Graveyard of Memories (A John Rain Novel) Paperback – 11 Feb. 2014

I've loved each of Barry Eisler's books since finding Hard Rain by chance. Each book has drawn me in with their well developed and morally grey characters as well as their gripping plots.But this time, as well as delivering a thriller of his usual calibre Barry Eisler has achieved something far rarer: a genuine prequel. This book features an earlier, unrefined version of the Rain we have come to know and love as opposed to the same character transported to an earlier time period. This Rain is less skilled and more naive but just as believable and captivating.It's no spoiler to say Rain becomes closer to the character of the later books as the story progresses but again his evolution is so well written that it doesn't feel like a series of events shoehorned into the plot to teach required lessons and most crucially it happens without cliche.I'm now genuinely torn as to what I hope for in the next John Rain book, a return to the present with the full compliment of the supporting characters of the other books or the next stage of development of this Proto-Rain.

I had been readying Eisler's novels of John Rain for a few years now and always find the story lines intriguing. They gave readers an insight of mostly the life of the Oriental, Japan. This book again filled all the gaps of his life in old Japan, such as his first love, after the war with event of kills that eventually forced him fleeing to the US. Very thoughtful.The only downside was that here and there in the book, events were described briefly and surfaced regarding his later years.These can be a bit confusing unless the reader had read all his previous books and can remember those sceneiro.As a whole it is a good read for Eisler's fans.

I really love this book. Paradoxically, Barry Eisler's writing presents moments of extreme violence, together with passages beautifully composed which contain extreme tenderness, tranquility and joy. The action is furious and exciting. A great read.

Having read all of Barry Eisler's previous novels (including the less that stellar Treven series) and most of his short stories I would consider myself a fan. As with most authors some of his books are better than others, with the earlier Rain novels generally being stronger than the more recent efforts in my opinion. Graveyard of Memories continues that pattern by not being a bad effort but also not being amongst Eisler's better works.It has some obvious strengths, with its portrayal of 70's Tokyo being one of them. The book gives the reader a genuine feel for the city during that period of rapid economic growth just prior to the 80's boom. The action is also up to the usual high standards we expect of Eisler. It was also intriguing to meet the young, callow, ill-disciplined John Rain in his pre-uber-cool-assassin days and to get a better understanding of where he came from.Where the books falls down however, is in the plot, which I found both overly convoluted and not particularly involving. I have no problem with twisting, complex plots, full of betrayals and intrigue. I just prefer the convolutions to feel less forced than they do here. As for the lack of emotional involvement, whilst the danger Rain finds himself in feels genuine the fact that this is prequel to the earlier books he features in leave no doubt that he will survive and we never really learn enough about any of the other characters, good or bad, to care much about their eventual fates. Without an emotional involvement in the story as it unfolds I remained curiously detached throughout and found it easy to put the book down during even the most exciting passages.Even the token love interest sub-plot that Eisler throws in failed to generate any additional sense of genuine jeopardy. Whilst making the woman disabled was an interesting approach, and Eisler managed to do so without leaving the character defined purely by her disability, he didn't give her enough depth to make me really care what happened to her. Her relationship with Rain also felt forced and unrealistic, with the characters lacking genuine chemistry. This is fault I have found with other Eisler novels, in particular Fault Line, where characters end up in romantic or sexual relationships almost by default rather than because it feels like a natural progression. It often feels like Eisler includes a romantic subplot even if the story doesn't demand one, like he's working to a formula and needs to tick a box.As usual he then compounds the problem by including some truly cringe worthy sex scenes. I'm no prude but Eisler's descriptions of sex definitely veer towards the unnecessarily gratuitous, and include all the tenderness and emotion of his action sequences. Like the love-interest it also feels like he includes them to meet some sort of quota rather than because they're integral to the story.So overall I would rate this as one of the lesser Rain entries in the Rain series. Interesting, entertaining in places and atmospheric yes, but also unfocused and included too many unnecessary elements.

Having read all the john rain books and having loved all but the last it was intriguing to read this. None of the pulsating action from the later stories but a good enticement to learn more about the character. I liked the nods to whisky and coffee interest to be developed later. If you like this you'll love what's to follow. "Winters was good with a knife".

Got curious of this book because of its graphic animation, but this story has become an awesome journey of fighting for once hope to be free, to be better.

Just loved this book. Barry Eisler is a fantastic author! The exploits of the young 20 year old John Rain and how he learnt and grew from the mistakes he made - all beautifully written.Can't put it down!

A very good and entertaining adventure of our hero, John Rain. A must read from the author Barry Eisler. You will not be disappointed.

Nice! Haven't finished it but I love John Rain's books!! Can't wait to finish it and start the next.Reliable seller.

In Graveyard of Memories, author Barry Eisler returns to the John Rain saga in the only way possible—by writing a prequel. After all, Rain would now be in his mid-60s or older; even Hollywood might balk at casting him as an action hero. The novel begins with a fairly simple, straightforward set-up: to save his own life, Rain must execute a series of strategic ‘hits’. As he carries these out, we watch him evolve, getting a better handle on both his tradecraft and his temper. His many lapses in judgment would be inexcusable to the John Rain of the earlier books (that take place later), but Eisler handles this skillfully by making the older Rain the narrator (as if writing his memoirs), and therefore able to comment on his younger self’s naïveté and lack of experience. Somewhere around the midpoint of the book, Rain begins to grasp the deeper implications of his plight—that all might not be as it first appeared, that certain helpful coincidences were perhaps a bit too convenient—and from then on, the story takes off, following plot twists that are not only credible, but in retrospect make perfect sense. As we’d expect, there are also a number of great action set-pieces, all of which come off with adrenaline-rush verisimilitude.Against the backdrop of the action, Rain also courts Sanaya, a young woman a few years his senior, who happens to be a paraplegic. Here we get to see Rain’s tender qualities and the upside of all that youth and naïveté, including a crazy, loving gesture designed to placate Sanaya’s shame that I’m fairly confident has never been done before. (Eisler also gives us perhaps one of the most unique erotic scenes in fiction—even more compelling than the wonderful sexual encounter in London Twist.) The romantic subplot helps cut the bitter taste (bordering on disgust) left by the grisly murders; indeed, without it, Rain’s character would become anathema to us. (The Japanese bath with its overtones of purification and cleanliness figures prominently in both the love and death elements of the story, as does the graveyard of the book’s title—a very nice thematic touch.)Other than the yakuza, Eisler’s characters are never stereotypes, as is too often the case in this genre. Tatsu (whom we come to know and love in the earlier/later Rain books) is clever, understated and restrained. McGraw feels very real. Even though Rain dislikes him, as a reader I found him interesting and even (for a while) likable for his smarts and savvy, as compared to Rain’s clumsy immaturity.My only real complaint with the story was the frequent use of italicized Japanese terms and place names. The names I just skimmed past, not knowing Tokyo from Mars. If you did know Tokyo, no doubt the story would be the richer for it. But I was curious about many of the Japanese terms (the Kindle translator was no help), and Eisler could have easily made these translations available to us through the narrator’s voice. But I have the same beef with Cormac McCarthy, who’s far guiltier of it, so at least Eisler’s in good company.I consider this a most worthwhile read in all respects: a clever, entirely believable plotline; real characters with strengths and faults; a portrait of a foreign culture with its prejudices; a protagonist who’s not all-good, who grows in both skill and maturity through the course of the story, and who must figure his way out of a complex dilemma; well-crafted thematic elements like the bath and graveyard; and a bittersweet ending that played with a perfect soft touch. I highly recommend this book to anyone who appreciates good spy literature and isn’t queasy about contract killing. I look forward to more.