Hard Rain

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Summary: Hard Rain is Easy Reading
Review: Hard Rains continues where Rain Fall, Eisler's first book, left off -- complex characters, great thrills and intrigue that is based on conceiveably real events in today's world. The combination is addicting and makes for an easily enjoyable read. I highly recommend it.

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Summary: Best book about a Japanese assasin's I've ever read
Review: Here's the thing: If you're going to create a character, don't make him a charactiture. Mr. Eisler has pulled that off admirably with John Rain. Even though he's a bad bad man (I mean, come on....he kills people for a living!) the reader is drawn to him, cares about him, roots for him. He's dark, strong, sexy, and lethal. What's not to like?

Seriously, this book marks a nice contrast to the first. The writing is more complex and interesting, the story a fine evolution in the protagonist's life. I'm very much looking forward to the next installment.

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Summary: Rain Rules
Review: I enjoyed Barry Eisler's first novel, Rain Fall, so much that I didn't think he would be able to write a sequel that could rival Rain Fall. Much to my delight, Eisler has outdone himself. Hard Rain has all of the elements of its predessor and more -- mystery, intrigue, romance, suspense, marshal arts, and most all -- action. Hard Rain is a real page turner. I couldn't put it down. The story is not only captivating, it is beautifully written. Rain Fall is a gem.

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Summary: Rivetting
Review: I enjoyed Rain Fall immensely and Hard Rain was nearly impossible to put down. Eisler has done it again! A terrific read!

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Summary: I must be missing something
Review: I found this book to be average at best. While the plot and characters are thought out fairly well, I found myself yawning and my mind wandering through much of the book. Eisler has a ways to go before he can measure up to the likes of Robert Ludlum or Dan Brown.

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Summary: Great Ride
Review: I loved Hard Rain! I'm neither a professional nor an amateur book reviewer, and I do not pretend to be. I agree completely, however, with the glowing reviews this book is receiving. After reading Barry Eisler's first novel, Rain Fall, I was doubtful the sequal would hold up, especially since I expected the novelty to have worn off. Boy, was I wrong. Tokyo's nightlife, with its driving rythem and flavor, comes to life. For those, like me, who have never been there, we finish the book feeling as if we had. It is a real talent to make the average person piture themselves as Rain -- a killer afterall -- while reading this story. This book is exciting and great fun. Although I've never surfed, reading this book is like what I imagine the feeling is when a surfer catches that wave and rides it all the way into shore. It doesn't get any better than that.

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Summary: Sequel Even Better Than First Book
Review: I loved Rain Fall, Barry Eisler's first book. Being a great fan of thrillers, having lived in Japan for a number of years and also having been a martial arts practitioner for a long time, the book appealed to me on a number of levels. Its conflicted hero (John Rain), its complicated yet plausible plot, its vivid -- and often beautiful -- descriptions of Tokyo, and its action scenes all made for a wonderful ride.

So I was excited to find Hard Rain, the follow-up to Rain Fall, an even better read than the first. Hard Rain opens with John Rain still in Tokyo, contemplating relocation to avoid payback for his elimination of the CIA's Tokyo Station chief. But cop friend Tatsu persuades him to do one more job before he leaves for friendlier climes. The job turns out to be more complicated than expected, and soon Rain must worry about both the yakuza and the CIA.

A pretty simple storyline, right? Wrong. The plot gets increasingly intricate as the story moves along, with Eisler juggling a number of bad guys (one of them is particularly nasty -- someone you just would not want to meet up with under any circumstances), several questionable characters and multiple love interests. Well, actually, everyone is a questionable character to John Rain. This is one paranoid guy, and rightfully so. Nearly everyone he meets is a potential attacker, and he can't go anywhere or do anything without taking extensive precautions. Just going around the corner to the market requires a "surveillance detection run" to determine whether anyone might be following him (Lord help them if they are).

In addition to the fact that Rain is a hitman with rules (he has a conscience, albeit a very twisted one), it's this paranoid life on the run that makes him such an interesting character. He's a very lonely guy, and his loneliness, along with the ghosts of his past and present, weigh very heavily on him. And Eisler shows him wrestling with his demons in subtle, yet powerful ways. In one scene, Rain sits in the dark, making excuses to himself for his bloody career, and it's hard not to feel sorry for the guy.

Just in case you're now thinking that Hard Rain lacks action, let me say that the book has some of the most original and unusual action sequences I've read in a long time. The fight scenes are intense, realistic, and well thought out (which is not surprising given Eisler's own martial arts experience and research) and amazingly don't detract from the book's moody atmosphere.

Hard Rain puts most thrillers to shame, and I'll definitely be among the first to buy the next installment in the series.

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Summary: Insider's view of Tokyo
Review: I loved this book even more than the author's first. The exciting story line pulled me through and I read it in 3 days. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's insider's view of Tokyo. Barry Eisler paints a believable picture of the intracacies of life in a big city that once seemed so foreign to me. I now have Tokyo on the top of my list of places to visit. I wonder what will happen next to the protagonist, John Rain?

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Summary: Realistic Assassin in Real Tokyo
Review: I loved this book for several reasons. First of all, it told and interesting story of a killer for hire, trying to make things good. It was violent and action-packed. The characters were trecherous. But, most of all, it described Tokyo and Japan to a tee! Having lived and studied in Japan and in Tokyo, reliving my experiences through the pages of Hard Rain was awesome. Having actually seen Roppongi, ridden the Ginza line to Asakusa to the temple grounds there, walked the streets of Old Tokyo, walked around Shibuya, Hiro, Meguro and Azabu Juban, brought the action closer to home. I hope that you enjoy this novel as much as I did.

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Summary: Great reading-Barry Eisler is a master story teller!
Review: I read "Rain Fall" when it first came out and was immediately hooked. "Hard Rain" is a suspenseful sequel that grips you from the very beginning. Once you start reading "Hard Rain" you'll have trouble putting the book down. Barry Eisler is a master story teller, and John Rain remains an interesting, complex character. This book is great reading.