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)

Good story well told

The author is the narrator here and does a good job. The story is straight forward and plausible. The violence is not overly graphic

Another Eisler winner

Another Eisler winner with loads of action that seems very believable, heroes that are a bit dark and ruthless, and with this book a bit of a commentary about America is run behind the scenes... not always a pretty picture. There are two short stories, afforded on Audible, that are a bit of a bridge between his last book and this won that I would also recommend. Great reader.

Another good book to read

This is another good book to read in this on going series. It is well written, very engaging and keeps you intrested.

Entertaining

I have read three or four of Barry Eisler's books previously, John Rain and Livia Lone. I enjoy the Japanese cultural influence that he brings to his writing which I have not found in other thriller books. I enjoyed this book and found it to be Eisler's typical well detailed tightly written style. While he does a good job of writing about the activities of the group Rain is working in, I thought the government side of the story was very incomplete and not well explained. I would have like to see more exposition of the Host part of the story and it would have been a more complete book. Nonetheless I think the Rain books are well written and enjoyable and plan to read more of them.

Not so good

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend the Rain series but not this book. Start from the beginning and sure read this one but it's not so good compared to the earlier books

Would you be willing to try another book from Barry Eisler? Why or why not?

I've read the whole series already

What does Barry Eisler bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I think that Eisler knows his characters so well he can better get the right tones and expressions to convey the appropriate sense of emotion to any given situation.

Could you see The Detachment being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Yes probably but I don't know movie stars enough to pick a cast.

Any additional comments?

Story had a rush ending with everything being tied up so nice so sweet, didn't leave me feeling satisfied. Left me with the feeling Eisler is setting us up for another

Very entertaining

I have been enjoying the entire series but this book felt a little different and was very entertaining

I didn't want to stop listening.

I think it's the best of the Rain series (and that's saying a lot since I thoroughly enjoyed the entire series). The story stands alone so you don't have to read the rest to get this one. I understand that one of the main characters in this book (Treven) is a recurring character in another of Eisler's series - one which I'm going to pick up now (even though Rain and Dox are still my favorites).

It has a much different flavor than the other books in the series in that there is a huge political "conspiracy" here which is the premise of the story. It's a convoluted and complicated plot, but you don't get lost en route, so the complexity is actually rather refreshing and enjoyable (and is why I didn't want to put it down).

If you have a problem with conspiracies that suggest the US government and the 'elite rich' have ulterior motives in the 'war on terror', you might be one of those readers who gave this book a low star rating. If you believe that the assassination of JFK was an inside job, you probably are one of those who give this book a high rating.

The plot is tight, the action is non-stop, the violence is detailed, and the characters are distinct and fully-fleshed and believable. All in all, it's exactly what I was looking for in a novel with an assassin as the main character. (If you like books with these kind of characters - you could also try Block's Keller series.)

I was leery of an author-read book but that concern was unnecessary. Eisler's narration was well paced and the characters were distinctly voiced.

My first Barry Eisler review

The Detachment is clearly the best of the John Rain series that I have listened to so far. On my list of mystery/thriller authors Esiler is not near the top, but with more books as good as this one he will be.

Eisler narrates his own novels and he is a superb narrator.

I highly recommend this book.

Fantastic Book,

Easy listen, great narration great action well researched as usual. Pretty much what you'd expect from Rain and the gang. Can't wait for the next one.

Compelling listen!

This book is a excellent listen. The story is unique, the cast of characters entertaining. Seldom is rooting for the bad guy(s) so compelling. The book is full of action, yet not gruesome or gratuitous in any way.

The narration is awesome! Eisler easily slips from English to Japanese and has a warm, easy voice to listen to.

The only thing that kept this book from being 5 stars for me is that I would have liked to see more of an intimate side of the main character. He seems to be so cut off from the world and isolated that it gave me a twinge of sadness. However, I feel (hope) that the main character (Rain) is developing and we will see more involvement with him in the future. I hope so!