John Rain supposedly doesn't care who he takes out with the exception of women and children. But some things are about to change. He has an uncanny ability to sift through bad guys like butter. Do not meet up with him in a dark alley. Odds are, you will not make it out alive. He is back in Tokyo to finish a job and trying to lay low. But trouble has a way of finding him. There are some very graphic details of sex, scenery, and murder. Some characters meet a grisly end messing around with Jon Rain. Barry Eisler is a great writer and narrator. He does a good job of introducing an array of characters and even re-introducing a few. No spoiler alert here.

Great page turner

Having read the Livia Lone novels by the same author, I'm now working through the John Rain ones. These were written first, it turns out, but already in this novel I can see how the writing style has developed and stabilised into something similar to that in the Livia Lone novels. As I work on Japan and also set my novels (e.g. "Hijacking Japan") in Japan, I also found the book useful in thinking further about how to set stories and characters in Japan for readers who may be less familiar with the country.

Mr. Eisler does not disappoint and became my comfort author whenever I‘m in need for a quick distraction, something fast paced and a solid storytelling. Once again I was impressed by all the research and personal experience that was put into this book which makes it exceptionally detailed and realistic. I loved the depth of the characters, the subtle criticism of politics and people in power and the constant questioning of morality.

.. And the more time I spend with the characters the more they grow on me. Save to say it gives me comfort knowing that there are still a whole lot of sequels for me to read

I can't believe I enjoy reading a book about an assassin. But he does have scruples. Good read.

I really like this character and series. Occasionally the dialogue between characters can seem a little forced -- like someone has to explain something that you know they wouldn't have to in real life, it's just for the reader's benefit. It also feels like the voice slips sometimes from the character's to the author's, especially when the subject is music or descriptions of music venues and bars. I look forward to reading the rest of the series though.

#2 of the Rain series- I am definitely on the fence on this one. First, the good things…Eisler is a master at describing fight scenes so that it’s almost like watching it on a TV screen. He walks thru moves like a color commentator. I enjoy reading about Japan, it’s culture, the language. You would think the author is a native. He is American. What bothers me is what happens with a lot of authors who write series. They don’t give recaps about the history of the series. This is frustrating for those of us who read the previous books long ago and can’t remember what they are about and for those of us who are jumping into the middle. There should be a rule. If you are going to write a series, give us a recap of what has happened before. Eisler’s plot in this book was a bit complicated to follow. I enjoyed the story and I like the main character, I just thought there were parts of the plot that were a bit far fetched. I don’t think I’m going to give up on the series just yet. I like this character and this is the only set of books I have read about Japan.

Whilst I am enjoying the John Rain series, I go from being enthralled to the point of losing interest. For sure, I’m having trouble following the different characters with Japanese names, but feel that there’s definitely substance here.
Once again, compliments to the author for his narration in the audiobook; aside from the Brazilian who seems more Jamaican, he really adds to the story with the American to Japanese accents.

This second book in the series is slower, with more detail into John Rain's life. I'm surprised the ratings are this good. I loved it, but it's more of a character study while Rain decides whether he wants to "work" as a hitman again or not.

The book is called "A Lonely Resurrection," so you pretty much know where it's going.

I enjoyed the journey. I really like this character.

Barry Eisler is great at providing a lot of detail while keeping the reader completely engaged. He performs the audiobook as well, so he gets double my admiration.

I've already added the entire series to my queue, but the next two books are on sale at Audible.com. Yay!!!

Hard Rain, previously published as A Lonely Resurrection and Blood from Blood, is the second book in the John Rain series about a half American, half Japanese contract killer with a code working in Tokyo. I don’t think it’s essential to read these in order, but there are various returning characters from the first book and Rain’s personality and history are more fleshed out in the first one. This came out in 2003 but holds up pretty well in terms of technology.

Set about a year after the events of Rain Fall/AClean Kill in Tokyo, John has been hiding out in Osaka but is tracked down by his powerful secret policeman sometime ally Tatsu about a job. Rain specialises in “natural causes” assassinations and his mission introduces him to Murakami, a fearful gangster organising to the death cage fights who has links to corrupt politicians. With the CIA his tail, an old flame who thought him dead trying to find him, and his best friend in the the clutches of a glamorous bargirl, Rain will need all his tricks to come out alive…

I was first introduced to Rain as a minor character in the more recent Livia Lone books, so it’s been interesting meeting his younger, darker incarnation. He’s not quite an anti-hero - the first person narration means we are firmly on his side, but many of his actions gave me pause - casually killing a CIA operative apparently just doing his job, inflicting maximal violence on anyone who gets in his way, and being really quite nasty to a poor dog (admittedly it was trying to rip his arm off!) He is loyal to his friends, and has a weakness for beautiful women, jazz, and whiskey. The fight scenes are detailed and gory and often had me wincing.

The plot is complicated, with multiple bad guys to keep track of, as well as those walking the line between law enforcement and criminality. One of the aspects I liked initially got tedious after a while - the detailed descriptions of Tokyo - the city is very much a character here, but extended descriptions of every SDR (surveillance detection route) he takes just felt like padding. Eisler uses a lot of Japanese words which added flavour but I struggled to remember what they all meant. I’ve got the next two lined up and feel I will need to read them fairly soon while I remember who’s who. 3.5 rounded up for the interesting hero and atmospheric writing.

A pleasant surprise. Volume 1 had a lot of expositions on spying methodologies and techniques. Don't get me wrong, they were interesting. Volume 2 did things a bit differently. There's less of a focus on the "natural causes" murders and secrecy. It makes sense because the main character is threatened directly and he needs to do things differently. Another big difference is less focus on the past (as the character has been introduced in volume 1) and more focus on the present and the future. To finish it off, a proper adversary that poses real danger also helps spice up things.

I'll be honest, the story pulled me in and it was hard to put the book down. It's not that book 2 is better than book 1, they're different. Some people might like it, others might not. For me though, it was a solid win.

First half took some wading through. Lots of exposition and reshaping the world. Second half made me excited to carry on with the series

This was the book through which I discovered this great thriller series years ago, so I really enjoyed reading it again. Every bit as good as the first in the series and recommended to everyone who likes the genre!