The Detachment (A John Rain Novel)

Having read all of Eisler's works I can say I was pleasantly surprised at the narrative he was able to achieve.What this book is:For those of you who are used to reading John Rain's series, this is not the typical thriller or John Rain novel. Instead it is a hybrid of both John Rain and Ben Treven's worlds. Taking both characters, Rain's partner former Marine sniper Dox, and the last antagonist featured in Inside Out and Lost Coast, Larison and planting them together in one place.Like the nature of the publishing itself, it was a bit of a literary experiment of Eisler's combining two parallel stories into one. It's part sequel to Inside Out and part continuation of the John Rain story well after Requiem for an Assassin ends.The beginning starts more along the lines of a John Rain thriller, but soon changes dramatically as the other characters begin to make their appearances. The hardest part of reading this novel for some may be the lack of focus on John Rain as the narrative drifts between the various characters. Ironically Larison's voice probably comes out the strongest of the secondary characters following Rain's own, but manages to fit well with the developments. Some people may be disappointed as Dox and Treven are less pivotal but they manage to come through in their own ways.Traversing across a variety of locals the pace of the novel does move somewhat slower than previous works but manages to weave together the separate parts of the story quite well. By part three in the novel I couldn't put it down and was drawn in by just how many pieces of a seemingly disjointed plot began to fall into place with precision. Unlike previous novels this one lacks some of the introspection and romantic angles of previous works but given the nature of it, it's entirely understandable. The characters do develop, rather than being forced into a box together. Over all it is interesting to see just how varied the responses of the characters are to a situation. None of them take the same approach to the moral ambiguity that becomes central in the novel, nor are their individual voices crushed by demands of the plot itself.The Plot:First off let me say this book is not some ultraliberal conspiracy filled fantasy. If it were then the solution of many of the problems of the protagonists would not end with someone being shot in the face or strangled to death. However, unlike other thrillers of it's kind through Barry Eisler takes a degree of seriousness to the nature of the affect of terrorism upon America, rather than just the immediacy of a bomb.To restate it another way, this is a thriller that doesn't just focus on the Act of terrorism as the threat, but the affects that come after the bombs have long since detonated.The concept itself is quite terrifying. Unlike his last work Inside Out, which did become bogged down at some points by the political narrative (focusing on unchecked power, torture and what not) The Detachment zeroes in on the issues by showing them as they unfold. It doesn't demand that the reader even agree with the concepts but simply shows the dangerous impacts that people in position of power could have.Colonel Scott Horton (Ben Treven's commander from Inside Out) proves to be one of the most interesting and ambiguous characters that have been featured in the John Rain novels. Unlike previous characters who were driven by specific end goals, Horton stays ambiguous leaving the reader constantly questions what is actually going on up until the near finale of the novel. If one aspect of the novel shines more than any other works it is in Barry's ability to put you inside the situation that the protagonists find themselves in. A constant state of questioning and uncertainty as to what is going on behind the scenes and how it will all play out.The action is solid, intense and riveting. While much of the narrative doesn't follow the same intensity as other works the over arching mystery of the novel continues to move things forward. By the end of the novel I was blown away by how well it all blends together and the harsh realities that are confronted in the end.An excellent thriller I would recommend to anyone regardless of their politics. In world full of novels loaded with one Arab terrorist group after another attempting to generally just "destroy America" this one represented a breath of fresh air. Arab terrorists obviously want to kill Americans and that reality is not dismissed in this novel, but the scary concept is this time around is that the threats are not coming from what terrorists do to America but what America does to itself.My fingers are crossed that Barry throws in another short story featuring Kanezaki as the lead thanks to the hints he drops in this one.

I was totally hooked from beginning to end oh and the narrator was just perfect, everything was just so good and the ending was not what I expected at all. Looking forward to the next book 😃

It has been a few years since I read a John Rain novel and while browsing on line I discovered quite a few I had never seen until now. This is one of them (The detachment: A John Rain Thriller by Barry Eisner) which I purchased on Amazon for a bargain price. I found this fast action tale full of excitement with numerous twists and turns. This story begins with John relating that he had not “killed anyone in almost four years.” Needless to say this will change very soon. He is back in Tokyo, Japan and we get a hint that he has not lost any of his observational and deadly skills. While he was working out doing some Judo Randori (free sparring) practice at the Kodokan, the most famous Judo training facility in the world, he notices two burley characters sitting in the viewing stands who are watching him.They think John has not really observed them but they will find out how wrong they are when it comes to professional assassin John Rain. Later, he will team up with his good friend and expert sniper and two other secret government agents to do some assassin assignments.I never give away too much information when reviewing novels because it spoils it for those who will read the book; however, if you like page turning action packed John Rain novels you should check out this fascinating tale of revenge and double crossing spy adventure.Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Tactical Principles of the most effective Combative Systems).

I've been following this novel's publication for months now, particularly Barry Eisler's shocking decision to turn down a huge advance from an established publisher and to do it his way--a decision which allowed him to get the book to readers (in ebook format) a year earlier and for a much lower price, while still (hopefully) making him a bigger profit. As I write this, the Kindle edition is number 6 on the Amazon bestsellers list, and the book came out only three days ago, so it looks like his gamble paid off.But how about the story? In a word, excellent. Eisler brings together the characters from his two series, the 6-book Rain series and the 2-book Treven series (each series also has an ebook-only short story available for purchase), and they do not fit together well at all. But this conflict provides much of the drama of the story, with the characters learning how to work together.Eisler's books are always more than just story--Eisler clearly has a desire to teach as well as entertain. He has a very clear-eyed view of the way the world works, and wants his readers to see what he sees: that the world, and America in particular, is increasingly owned and controlled by corporations and the rich, that democracy has been corrupted past the point of no return, that Americans are surrendering their liberties to a security-industrial complex that is doing little to keep us safe but making certain corporations a great deal of money. The book also serves as a warning that it would only take a few more terror attacks to send America into total hysteria, suspending the Constitution (an act from which we would likely never recover) and losing everything that makes America a great country.Yet Eisler does not at all ignore the personal level. Each of the primary characters is explored in depth: the passions that drive them, their fears and the damage they've suffered. They are not at all the typical action-novel heroes--they have doubts and deep wounds, and the most central character, John Rain, suffers from the realization that the world would have been better off if he'd never been born. The desire to do something to make up for all the misery he has caused is a message to readers.Finally, in every Eisler novel readers will encounter a great deal of tradecraft: how people who deal in professional violence stay alive and get their jobs done. Not only is this fascinating in itself, some of it has practical application to readers' lives, encouraging them to wake up, be aware of their surroundings, learn how to defend themselves, learn how not to be easy victims.I gave the first John Rain novel a try because I live in Japan and I rarely encounter good novels written by American authors that are set in Japan. Very few non-Japanese writers do a good job of capturing Japan at all. Eisler impressed me with his ability to portray the Japan that I was living in, with insight into the culture and even into the (opaque to outsiders) politics. Since then, I've been an avid reader of the man, and he continues to impress with this, his 9th novel.

As good as all Eisler's other books!

John Rain, assassin, is recruited to form part of a team to eliminate a series of targets. Mid way through, they realise that they are being used to clear the way for a right wing coup, and suspension of the US constitution, Worse, they will be taking the blame for "terrorist attacks", and they are being hunted across America. They are not so easy to find,however, and the biggest threat to Rain's detachment comes from within rather from without.An interesting take on the War on Terror - much of it was an inside job, as the conspiracy theorists allege. But I find the Rain character more interesting as an introspective loner rather than a team leader. And if the US right wing is so keen on their constitution that they dress up as Benjamin Franklin to read it, is it likely that they would want to see it suspended?

First time I have read from this series, enjoyed it, will look out for more in the series. Plenty of suspense and action, keeps you wanting to read more.

der titel sagt für mich alles: auch dieser thriller ist spannend geschrieben. diesmal lässt eisler seine helden früherer bücher (john rain, alex treven u.a.) gemeinsam auftreten, quasi die glorreichen sieben (eigentlich nur vier) der neuzeit.allerdings fehlt mir die identifizierungsmöglickeit mit einem der helden. john rain steht weiterhin im mittelpunkt. er wirkt nicht so souverän, was seine figur auch in seinen schwächen so stark gemacht hat.der jetzige roman eislers ist mehr ein hollywood-drama geworden. wer erstmals einen eisler lesen möchte, dem sei der erste rain- oder treven-thriller empfohlen.

All in one book... Super... Not as exciting as the first Rain books, but still good. Eisler is simply a great author. Delivery was spot on...(pre-order).