Seguito naturale del primo libro, si riprende esattamente da dove ci si era lasciati.
Si chiacchiera un sacco ed è un po' pesante in alcuni punti. Eisler infatti tende parecchio alla ripetitività quando potrebbe tagliare alcune parti e lasciare maggior respiro alla storia. Dove invece va fortissimo sono le scene di azione, descritte magnificamente e immersive al punto giusto.
Un buon Thriller tutto sommato, leggermente sotto al primo capitolo ma comunque piacevole se si è amanti del genere.

This book contains some real moments of raw emotion as Rain returns to elements of his past, you delve more into who he is and he loses some key players from the first book in more ways that one. It was a good read and I felt you got more humanity from Rain.

Some of the chapters in this book really had me on the edge of my seat especially when he faces off against the main antagonist in the dojo, you got a real feeling of danger and trepidation. This was repeated again (and so well written) in the final show down.

It is clear Eisler’s research is meticulous. A gripe I had in the first one was the continual Japanese, it lessened in this read and wasn’t as frustrating when it did appear. Eisler’s scene painting is sensational, you really do get a feel for his Japan which is exactly like I have in my minds eye.

I’ve now added the whole Rain series to Goodreads and will definitely read them all.

Highly recommend - read in order. Awesome!!!

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?

Full disclosure: I could accurately be labeled a 'gorehound' when it comes to movies. Give me viscera and splatter realized through practical effects, and I will crow with happiness. I've lost count of how many times I gave a resounding YES! in the middle of movie theater while others cringed from the gory spectacle on screen (the last time was during, oh yes, "Prometheus").

All of this said, there were moments when "Hard Rain" disturbed me.

I'm not sure what it was. I have read gobs of scenes in which someone puts the beat down on another person, sometimes to fatal effect. The way Eisler does it, though, got to me. When John Rain puts on the hurt, it freakin hurts to read about it. And Rain's cool description of this punishment only adds to my heebie-jeebies. Worst of all, Rain dispatches people whom he knows not at all. Somebody's tailing him on the street and making him feel threatened? Dead. Someone challenges him to a sparring match? Bone-break. Based on the two books that I have read in this series, I see John Rain having two settings: Mortal Agony and Kill Kill Kill.

I did like this book. The plot is tangled up in other plots, and the nature of the enemy is unclear throughout. This is good espionage fiction that serves up healthy examples of the genre's attractions. Rain's asides about trade craft are nifty, and, yes, the action is exciting.

Probably, I'll wait awhile before stomaching book the third.

John Rain is making plans to move, maybe even retire. The world has a different idea. Once again he is drawn into the game, not realizing that the last game is far from over.

I don't think I've read a book series where the city is as much a character as Tokyo is in these books. I almost hope he doesn't move, but I think eventually he'll have to. Either that or take up an offer. Maybe we'll find out in book three.

Will rate it 3.5, just not my type of book.

Another excellent installment in the series

Eisler is a fantastic writer, with scorching observations about society, politics, and the world in general, all packages into poetic and evocative prose. His work reminds me of the best detective noir, while his character John Rain is always managing to be just competent and prescient enough to get himself out of the jams he gets manipulated into. The story was engaging and complex, while remaining rapidly paced from the first page. I’m definitely reading the next book right now!

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.

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

Odată ce treci peste ironia situaţiei, înţelegi că uciderea unui individ în propriul lui club de fitness are merite în sine.
tŢinta era yakuza Ishihara, un obsedat al exerciţiilor cu haltere, care exersa zilnic într-o sală de fitness pe care o deţinea în Roppongi, unul dintre cartierele de divertisment din Tokio. Tatsu îmi spusese că moartea trebuia să pară că survenise din cauze naturale, aşa cum doresc ei de fiecare dată, aşa că am fost încântat să lucrez într-un loc unde nu era nici pe departe de neconceput ca un ins să se poată prăbuşi din cauza unui anevrism fatal provocat de eforturi, să sufere o căzătură ghinionistă peste o bară din oţel ori să aibă alt accident tragic în timp ce folosea unul dintre complicatele aparate pentru exerciţii fizice.
tUnele dintre eventualităţile respective puteau fi chiar consemnate în avertismentele pe care avocaţii corporatişti insistau să fie plasate pe generaţia următoare de aparate pentru exerciţii, pentru a-i notifica pe utilizatori asupra unor întrebuinţări nefireşti pentru care nu fuseseră proiectate şi pentru care fabricantul nu putea fi tras la răspundere. De-a lungul anilor, activitatea mea mă făcuse să întâlnesc două asemenea avertismente legale; unul pe un pod care traversa apele poluate ale râului Sumida, în care un anume politician se înecase în 1982 („Avertisment: Nu vă suiţi pe barele acestea!”), iar altul după un deceniu, pe ambalajul uscătorului de păr („Avertisment: Nu folosiţi în timp ce faceţi baie!”) al unui bancher neobişnuit de sârguincios, care se electrocutase în cadă.
tClubul de fitness era de asemenea convenabil pentru că nu trebuia să-mi fac griji în privinţa amprentelor. În Japonia, unde costumele sunt un hobby naţional, ridicătorii de greutăţi n-ar atinge o halteră fără să poarte mănuşi speciale, capitonate, tot aşa cum un politician n-ar accepta să primească mită dacă poartă doar lenjeria intimă.

A Lonely Resurrection by Barry Eisler is a delightful, gritty espionage thriller set in Tokyo. This is Eisler's second novel starring John Rain, an ex-CIA agent turned assassin who specializes in "natural causes." Eisler himself is ex-CIA, an expert martial artist, and lived in Tokyo for many years. Personal experience gives his page-turners a sense of reality that never ceases to mesmerize me.

The stars seemed to melt away as I approached the finish. Eisner's characters and action are good. The story floats when our hero connects with the women in his life. In between, however, is a droll, bureaucratic challenge to surmount that's pure tedium. A third of the way through this was a four-star book. By two-thirds, it was an average three. By the end, barely two. Which is too bad, because I like Rain.