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.

This is my first "John Rain" novel and I must admit, I liked it enough to read more! The 'damaged but honorable' lone-hero style reminds me a lot of Lee Child's "Reacher" series, but without all the sentence fragments (thankfully)! Plus,I love anything that deals with culture and identity, and Rain's Japanese/American duality adds a dimension to him which causes a certain amount of unrest, and I found that really interesting. Also, the story itself moved at a good, quick pace, and held my attention to the very end. Recommended.

Tried to get into this story, but the author kept pulling me back out. The story takes place in Japan and in addition to locations, neighborhoods and police/political ranks in Japanese, the author insists on presenting a lot of dialog in Japanese, then providing the translation. If you're trying to learn Japanese and want some practice, I'd recommend this... otherwise there are much better authors out there who showcase literary skills, not linguistics.

I enjoyed this book because I liked witnessing the main character, who is a skilled assassin, navigate the complicated plot and kill his enemies, usually with his bare hands...

Looking at that sentence now, I wonder if I shouldn't be disturbed by my sentiment. I mean, I just admitted to enjoying an account of a man who makes a living by killing other people. Ask me point blank if this is ok, and my answer is, No, of course not. You shouldn't go around killing people. So what makes this book ok?

How much does the world intimidate you? It sure freaks me out, and regularly. All the information; the ease with which we can connect with millions of individuals; the powerful entities that steer major events and affect millions of lives without an ounce of compassion; the wars, the sickness, the poverty, the exploitation; "the yuppies networking:" it all constructively interferes in a cacophony of noise and activity that both teases and overwhelms my intellect. The world is huge, complex, fascinating, and maddening.

That last aspect, I think, makes a character like John Rain appealing. Once he worked for the big boys in the U.S. government, and once he fought in one of the government's dirty wars. He knows spycraft, and he knows how to fight, maim, and kill, if need be, with or without a weapon. He has contacts, information sources, and a bead on political developments and players. He is, in short, a modern explorer of the 21st century landscape, equipped to deal with its vicissitudes and unknowns, and competent enough to take on some of its more evil types.

Bad things are happening to good people in the world, and even if Rain has worked for the system, he is still a man of principle who can take on some of the people who are at the source of these bad doings. This talent, this ability to strike directly at the wrong-doers, is, at times, an appealing fiction. Hence, my positive reception of this otherwise disturbing premise.

Eisler's John Rain isn't a cop or private detective or even on the "right" side of the law: he's a highly-paid assassin, well into middle age, stuck between the Japanese and American cultures represented by his now-late parents. That you can find sympathy for a hit man -- even one with ethics -- is a tribute to how well Eisler sets up his hero and, more importantly, his world, which is if anything sleazier and more corrupt than is Rain himself. The picture of Japan presented here is massively unflattering, one of a neo-Blade Runner swamp of corruption, organized crime, casual murder and slow economic collapse.

While Rain Fall bills itself a thriller, you shouldn't expect the usual modern-day thriller tropes. The world isn't about to end, the body count is reasonably low, and our hero isn't embroiled in big set-pieces every fifty pages. Much of the plot revolves around people talking to each other and trying not to be followed. "Intrigue" is the best description, one that doesn't sell as many books but more accurately sets reader expectations.

Eisler's Rain isn't entirely unique. He has the usual cool-guy qualities (a weakness for jazz and expensive whiskey, a complete lack of attachment to place, etc.) and of course attracts the affections of women young enough to be his daughters. Eisler clearly knows Tokyo well but doesn't always share this knowledge in a manner useful to his readers.

Still, despite these nods to convention, Rain Fall is a fine way to spend a few hours in the company of someone you might not want to be alone with in real life. Maybe he'd buy you a nice whiskey, but he certainly wouldn't tell you this tale.

This has a very interesting storyline, but politics and military fiction aren't my favorite to begin with. Add to that a few info dumps and I just can't quite say I loved it. It was still very good story. I found it enjoyable enough and I like the character of John Rain, so I may continue with the series.

John Rain reminds me of a slightly watered down Evan Smoak, so this felt a little like Orphan X light.

3.5★

Having previously read a mid-series book, it was a relief to go back to the start. My first experience of John Rain in Extremis showed me a rather one dimensional man - a hired killer, cold and efficient but not much else. However, this book brings the character alive, drawing out his background and the key events that shaped the man. The first half of the book is my favourite part as Rain shows himself to be a rather complex dude with a lot to offer, over and above his propensity to induce ‘the big sleep’ - to order and in a way likely to be deemed death by natural causes.

The descriptions of Rain’s home turf in Tokyo and his various haunts and pleasures (jazz, whiskey and women) are excellent. Conversations are well drawn and characters development is first class. I really wouldn't have minded if the book had focused wholly on these elements, particularly his burgeoning relationship with young jazz pianist, Midori. I'm sure an excellent book – albeit a different type of book – could have been developed from these early threads. Would Rain be worth reading about without the action man antics? I think so.

Once the action starts this book feels much more like my first experience of the series, although these sequences don't feel quite so clinical, so mechanical and are probably all the better for that. The story also gets much more complex, as additional characters and various twists and turns are introduced. It’s not that the second half of the book is unsatisfying, it’s just that - for me - it doesn't quite match up to what preceded it.

I know that these thoughts won't match everyone's experience of this book. Simply put, I think it's that although I do like action packed thrillers I prefer the human elements of these stories. And the human elements here are very good indeed. Overall, I really enjoyed meeting John Rain again and I’ll definitely be signing up for the next episode.

The book Rain Fall by Barry Eisler is 363 pages, published in 2002 by Penguin Books Ltd. The genre is a little bit of mystery, thriller, romance, and realistic fiction. The story is a first person tale of John Rain. He's an ex-marine from the Vietnam era and a hit man who specializes in assassinations that look natural. What starts as a routine kill ends up in complete chaos. Rain falls in love with the daughter of his target and must face old enemies that are trying to control him. The book really focuses on the changes in Rain and how these changes came to be.
tRain's character begins his journey when he's born. With one parent Japanese and one American, Rain never felt like he had a true home. This lead to him becoming an outcast and caused him to develop a quiet, secretive demeanor. He was bullied constantly and learned to take care of himself. Rain's life took a huge twist when he met Jimmy (A.K.A Crazy Jake). Rain and Jimmy became best friends and joined the American army where they fought in Vietnam. Rain finally feels accepted and sticks with Jimmy for years. The friendship takes a turn for the worse when Jimmy abandons the army and creates his own private force. The corrupt and traitorous army officer Holtzer sends Rain on a mission to kill Jimmy. Rain kills Jimmy and leaves Vietnam. He went there excited to fit in and left an outcast once again. This is all back-story that the book provides. The setting throughout most of the book is modern day Japan. Rain is now a hit man and is tasked to kill a corrupt politician. He kills the man and makes it seem like a heart attack. Later that day he meets Midori, the daughter of the politician. Due to Rain's secretive nature, he's unwilling to disclose anything personal but finds himself having feelings for her. These feelings allow him to open up to her like no one else. When Rain's employer sets his sights on Midori's life, Rain jumps into action. Midori and he go into hiding. Rain falls in love with her and she with him. He opens up to her and tells her all about Jimmy and the terrible things he's done. Midori really connects with him and a strong bond is created. Midori is being hunted because her father had a disk that contained discriminating information on the Yazuka leader, Yamaoto. Holtzer is working with Yamaoto and is in charge of killing Rain and retrieving the disk. Rain gets the disk and works to get it to the head of police, Tatsu. He eventually succeeds and Holtzer resigns from his CIA position. Unfortunately, to protect Midori, Tatsu tells her that Rain is dead. Rain is overwhelmed with despair at losing Midori and anger at Holtzer's lack of punishment. He takes justice into his own hands and kills Holtzer. It was a wild moment on his part. It's kind of like Yin and Yang. Midori was his Yin, his soft side. Holtzer was his Yang, violent side. When he lost his Yin, he had no choice but to balance it out and kill the Yang. It was all about emotional balance. Rain's life has never been easy. As a kid he was excluded, as a young adult he had to kill his best friend and countless others, and as an adult he lost his love and killed dozens more. Midori and Jimmy were the only stable things in Rain's life and each loss shook him to the core. The book ends here so it's unsure how he moves on.
tRain Fall is an amazing thriller full of intense action, a gripping story, and relatable characters. Many will come for the action but will stay for the intense tale it weaves. Rain Fall is an extremely good thriller that deserves to be read by anyone craving action or suspense.

Loved how twisty and plotted this was.
My only issue was how John Rain is such a smart competent protagonist and yet he was willfully blind to how he was being used.
Thinks he's smart, actually a pawn. :(
But a really great book, otherwise.

AWESOME!! I really enjoyed this book. I read it via audio, and absolutely

I'm a little torn because 3 stars might indicate I like the book when it would be more accurate to say I don't intensely dislike it, thus 2. There are some interesting parts in this read. Unfortunately between these parts there a long sections that are not only fairly uninteresting but often have little or nothing to do with the story.

There are sections like "the surveillance was going nowhere so..." and we get a section where he sits in a coffee shop and "remembers". We need you see to get an insight into the protagonist and how he became an assassin.

In these flashback/ memories we pretty much find that our protagonist John Rain (hereafter referred to as JR) is scarred by his past. He was scarred by the loss of his father which ended his life of security. This is a little odd because we also find he was scarred before this by the bullies he met (in America and in Japan) who beat him up because he was of mixed parentage (Japanese and American if you hadn't put that together). Later while he's in the service he's scarred by the death of his mother. He is of course scarred by the "loss" of his best friend...who before he was his best friend was one of the bullies who beat JR up. Need I go on? He's scarred by betrayal, he's scarred by disillusionment...this is one scarred dude.

So I put up with the stories and the memories. I put up with the endless lists of Tokyo's streets, cafe's, restaurants, shops and businesses that we get during his "tailing and surveillance exploits". I put up with his internal monologs and soliloquies. I put up with dialogs and conversations that had little or nothing to do with what was supposed to be the stories plot...yes and I put up with his stumbling into a love/romance interest.

The story is slow moving, disjointed and (I don't think) all that well told with only moments of interest that mostly gave me the "might have been" feeling I've found in other books.


So...2 stars. I don't suppose I really hated the book, but I never really found it that interesting.


Just a thought. For a book about a freelance assassin this book has very little action. When the book opens we are told what he's been doing, see him finish the job that sets up the story which is supposed to be more one of intrigue than action. But I don't really think it works on either level. The book ends leaving the feeling that the entire thing was simply a set up for what's to come.

I wish I'd liked it more, but I didn't. I probably won't follow it up.

No es nada del otro jueves pero tiene varios puntos a favor. Que el personaje sea un asesino y la narración se haga en primera persona tiene su punto. Probablemente se le podría sacar más partido, pero como idea es atractiva. Se lee rápido porque quieres saber qué pasa a continuación. Está ambientada en Japón, con lo que explota las diferencias culturales y lugares de Tokio. Quizá abusa de las escenas de acción, pero están bien narradas y da la sensación de que el autor sabe de artes marciales.

Veremos si se mantiene en las sucesivas continuaciones.