Graveyard of Memories (A John Rain Novel) Paperback – February 11, 2014

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.

So far I’ve enjoyed all of the John Rain novels that I’ve read. He’s a freelance operator who has worked for all sorts of spy agencies in his career. But this is the story of his beginnings. He’s fresh out of being a soldier in the Vietnam War and spending some time in Tokyo where his parents used to live.The story is narrated by a much older John Rain as the younger John Rain gets caught up with the Yakuza and the CIA. Spies on one side of him and gangsters on the other. As the adventure goes on the older version of John gets to tell us all the mistakes the younger version of him made as he was trying to navigate this choppy water.This book was a good read.

I had read several John Rain novels in the past, but it has been a few years and I decided to catch up on the books I may have missed over the years. I purchased this action packed novel (Graveyard of memories –A John Rain Novel by Barry Eisler) on Amazon for a bargain price just finished reading this volume.First off, I loved reading this book because John Rain relates his early history of just getting out of the U.S. Army and basically started out as a CIA bag man in 1972 in Tokyo, Japan. This tale has numerous twists and turns and double crossing incidents along with this young 20 year old John Rain’s maturity growing issues while learning to become an effective and intelligent assassin.This fantastic page turning story actually begins to develop when some Japanese Yakuza thugs bump into John and instead of just letting the incident go he winds up in a physical confrontation killing one of them. This is where things begin to get complicated as John is persuaded by his CIA handler to eliminate some government official and thus begins his new career as assassin.John Rain figures out how to get to his to his targets but realizes he is being set up and that his handler is part of the cover-up and betrayal. There is also a love relationship with a beautiful woman which John pursues in this novel. I loved this book and recommend it to anyone who is into the John Rain series. I never give away too much information when reviewing a novel because it spoils the story for anyone desiring to read the book; however, this is a wonderful page turning fun readRating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Tactical Principles of the most effective Combative Systems).

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.

Nach "The Detachment", in dem Barry Eisler die Hauptfiguren seiner beiden Serien Alex Treven und John Rain zusammenführte, liegt mit "Graveyard of Memories" nun ein Prequel zu den John Rain Romanen vor. Nachdem im ersten Roman "Rain Fall" John Rain als Einzelgänger arbeitete und erst in der Entwicklung der Serie lernte, im Team zu arbeiten war klar, dass man auf lieb gewonnene (Neben-)Figuren, wie vor allem Dox, würde verzichten müssen. Der Roman ist trotzdem ein "typischer" John Rain, wobei hier vor allem die Entwicklung vom unkontrolliert agierenden Exsoldaten zum kaltblütigen Killer mit Prinzipien sehr glaubhaft und nachvollziehbar ist. Der Fan wird einige interessante Entdeckungen machen (woher kommt Johns Liebe zu Coffeeshops und Jazz) und sich vor allem von Barry Eislers makelloser Beschreibung Tokios in den 70ern gefangen nehmen lassen. Da der Roman einen großen Teil seiner Spannung daraus bezieht, dass man weiß, wie sich die Hauptfigur später entwickelt, würde ich nicht empfehlen das Buch als erstes der Serie zu lesen - auch wenn es sich um ein Prequel handelt.