Zero Sum

I’ve read all the John Rain books & “Graveyard of Memories” remains one of my favourite books of the last few years. Like that one, this features an older, wiser Rain reliving an episode from the beginning of his career as a hitman.

It’s 1982 & Rain has just returned to Tokyo looking for work. When he gets in touch with old contact & friend Miyamoto, it’s immediately clear things have changed. Miyamoto is now an important man in the government & in Rain’s absence has been forced to use a violent & sociopathic half-Russian named Victor Karkov. To the young & cocky Rain the solution is obvious…..he’ll get himself hired on to Karkov’s crew & kill him. Miyamoto will be out from under his thumb & free to send any jobs show more Rain’s way. Simple, right? Well…..

Eisler is a gifted writer & one of the things he excels at is creating plots that resemble an iceberg. On the surface is a basic premise, a single act that sets it all in motion. But as the chapters fly by, the complexity of the story becomes apparent as the scope of what was hidden is gradually revealed. In this case, there are many more players than Rain or Miyamoto could have known. And the people actually pulling all the strings make for a wry commentary on US-Japanese relations.

That’s all I’ll say about the plot. It’s much better if you go in blind & stumble along with the MC’s. What has always made this series stand out is the literary style of prose & fully realized characters. Yes, there is graphic violence. But as you spend time with Rain & learn his back story he only becomes more compelling & you begin to care for this damaged man.

Rain is the product of a Japanese father & American mother. As a child, he grew up in both countries but was fully accepted by neither. His “gift” was honed by military tours in Viet Nam & it was there he finally found a place to fit in. But a lifetime of slights has left its mark & you sense that little boy who was shunned by 2 cultures is never far below the surface. At this point, he’s only beginning to think about long term repercussions & the things he will never have…..companionship, someone to love, children. Because of his choices, he has consigned himself to a life of being alone.

This is a relatively short, fast paced read that you’ll whizz through to find out who is left standing at the end. It’s a snapshot of a young John Rain, hitman/budding philosopher, that pushes him a little further down the path of the man he will become. Highly recommend this series. show less

Okay, I actually search for and buy every book Eisler releases. I particularly like the John Rain series... every one of them. This was no exception. It is a prequel and shows us a John Rain near the start of his career/learning curve.

The drawback to a prequel is that we lose the suspense of knowing if Rain will 'survive'. But the advantage of it is learning more about him and his character/skills development. And, of course, Eisler has just the right mix of suspense and vigilantism so we do want to see it through to the end to make sure the bad guys got what they deserved.

There is no graphic violence or detailed sex. I think there might have been a handful of swear words, but... maybe not, it was pretty unobtrusive if so.

As usual, I show more will buy any new Rain book, or any book by Eisler, as soon as it is released. (oh, FYI, his Livia Lone is also very good) show less

Assassin John Rain is back in Tokyo, after spending many years hiding out in the Philippines. However, the landscape has changed and his services are not needed as a half Japanese-half Russian sociopath named Victor, has a monopoly on local killings. John asks for an introduction because he needs work, and has to earn his way into Victor's good graces at his introductory meeting. He is given an assignment to kill a member of the Japanese Diet or be killed. While he bides his time, Rain assembles his friends and resources to arrange a showdown with Victor, but along the way is able to determine that there are American forces at work too. Rain also manages to fall for his victim's attractive Italian wife. Taut plot, with Eisler's show more knowledge of Tokyo and espionage showing as always. show less

New John Rain thriller and it is truly good one (as is complete series in my opinion).
This time we go back in time to Rain's return to Japan after spending quite some time in Philippines working as a mercenary. Going through his old contacts he tries to find himself steady job in his profession [weird, I know but this is shady world and assassins always try to find their unique niche so this might be called job ... although it does sound ... weird doesn't it :) ) only to find that assassin underworld of Tokyo is controlled by newcomers who are not willing to give up their market control.

Told from the current-day John point-of-view, this is excellent novel that has everything, shady criminals, shady intelligence operatives, show more down-to-the-earth approach to combat and spies trying to outsmart other spies.

Highly, highly recommended. show less

ZERO SUM by Barry Eisler is the 2017 entry in this long running series about assassin John Rain. First time readers are urged to go to the first in this series. Long term readers will be happy to find Rain back in Tokyo, circa 1982, and working to kill off a couple of bad Russians who have moved in on Yakuza territory. Rain finds himself working for the Russians at the behest of his friend within the government. As an employee his job is to eliminate a member of the government without trailing evidence back to the chief Russian, Victor.
But there is a woman, the target's wife, and Rain can't help having a fantasy of love with this Italian beauty. A fantasy she shares.
The settings are exotic with an insider's eye for the details. As show more always, the pacing is dynamic and the action sequences fluid, graceful and highly lethal. Rain has a habit of doing after action reports to himself, a long tradition in these books, but something I found to cause the book to drag. It's fine that Rain cares enough about his business to make himself aware of the good and the bad of his actions, but attributing these reviews to characters from the past clogged the flow of the novel. First timers won't know who these people are, and long term readers may be getting tired of the references. I know I did.
To recap, this is slam bang action with a travel writers eye to the scenery. A fun read. show less

Outstanding addition to the John Rain series. Great writing, superb plot and characters, wonderful atmosphere and details. If you like thrillers and don't already love Barry Eisler's books, I definitely recommend you get started on them - including this one - now...

Another excellent read filling in some of the gaps in Rain's earlier life.

This has been a great series.