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John Rain #2

Blood from Blood

barry eisler

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Blood From Blood Eisler, Barry

null pages, Paperback

First published July 14,2003
Series
John Rain
Literary awards
gumshoe award, 
Places
tokyo, japan, 

This edition

Format
null pages, Paperback
Published
July 14, 2003 by PENGUIN
ISBN
9780141026060
ASIN
0141026065
Language
English

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About the author

Profile Image for barry eisler

barry eisler

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Barry Eisler spent three years in a covert position with the CIA's Directorate of Operations, then worked as a technology lawyer and startup executive in Silicon Valley and Japan, earning his black belt at the Kodokan International Judo Center along the way. Eisler's bestselling thrillers have won the Barry Award and the Gumshoe Award for Best Thriller of the Year, have been included in numerous "Best Of" lists, and have been translated into nearly twenty languages. Eisler lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and, when he's not writing novels, blogs about torture, civil liberties, and the rule of law.
--from the author's website

Series:
* John Rain

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Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
35(35%)
4 stars
34(34%)
3 stars
31(31%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
imffr
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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The second is the series featuring hit man (assassin) John Rain. Rain is highly efficient, so the squeamish probably should think twice about reading. He does have his own set of ethics (a bit like Thomas Perry's Butcher Boy).

My favorite part is often the parts about blending in to a crowd, losing (or avoiding) a tail, etc. (Here again, similar to Thomas Perry's Jane Whitefield). Since I haven't been to Japan, some of names of the streets, parts of town, etc., are lost on me, but it doesn't distract from the story.

This book deals with politics (in Japan and the USA), espionage, fighting (in and out of a "ring"), and choices. Rain continues to question whether to continue in this line of work or not...
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yourMindIsFucked
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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Once again John Rain must do what he does best, kill or be killed. John comes back from the first book where he met his end, or so he had other think. Someone is tracking him and wants him. What will his pursuers do to get to him? Will John help some of those tracking him? and who will pay the price? This installment seemed to start a tad slow and for a while it seemed that I had signed on for a tour of Japan. However, once the story started and I got deeper into the book the story line took off. This book was written in a different style than the first and I wasn't a big fan. However, as I said, once it finally got going it became a page turner and I couldn't wait to see how/if John got out of this giant mess. I liked the way the author set the reader up for the next in the series because this reader is going back to find out how John makes out and if he will retire?
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Darryldarryl127
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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The second John Rain book and the action keeps on rolling. I love the John Rain character, a half American half Japanese killer for hire disillusioned by his time in both cultures. He is a realist and a killer, yet has not lost his humanity or a deepset sense of justice. I really enjoyed how this book piggybacked the end of the first in the series and continued to follow the loose ends left in the first book. The thing that stands out the most for me in Eisler's writing is the descriptive nature of it. His action and plots are as fun and twisting as any action writer, but his descriptions are much more elaborate without being over done. Because it is written in first person, the descriptions are attributed to Rain's character and help to define this enigma of a contract killer
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bleeblee
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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The Rain series is extraordinary. Mr. Eisler's writing not only compels the reader to turn the pages, but does so with beautifully constructed sentences, paragraphs rich in metaphor, and a deeply realized philosophy. The East meets West metaphor is in full force, but without the cliches. This highly original series may not be for everyone because the main character is an assassin, and when you find yourself rooting for him; well, you've been captured by Eisler's Voice. I learn so much about Japan and Japanese culture, and the books allow me to look at America through a Japanese lens, which is refreshing and exciting. If you are open minded and love adventure, these are the books for you.
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omochii123
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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As a man with the skill to make murder look like a natural death, John Rain influences international intelligence agencies, governments and yakuza members. Tasked to take down a sociopathic killer to prevent the power balance to tilt towards the Japanese mafia, he needs to balance between the CIA, Japanese FBI and the mafia - whose leader, Yamaoto, tries to tip the financial balance to gain power in Japan by playing the CIA, using his assets while trying to have Rain killed - protect the few friends he has and come out alive.
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lilzeee
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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John Rain, der Auftragsmörder mit Gewissen, wird genötigt, wieder ein paar Leute ableben zu lassen, so dass es aussieht, als wären diese eines natürlichen Todes gestorben.

Das japanische FBI ist involviert, die CIA, die Yakuza, und so kommen sich die Interessen etwas in die Quere. Einige sterben, meist die richtigen, aber eben nicht immer. Rain geht auf Rachefeldzug und entledigt sich noch ein paar mehr.

Das tönt jetzt alles ziemlich banal, ist aber in seinen Actionszenen richtig gut geschrieben. Meist Close Quarter Combat statt Kugel und Long Distance, und in einem Setting, das recht nahe an der Realität liegt.

Eisler versucht manchmal zu fest, Glaubwürdigkeit mit vielen Worten und intelligent tönenden Sätzen aufzubauen. Funktioniert teilweise, aber wird auch ermüdend. Ausserdem sind die zwei Sexszenen zum überspringen.

Alles andere ist gelungene Action in Japan. Hat Spass gemacht!
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UtisNemo
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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This is book 2 of Eisler's John Rain spy series. It's 352 pages, rated 4.09/5.0 and I rated it 4.0. I really like the pace of this book. It's just the right mix of story to action. The story is set in Japan and has the added benefit of discussing a lot of Japanese culture. In the story, John is tasked with eliminating a really bad and cruel criminal. Along the way, people in his life are affected by his work in a way that causes John a lot of internal struggle, so we watch John long for a normal life, normal love, normal day, but it's not so easy for John.
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CheraxDestructor
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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All right, so I appear to be hunting for a specific character: from Jack Reacher (Lee Child), to Jonathan Quinn (Brett Battles), onto John Rain (Barry Eisler). From ex military, to cleaner, to assassin.

How do we as readers gain empathy for a killer? Simple enough, join John Rain in his voyage from assassin for hire to conscientious killer (kill bad guys) to wanting to get out of the business...but unwilling to leave his perspective of the world (no worries, this transformation takes place across many books, more than enough to satiate the most avid genre reader)

I devoured these books as I did the others above (more to come as I continue hunting). You'll just have to see for yourself.

P.S. If you've read this review, you've read all my John Rain reviews. There are no discrepancies in Eisler's work. Every novel is top notch, provided you share my predilection for this sort of character.

HR
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