Book Review - Rain Storm by Barry Eisler
Category Book Reviews
Another book I took on vacation for relaxation was Rain Storm by Barry Eisler. Now *this* was a fun read...
John Rain is a paid assassin who does work for organizations like the CIA. But he does have a moral code and principles by which he operates, so he's not into killing for killing's sake. In this novel, Rain is hired to make a middle eastern arms dealer appear to die of "natural causes". Everything is going relatively well with the assignment until he discovers that the woman with the dealer is also apparently an agent who is after something. When they finally end up coming face-to-face during an abortive attempt to kill the dealer, he decides to pull back in order to figure out who she is, who she works for, and how important it might be for him to work with her in order to get close to the target. But she's not terribly forthcoming with the entire story on her side, so Rain isn't quite sure who to believe and what to do. Things get much more interesting when an assassination team shows up at his location with the express purpose of doing *him* in. So now he has to determine if she is trying to get rid of him, or if there's another layer of organization that considers him a "loose end" that must be tied up.
This was one of those novels where you know that no one is completely who they seem to be, and double- and triple-crosses could happen at any moment. Rain is a likable character, and it's easy to start empathizing with him as he attempts to do his job and figure out who he can trust (and who he can't). The only reason I can't give this a five-star rating is that there is a considerable plot thread that harkens back to an earlier installment of the series. While it is possible to just read through it and go with the flow, you can't help but think there is an element of color or depth that you're just not getting.
This book is really a good read, and I recommend it. But if you have the opportunity, read the 1st and 2nd books in the series. I think it will allow you to follow this story much more deeply than I did...
Another book I took on vacation for relaxation was Rain Storm by Barry Eisler. Now *this* was a fun read...
John Rain is a paid assassin who does work for organizations like the CIA. But he does have a moral code and principles by which he operates, so he's not into killing for killing's sake. In this novel, Rain is hired to make a middle eastern arms dealer appear to die of "natural causes". Everything is going relatively well with the assignment until he discovers that the woman with the dealer is also apparently an agent who is after something. When they finally end up coming face-to-face during an abortive attempt to kill the dealer, he decides to pull back in order to figure out who she is, who she works for, and how important it might be for him to work with her in order to get close to the target. But she's not terribly forthcoming with the entire story on her side, so Rain isn't quite sure who to believe and what to do. Things get much more interesting when an assassination team shows up at his location with the express purpose of doing *him* in. So now he has to determine if she is trying to get rid of him, or if there's another layer of organization that considers him a "loose end" that must be tied up.
This was one of those novels where you know that no one is completely who they seem to be, and double- and triple-crosses could happen at any moment. Rain is a likable character, and it's easy to start empathizing with him as he attempts to do his job and figure out who he can trust (and who he can't). The only reason I can't give this a five-star rating is that there is a considerable plot thread that harkens back to an earlier installment of the series. While it is possible to just read through it and go with the flow, you can't help but think there is an element of color or depth that you're just not getting.
This book is really a good read, and I recommend it. But if you have the opportunity, read the 1st and 2nd books in the series. I think it will allow you to follow this story much more deeply than I did...
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Posted by skip At 05:09:20 On 03/03/2006 | - Website - |