul a considerat ca trebuie sa ne lamureasca printr-o scurta introducere de ce a ales orasul Tokyo si ne povesteste despre pasiunea sa pentru asa numitele "cunostinte interzise". Aflam faptul ca il admira foarte mult pe celebrul Houdini si ne dezvaluie si cateva detalii din trecutul sau in cadrul CIA.
In aceasta prima parte a seriei facem cunostinta cu John Rain si cu trecutul sau, aflam traumele sale din razboiul din Vietnam, viziunea sa despre a fi jumatate japonez - jumatate american si discriminarile la care a fost supus din aceasta cauza.
Desigur ca si de data aceasta, eu am inceput sa citesc seria cu cel de-al treilea roman iar acela mi s-a parut mai bun. Desi am aflat anumite detalii despre care nu trebuia sa stiu din primul roman am putut totusi sa ma bucur de roman.
Cel mai mult mi-a placut descrierea foarte amanuntita a strazilor din Tokyo, atat de exacta incat daca vreodata ajungeti acolo si nu aveti ghid sau harta puteti sa va folostiti de aceasta carte fara nici o problema.
Am savurat descrierea mirosurilor de mancare, a imbulzelii de pe strazi la orele de varf, a tonetelor cu street food, a magazinelor medicinale si a tumultosei vieti de noapte. De asemenea se face referire si la celebrele benzi desenate de aventuri numite Manga, foarte populare mai ales in Japonia, sau la Chado, adica ceremonia japoneza a ceaiului prin care practicantii ei se straduiesc prin miscari rafinate de preparare sa atinga wabi si sabi - "un soi de gratie lipsita de efort in gandire si miscare". Aflam si despre scoala de la Kodokan unde se practica judo si faptul ca acest cuvant inseama "calea blandetii" sau "calea cedarii".
M-a amuzat sa citesc despre o metoda a politiei de descoperire a indivizilor care cultiva marijuana in apartamente, monitorizandu-le facturile la electricitate.
Ca o concluzie, mi-a placut romanul, o sa citesc si celelalte carti din serie, sperand ca de data aceasta in ordinea corecta si cel mai interesant mi s-a parut ca John Rain reuseste sa opreasca peacemaker-ul cuiva de la distanta folosindu-se de un magnet si de un gadget inovativ.

My eldest turned me onto this first of a series thriller over the Christmas holidays and I'm glad she did. Eisler is a soulful writer who takes his readers on an emotional roller coaster in this introduction to the primary antagonist John Rain.

As with most thrillers, this is not Pulitzer Prize or National Book Award material. Nevertheless, "Rain Fall" is a good little read and kept my interest throughout. The setting is unique as I don't recall ever reading anything from this genre that uses the Japanese-American cultural connection as the base premise. It actually works well and helped to solidify this as a series I want to continue reading just to learn more about something I know precious little about.

I can't really say much about the plot without providing spoilers which I always find irritating in a review. I will tell you that if you enjoy any or multiples of the following, you show pick this one up as an airplane, beach, cruise, fireplace read; Japanese culture, Japanese-American culture, Japanese politics, scotch, jazz, Vietnam, the CIA, or the martial arts.

Enjoy!

(Audible download) According to the author's website, Eisler has a black belt (it shows in the books, Rain's fights are described in loving detail by judo and karate movement name), worked for the CIA (and must not like most of them, for , in this first of the series at least, the CIA does not come off well) and worked in Japan for several years (and has high respect for Japanese customs.)

One always feels guilty reading (listening, actually) to a book like this for the hero is just about as anti-social as one gets. Rain is half Japanese/half American with a seemingly sordid past as a special operations group member in Vietnam. Haunted by what he had to do there, he has become a specialist in making people die from natural causes. Most are politicians or bankers or a person who someone else has determined must die, and Rain does it really well. It's really hard to discuss any of the plot of this book without stumbling through numerous plot spoilers. Rain has been burned so many times by the traditional forces of "good" that he has been forced to adopt his own code of morality and live in the shadows. Nothing, nothing, is as it seems and Rain learns he has been manipulated again by those he had come to despise.

I suggest, if possible, reading this one first in the series, as it sets the stage for Rain later. Read brilliantly by Brian Nishii. The Japanese names just roll off his tongue and make it even more authentic. There's nothing worse than a reader who doesn't pronounce names correctly. I once heard Dick Hill, otherwise one of my favorite readers, pronounce Schuylkill River as "skykill" instead of "schoolkill" which as anyone who has been within 400 miles of Philadelphia knows is the native way to pronounce it. Drove me crazy the entire book.

I've heard some people use Eisler's view of Japan to assume that the LDP is as corrupt as Eisler suggests and that one can learn about Japanese society from reading the Rain titles. Although I know virtually nothing about Japan, my natural skepticism would suggest being careful in drawing such conclusions. My only criticism would be that Rain's ability to take on 3 or 4 antagonists at once, beating them all, buggers the imagination. Then again, it's fiction.

I am not a die hard fan of military, spies, assassins and their ilk type of fiction. I am, however, a die hard fan of all things Japanese and I thought it would be interesting to read about an assassin who is half Japanese, half American. This was so much better than I expected!!!! The story moved along and the military parts were not boring. I loved that the setting was in Tokyo and the author used a lot of vivid descriptions to bring the city to life (and always gave an explanation for those who do not understand the Japanese language.) This is another case of as assassin with part heart of gold, but the author made it believable and I am happy that I took a chance on reading it.

Ripping start to a series about an assassin who kills by natural causes.

Pleasure to read.
Of you are not into the Japanese culture though - you can skip it.