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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780451212467
ISBN number: 0451212460
Label: Signet
Manufacturer: Signet
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 384
Printing Date: July 06, 2004
Publishing house: Signet
Release Date: July 06, 2004
Sale Popularity Level: 20330
Studio: Signet
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
In his critically acclaimed Rain Fall, Barry Eisler introduced half Japanese-half American freelance hit man John Rain, a 'dashing and dangerous hero...as likable as he is lethal.'* Now Eisler's back. So is Rain, the master of death by 'natural causes' whose new target threatens the fragile political balance of an entire country.
Amazon.com Review:
Barry Eisler's half-breed freelance assassin John Rain returns to Tokyo for a second outing in Hard Rain, the sequel to Eisler's stunning 2002 debut, Rain Fall. Once again Rain is working with, or at least parallel to, Tatsu, a wily veteran of Japan's FBI equivalent, who aims to cleanse the Japanese government of its systemic corruption. To further this goal, he's persuaded the ever-cautious Rain to take out Murakami, a brutal gangster and hitman who specializes in making his killings look like suicide, a specialty Rain thought was his alone. Liquidating the dangerous and elusive Murakami proves to be a difficult task, however, one that leads to personal loss for Rain, and sets the plot on course for a climax that hits with the power of a well-delivered roundhouse kick.
Eisler builds on Rain's self-enforced isolation and loneliness as he expertly shows the reader Tokyo as channeled by Chandler, transforming the burgeoning metropolis into a noir catacomb of dimly lit hostess bars, scheming bureaucrats, shadowy intelligence agents, and outlaw martial arts dojos where thugged-up yakuza train for illicit death matches.
While the plot becomes complicated toward the novel's conclusion, Rain is a refreshing and complex character whom readers will want to see return for another installment. If you've a yen for a thriller that mixes suspense, intrigue, and action with a Japanese flavor and a hardboiled American attitude, Eisler's Hard Rain is an excellent choice. --Benjamin Reese
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Rated by buyers 
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I probably enjoyed this more than the very first book: Rain Fall.
I did not need the detailed sex scenes.
Rated by buyers 
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John Rain seems to be more doubtful of his role in life in 'Hard Rain', but nonetheless, he's still what he is, a killer in demand. The second installment in the series gives John Rain no relief as he shifts from one hire to another, Tatsu, a policeman willing to use other tactics to achieve what he believes is good for Japan.
Midori comes back, but just enough to tease us and know she's still got it bad for John, though she doesn't want it. Another girl, Naomi, enters the picture, likable, attractive and perhaps just the medicine John needed at the right time, right place, right up until she calls him to come back for round two, a setup, though she attempts to warn him.
Everything that a reader loved in the very first book is present in the second. Though I still get a bit tired of the philosophical man that John is, the action is worth the wait, and perhaps knowing his thoughts helps reconcile our like of him despite his cold-blooded ways to administer death.
I purchased the rest of the series since I'm hooked for sure now.
Rated by buyers -
In this sequel to the very first John Rain novel, the excellent, "Rain Fall," Anti-hero rain is forced into action again as his old nemisis Tatsu tracks him down and recruits him to take care of a very tough character.
Despite the fact that he's a hired killer who specializes in making his hits look like natural causes, Rain is a very complex individual who has his own rules of engagement. He's intelligent, appreciates fine things and is a connoisseur of cuisine, single malt Scotches and beautiful women. He's able to laugh, cry, regret, and act from loyalty, and these contradictions make him not only fascinating but also so likeable the reader can not help but root for him to come out on top.
In "Hard Rain," the overall reason for Rain's presence is not as clearly defined, the enemies don't seem larger than life as they did in the series debut, the intervals between action scenes are longer and although the author's depictions of Rain's careful stalks are as vivid and satisfying as ever, the action itself seems less hard-edged. Still, the enemies are plenty dangerous and Rain is at his most engaging as he fights to save Harry, his electronics-genius collaborator and friend, and come to terms with the loss of Midori, jazz singing daughter of a man Rain killed before they met. Despite its shortcomings, this is the kind of read you fly through, then start looking around to the subsequent one in the series. Not quite a five star, though.
Art Tirrell is the author of the 2007 adventure "The Secret Ever Keeps."
"Simply put...the best underwater scenes I've ever read." - reviewer Meg W.
Rated by buyers -
I know nothing about Tokyo but Eisler makes me feel like I've been there. I'm seeing the seedier side, no doubt, but it is still a marvelous trip - as long as I'm not pissing off John Rain. Love this character in the shadows. He's a bad guy but we still care about him. He's intelligent, sensitive but very flawed i.e. human. You can feel sorry for him in that the government exploited his natural inclinations or you may feel it created him, but ultimately I believe everyone makes their choices. He could have been a killer for the other side; the government just made him a tool for their own purposes - and then set him loose on the unsuspecting world. This is one scary man. Able to suspend all feeling when he really needs to; he could kill Midori, if need be and then feel really badly about it afterwards.
Rated by buyers 
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I took a long, circuitous route to this computer, which has firewalls as thick as the walls of Fort Knox, so I wouldn't be ambushed by my ever-lurking enemies as I write this review!
Oy. That pretty much sums up this book. The main character is forever evading his enemies, and the long descriptions of his evasion techniques get so tiresome, tiresome. It's a shame, because I really liked the beginning of this book. But my enjoyment came to a grinding halt about 2/3 through, then I just couldn't pick it up again.
Please, please, Mr. Eisler, don't seek revenge! But wait, is that...you...behind my Herman Miller Aeron chair at this very....moment...AHHHHH! I....should...have...been...more...careful...........
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