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)

Exciting. Didn't want to stop listening

This was a story with many twists and turns and very well developed characters that I felt like I was able to get to "know". It was masterfully read by Barry Eisler himself and he truly brought Docs and Rain to life. I hope that he will continue to narrate his own books as he does it very well. I hated when I had to stop listening to do something else and I hope he has another great story coming out soon.
I also hope that he will rerecord his previous book, Requiem for an Assassin, that was destroyed by Scott Brick's narration. I will buy it again just to listen to it read as it should have been.

Four killers walk into a bar

It helps if you’ve read the previous books in this series, plus the two books in the Ben Treven series (or at minimum book 2, Inside Out). Rain, Dox, Treven, and Larrison are four lone gunman working in an uneasy alliance on a mission of dubious ends.

At first, I was thinking that this book was too contrived. But, thinking about how bonkers things have been the past few years, with everything from Stop the Steal to Sandy Hook deniers to the Mandalay Bay mass shootings, well, I don’t know. Whether believable or not, this was entertaining. Dox’s Blazzing Saddle moment alone was worth the price of admission.

Action Packed and very believable

What made the experience of listening to The Detachment the most enjoyable?

Barry Eisler's narration and character portrayals are so real and believable he is a consummate showman his storyline is tight and filled with visual impressions that remain on your senses.

Who was your favorite character and why?

His character Dox is the most believable and genuine , he makes the story less dark and adds some humanity to the carnage and body count.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Very interesting and insightful, he seems to have an insiders knowledge of the machinations of the dark side of politics and security organizations.

Any additional comments?

It is wholly believable and shows the dark side of the world intelligence community and the lengths they go to to achieve their misguided ideals and objectives.all in the name of patriotism and in the national interest.

decent

This latest episode lacks the power, strong characters & moody Tokyo setting of the original John Rain story, Rain Fall. Where that story vividly placed you in Rain's city and brought you to care deeply about the protagonist, here we have an OK story that pales in comparison. Eisler is certainly capable of writing stronger stories, so I don't know what went wrong here. His worst is by far better than most thillers, but it's frustrating listening to this one and feeling it fall flat.

I felt that it was 80% the characters talking in their heads about their dilemmas which we never grow to care about, 10% rushed action scenes, and 10% filler. Nothing in particular grabbed me and I didn't feel the edge-of-your-seat excitement that a good thriller should have.

Missed the point

Tired story, the whole story has an excitement limiter from beginning . Never got into the story seems to me the writer/reader holds everyone at arms length so the reader feels like he/she is left to stand outside in the cold.

Excellent story and a great reading

This book really pulled me in. I would find myself sitting in my driveway after work listening and saying "just until it gets to a good pausing point." The characters are interesting but it is really the plot and the performance that are amazing. I would definitely recommend this story to anyone that like conspiracy, mystery, thriller, and/or espionage.

Shark Jump

For me, the major appeal of John Rain was his inner life in solitude. A constant Asian motif of simplicity and isolation - coupled with a deadly edge of "rippleless" assassinations - made this antihero a thrilling and intriguing character to explore.

That, mixed with Eisler's love of nuance, and deep willingness to explore the profundity of practiced sociopathy, made me willing to follow the storyline wherever it went - at the expense of all other reading.

But in this book, Eisler has "come in out of the cold", and is now embracing the standard, ham-handed tropes of "national exigency, corruption at the highest levels, and small team dynamics."

Gone is the elite shadow warrior, the true modern Ronin, and in his place is a (yawn) eclectic crew of disparate personalities thrown together in a situation of life threatening danger!

I fear one of two things has happened:

1 - Eisler grew tired of his character
2 - Some meat-handed "expert" (editor, producer, etc.) convinced this gifted artist to "go more mainstream"

In either case, this is the book where we lose our ninja and see him replaced with three fat American stereotypes (the Southern good ol' boy, the conflicted killer, and the duty-bound soldier), and we see our own friend become "just some guy" in the midst of bigger than life BS.

Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. Cheers, Barry - you still wrote some AMAZING stuff previously. Thank you!

Riviting

non stop action and best yet from Eisler.. John Rain is among best action heroes of this day.

The author is an excellent narrator

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, this is the best book in the series.

What did you like best about this story?

John Rain started out as a lone wolf at the beginning of the series. Slowly he's come to trust other people and the team dynamic makes for much more interesting situations. It also doesn't give John as much time to be morose like he was in earlier books.

Have you listened to any of Barry Eisler’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This series has had a number of narrators, but Barry Eisler is the best. He wrote the book so he knows exactly what tone each character would use and his pacing is fantastic.

great series

Stumbled on to John Rain by accident.. love the books and this latest one is great. PS.. please bring back Delilah