I'm glad I "rediscovered" this series after a few months. I'm a fan of the characters, action and drama filled storylines, and locations. Lots of appropriate clandestine detail make for a totally satisfying book series. I understand that some of the characters are later spun off into other stories and from what I've seen of the "secondary" characters, I think that's a fine idea!

It was fun, contemporary spy/assassin novel. I think this was the second book with Rain in it & I haven't read the first. It stood alone well & was pretty good. There were a few too many digressions with Rain philosophizing over his life & situation, feeling sorry for himself due to the way he is cut off from having a close relationship with a woman. It got old by the end, but it was the major theme of the book & the overall hook. The paranoia in his life was severe & he did find he could trust one person, much to his surprise. The lead to it was a bit heavy handed, though.

I doubt I'll ever want to read it again, but it was an enjoyable diversion.

Update March2017: Rereading as an audio book (Review Here) as I go through the series in order. This is the third book, not second. Since it is now on its third title, I'm not surprised there is some confusion. I hate it when books are renamed. It's hard enough keeping all of them straight.

Rain Storm, or Winner Takes All as it is called on GR, could be described as "How to be an Assassin for Dummies". Every action, whether it's a counter surveillance move or a chop to the solar plexus, is explained in detail. Each fight is literally a blow-by-blow account, sometimes with a pause to give a particular move a name and its history. There is no show without a tell in case the reader missed it. However, most reviewers don't seem to be bothered by this and it's still a fun action thriller that's enjoyable enough as long as it isn't taken seriously. My audio edition appeared to be narrated by Principal Skinner from The Simpsons and was a bit droll for this kind of novel, but at least he spoke clearly. An average rating that I've generously rounded up to 3 stars.

**4.5 stars**

After the thoroughly depressing conclusion of Hard Rain (book 2 in the series) I sincerely hoped that the world would leave John Rain alone and I wouldn’t have to hear about him again. Not because I didn’t enjoy the books but because I thought the guy deserved some peace. You have to give some kudos to an author when he makes you feel like that for a hired assassin.

Rain Storm has a (very slightly) more positive outlook. Please don’t get the impression that the book is a ray of sunshine; this series is still about alienation and missed chances. But several new characters showed up to make John’s life more interesting, including several ladies. John really likes the ladies which makes total sense because to kick ass that hard, a man needs truckloads of testosterone.

Like in previous books, the action was exciting, with very intricate fight scenes. Most of the time I couldn’t follow exactly what was going on, but the descriptions help to highlight that kicking ass is HARD! And you have to be in top condition – both physically and mentally – to be able to keep up with all those bad guys who are also amazingly good at what they do.

As expected, the cities that John inhabits (Rio, Hong Kong and Macau) become almost characters in their own right. Mr. Eisler definitely has an eye for distilling the essence of a city into words.

Even with all these new characters, John is still alienated from life, surrounded by a terrible longing for the lost chances and the impossibility of his life. John is too honest for regrets but he knows more than most of what this life has cost him.

I wondered in a detached way whether it was all part of a cosmic punishment for Crazy Jake…Or perhaps for the other things I’ve done. To be periodically tantalized by the hope of something real, something good, always knowing at the same time that it was all going to turn to dust.

It would seem amazing that a man who whacks people for a living wants a relationship, but more than anything, John Rain wants, no, needs to belong. He was a foreigner in Japan and a foreigner in the US. He has no family, no home and very few friends that he feels he cannot trust, because again and again, they have given him cause for doubt:

I told myself again that I wasn’t disappointed, that I wasn’t even terribly surprised. I learned long ago not to trust, that faith is to life what sticking your chin out is to boxing. I told myself that it was good to get some further confirmation of the essential accuracy of my worldview.

John gets lots of tail in this book but he’s constantly thinking about Midori. Because I didn’t know him, I just didn’t understand the profound effect she had in his life and now I want to re-read the first book. His pining for her was hopelessly romantic and I confess I shed lots of tears:

Midori isn’t dead, only gone. Maybe that’s why I find myself thinking of her more often than I should. I picture her face and picture the sound of her voice, the touch of her hands, the feel of her body. I have no such power of recall for scent, but know I would recognize hers in an instant and wish that I could breathe it in even once more before I die.

Mr. Nishii did a wonderful job portraying John Rain. I didn’t like his voices for the women – they were a bit too high…almost like a falsetto – and his Portuguese accent was a bit out there but hey, you can’t have it all. I’m actually sad he doesn’t narrate any more of the books.

The ending was the happiest I’ve seen in this series but I’m afraid everything will go down the drain in the next book. I guess we can’t have John being too happy! Regardless, I can’t wait to see happens next.

#3 in the John Rain series. 2005 Barry Award for Best Novel. Rain Storm is AKA: Choke Point [2005]. John Rain is a half-America, half-Japanese Viet Nam veteran living in Tokyo as a freelance assassin.

John Rain retires from the assassin business and moves to Sao Paulo. Eventually he moves to Rio and reunites with Naomi, which allows the CIA, in the person of ex-marine sniper Dox, to find him. He is pressured to accept a contract on Algerian arms dealer Belghazi, accompanied by the beautiful and mysterious Delilah, currently operating in Hong Kong and Macau.

Phenomenal! Adrenaline with an equally fast brain.

I so enjoyed the nuanced intelligence and emotional tight ropes Eisler injected with the skill of a maestro. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys action and intelligence where violence is required not the goal of the story.

This is the first book I've read by Eisler (though note that it's not the first, but the third, in the series) and is was surprisingly really, really good. Eisler can really write, and has created a main character who is at the same time highly skilled and all-too-humanly flawed, exotic yet realistic. It takes talent to write about an assassin who's believably heroic. The book is fast-paced and action-packed but also deeply reflective. Well done.

Despite the mediocre reviews that "Winner Take All" received on Goodreads I decided to give it a shot anyway. Having read the first two John Rain novels I assumed that I would have a greater appreciation for the character that would negate some of the criticism that the novel received.

Having read the previous two John Rain novels definitely helped make the book more relevant. It is completely understandable why someone who has not read any of the previous novels would be confused. I would even go as far as stating that reading at least one of the last two novels should be a prerequisite for reading "Winner Take All".

As far as what I think about this novel in particular, I definitely feel that it is the weakest of the first three. The story itself is engaging enough but the storytelling is somewhat lacking in my opinion. The pacing and plot development is not structured the way I thought that it would be (based on the previous novels). The novel begins right in the middle of John Rain's mission without much explanation as to why the character is doing what he is doing (that comes later). There were a few bright spots in the novel however. The inclusion of Macau and Hong Kong was a nice change of setting. Without giving too much away, the new characters (Delilah especially) add some intrigue. John Rain is beginning to show his age as well and is not quite the indestructible figure that he was previously.

Overall I would not hesitate "Winner Take All" to someone who has read the previous two novels. Everyone else should probably pass.

"From Macao to Acapulco from Havana to Seville
We'll see monoliths and bridges and the Christ up on the hill"
--Pogues "Drunken Boat"

I'm a completist, so you'll see the other John Rain sequels appearing on my summer reading list. The series is getting better as the side characters start to play a larger role. This is in part due to their appearance in small sections of each book. John Rain is a pro, but he is a lot more interesting when he has to deal with people in other ways than his special talent.

I still appreciate the author's ability to write about cities and neighborhoods to firmly place the story in our world...though I haven't been to these places, so I can't tell you how strong the replication is. I can say that he creates a strong sense of place for me as I read the books.

Still a hundred pages to go, so final thoughts in the next couple days.
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One last thing to add. I think I liked this book a bit more because more exposition happens in the field rather than in debriefs with the handlers. Rain actually has to go figure some things out and work with other people. That makes for a more interesting set of interactions.

It gets 3.9 stars...and I'll round up for the continued improvement in the series.

Like the first two books, lots of introspection and angst. However, the character of John Rain is fleshing out a bit. Note: I listened to the audio version narrated by the author. Barry Eisler speaks really good Japanese.

Rain Storm is the third John Rain novel I've read. Oddly, it falls short of the first two. Too much tedious introspection by Rain and an unnecessarily gruesome, intricately detailed description of an execution. I sensed that Eisler was getting paid by the word and thus padded the writing. His first Rain book was tightly crafted and suspenseful, though Eisler leavened the plot with interesting revelations about Japanese culture. The diversions and stalls in Rain Storm detracted from the story.

Wow, picked ths one up on a lark and it was a good find. I had never heard of Barry Eisler before reading this book but it's great.

The main character (John Rain) is a high level, assasin who takes up what looks to be just another job. Well, it turn out to be anything but "just another job". So, John is out on an island on his own trying to complete the job and avoid becoming a targeted victom himself.

What makes this book even better than the plot and characters alone is that Eisler is an ex-CIA agent and is very much into martial arts. While reading this book, if you have any martial arts training, you will immediately recognize his knowledge in the field. Everything in he book struck me as plausible which both shocked me and made me geek out about how cool some of the stuff he talks about is.

I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could.

NOTE: This is the 3rd book in the Rains series which stands at 7 books as of this review. I will also point out that I did not read any of the other books before this one and had absolutely not idea I was missing anything.