RATING: 4.75PROTAGONIST: John RainSETTING: Manila, Thailand, JapanSERIES: #4 of 4The one thing that you must do if you are a paid assassin is to learn how to remove any emotional elements from the act of killing. Each target should be viewed as goal to be accomplished, devoid of any feelings about the person or the deed. Thus, when John Rain is hired by the Israeli intelligence organization "Mossad" to kill Manheim Levi, an Israeli explosives expert, he is amazed to find himself hesitating when Levi's young son comes into the picture. Rain relates to the position of the son after having lost his own father as a youth. But he's not supposed to have these feelings; in fact, what has made him successful in his chosen career is his ability to stage a killing that looks natural and leaves him later with no remorse. His reputation impugned, Rain must complete the assignment both for himself and for the organization for which he is working. Partnering with a flamboyant American by the name of Dox, who helped him out of a bad situation previously, and Delilah, the intelligence agent who referred him to the Mossad, Rain goes on a global chase to meet his objective. Hindered by twinges of conscience, Rain still hasn't lost the skills he has honed over the years. Facing danger, both to himself and his colleagues, he is able to pull out his bag of tricks and dig into the organization that was fronting Levi.KILLING RAIN succeeds on many levels. The plot is complex and fast moving, and the various Asian settings add another dimension to the narrative. It's fun to see the impact of the rambunctious Dox on the very serious Rain; at times, John even lightens up and makes a joke or two. Delilah, the Israeli agent and love interest, is multi-dimensional and unpredictable. The action scenes are superb; the art of spying with all of its paraphernalia is fascinating as well. The only weak area for me was the reintroduction of a previous love interest toward the conclusion of the book, in a scenario that felt improbable at best.But to me, where Eisler really excels is in how he portrays the psychological stresses that Rain is going through as he matures. Certainly, having any hesitancy or doubt about what he is doing is going to end in a very bad result for Rain. But he is finding that he needs to justify his own behavior; and as he does so, the reader becomes involved in Rain's moral dilemma. Yes, Rain is killing people; however, don't they deserve to be killed? By eliminating subversives and terrorists, is not Rain eliminating vast harm to the general public? I fell in love with Rain in the first book in the series, RAIN FALL, and am a big fan of international thrillers. By adding in Rain's struggles with his conscience and his ability to trust his erstwhile partners, I felt that KILLING RAIN had a sense of humanity that is often missing in books of this type. Other readers may see this as a sign of weakness in a strong character; to me, it added another dimension and made the book all the more enjoyable.
An amazingly fun and exciting read and perhaps the best in the series so far. I must say I started the book with some doubts about where the series was headed. John Rain got himself a buddy, Dox a big, “stupid” american, a sniper by trade and his backup for when things go wrong. This was not the Rain I knew, the cold blooded, paranoid about security, ruthless killer. Things only got worse when Rain starts getting in touch with his feelings and his daddy issues and living a dangerous romance with hot Israeli spy, Delilah. Suddenly he´s just being out of character purely for lust. Sure, I know a woman can mess up your head bad, but this is John Rain. The man takes three subways and five taxi rides just to go buy the newspaper! C´mon! Anyway, I got to give it to Barry Eisler. He makes it work. First Dox. Dox is anything but a big stupid american. He has a big heart, is actually quite clever and his hick “persona” is actually a façade he uses so people underestimate him. Sure, he´s a bit too “good”, too nice, almost like a puppy following Rain around, but still he´s a funny, sympathetic and quite enjoyable character. The romance gets more or less put to the side after a steaming hot sex scene and on we get with what makes Rain... Rain! Killing!The book has some really tense and exciting moments, a decent plot and a satisfying ending. It also sets up the next book very nicely and really advances Rain´s character growth. Sure, its not quite the same. Rain is getting too “nice”, too in touch with his feelings and all that, but it somehow feels like an evolution to the character, not forced but “real”. The pacing is excellent, the writing good as always and all the usual “touches” are there. Reading a John Rain book is like taking a trip. You can almost smell the coffee, taste the whiskey and see the streets. Eisler can drum up vivid images, with detailed but interesting descriptions and really set the atmosphere for the reader.The action is as exciting and brutal as always. Its some of, again, the most vivid fighting descriptions I have read. Its gruesome, scary but strangely fascinating.This is just a great, entertaining book and a big step forward in the series. It just keeps getting better!
Do You like book Redemption Games (2005)?
I so enjoyed Tom Wood's series with Victor, that I went looking for another to feed my fix/need.I stumbled across Barry Eisler and have read the entire 8-book series. And was very pleased. As such, this is the same review for all 8 books.The author reads his own work, and after listening to Tom Wood's series with Rob Shapiro as the wonderful narrator, this took me a while to adapt to the reading style.But don't let that dissuade you. Barry Eisler does a really really fine job of narrating, and you get to hear the different personalities, and understand who is who pretty quickly.Barry Eisler has a nice knack of leading the reader on, enticing them to continue the story, and understand the predicaments the protagonist (John Rain) finds himself in. In addition, the growth of the character is wonderful. Kudos to Barry Eisler, and his real-life background that leads him to be able to write this well (check out his website as well!).As I mentioned above, I have read all 8 books. Once I got through book 1, I could not put down the entire series.I liked this series so much, I'd love to meet the author, and can't wait to read more of his works as well.
—TJ Creamer
**4.5 stars**I love this series but this book has been languishing on my To Be Read pile for a couple of years because I didn't like the narration by Michael McConnohie (see Killing Rain.) I tried reading in print several times but I stopped after a few pages. It just never felt right.I knew the author had narrated book #7 but I never even bothered listening to the sample until I learned he had re-recorded the whole series (in my experience, authors don't make good narrators...some don't seem to realize that it's a completely different skill). I'm a so glad I took the chance.Mr. Eisler was FANTASTIC as the narrator. His voice has that soulful quality that I expect in the John Rain books. The different personalities and their emotions were extremely well portrayed - you can hear Dox' mischievousness and amusement in almost every word and the part where Rain is trying not to laugh at Dox because of the katoey felt so genuine! The accents and voices were above average as well. You've made a believer out of me, Mr. Eisler!As usual, the story was full of action and introspection. I found myself tearing up in parts and bookmarking dozens of paragraphs. Mr. Eisler has just a way of writing that is full of depth and beauty. John Rain is extremely honest with himself and always willing to confront uncomfortable truths:And trust, I was discovering with Dox, is a dangerous narcotic. I thought I had weaned myself from its rapture, gotten the monkey off my back. But then I had a little taste, and that thing I'd live without for some many years was suddenly indispensable."Unlike past books, Rain is not as isolated. Dox provides both companionship for Rain and lots of levity to the story. I laughed a lot at his quips:Sounds like unsafe sex to me, partner. And I’m not sure I want to be the condom.”Where I come from, gentlemen just shot each other.Rain really likes the ladies so you won't be surprised that there is some hooking up. One particular sex scene was so hot that I was fanning my cheeks as I was listening in the subway.Once I was done, the story made me think of the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. I didn't realized that was the theme of the book (sort of) until finished the book! Very well done, Mr. Eisler. I also loved the setup for the next book even though I'm afraid there's going to be some heartbreak for Rain.Moving forward, I will only be listening to the versions narrated by Mr. Eisler - I have already purchased the next one and I can't wait to start listening.
—D.G.
Mi sono piaciuti tutti i libri di Eisler e diciamo che anche questo rientra nelle mie valutazioni globali positive sull'autore.Ma diciamo che non è tutto oro ciò che luccica: non ho apprezzato molto la svolta più "psicologia-riflessiva" a quella "tutta azione". Infatti in questo libro vediamo un Rain più umano, si moltiplicano le pagine introspettive/amorose/amicizia e si assottigliano quelle di pura azione. E secondo me quando si perde questa parte in questo genere di libri, si finisce per scrivere altro e il lettore che si vuole svagare con dei buoni action-thriller finisce per andare a leggere altro.Affiancato dal personaggio di Dox che a quanto sembra è destinato a fare coppia fissa con il protagonista nei prossimi libri, anche qui un cambio diametralmente opposto al solito Rain introspettivo e letale, solitario killer alle prese con le sue missioni. Qui lo vediamo aprirsi a lati umani a lui impensabili nei primi romanzi a discapito di quella freddezza e di quella letalità che lo contrastingueva nei primi libri. Semplice crescita del personaggio?Anche la trama tira un po' la corda, anche se ho apprezzato molto il finale e quello che comporterà, immagino, nei prossimi libri. Tutto sommato spero che l'autore sia in una fase transitoria del personaggio e che nel prossimo libro torni un po' di più nelle vesti precedenti.http://kelanthsblog.blogspot.com/
—Kelanth, numquam risit ubi dracones vivunt
