The Detachment

A John Rain Novel

By: Barry Eisler

Narrated by: Barry Eisler

Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

John Rain is back. And “the most charismatic assassin since James Bond” (San Francisco Chronicle) is up against his most formidable enemy yet: the nexus of political, military, media, and corporate factions known only as the Oligarchy.

When legendary black ops veteran Colonel Scott “Hort” Horton tracks Rain down in Tokyo, Rain can’t resist the offer: a multi-million dollar payday for the “natural causes” demise of three ultra-high-profile targets who are dangerously close to launching a coup in America. But the opposition on this job is going to be too much for even Rain to pull it off alone. He’ll need a detachment of other deniable irregulars: his partner, the former Marine sniper, Dox. Ben Treven, a covert operator with ambivalent motives and conflicted loyalties. And Larison, a man with a hair trigger and a secret he’ll kill to protect.

From the shadowy backstreets of Tokyo and Vienna, to the deceptive glitz and glamour of Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and finally to a Washington, D.C. in a permanent state of war, these four lone wolf killers will have to survive presidential hit teams, secret CIA prisons, and a national security state as obsessed with guarding its own secrets as it is with invading the privacy of the populace. But first, they’ll have to survive each other.

The Detachment is what fans of Eisler, “one of the most talented and literary writers in the thriller genre” (Chicago Sun-Times), have been waiting for: the worlds of the award-winning Rain series, and of the best-selling Fault Line and Inside Out, colliding in one explosive thriller as real as today’s headlines and as frightening as tomorrow’s.

©2011 Barry Eisler (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

Praise for the author's narration of Inside Out: "Barry Eisler is ...an exception to the rule that writers should not be allowed to publicly declaim their own prose." ( The New York Times)

John Rain is back

Barry Eisler does a good job reading this book. His voice for John Rain made me think of the Japanese guy who played Rain in the movie version of the first novel. If you're a fan, you know that the readings of the audiobooks have been uneven -- worst was when the narrator of the John Reacher books read it, and made Rain sound like a 6'5" slugger. In this novel, the characters sound the way we'd expect them to.

This is classic John Rain, familiar without redundancies. The narration alternates well between first-person John Rain and third person narrators to follow other characters. I don't want to give any of the story away, so I'll just say, if you like John Rain, you will be very happy with this novel.

Forecast: 'Light' RAIN

I enjoyed listening to The Detachment (Barry Eisler's 2011 "John Rain" series selection).
While I enjoy Thrillers that have Japanese Mysticism qualities interwoven in the storyline, I have sometimes found a few earlier John Rain novels to be excessively dark. In The Detachment "Rain" assumes command of a cadre of serious killers, who seemingly share a common objective, -Save the USA from FAR...far right-wing "lunatics" with delusions of grandeur, seeking national domination-. Eisler allows Rain to struggle with his personal demons as his confederate's actions mirror Rain's instinctive comportment. Fortunately, Rain's old friend DOX is on hand with some badly needed comic relief to prevent fraternacide, as they fight to save the day! Barry Eisler contributes with his accustomed 'excellent' narration. Thoroughly Enjoyable!
Rating = 4.25★/5.
fpn

Truly enjoy Barry Eisler's book

Of all the genres authors, Eisler is one of my favorites. The details, mannerisms, titles and more are spot on. Thank you for the reads.

great book!!

I love the author narrating the book himself. I believe it makes the story better.

I lkked it so much i want it back

Open right now or I'll do something really horaibale.

I have bought this book .I have listened to it befor and I still have a link indicating it is in my Libary..... So why the fuck isn't it open when I want it.

Love george

Too much over the top

I will not listen to any more books by Barry Eisler because he insists on using God's name as a curse.
I don't mind the other curse words. Mr Eisler needs to pray.

Rain reigns supreme

BE has supplied another installment of the eminently readable Rain series. Rain is again pulled out of semi-retirement to prevent what is billed as a coup attempt that will result in major restrictions in American liberties. As the assignment progresses, Rain question which side he is working for. At the same time Rain is in the unique position of running a team of operators (including his pal, Dox) that includes some unknowns. The story is well paced with multiple twists and turns.

Barry also does an excellent job of reading the tale with a superb range of voices that adds to his detailed descriptions. For spy/assassins aficionados, this is a devilishly rich dessert.

Hope this isn't my last journey with Rain...

I could listen to Rain stories on-and-on.

It was fun also to get the social commentary on the political use of fear in the United States and turn to political corruption and money influence here rather than in Japan, where a number of other stories have been set.

Character Surprise

I had forgotten that Eisler also wrote Inside Out and Fault Line with the Ben Treven and Larison characters and it was fun to have them all together in this book with Rain and Dox. They all fit well together. Lots of political stuff, as others have said, but not distracting, and lots of tension. You know these characters are not going to have an easy time of their work, so it's fun to read as they try to get it all figured out. Hort is just a great character. It's surprising to me that such a literate person as Eisler can mispronounce words (intern-intern) and others, but I think he does a very credible job with the voices.

excellent in John Rain series

Where does The Detachment rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In this genre I think the John Rain series is better than most. I'd rank the book 5 stars in this genre alone but compared against all books I have to give it 4 stars. With this book #8 Eisler smartly brings in a different formula so the lone assassin plot isn't repetitive.

Any additional comments?

The narration by the author is excellent. I gave that 5 stars.