I greatly enjoyed Bullet Train, a thriller that takes place almost entirely aboard the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Morioka. It was certainly violent in parts, but I also found myself laughing out loud, which I was not anticipating at the start of the book. There’s a great cast of characters, none particularly lovable (they are killers after all), but some much more likable than others. The top review on Goodreads likens it to a Tarantino movie, but the comparison I kept coming back to was the Coen brothers. The characters are all pretty quirky, and the duo of Lemon and Tangerine especially would have fit right in in Fargo. There are lots of interweaving plots, but they were easy to keep track of and there are several details included in the first part of the novel that come back towards the climax and contribute to its fantastic conclusion.

I’m glad it comes out in August, because I think it will be the perfect beach read!

"Lemon, you are a useful train."

Such an excellent and hilarious book! It's full of crafty twists and turns and standout characters. My favourites are the Citrus Twins, Tangerine and Lemon.

I loved every scene that Lemon and Tangerine were in; their constant bickering is hilarious. I love how Lemon always categorises people as Thomas the Tank Engine characters, like that's how he compartmentalises people and their oddities. On the other hand, I love how Tangerine always has a book reference ready. "Reading helped him put words to human emotion and abstract concepts, enabled him to think objectively about complex subjects." Such colourful characters, despite being deadly assassins!

Meanwhile, Satoshi Oji, or The Prince, is clearly a psychopath. He wonders why we shouldn't kill a person and he doesn't think adults are able to give him a satisfying answer. The Prince is also very observant and manipulative. "It's the lever principle, I can push just a little and make someone depressed, I can ruin their lives with minimum effort." He's my least favourite character; he's such a massive tosser!

There are a number of other outstanding characters and many situations that made me hold my breath but I think it's better for everyone who enjoys an excellent thriller to get this book ASAP.

Many thanks to the publisher and author for the ARC. I REALLY enjoyed this brilliant book! I look forward to getting my own physical copy!

Japanese businessmen removing their shoes on the train after a 15 hours workday might actually be more lethal than those 5 ninja nitwits bearing ridiculous names trying to bump each other off in Kotaro Isaka's ludicrous train ride. Trying to make any sense out of those 5 brainless idiots and their overwhelming urge to kill each other in order to get their hands on a suitcase left me exhausted and rather pissed at myself for having wasted time reading this insipid drivel.
Hopefully Lady Gaga and Brad Pitt might be able to salvage something out of this unappetizing fictional mess if and when the movie adaptation comes out in the near future.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the Overlook Press for this ARC.

Soon to be released as a major motion picture starring Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, and Lady GaGa, Bullet Train was a smash hit in Japan and will soon be available in a new English translation. The conceit is that there are five assassins on a bullet train and a suitcase full of money. It's an all-out grabfest for the suitcase and may the best assassin win. Each chapter shifts the point of view between them, often overlapping as scenes are retold from different viewpoints.

Darkly satirical, the novel offers a twin-fueled criminal team of Lemon and Tangerine. Tangerine may be the toughest of criminals, but he's obsessed with Thomas the Train and it's life lessons. Lemon is a bit more logical and more widely read. Nanao is the geeky looking guy with the glasses. He's the unluckiest assassin of them all. If he walks in a supermarket, never pick his line. The Prince appears to be a fourteen year old schoolboy, but he's a sadistic psychopath. Kimura blames the Prince for his son's coma and is out to take him out. All these forces tangle as the bullet train hurtles at top speed across Japan. Much of this probably translates well to the screen as visual humor, but feels slow and uneven as a novel.

I didn’t know what I was getting into with this one.

What I got was like something directed by Quentin Tarantino mixed with a little Battle Royale. It’s violent, action-packed, suspenseful and just plain fun. The characters are cooler than cool, some a little quirky, and a particular one just so supremely evil.

Expect some black humor – this isn’t a book that you take too seriously. Instead, you eat your popcorn while rooting for your favorites and cheering when certain people meet their ends.

Loved this. Would absolutely see this is film form. And would absolutely read the author again!

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

A different kind of thriller. All the while I was reading it, I could imagine this being a movie.

The setup is unusual. Multiple assassins on a train (mostly) unaware of each other's presence. Lots of humor thrown in for good measure. The book felt a little dragged out in places. While reading this, you feel that a lot has been lost in translation. The dialogues come across as pretty flat in places.

I had a lot of expectations from this book but a lukewarm one at the end. If they make a movie (and they should), I hope they can tighten the pace.

BULLET TRAIN reads like a thriller as a summer pop song. It's very light, fun, and entertaining.

If I have any problem with it, it's that with the setup of five assassins on a train all vying for a suitcase full of loot--I was expecting more high tension and violence. The players maneuver around each other for most of the novel, and I felt that the story didn't get as much out of the setup and different characters as it could have.

I found myself wondering at times if I was missing context for certain names (Tangerine, Lemon, Ladybug), character types, etc. because I'm not Japanese. Not that the book was confusing, just that there might be a layer of meaning or insight I was missing.

As the cover points out, this book is soon to be a major motion picture. Already filmed in fact. I think it possible the story will work better as a movie. I will happily read another book by Kotaro Isaka though.

This was definitely a book that was constantly taking twists and turns. It was ridiculous in how things happened, completely unrealistic, but I think that was the point. Enjoyed this one!

Bullet Train is the first book I have read by Isaka Kotaro and I found it entertaining. Although a thriller in many respects, there is also a very strong seam of black comedy throughout, which takes the edge off the drama a little, but in a fun way. The books strongest point is its characters. All come across well as individuals and you get a good sense of each of them and their foibles within the first few chapters. The weakest point for me was the fact that the changing POVs did lead to some repetition of information the reader already knew. However, the story moved at a good pace and was engaging enough that this didn't have too negative an impact.I found the ending satisfying and was happy when my favourite character made it out alive. This book is being turned into a movie and I can see it working really well in that format as there are plenty of good "visual" moments in the piece. Overall, this was a solid four-star read for me. I would definitely check out the movie of this book and other works by Isaka in the future.

This fast paced thriller was like a trip on a roller coaster. I enjoyed all the twists and turns and I really liked the characters and what happened to them.

Bullet Train

[Blurb goes here]

It's been a while since I had so much fun reading a book. I've always liked Japanese authors, you never know what kind of weirdness you'll end up reading. This was not Keigo Higashino or Haruki Murakami weird. Instead, Kotaro Isaka provides a sweet ride full of confused players, all trying hard to survive the Tokyo to Morika ride in the bullet train.

This novel is not meant to teach you about Japanese culture, so don't go there. I can't stress this enough, since most readers when opening a foreign country novel automatically think it's some kind of travel guide or a glimpse into that country's traditions. This is an adventure that will keep you reading well past your bed time.

I loved everything about the Bullet Train and fully recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Bullet Train.

I was stoked to read this before the movie came out, but it soon became apparent that this was not what I expected.

I hoped this was going to be John Wick-ish with plenty of drama and suspense, urgency and compelling, interesting characters.

How can a bullet train carrying several famous assassins with a certain set of skills be so boring?

Perhaps it was due to the translation but a translation can't cover up unappealing, dull assassins; to name a few, there's a middle-aged man obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine and his conversations are peppered with references to the children's show; a nervous Nelly plagued with constant bad luck, a sociopathic teenage boy similar to Gogo Yubari from Kill Bill, and in the background, a Mafioso type big bad, who seems to be orchestrating the event that set everything in motion.

There's a ton of info dumping about famous assassins (I know the author is setting the scene), insipid conversations, a briefcase serving as the MacGuffin, and plenty of filler and exposition.

There's very little action and suspense and one too many moments of disbelief such as how an assassin like Lemon could have survived this long, considering he's a few bricks shy of a load.

I really hope the movie is better, something I rarely say.

Sorry, this just isn’t my cup of tea. It might make a good action movie with the right actors, but as a novel it’s very difficult to get into. None of the characters are likeable or sympathetic and a lot of their motivations and dialogue aren’t particularly interesting or just don’t make sense. The writing itself is inelegant. It may well be that something is being lost in the translation. And I didn’t find myself learning anything about Japanese culture. My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of "Bullet Train," in exchange for which no guarantees were given regarding this review..