Rain Storm (John Rain Thrillers) [Hardcover]

Its still a great read. John Rain remains a marvelous creation; enigmatic, a modern day Ronin or masterless Samurai. The plot is cleverly constructed and holds your interest. The supporting characters are, like Rain, suitably enigmatic. The action sequences are taught and coherent.

The only real problem is Eisler's decision to almost completely excise one of the major characters from the previous two books; namely Japan itself. Its like the Third Man without Vienna or Woody Allen without New York. As portrayed by Eisler the place had an identity all of its own that complimented and supported Rain. It added a richness to the narrative and a real sense of exoticism. Without its presence Rain Storm feels somehow lighter and less substantial, in turn highlighting other weaknesses such as the comparatively slight nature of the plot and the loss of recurring characters such as Midori.

Eisler tries to compensate by using Macau, Hong Kong and Rio as surrogates but you can tell that his familiarity with these places, and his affection for them is not as great. They are poor substitutes.

So, not a real loss of form. All the essentials are there and unp to scratch bar one. As long as Rain returns to Japan soon and ceases to wander the world all will be right as r.....no, that's one joke too far.

For those who have not yet had the opportunity to catch up on Rain's third adventure the question will be 'is it any good?' The answer is 'yes, it's a great thriller'. Unfortunately it must be added that at the same time it fails to live-up to the the quality level of the previous two books, Rain Fall & Hard Rain.

Its still a great read. John Rain remains a marvelous creation; enigmatic, a modern day Ronin or masterless Samurai. The plot is cleverly constructed and holds your interest. The supporting characters are, like Rain, suitably enigmatic. The action sequences are taught and coherent.

The fundamental flaw is Eisler's decision to almost completely excise one of the major characters from the previous two books; namely Japan itself. Its like the Third Man without Vienna or Woody Allen without New York. As portrayed by Eisler the place had an identity all of its own that complimented and supported Rain. It added a richness to the narrative and a real sense of exoticism. Without its presence Rain Storm feels somehow lighter and less substantial, in turn highlighting other weaknesses such as the comparatively slight nature of the plot and the loss of recurring characters such as Midori.

Eisler tries to compensate by using Macau, Hong Kong and Rio as surrogates but you can tell that his familiarity with these places, and his affection for them is not as great. They are poor substitutes.

So, not a real loss of form. All the essentials are here bar one and those that are are up to scratch. The next installment, when it appears and whether Rain returns to Japan or not, will almost certainly be worth buying. This is a compelling series.