Graveyard of Memories

A John Rain Novel

By: Barry Eisler

Narrated by: Barry Eisler

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

What makes a legendary assassin? For John Rain, it was the lessons of love, war, and betrayal he learned in Tokyo in 1972.

Fresh from the killing fields of Southeast Asia, Rain works as a bagman under the watchful eye of his CIA handler, delivering cash to corrupt elements of the Japanese government. But when a delivery goes violently wrong, Rain finds himself in the crosshairs of Japan’s most powerful yakuza clan. To survive, Rain strikes a desperate deal with his handler: take out a high-profile target in the Japanese government in exchange for the intel he needs to eliminate his would-be executioners.

As Rain plays cat and mouse with the yakuza and struggles to learn his new role as contract killer, he also becomes entangled with Sayaka, a tough, beautiful ethnic Korean woman confined to a wheelchair. But the demands of his dark work are at odds with the longings of his heart - and with Sayaka’s life in the balance, Rain will have to make a terrible choice.

©2014 Barry Eisler (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

The young John Rain

Graveyard of Memories is about 20 year old John Rain just out of the US Army. Rain returns to Japan and becomes a contract killer for the crooked head CIA agent in Japan. He falls in love with a young paraplegic girl of Korean heritage.

At 10 hours this audiobook is not excessively long, but only the last three hours are really interesting. The first 7 hours are boring. The story is told by John Rain (first person) speaking from the present about his past. This helps only in the last few minutes of the book as he summarizes the results of the Church Commission and tells of the future successes of the paraplegic girl.

Eisler does his usual excellent job of narration.

Wow. Unexpectedly poignant... Poor Rain...

This book is so good that I wish I hadn't read it yet so I would have it to look forward to reading. I'm not even exaggerating.

If you've read and liked any of the Rain books, you have to pick this one up. It explores Rain before he became the smooth and competent assassin he is in the other books. We get to watch him grow into his skills as life started handing him lemons.

We even get to see how and why he was so emotionally alone in all the other stories. The path he followed to get to how he is (personally and professionally) in the remainder of the series was set here - and it was completely believable. Perhaps the main "love scene" was a bit long (and relatively detailed), but since it was fundamental to John Rain's growth into the man he becomes, I think the length/detail of the romantic components was okay.

I wouldn't suggest starting here though. Reading the books in order of publication will give you a better sense of John Rain, and make this story so much more poignant. You would be able to follow the story just fine, but the heartbreak/path of loneliness he ends up following wouldn't mean as much if you didn't already know how John Rain's life turns out.

The narration is very good. There is some non-gory (but vivid) violence and moderately detailed but non graphic sex. I don't recall any swearing. If there was another book about John Rain, I'd buy it immediately.

Might Just Be the Best Rain Book Yet

Would you listen to Graveyard of Memories again? Why?

Yes, the character development was terrific.

Who was your favorite character and why?

John Rain. This book takes you back to show how john rain became JOHN RAIN!

Which character – as performed by Barry Eisler – was your favorite?

The girl in the wheelchair. Empathetic and well performed.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The end, about the girl in the wheelchair... but i dont want to spoil it.

Stolen

Audiuble books I have bought and listened to are missing.
And it's really pissing me off.

The listing is still in my library.

Only gone from my ipad .. Just befor I killed it I discouvered all the files were still avalable on my iphone... So some apple upegrade on my ipad is blocking some of my books. This is even more pissing offf.

Best John Rain

By far the best John Rain book. Learning what made Rain who he is... priceless!

love me some John Rain=)

i really like how John learns to adapt so quickly, bc he Is smarter than you'd think;) mr Eisler is a great author and his narration, knowing how he wants things to be, brings the story, and John Rain, to glorious life
💗💗💗

awesome , gives some history

I enjoyed learning some of Rain 's history I have really enjoyed the series and hope for more in the series

Eisler does it again

I was a little ... hrm ... hesitant about this book when I learned that it was a back-story book instead of a chronologically "next" in the series book. That seems to be kind of a theme with some of my favorite authors at the moment - going back to a time before the main character in a well established series has fully become the character that I as the reader have become attached to. It is an interesting idea, but one that I think has a lot of potential for disaster, so yeah ... a little trepidation going into this book.

Having said all of that, I LOVED this book. I liked the fact that it was presented as the current incarnation of Rain sharing reflections on his past rather than actually lifting the reader out of the established time-line and completely relocating them into the past. Some of the reflective asides made by Rain during the telling were quite amusing. "I was hard in about zero point two seconds. Yeah, 20 years old."

The first time I picked up a John Rain/Barry Eisler book it was because I was curious to see how an author would go about having a hired murderer as a sympathetic protagonist. I was hooked from that first book, and if I hadn't already been sold on the idea, with Graveyard of Memories I am absolutely sold on the idea of assassin as sympathetic protagonist.

Not only did Graveyard of Memories serve to flesh out an established and already well-loved character, but it was a good story all on it's own. I always enjoy the particular recipe that Barry Eisler has for blending the setting, the action, the characters and the intrigue. This book did not disappoint. The action sequences were exciting, the machinations of the antagonists convoluted, the romantic tension alluring, the cast of characters engaging and the journey from chapter one through the end of the book compelling.

I am so glad that Barry Eisler has decided to narrate his own books. I have completely fallen in love with his voice. After listening to Graveyard of Memories, I find myself wanting to go back and re-listen to the rest of the series again - only this time with the Barry Eisler narrations instead of the original studio hired narrations. He displays all of my favorite qualities of a narrator. He has good pacing, distinct voices, including accents, and is emotive without being over the top and obnoxious or dragging the listener from the story. I'd listen to *anything* Barry Eisler should choose to narrate, but it is particularly compelling knowing that he is breathing audible life into his own creations.

If you are a fan of the series, this book will not disappoint. If you haven't yet tried the series you should start at book 1, but this isn't a terrible place to begin either. It would work as a stand alone story and would not ruin or spoil any of the previous books should you then decide to pursue them.

Overall I definitely think that this book is and was well worth the credit.

A MUST READ for any Rain fan!

This is the back story concerning how John Rain became a hired assassin. To be fully appreciated, the reader needs to have knowledge of Rain's methods and later life which will only be gained from reading several of the earlier books in the series.
This book deftly guides the reader through Rain's earliest development as an assassin. It puts in perspective his relationship with Tots, his need for emotional distance (his first true love), Rain learning to be proactive and brutal and the "rules" under which he accepts assignments. Rain's relationship with Tots as well as his first love experience creates a very complex character who is at once a brutal killer but also a man with great empathy and a longing for a different life. Maybe a bit of Dexter as an assassin rather than a psychopathic serial killer. The story integrates very well with the other Rain novels. It ends leaving the reader to wonder about the decade between the events of this novel and Rain's later emergence as a for hire killer. I hope Barry Eisler writes a book about the decade as a mercenary. This is an enormously entertaining book.

Great Prequel, Good Narration

This is my first book by Barry Eisler, and I am glad I read and listened to this first, even though it is the 8th book in the John Rain series. The book introduces the young protagonist John Rain; the story took place in Japan, where lots of new terms, places and culture are clearly but not tediously explained.

The writing is smooth, characters are well developed and all loose ends are tied nicely. Can be read as a stand-alone book all by itself. I feel that it is a good intro to the series. The story is interesting enough to grab my attention from Chapter1 with actions, contemporary espionage and a just-enough-love story. A good narration from the author himself helped to boost a wonderful listening experience. Looking forward to the rest of the series!