Bullet Train

A Novel

By: Kotaro Isaka, Sam Malissa - translator

Narrated by: Pun Bandhu

A dark, satirical thriller by the best-selling Japanese author, following the perilous train ride of five highly motivated assassins - a major film from Sony

Nanao, nicknamed Ladybug - the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world” - boards a bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka with one simple task: Grab a suitcase and get off at the next stop. Unbeknownst to him, the deadly duo Tangerine and Lemon are also after the very same suitcase - and they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard. Satoshi, “the Prince”, with the looks of an innocent schoolboy and the mind of a viciously cunning psychopath, is also in the mix and has history with some of the others. Risk fuels him as does a good philosophical debate - like, is killing really wrong? Chasing the Prince is another assassin with a score to settle for the time the Prince casually pushed a young boy off of a roof, leaving him comatose. When the five assassins discover they are all on the same train, they realize their missions are not as unrelated as they first appear.

A massive best seller in Japan, Bullet Train is an original and propulsive thriller that fizzes with an incredible energy and surprising humor as its complex net of double-crosses and twists unwind. Award-winning author Kotaro Isaka takes listeners on a tension-packed journey as the bullet train hurtles toward its final destination. Who will make it off the train alive - and what awaits them at the last stop?

©2021 Kotaro Isaka/CTB Inc. English translation rights arranged through CTB Inc. Translation from the Japanese language by Sam Malissa. Published in 2021 by the Overlook Press, an imprint of ABRAMS, New York. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing

Fun and engaging

Loved this thriller! Every aspect of the story was interesting and it moved at an excellent pace just like the Shinkansen! The narration was really good too. That’s key when it comes to audible listens. Wish there was another title of his to listen to.

AWESOME !

I’m so excited to see Brad Pitt play the Ladybug. This was wild, although I was expecting it be a lot more bloody. The Author instead gave us a great story and background on the players. The Prince made my skin crawl, whoa! Awesome book!

Exceptional

SO many twists. I love how all the characters end up being intertwined. You will not want to stop listening!

Outstanding!

Twists, colorful characters, genuine moments of hope that are dashed, one of the most evil antagonists I've come across in literature, and an ending that made audibly yell "**** yes!" alone in my empty apartment

FUN READ! Unique turns and refreshing

Really enjoyed the story…. Few predictable things but some not so. Definitely recommend. Performance was ok.. it has the feel of another culture and I enjoyed that.

Loved it.

The characters are interesting. The end is worth the 13 hours of listening and is amazingly satisfying.

Action-packed story!

What a crazy ride! The “Bullet Train” by Kotaro Isaka, a best-selling Japanese writer, is a story that takes place on the shinkansen train which runs between Tokyo and Morioka. It’s only a 2 ½ hour train ride, yet mayhem and murder involving gangsters, hired hit men, and sociopathic children provide a fascinating ride. Oh, and a grown man with a “Tomas the Tank” obsession adds to the insane non-stop action. For those of you who lived through the “Tomas the Tank Engine” children’s TV series, you will fondly recall all the engines (remember Percy?).

I am very unfamiliar with Japanese names, and I wish that I would have done a character chart to keep all the villains straight. Thankfully, Isaka named two of the hired hitmen fruity names: Tangerine and Lemon provide much of the humor, especially Lemon who is our Thomas the Tank lover. They are hired by a renown gangster to rescue his kidnapped son. Nanao, the “Ladybug”, is the worlds unluckiest assassin. Much discussion is about all his bad luck. Kimura, a sad alcoholic with a son, Wataru, who was pushed off a building and now lies in a coma is on the train to find the person who did this to his son. That person happens to be the Prince, who is a 14 year-old sociopath, who asks every adult he sees “Is it wrong to kill people?”

The criminals are noticeable in a fairly empty train. It’s explained why the train is empty later in the story. Everyone is on for differing reasons, yet their duties intersect on the train. Lots of action happens concurrently and overlap. The story keeps moving…at a bullet train pace!

The book is going to be made into a movie, starring Brad Pitt, and I could visually see the action of the story. It’s so over-the-top, almost madcap in mass murder. Isaka doesn’t write messy gory scenes, yet I’m sure the movie will contain gratuitous violence, aka Quentin Tarantino style. It could be more “Jackie Chan” style with lots of action and not gross, turn your head away from the screen, violence. Which ever way it ends up, it will be a good one; I mean, Brad Pitt…how can it be bad?

Special shout-out must be made to the translator, Sam Malissa. Much work went into translating this into the American vernacular which is expertly done.

I listened to the audio, 13 ½ hours long, narrated by Pun Bandu. I highly recommend the audio. Bandu’s voices for all the characters are distinct and brilliantly done.

Loved it

much much better than the movie. great to listen to on rides to and from work

You Don't Know What Your Missing

Amazing thriller. It's almost nothing like movie so if you've seen it you still need to read the book. First of all this a book about Japan and Japanese not white guys and Americans. Lot's of action, twists, funky characters, surprises, and incredible writing. It was a blast. The reader was just as super. Don't miss it if your into thrillers and original complex characters.

Think Quentin Tarantino at sotto voce

This is something else entirely. Fresh, unusual, addictive, unpredictable, "Reservoir dogs", but with clueless dogs. Splendid!