Barry Eisler - The Last Assassin (2006)
Reviewed by David J. Montgomery
Nearly all good thriller novels feature action and suspense, brave heroes and craven villains, fascinating settings and rapid-fire pacing. That is, after all, what we read thrillers for. In order for them to succeed, they must have at least some of those elements, and they must use them well.
What is rarer is the thriller novel that contains great writing in addition to its entertainment value. Although the overall quality of the prose in most thriller novels is good, the writing is usually subordinate to the story. This is understandable, considering that the primary purpose for genre fiction is to entertain.
The most-gifted authors in the genre, however, aren’t satisfied with simply telling a good story. They strive for something more. People like David Morrell or the late Ross Thomas have the craft and skill to fill their books with writing so fine that it commands your interest, even apart from the compelling nature of their plots. So, too, does Barry Eisler.
The Last Assassin is the fifth book, and the best one yet, in Eisler’s series featuring John Rain, a half-Japanese, half-American hit man who specializes in the “natural causes” hit. Rain is a one-man killing machine, an assassin so lethal that he can kill you and then be off in a bar sipping single malt Scotch before you even realize you’re dead.
At the end of the previous book in the series, Rain discovered that Midori, the woman he once loved, secretly gave birth to their son eighteen months before. To his dismay, Rain also learned that men working for his old enemy, Japanese mob boss Yamaoto, are watching Midori and the child, just waiting for Rain to reappear so that they can settle old scores.
There’s no way that Rain can allow his son to stay in jeopardy like that. Despite Midori’s anger towards him, he has to take action. So Rain travels to her home in New York City, determined to remove the threat to his loved ones once and for all. After that, he hopes to make one last attempt at recapturing Midori’s heart.
Naturally, things aren’t going to be that simple. Even if Rain succeeds in taking out the watchers, he’ll only have killed one head of the hydra. And for each head he removes, two more spring up to take its place. Only by eliminating the source of the danger, the Yakuza boss himself, can Rain finally have peace.
As is the case with all of Eisler’s work, The Last Assassin combines the usual elements that you would want in a thriller: taut action, gripping suspense, great characters and the like. What this book also has is the sensitivity to make the reader feel for those characters, and the intelligence to make you think about what’s going on. In short, it’s an action thriller that will appeal even to readers who think they don’t like action thrillers.
This is an assured, polished work from an author who has proven he has what it takes to go the distance. The depth of characterization, the seamless transitions between the different points-of-view and the brilliant choreography of the action are all so skillfully realized that they propel the book to a lofty new level.
The Last Assassin demonstrates that Barry Eisler is one of the most talented and, dare I say, literary writers in the thriller genre. Let’s hope that this will be just one of many outstanding books produced in a long and fruitful career.
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Book Reviews | Permalink