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Winner Take All
Winner Take All
Winner Take All
Audiobook10 hours

Winner Take All

Written by Barry Eisler

Narrated by Barry Eisler

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

Previously published as Rain Storm and Choke Point

John Rain has disappeared in Brazil to escape the killing business and the enemies encircling him in Japan. But the CIA isn’t willing to lose its premier “natural causes” contract killer, and they force Rain to take on a high-risk assignment: eliminate a ruthless arms dealer operating in Southeast Asia.

The upside? Financial, of course, along with the possibility of moral redemption. But first, Rain will have to survive the downside: a second assassin zeroing in on the target; an alluring and dangerous woman with an agenda of her own; the possibility that the entire mission is nothing but an elaborate setup. From the gorgeous beaches of Rio to the glitzy casinos of Macau to the gritty back streets of Hong Kong and Kowloon, Rain becomes a reluctant player in an international game far deadlier and more insidious than any he has encountered before.

Winner Take All was previously published as Rain Storm in the US and Choke Point in the UK, the third in the bestselling John Rain assassin series.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateFeb 11, 2014
ISBN9781480553187
Winner Take All
Author

Barry Eisler

Barry Eisler spent three years in a covert position with the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, then worked as a technology lawyer and startup executive in Silicon Valley and Japan, earning his black belt at the Kodokan Judo Institute along the way. Eisler’s bestselling thrillers have won the Barry Award and the Gumshoe Award for Best Thriller, have been included in numerous “Best of” lists, have been translated into nearly twenty languages, and include the #1 bestseller Livia Lone. Eisler lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and, when he’s not writing novels, blogs about torture, civil liberties, and the rule of law. Learn more at www.barryeisler.com.

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Reviews for Winner Take All

Rating: 4.151315736842105 out of 5 stars
4/5

76 ratings12 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Loving the John Rain series. Barry Eisler is and excellent writer as well as great at narrating his books. I love the development of the John Rain character as well as the supporting characters. Dox and Delilah are such great additions and happy to see that they are in future novels.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I'll be honest, I bought the book because I knew it wouldn't hold me in a chair all night until I finished reading it. I read Hard Rain and was less than engrossed. But I did want to see how the conspiracy evolved.
    Unfortunately the conspiracy does not continue in this book, so I still don't know and probably won't read another one.
    Eisler is still bogged down in t0o much metaphoric imagery. Pages of descriptions of scenery while Rain takes long lonely walks to make sure he is being followed. I skipped most of it, and which at least made the pace of the book move a bit faster for me.
    ***Vague spoiler in next paragraph***
    However, Eisler has improved his plotting and character skills. He does allow Rain to be weaker, so you at least get a sense of underdog on occasion. However, he still missed the point of the underdog. The underdog should win. He should overcome his burdens and triumph. Instead Rain is overcome, gives up and is saved by a friend. Gives up is the key there. Heroes don't give up, Eisler.
    I'm not a fan of neurotic over thinking in novels. I am a fan of the maxim "Show, Don't Tell." Rain does A LOT of internal dialog and it drains the interest out of the plot for me. I skipped a lot of that too.

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    really good read. John Rain, assassin is a likeable character.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fast-paced ala the Bourne thrillers. Paid assassin, lots of broken necks, and a potential double-cross around every corner. Our assassin has a heart and this is his weakness. Wonderfully detailed travel guide-like bits about Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Rio.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Utterly plausible espionage thriller with interesting characters and situations. Peppered with interesting facts and tourist destinations (did you know 18 people, on average, die in the US due to strangulation while masturbating? I did not) its quite entertaining.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The third entry in the John Rain series. At the beginning of this one, Rain is trying to disappear and relax in Brazil, but of course, he can't manage to disappear completely and is offered a job. The job introduces two new people into his life -- an old acquaintance from Afghanistan, Dox, and a mysterious operative who may or may not be helping him, Delilah. Stronger than the second book, I thought.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    It was fun, contemporary spy/assassin novel. I think this was the second book with Rain in it & I haven't read the first. It stood alone well & was pretty good. There were a few too many digressions with Rain philosophizing over his life & situation, feeling sorry for himself due to the way he is cut off from having a close relationship with a woman. It got old by the end, but it was the major theme of the book & the overall hook. The paranoia in his life was severe & he did find he could trust one person, much to his surprise. The lead to it was a bit heavy handed, though.I doubt I'll ever want to read it again, but it was an enjoyable diversion.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Clever, intoxicating, thoughtful and sexy. As good as a spy novel gets.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A lot more "soap-opera" in this one than in the first 2 of the series - John Rain is questioning his life-choices, his life, his future, his "friends", heck, even his capabilities as he ages. This doesn't make the story bad, however, if you haven't read the first books in this series, you won't care very much for John Rain's ponderings 'cause you don't know him yet.Normally I don't like the soap-opera behaviors of kick-butt protagonists (they should fight, not think) but in this case, Rain asks himself the same questions I wanted answers to - like, how can Eisler have additional books in this series when Rain is aging and will end up getting his butt physically handed to him by some young bad boy.Of course, these questions aren't answered here, but at least we know they've been thought of.I'll definitely read more in the series 'cause I like Rain.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book continues and expands our insight into John Rain. Eisler's prose is great, as usual. And yep, I'm still looking up a couple of words I don't know in each of his books, lol. That man is literate!Okay, I rated this book down slightly compared to others in the series so far. Some aspects of the plot, digging around in the CIA, felt tedious to me. Also, Eisler is getting more ambitious in describing some fight scenes. That made them harder for me to follow. Also, if Rain had a concern about his girlfriend Naomi at the start of the book, why wouldn't he dig around on his own(plant a bug, or use his hacker skills, claimed in previous novel) to confirm them before ruining the relationship?I very much enjoy seeing Rain's weaknesses (women & lifestyle habits) and exploring why they remain. They make a lot of sense to me, being willing to risk a lethal weakness for the benefit. But maybe I'm just a guy, ha ha.Given how Rain talks about knives, even in the last book, I think it is silly he walks around without even a pocket knife. If that was because of a legal issue in Macau or Hong Kong I didn't spot that explanation.The rest of Eisler's research shines through. His writing exudes authenticity regarding locations, people, cuisines, and such. That takes work and especially to integrate into a pleasing piece of fiction instead of a travel article.Loved the Dox character and how you don't know if he is really a friend until the very end. Eisler makes all the main characters memorable. They feel three-dimensional and vivid.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Another fine entry in the John Rain series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great book! I really like how Barry Eisler narrates his own audiobooks because you can get more of what the author was trying to convey, the nuances of tone, the emotion behind the words, and other things like that. My only complaint is with the Scribd app - it kept giving me an error and I had to listen to the last 2 chapters on my computer instead of commuting back and forth to work.