May 04, 2008
Rain Fall
By Barry Eisler
I really enjoyed this somewhat pulpy thriller. Set in Tokyo, it follows the adventures of John Rain, half-American, half-Japanese assassin, as he deals with the aftermath of what had seemed like a routine assassination. There's a beautiful girl -- the daughter of the man Rain killed -- and plenty of thugs, both politicians and gangsters. Rain is surprisingly sympathetic, considering that he's an amoral killer-for-hire haunted by memories of the atrocities he committed as a soldier in Vietnam. Eisler gets points from me for describing martial arts accurately (he even has some Aikido thrown into the mix, woo!).
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series.
Book 7 in 2008
July 12, 2005
Never Burn a Witch
by M.R. Sellars
This is the sequel to Harm None, and it's a decent book. There were a TON of typos and similar errors, but otherwise it was pretty good. Our hero, Rowan Gant, gets sucked into another investigation run by his cop friend, Ben. Last time a witch-gone-bad was killing people. This time it's a witch hunter trying to bring back the Inquisition.
Lots of page-turner action and gruesomeness. This is a thriller with little shame. Although I did want to smack Rowan sometimes for doing stupid things, he was acting in character and I really felt like I knew him.
Can't wait to read the next book!
(Book 19 in 2005. I am so behind!)