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mkpatt's review against another edition
5.0
John Rain is a reluctant team leader in this book and it takes the character in a new and interesting direction. While I was reading it I thought it might make a good study in some college organizational dynamics course because he has to deal with the same problems other team leaders have to deal with, only in a life threatening setting.
Another interesting element was the challenge to Rain's basic job principles - no non-principals, no women, no children. Do those rules really matter at all when you can be somebody else's blunt instrument to effectuate a result that contravenes those principles? This is the moral question Rain struggles with throughout the book and it proves to be an interesting motivation for his actions.
I'm a huge John Rain fan, but this installment was particularly good because it took rain out of his usual comfort zone of good guys and bad guys and black and white. Here, the motives of the other characters had to be measured in shades of gray and there really were no mustache twirling villains.
More like this, Mr. Eisler, please . . . .
Another interesting element was the challenge to Rain's basic job principles - no non-principals, no women, no children. Do those rules really matter at all when you can be somebody else's blunt instrument to effectuate a result that contravenes those principles? This is the moral question Rain struggles with throughout the book and it proves to be an interesting motivation for his actions.
I'm a huge John Rain fan, but this installment was particularly good because it took rain out of his usual comfort zone of good guys and bad guys and black and white. Here, the motives of the other characters had to be measured in shades of gray and there really were no mustache twirling villains.
More like this, Mr. Eisler, please . . . .
jmoses's review against another edition
4.0
As always, an excellent and enjoyable read by Eisler. Rain (and co) continues to grow as a character.
The scenario this time around is closer to home, and feels unsettlingly realistic. Much like when I watch V for Vendetta, I feel like I'm watching a future history documentary.
The scenario this time around is closer to home, and feels unsettlingly realistic. Much like when I watch V for Vendetta, I feel like I'm watching a future history documentary.
jrobles76's review against another edition
3.0
This super crossover was like the justice league of Eisler characters. This was so much better than the last politically motivated thriller he wrote. I unfortunately felt it was still lacking. The characters each thought too much alike to make it too exciting. Every character arrives at the same conclusion way too often. I loved the action sequences and the Rain parts, but Larison and Treven I could have done without. Though I was happy to see that every character grew in this book. Overall, I just felt the plot was good but the storytelling was uneven. I will also say I love that Eisler put references at the end of the book to show how "real" this story is. Eisler is still on my must read list, and I look forward to future novels. He was always a great thriller writer, now he's getting better at mixing political points of view into his writing. I think the next novel will strike the perfect balance.
surfmonkey01's review
4.0
John Rain, how I've missed you... and Dox, can't forget Dox. Larison, I'm still deciding about you. Treven, you're okay - fine on your own, but with the others, you just can't compare.
Although not as mind-blowing as the early Rain novels, this was still a page-turner that I knocked out in a short time... It was almost more of a traditional Flynn- or Thor-style counter-terror thriller than a normal Rain novel, but the change was nice. And the four leads played well together. I hope the "for a time" addendum to Rain telling of the detachment's dissolution means that we'll see them together again
Although not as mind-blowing as the early Rain novels, this was still a page-turner that I knocked out in a short time... It was almost more of a traditional Flynn- or Thor-style counter-terror thriller than a normal Rain novel, but the change was nice. And the four leads played well together. I hope the "for a time" addendum to Rain telling of the detachment's dissolution means that we'll see them together again
pickleballlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! Barry Eisler does it again. Nice to see how characters from various books interact.
afox98's review against another edition
4.0
Thoroughly enjoyable read from Barry Eisler. Tons of twists and turns, and lots to think about. The plot concerned people inside the U.S. government trying to basically scare the American people into giving up Constitutional rights based on their fear. The characters were mainly hardened assassins, but we saw their vulnerable sides too. The book changed course about halfway through as the big twist came out, and Barry Eisler did a fantastic job describing the thought processes of the characters as they digested the twist and had to rethink everything they thought they knew.
antonishapolitepeoples's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
eldiente's review against another edition
4.0
So far I have listened to all the John Rain series and found this latest installment to be better than some, but not as "unique" as the earliest. I admit to escaping via such novels, and doubt I will recall the plot in detail after a few months. The characters however are memorable and well-developed.
achoward's review against another edition
1.0
When I run out of books in a particular series, or need a break from one, I hunt around for another to read - and I will typically read half a dozen-ish in that new series before it ends or I need a break from it. That's how I came across Eisler's John Rain books. I read them from one to this one, and this one will be my stopping point.
While the previous ones may have been a little tedious at times (detailing every counter-surveillance routine, for instance, just to rattle off the names of streets and shops in other countries to let us know Eisler's Been There, for instance), at least they were entertaining, if sometimes a tad far-fetched. When Eisler began began writing alternating chapters in other characters' POVs into the books, I knew things were going downhill, and they did. The Detachment is (for me) the ass-hitting-the-ground end of that slide, and it seems as if Rain's brain just fell out of his head for this one. It is too implausible, too boring, and too non-Rain for me to continue in the series - I see the next two are origin stories, and I'm taking a pass on those.
There is no way to adequately write about what I didn't like without spoilers, so SPOILERS AHEAD.
Rain gets suckered into partnering up with his old friend Dox and two other guys to take out three targets because they're going to set off a false flag op or a false false flag op or a coup or something - the character Horton is the one who arranges the hits and boy is he full of air about this sort of thing. The John Rain of the previous books would have at least done some kind of due diligence about this guy and what he claims, but nope, Rain just signs on, oblivious to the thought that maybe, just maybe, he's being set up, and off the murderous four go to start offing people, one of whom is a top Admin guy, the weapon of choice being an aerosolized cyanide rig. In the scene before one, while they're talking it over, there's a yappy dog annoying them all, and Dox, of all people. takes the rig and tests it on the dog. This is so out of character for him in the realm of these books, and it was a disappointment.
The first two hits go off, except there seem to be take-out teams in the area, too, gee, how could that happen? They all sit around like dummies wondering just how Horton could direct teams to them, eliminating foot/car surveillance, GPS, etc., and then just give up like there's no answer to that question. Duh. Only a passing thought by Rain - loner untrusting ninja assassin from book one - to the thought that gosh, maybe someone on the team is telling Horton where they are and what they're doing.
The third target is provided to Rain: a sitting SCOTUS Judge and (horrors!) a woman. It's the latter issue that really stops rain in his tracks because of the "no women, no children" thing he has - which, when you think about it, is pretty stupid, given that he knows women can be just as dangerous as men (see: Delilah, completely absent from this book). But in any case, he balks, sensing a setup (wow, really??) and they decide to go do a grab and go on Horton's daughter (what was that about no women, again?). Of course Hort crumbles, tells them to watch the news where POTUS has some kind of announcement (but not a name - Horton tells them the name of the guy while will fill it) about the next person in charge of anti-terrorism. On that same live tv coverage, the Hort character is named as an advisor of some kind and then gives some long, "You're all sheep and the nation is crumbling into a dictatorship, so I'm quitting because I can't stop it from the inside" speech and resigns not just a spot in the admin but his commission in the military, too. Right.
There's something something about a reverse false flag, yadda yadda, it was too stupid to keep straight at that point, except the other half of the "no women and children" show up, with the bad guys targeting an elementary school with a Hellfire missile (seriously?) to nudge the US into accepting a complete suspension of the Constitution. The target is in the middle of nowhere, and the guys go off to stop it - but not before releasing Horton's daughter, alive, in yet another off note for the whole thing, where she and Dox share a tender moment.
Naturally, our good guys are in position well before the bad guys, who always seem to sleep in before doing something evil, and Rain's team takes them out AND Dox knocks a drone out of the sky - not the fun little drones we play with at home, but a military one - just in time before it would have crashed into the school, which is when the Hellfire would have taken off to the same target. The guy programming the missile at the truck where it would have launched? Of course it's the guy just named to the top anti-terrorism spot. Guess POTUS will have to find another one. The team leaves, then split up and go their own ways.
I finished it, but it was a slog. If you liked Rain's character through the first six, even though he was becoming more of a Tom Clancy team leader guy after the first few, skip this. This is not the Rain you know. It's his dumber twin, trotted out to make an appearance in his stead.
While the previous ones may have been a little tedious at times (detailing every counter-surveillance routine, for instance, just to rattle off the names of streets and shops in other countries to let us know Eisler's Been There, for instance), at least they were entertaining, if sometimes a tad far-fetched. When Eisler began began writing alternating chapters in other characters' POVs into the books, I knew things were going downhill, and they did. The Detachment is (for me) the ass-hitting-the-ground end of that slide, and it seems as if Rain's brain just fell out of his head for this one. It is too implausible, too boring, and too non-Rain for me to continue in the series - I see the next two are origin stories, and I'm taking a pass on those.
There is no way to adequately write about what I didn't like without spoilers, so SPOILERS AHEAD.
Rain gets suckered into partnering up with his old friend Dox and two other guys to take out three targets because they're going to set off a false flag op or a false false flag op or a coup or something - the character Horton is the one who arranges the hits and boy is he full of air about this sort of thing. The John Rain of the previous books would have at least done some kind of due diligence about this guy and what he claims, but nope, Rain just signs on, oblivious to the thought that maybe, just maybe, he's being set up, and off the murderous four go to start offing people, one of whom is a top Admin guy, the weapon of choice being an aerosolized cyanide rig. In the scene before one, while they're talking it over, there's a yappy dog annoying them all, and Dox, of all people. takes the rig and tests it on the dog. This is so out of character for him in the realm of these books, and it was a disappointment.
The first two hits go off, except there seem to be take-out teams in the area, too, gee, how could that happen? They all sit around like dummies wondering just how Horton could direct teams to them, eliminating foot/car surveillance, GPS, etc., and then just give up like there's no answer to that question. Duh. Only a passing thought by Rain - loner untrusting ninja assassin from book one - to the thought that gosh, maybe someone on the team is telling Horton where they are and what they're doing.
The third target is provided to Rain: a sitting SCOTUS Judge and (horrors!) a woman. It's the latter issue that really stops rain in his tracks because of the "no women, no children" thing he has - which, when you think about it, is pretty stupid, given that he knows women can be just as dangerous as men (see: Delilah, completely absent from this book). But in any case, he balks, sensing a setup (wow, really??) and they decide to go do a grab and go on Horton's daughter (what was that about no women, again?). Of course Hort crumbles, tells them to watch the news where POTUS has some kind of announcement (but not a name - Horton tells them the name of the guy while will fill it) about the next person in charge of anti-terrorism. On that same live tv coverage, the Hort character is named as an advisor of some kind and then gives some long, "You're all sheep and the nation is crumbling into a dictatorship, so I'm quitting because I can't stop it from the inside" speech and resigns not just a spot in the admin but his commission in the military, too. Right.
There's something something about a reverse false flag, yadda yadda, it was too stupid to keep straight at that point, except the other half of the "no women and children" show up, with the bad guys targeting an elementary school with a Hellfire missile (seriously?) to nudge the US into accepting a complete suspension of the Constitution. The target is in the middle of nowhere, and the guys go off to stop it - but not before releasing Horton's daughter, alive, in yet another off note for the whole thing, where she and Dox share a tender moment.
Naturally, our good guys are in position well before the bad guys, who always seem to sleep in before doing something evil, and Rain's team takes them out AND Dox knocks a drone out of the sky - not the fun little drones we play with at home, but a military one - just in time before it would have crashed into the school, which is when the Hellfire would have taken off to the same target. The guy programming the missile at the truck where it would have launched? Of course it's the guy just named to the top anti-terrorism spot. Guess POTUS will have to find another one. The team leaves, then split up and go their own ways.
I finished it, but it was a slog. If you liked Rain's character through the first six, even though he was becoming more of a Tom Clancy team leader guy after the first few, skip this. This is not the Rain you know. It's his dumber twin, trotted out to make an appearance in his stead.