Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding thriller -- Thomas Perry fans will love it
Review: If you loved Thomas Perry's "Butcher's Boy" and "Sleeping Dogs" you will fall for this new book by Eisler. Like Perry, Eisler does a great job of putting us inside the head of someone we'd ordinarily despise -- a heartless killer -- and making him human. I miss Perry's ability to peek inside EVERYBODY's head, and his irony, but Eisler makes up for that with splendid, vivid pictures of Tokyo.
Rating: 
Summary: A treat for all readers everywhere
Review: Barry Eisler mines his personal history (sufficient time spent in Japan to be steeped in its culture and traditions, training in the martial arts, etc) to create RAINFALL, a novel that is a treat for all readers everywhere.
And that knowledge litters this novel. Barry Eisler shares so much understanding of Japan and Japanese culture that this novel is a sheer joy to read. We learn in Chapter 10 of "...sado, the Japanese tea ceremony, [whose] practitioners strive through the practice of refined, ritualized movements in the preparation and serving of tea to achieve wabi and sabi: a sort of effortless elegance in thought and movement, a paring down to the essentials to more elegantly represent a larger, more important concept that would otherwise be obscured." We also learn, in the same chapter, more of John Rain's true nature, as he dispatches with ease, deftness, and an alarming amorality a threat, before continuing his pursuit of other characters, other information... Chapter 10 is itself an excellent fractal representation of the novel, a perfect rendering in writing of sado. Kudos to Eisler, for he achieves throughout this novel 'a sort of effortless elegance in thought and movement...' A good writer faces difficult choices. To invest so much time and effort to create a fictional landscape and then drop into it real characters - i.e., laced with problems similar to our own so that their decisions and actions are organic, true to character - then only to move on to the next novel and start anew... or mine that fictional world for all that it is worth. Conan Doyle had this problem with Sherlock Holmes, to the point of frustration, of finally killing off Holmes, only to have to resuscitate Holmes after his readers' protestations. Barry Eisler faces a similar problem: how to keep the gold that is this book from a reverse transmutation to lead in subsequent entries, from being too similar to other typical plot-driven suspense and espionage novels. A second novel limning the further trials and tribulations of John Rain arrives in July 2003. I wonder which will triumph: John Rain, the conflicted, real protagonist who inhabits a universe of secrets, betrayals, and bad decisions AND that inspires us to learn more of that culture... or yet another plot-driven thriller, interchageable with most other novels from this genre? I look forward to HARDRAIN with an equal measure of desire and dread. Nevertheless, I will read it; Barry Eisler's freshman effort is sufficiently superlative that it demands no less. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This is one of the best books in this genre that I've read. In fact, it's my new favorite. It's a mystery/assassin/action/love story all in one. The author captures the essence of Tokyo perfectly (I lived there for many years, so I know!) and the details of the story are fresh, creative and always kept me turning the pages as fast as I could. I can't wait to read the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Eisler takes the crime world by storm
Review: I had heard about this book way before I read it and the talk was: Genuine Block Buster........ and that's a lot to live up to. Barry Eisler's Rain Fall does and more. Firstly, the book is a work of art; the title page and layout are different and pretty. It told me how much the author cared, how close to his heart the creation is. Not only did he create a conflicted hero, he did it with a style all his own. Using Toyko as his back drop, Eisler paints a multi layered portrait, rich with atmosphere, billowing smoky streets teaming with crowds of people that you can hear taste touch and smell. And John Rain, our hero vacillating "Japanese/American, soldier/assassin, samurai/ronin" leads us on an adventure we aren't too soon to forget, and wait anxiously for the next installment. This is the first book in a series that is already well on it way to being quite collectable.
Rating:
Summary: Well worth the price of admission.
Review: As a fan of Japanese culture, I was impressed with the authentic portrayal of life on the island nation. As a fan of thrillers and spy novels, I was engrossed by this pageturner. If that weren't enough, the author looks mighty cute in the jacket photo! Bravo! Another helping of John Rain, please.
Rating:
Summary: Actually 4 ++
Review: Strong character, great story and even learned something about the Japanese culture. Will definitely keep an eye open for the next installment.
Rating:
Summary: An authentic taste of modern tokyo
Review: What struck me within the first 15 pages of this book was not only how accurate the author's description of modern tokyo is but also his grasp of the little nuances that most people living there never pick up on. After living and traveling extensively in Japan, this book felt like reading about home. The authenticity of the location, coupled with the writer's engaging style makes for an excellent read. Before I started reading I was worried it was going to be another psuedo-japanese fiction like 'rising sun', fortunately I was proven utterly wrong. The author has obviously walked the very streets and frequented the very bars he writes so well about, as well as has a solid grasp of the culture, which comes through in some interesting observations made by his main character, John.
Rating: 
Summary: Three and a half stars for a promising work
Review: Here's a first novel that's had ubiquitous rave reviews from far and wide and I can't help wondering if that is, in large part, due to the exotic setting. Indeed, there is much of interest about Tokyo--about the culture, the corrupted politics, the martial arts, the "feel" of the city. But once past the ingenious opening segment, the narrative gets a little wobbly. In particular, having established Rain as caution personified, the character does so many incautious things that it's difficult to believe he's survived as long as he has. There is the inevitable clever-geek sidekick, hacker genius and generally naive young man; there is the damnsel in distress who just happens to be the daughter of the man Rain has killed at the outset; there are former friends from the old days--good and bad; and there are the usual travel routes that are an integral part of the modern mystery (but which, in most cases, grow tiresome after a while.) For a bi-racial hitman, Rain, ultimately, is too naive. I found it hard to buy his handing off the disk (crucial to this tale) with so little care. Given what the author established up front, the professional in Rain would have gone to great pains to be certain that the recipient wasn't being followed. Yet this doesn't happen. And the remainder of the book, in which Rain tries frantically to regain possession of the disk requires a suspension of disbelief or, at the very least, putting out of one's mind Rain's near fanaticism about surveillance. An enjoyable book to be sure, and an author worth watching. But a few too many character inconsistencies are a detraction.
Rating:
Summary: Chicks Perspective On A Must Read
Review: This is a must read book. I read all types of books. I have never read a book that I actually could not let out of my sight until it was finished. I carried it around for several days reading at every opportunity that was given to me and not getting enough sleep for two nights because I just had to read 5 more pages. When thouse 5 more pages turn into hours, you know that you have an amazing book on your hands.
Not all authors can put you in a place that you have never been, and make you feel like you have lived there for your entire life. Or to let you into someones life so intimately that you feel you know them as you know yourself.You understand who he is and where he comes as if you are inside his head. To know the personal conflit inside John Rain as well Eisler lets you, made you like this man dispite who he is and what he does.To be able to know someone this deeply is really a credit to the author, and his ability to write.
I think that anyone who is looking for a GOOD read should give this book a try. It will reach out to anyone who is willing to pick it up.
With a book this good I would think that second one could only get better.
Rating:
Summary: A Gripping Read
Review: An excellent story with twists and turns that keep the reader entranced. John Rain is a mysterious and fascinating protagonist, and immediately engages the reader with his deep sense of "honor" despite his chosen profession. I am eagerly awaiting Mr. Eisler's next book. I am more of the Oprah Winfrey Book Club type of reader, but thoroughly enjoyed this book's action-packed story line and character development.
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