Thom reviewed Rain Storm (John Rain Thrillers) by Barry Eisler (John Rain (3))
Review of 'Rain Storm (John Rain Thrillers)' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Rain Storm / Choke Point / Winner Take All is set in a time just after 9/11, with a late 40's main character connected to Vietnam and Afghanistan conflicts. I've enjoyed the series so far, though the reading has been very spread out.
The author's expertise in martial arts comes out clearly in the realistic and accurate fight descriptions. Locale descriptions are also lovingly done; the reader gets a real feel for the place. My favorite character in this book was Dox, and I'll be as interested in what happens to him in future books as for the main character, John Rain.
One of the strong points of emphasis in the first book were Rain's three rules. These are mentioned here, but otherwise ignored. While working for the CIA, can Rain stay independent enough? I thought his detour towards the end of the book was problematic, but it may be …
Rain Storm / Choke Point / Winner Take All is set in a time just after 9/11, with a late 40's main character connected to Vietnam and Afghanistan conflicts. I've enjoyed the series so far, though the reading has been very spread out.
The author's expertise in martial arts comes out clearly in the realistic and accurate fight descriptions. Locale descriptions are also lovingly done; the reader gets a real feel for the place. My favorite character in this book was Dox, and I'll be as interested in what happens to him in future books as for the main character, John Rain.
One of the strong points of emphasis in the first book were Rain's three rules. These are mentioned here, but otherwise ignored. While working for the CIA, can Rain stay independent enough? I thought his detour towards the end of the book was problematic, but it may be important for future plots. Hard to remember the previous book, but I didn't like this as much as the first one. 3½ stars, rounded down.
May tackle book 4 a bit sooner :)