John Rain is a fictional character created by Barry Eisler. He appears in eight of Eisler's espionage novels as an assassin for hire who specializes in making his victims appear to have died of natural causes. Rain is a Vietnam War veteran who served with the Special Forces; he was later recruited by the CIA, but by the time he appears in the first of the "John Rain" novels, "Rain Fall", he is working "freelance," offering his assassination services to any client willing to follow his three rules: 1) No women or children, 2) No secondary team working separately on an assassination Rain is handling, 3) Principal actions only (i.e., no hits on family members, etc., in order to "send a message").
Rain's years of training in the Special Forces, CIA, and as an assassin for hire manifest themselves in a deep-seated paranoia, an inability to trust anyone, and the drive to eliminate any loose ends (usually through killing) that may leave him vulnerable to payback or revenge.
Biographical information
John Rain was born Junichi Fujiwara (Japanese: 藤原純一, Fujiwara Junichi) in 1952 to a Japanese father and an American mother. He is a freelance assassin whose speciality is assassinations that appear to be death by natural causes. He has undergone plastic surgery to hide his European heritage and has dyed his brown hair. In 1960, Rain's father was killed, so his mother moved them to Dryden, NY where she taught at Cornell.
His passions include single malt whiskies and jazz. He is an accomplished martial artist with decades of experience training judo at the Kodokan and training Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil. During his initial contact with Dox in Brazil, he was also shown to be knowledgeable in sambo, as well. He is also a Vietnam veteran where he served with the US Army Special Forces and had his first encounter with the CIA that later led to his recruitment. After Vietnam, he became a mercenary, helping the Lebanese Christians in Beirut and the rebels in Afghanistan. Afterwards, he worked for the Japanese LDP, unwittingly for Yamaoto (a local powermonger) and Holtzer (a rogue CIA operative, later killed by Rain himself).
Rain is a hand-to-hand combat expert, although he is also effective when armed.
The character is featured in Rain Fall a 2009 major motion picture directed by Max Mannix and starring Kippei Shiina and Gary Oldman.
Family
Koichiro
His 2½ year old son, the result of a night with Midori Kawamura, a jazz pianist, who was the daughter of one of Rain's targets. His mother intends to tell him that his father is dead, once he becomes old enough. They live in New York City and his mother has released a CD called "Another Time."
Allies
Dox
Dox is an American former Marine sniper, also working as a freelance assassin. Rain meets him in Reagan-era Afghanistan. Built like a linebacker and originally sporting a goatee, Dox and Rain have formed a deep friendship, the former having turned down a chance at five million dollars in favor of helping the latter, who was badly wounded. Dox speaks with a Southern twang, and masks a deadly persona with an "aw shucks" attitude. He currently resides in Bali in a home that he built himself. Dox was recently captured and tortured by Hilger and his associates. They had a scheme to get revenge on Rain. He is later rescued by John Rain and his allies.
Delilah
A Mossad operative, smart, sexy, and sophisticated. She was born in Haifa, Israel and speaks fluent Hebrew. She stands about 5'10" and has cobalt blue eyes. Her profession with the Mossad is to seduce potential terrorists and gather information about them, to enable their assassinations. Rain got to know her as their paths crossed when he had the task to eliminate an arms dealer in Macau, who was also Delilah's target. Afterwards, they became lovers, bound by a mutual understanding for each other's profession. She is usually based in Paris and operates under the guise of a fashion photographer. Known colleagues in the Mossad include Boaz, Gil, and Naftali.
Haruyoshi
Haruyoshi, a.k.a. "Harry", is a former NSA employee who was born in America and went to college and graduate school there, earning a degree in applied mathematics and cryptology. After hacking into too many government sites, he was forced to work for the NSA. In the first two books, he was based in Tokyo, an expert in all things technical. Rain's unwitting partner, Harry didn't know his employer's true profession—and never asked. Harry was the classic otaku – and, in addition to being a computer guru – was a guy who has saved Rain's life countless times by equipping him with the latest gadgetry. Harry had a "man crush" on Rain. In the second book, he fell in love with a Japanese hostess who showed herself to be an "agent" of Yamaoto's criminal organization, hired to track John Rain's location. Haruyoshi was "disposed of" after letting Yamaoto associates find what they were looking for.
Crazy Jake
Jim Calhoun, a childhood friend who Rain was forced to kill in Vietnam despite his better judgment. He grudgingly let Rain date his sister, Deidre.
Tomohisa "Tom" Kanezaki
The CIA Chief of Tokyo Station. An American ethnic Japanese. He had a quid pro quo relationship with Rain. A relative novice, he developed into a seasoned spymaster thanks to associations with Rain and Tatsu.
Ishikura "Tatsu" Tatsuhiko
The former department head of the Keisatsucho, the Japanese FBI. One-time nemesis and later, close friend/adviser to Rain. Later he is gravely ill and asks Rain to euthanize him, which Rain does reluctantly.
Naomi Nascimento
A twenty something Brazilian national with green eyes. She met Rain while working in a Tokyo club, eventually becoming a paramour. Being linked to Rain put her in danger, so she relocated to Brazil and went on to own her own bar. The CIA pressed her for information on Rain's whereabouts once he left Japan.
Enemies
Jim Hilger
An ex-CIA operative, Non-official Cover, former financial planner based in Hong Kong. He ran a private spy company that took on missions the CIA could not endorse. Hilger had too much dirt on the right people, making him untouchable. He ran Wilson, Demeere, Garza, and Guthrie. With the help of those men, he tried to kill Rain and Dox, but failed. Hilger is always described as a very dangerous man, since he is an expert with handguns. He shot and killed Gil, a highly lethal Mossad assassin. Gil knew him as Huxton and believed him to be active CIA. He is known to keep extremely calm, even in lethal situations, which makes him a person of authority. He has a sister named Sarah that lives in New York City. He later kidnaps Dox to force Rain into doing his bidding. This lead up to a brutal fight between him and Rain, leaving him dead and Rain wounded. Unlike the other enemies, Hilger does not act because of seeking personal gain but out of a sense of patriotism. He also cares very much about his men, being upset when John and Dox have killed them.
Yamaoto Toshi
Powerful Yakuza Boss and politician. He was an expert in judo and had a personal vendetta against Rain after the latter kept a disc containing sensitive information from him. During his time seeking revenge on Rain he became aware of Midori and Rain's son. He used them hoping to draw Rain out of hiding; this however backfired causing only Yamaoto's death.
William Holtzer
Former Tokyo Station Chief and Rain's nemesis in Vietnam. He ruined Rain's career path because the latter refused to collaborate in corruption. Was a "mole" and admitted as such.
Guthrie
A member of Hilger's task force, and among those who kidnapped Dox. Was a Federal Air Marshall known for his effective combat shooting.
Frank Garza
Also known as Pancho. Was an ex marine, boxer and 4th dan in Kenpo. He was one of Hilger's men and was known for his bad temper. Was also a sadist, who took pleasure in torturing Dox.
Drano
Unfortunate member of Hilger's task force who was killed by Hilger himself. This was due to his arrogance and sloppiness. This was despite the fact that he was an ex Navy SEAL. The nickname Drano was created by himself rather than comrades, which shows him as incredibly narcissistic.
Demeere
Belgian member of Hilgers team. Used to work for the DAS guarding embassies. Was proficient in both Tai Chi and knife fighting. Was also known to carry out successful renditions.
Appearances
John Rain can be found in the following books by Barry Eisler:
A Clean Kill in Tokyo (2003), previously published as Rain Fall
A Lonely Resurrection (2004), previously published as Hard Rain in the US and Blood from Blood in the UK
Winner Take All (2005), previously published as Rain Storm in the US and Choke Point in the UK
Redemption Games (2006), previously published as Killing Rain in the US and One Last Kill in the UK
Extremis (2007), previously published as The Last Assassin
The Killer Ascendant (2008), previously published as Requiem for an Assassin
The Detachment (2011)
Graveyard of Memories (2014)
Zero Sum (2017)
The Killer Collective (2019)
Kindle World fan fiction stories
The John Rain series has been augmented with fan or community content. Fan fiction publisher Kindle Worlds has been publishing stories that star John Rain or exist within John Rain's world.
Feeble Revenge, by Mark Adam Douglass; July, 2013.
The Broken Year, by Daiyu Amaya; July, 2013.
Rampage in Manila, by Raf Echanova; September, 2013.
Nuclear, by Latham Bradley; October, 2013.
Whistle Blower Assassins, by Thomas Hudson; October, 2013.
The Hawaiian Affair, by Johnny Ray; October, 2013.
Output Value, by D.B. Talyor; November, 2013.
Christmas Crimes, by Daiyu Amaya; November, 2013.
The Sunlit Shade, by Alan Malraux; November, 2013.
Enemies of Time, by Daiyu Amaya; December, 2013.
Paradox Code, by D.B. Taylor; December, 2013.
Time's War, by Daiyu Amaya; January, 2014.
Hell Hath Fury, by Celeste Easton; January, 2014.
Snuff, by Terry Niall; January, 2014.
Junkie, by Terry Niall; January, 2014.
The Graveyard Witch, by Barbra Annino; January, 2014.
Where There's Smoke, by Neal Pollack; January, 2014.
Biography of a Child Assassin, by Daiyu Amaya; January, 2014.
Iron Rain, by Daiyu Amaya; January, 2014.
Blood Debts, by Tom Saxon; February, 2014.
Waning Idol, by Daiyu Amaya; February, 2014.
Unexpected, by Daiyu Amaya; March, 2014.
The Hydra Project, by Daiyu Amaya; April, 2014.
Out With a Bang, by Stephen John; May, 2014.
Lock Down, by Daiyu Amaya; May, 2014.
Metamorphosis, by Daiyu Amaya; June, 2014.
Radiation (Radiation series Book 1), by Daiyu Amaya; June, 2014.
Radiation Part Two (Radiation series Book 2), by Daiyu Amaya; June, 2014.
Bamboo, by Quentin Wallace; September, 2014.
Dead Rising, by Daiyu Amaya; September, 2014.
Tokyo Vengeance, by Thomas Hudson; February, 2016.
Film and television
Rain also appears in a mostly Japanese film version of Rain Fall (2009), produced by Sony Pictures Japan and starring Shiina Kippei and Gary Oldman.
John T. Clark is a fictional character created by Tom Clancy. He has been featured in many of his Ryanverse novels. Although he first appeared in The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988), his origin story was detailed in Without Remorse (1993).
Ali Hassan Salameh was a Palestinian militant who was the chief of operations for Black September and founder of Force 17. He was assassinated in January 1979 as part of an assassination campaign by Mossad.
The Phoenix Program was designed and initially coordinated by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the Vietnam War, involving the American, Australian, and South Vietnamese militaries. In 1969, CIA responsibility was phased out, and the program was put under the authority of the Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support (CORDS).
Jason Bourne is the title character and the protagonist in a series of novels and subsequent film adaptations. The character was created by novelist Robert Ludlum. He first appeared in the novel The Bourne Identity (1980), which was adapted for television in 1988. The novel was adapted into a feature film of the same name in 2002 and starred Matt Damon in the lead role.
Barry Mark Eisler is a best-selling American novelist. He is the author of two thriller series, the first featuring anti-hero John Rain, a half-Japanese, half-American former soldier turned freelance assassin, and a second featuring black ops soldier Ben Treven. Eisler also writes about politics and language on his blog Heart of the Matter, and at the blogs CHUD, Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, MichaelMoore.com, The Smirking Chimp, and Truthout.
Munich is a 2005 epic historical drama film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, co-written by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth. It is based on the 1984 book Vengeance by George Jonas, an account of Mossad assassinations following the Munich massacre.
Atef Bseiso was the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) liaison officer with foreign intelligence agencies. He was assassinated in Paris in 1992. Several theories exist regarding the reason for his murder. According to one, alleging he played a role in the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, his execution was part of a Mossad assassination campaign. Others argue it was an Israeli operation aiming to disrupt relations of the PLO with Western intelligence agencies. The PLO denied Bseiso had any connection to the Munich operation.
War is a 2007 American action thriller film directed by Philip G. Atwell in his directorial debut and featuring stage combat choreographed by Corey Yuen. The film stars Jet Li and Jason Statham, and was released in the United States on August 24, 2007. War features the second collaboration between Jet Li and Jason Statham, reuniting them for the first time since 2001 film The One. Jason Statham plays an FBI agent determined to take down a mysterious assassin known as Rogue, after his partner is murdered.
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh Mahabadi was an Iranian nuclear physicist and scientist. He was regarded as the chief of Iran's nuclear program.
Separation of Power is Vince Flynn's fourth novel, and the third to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent who works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counterterrorism unit called the "Orion Team".
The CIA Kennedy assassination is a prominent John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theory. According to ABC News, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is represented in nearly every theory that involves American conspirators. The secretive nature of the CIA, and the conjecture surrounding the high-profile political assassinations in the United States during the 1960s, has made the CIA a plausible suspect for some who believe in a conspiracy. Conspiracy theorists have ascribed various motives for CIA involvement in the assassination of President Kennedy, including Kennedy's firing of CIA director Allen Dulles, Kennedy's refusal to provide air support to the Bay of Pigs invasion, Kennedy's plan to cut the agency's budget by 20 percent, and the belief that the president was weak on communism.
Rain Fall is a 2009 Japanese/Australian action thriller film written and directed by Max Mannix. In the film a half-Japanese half-American hitman protects the daughter of one of his victims against the CIA. It was based on the novel Rain Fall by Barry Eisler.
The assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh took place on 19 January 2010, in a hotel room in Dubai. Al-Mabhouh—a co-founder of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas—was wanted by the Israeli government for the kidnapping and murder of two Israeli soldiers in 1989 as well as purchasing arms from Iran for use in Gaza; these have been cited as a possible motive for the assassination.
The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations, popularly known as Mossad, is the national intelligence agency of the State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with Aman and Shin Bet.
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, spawned numerous conspiracy theories. These theories allege the involvement of the CIA, the Mafia, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro, the KGB, or some combination of these individuals and entities. Some conspiracy theories have alleged a coverup by parts of the federal government, such as the original FBI investigators, the Warren Commission, or the CIA. Former Los Angeles District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi estimated that a total of 42 groups, 82 assassins, and 214 people had been accused at one time or another in various conspiracy scenarios.
Kippei Shiina is a Japanese actor.
Between 2010 and 2012, four Iranian nuclear scientists were killed in foreign-linked assassinations; another, Fereydoon Abbasi, was wounded in an attempted murder. Shahriari and Ahmadi Roshan were killed by magnetic bombs attached to the side of their cars, while Ali-Mohammadi was killed by a motorcycle-attached bomb and Rezaeinejad was shot dead. According to the private American intelligence agency Stratfor, a fifth Iranian scientist, Ardeshir Hosseinpour, was poisoned by Mossad in 2007.
Dead Eye is the fourth novel by Mark Greaney, published in 2013 by Berkley Books. It is also the fourth book in the Gray Man series. In the novel, Court Gentry must outwit his former fellow student from a secret assassination program in the past, who has essentially the same skills as him and has been directed to terminate him.
Back Blast is the fifth novel by Mark Greaney, published on February 16, 2016, by Berkley Books. It is also the fifth book in the Gray Man series. In this novel, Court Gentry's search for the reasons behind the shoot-on-sight sanction imposed on him by the Central Intelligence Agency continues as he investigates his last CIA mission, Operation Back Blast.
Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations is a 2018 book by Ronen Bergman about the history of targeted assassinations by Israel's intelligence services. Its author says that Israel has assassinated more people than any other western country since World War II. It portrays the assassinations of British government officials, Hamas, Hezbollah and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leaders, and Iranian nuclear scientists. To write the book, Bergman carried out about a thousand interviews with political figures and secret agents and consulted "thousands" of documents.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
