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)

Fast paced read...

Fast pace book which is read by the author. Loved the book. Love the author.

I did rate the peformance with 4 stars to indicate that he is not really professional reader. He performs many of the characters very well but a few of them it gets confusing which character is speaking. I might also say I graded very hard...

This is a continuation of the John Rain character which started in the book Rain Fall. This book stands on it's own, but I recommend that your start with the first book.

Too much political rhetoric

The bad: I'll bet Barry Eisler and Vince Flynn hate each other. Bummer that Eisler had the infamous assassin John Rain and Dox help him spew his over the top political opinions. It was just too much, sorry. I can tolerate a lot of this stuff but come on Barry. If you are a toe tag ACLU member and think that the Patriot Act was horrible and that Bush is the Devil, you might like this. Full disclosure I am on the other side of Eisler on most of his opinions.

The Good: Even though there was about 2 hours of extra polital junk, there was still plenty of entertaining action. John Rain is as usual, great. Dox is the best and hilarious and the 2 new characters were good as well. If you are a John Rain fan you still have to listen to it because it will add color for future works that I hope Eisler keeps pure. The narration was amazing. I was skeptical but Eisler was great.

All in all if you are a Vince Flynn lover (as am I) you will cringe through a lot of this, but if you are opposite you might like it.

I was floored!

This was my first exposure to Barry Eisler and John Rain, but I'm hooked! I'm still relatively new to audiobooks, and I'm generally feast or famine -- I gorge on them, then forget about my Audible account. But I'm back again to download more Eisler and Rain. As a narrator, he's really great, with each voice distinct and believable. He moves smoothly between them. John Rain is a hugely complex character, and he's written extremely well. Eisler has a great way of giving you a ton of information in a intriguing, but succinct way. A great listen!

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.

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.

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.

perfect entertainment

I enjoy Eisler's John Rain series as much as any in this genre. This book is my favorite of the series. John Rain, the ultimate assassin, assembles a group of killers who are as dangerous to each other as they are to their targets. The action is nonstop. The plot is fairly predictable, but fun. I listen to books while driving or exercising. i had difficulty putting this one aside, however. The story and performance were absorbing.

The narration was excellent. Voices and accents were dead on. I was worried that an author reading his own work would not be as exciting as some of th eprofessional narrators. Eisler, however, rivaled my favorite thriller narrators, Guidall and Brick, and gave a superb performance of this book. I can't imagine that it could have been done better.

I really enjoyed this book, and recommend it to anyone who likes to listen to this genre.

Barry Eisler as Narrator!!!

I have listened to all books in the John Rain series and although I have enjoyed all of them I wish Barry Eisler had read narrated all of them. He does a great job.

Excellent diversion from typical John Rain story

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

The author narrates this book and does an outstanding job. I have listened to 5 John Rain books and up until this read, the first, Rain Fall, narrated by Brian Nishii was by far my favorite experience. But Barry Eisler does an amazing job of bringing the five main characters alive.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot flows nicely and there are enough unexpected twists and subplots to keep the story really interesting.

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

Dox was spot on. However he did a very good job of narrating all of the characters.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed out loud several times. Usually at the witty and ironic observations of Dox.

Any additional comments?

Note to Eisler and Brilliance - one narrator for a series. It is grating to hear a favorite character in a new voice. No one will match Eisler's

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.