quite literally a train station novel, one that you pick up at the kiosk and put down at the end of your journey, so much fun and fast paced goodness, tight action scenes, great character dynamics, perfect blend of entertainment and cathartic violence and im intrigued to see how the screen adaptation works out
i would've given this four stars but the presence of transphobia, especially the way it's "used" in the book really undercut my enjoyment, so be mindful of that before picking it up

I received an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Rep: Japanese

TW: violence

As someone who reads many thrillers, it is hard for me to find something unique. But Bullet Train is hands down one of the best thrillers I’ve read and I’m so glad I got to buddy read it with Shruti @ This Is Lit blog! I can rave about this book for ages because it is actually near-perfection! The characters are all so quirky, each with their own well-crafted personality and voice. The story was fast-paced and hilarious, keeping readers on their toes with the multitude of twists and turns. I enjoyed every minute of this intelligent and funny read. My one criticism that affected my enjoyment was that the presence of some characters was simply to fill in plot holes; after creating such vivid characters, it was a shame to see this, especially as it affected the way the story ended. Regardless, I loved reading this novel and I cannot wait to read more by this author!

Could not put it down. Can't imagine a movie better than the book already is, so I included it in the August instalment of Read & Recommended, the regular round-up of personal reading highlights by Zoomer magazine’s book section contributors.
[Full review feature at link.]

Not just a great thriller, with fast-paced action, confined manouevring and escalating peril, this book shows the progression of realisation and manifestation of destiny

I received an ARC copy of this book from #NetGalley

This was a very interesting book with a lot of different subplots running simultaneously. It got a little confusing here and there, but the author did a great job keeping the storyline moving. I am definitely interested in seeing the movie adaptation once it's out.

Five assassins on a train, all trying to get one suitcase full of money and then get off. That’s it, that’s all they have to do. Is it that easy? Pfft no. Was this highly entertaining? Absolutely.

The premise of this one intrigued me and it read like a movie, which is how I think these types of thrillers are best done. Each assassin had their own backstory that we got insight into, as they are each trying to accomplish their goal of getting the suitcase and getting out amidst a bunch of chaos. This is also funny at times, and I appreciated the comedic relief as this does get intense in some parts. Overall this was a great read and one that I enjoyed very much, I loved how it all ployed out as well as how it ended.

I am also very much looking forward to the movie coming out soon that will be starring Brad Pitt, Joey King, and Sandra Bullock to name a few….

Thank you to Abrams Books and NetGalley for the free advanced copy to review.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book. This does not, in any way, affect my thoughts and opinions about the book.

"Five killers find themselves on a bullet train from Tokyo competing for a suitcase full of money. Who will make it to the last station? "

Those two sentences were enough for me to request this book on Netgalley. I, who has a penchant for thrillers AND serial killers, was really excited to get into this book and jump into the crazy story.

One of the things I liked about it is how different and unique each character and POV is, you can easily distinguish who's who. Another is the way this made me angry and disgusted with one of the characters who I think is a psychopath.

Each killer on the train is on a hunt for something and someone. They were all brought together by (laughable and) coincidental situations: 2 for-hire killers tasked to deliver a suitcase and a kid to a yakuza leader, another for-hire killer tasked to steal the said suitcase from the 2 killers, the psychopath who likes to torture and manipulate people, a father and retired killer with a thirst for revenge.

It's so interesting and compelling (and even anxiety-inducing) to read especially when these characters' paths cross in any way. It's so messed up, bloody, gory, and hilarious at times.

I can't say that I didn't LIKE the ending because I SHOULD be satisfied with everything working out in the end, although not without numerous deaths and murders. It's just that it felt more like a contemporary novel than a mystery/thriller towards the end. There were other POVs that I wanted to read in the end but I guess the author left it to the readers to use their imagination.

Overall, it was a nice, yet a bit forgettable, mystery/thriller book! It delivered what I ultimately was expecting: a chair-gripping and mysterious thriller.

Trigger/Content Warnings: torture, manipulation, violence, murder, abuse

Just published—and soon to be released as a major motion picture starring bonny Brad Pitt himself—Bullet Train, (Overlook, $28.00, 432 pages, ISBN 978-1-419-75633-7) by Kotaro Isaka, (translated from the Japanese by Sam Malissa), is a high-energy action and drama-filled robbery, kidnapping and murder mystery combined with a venomous snake creep show . . . told from multiple points-of-view by good, bad and ugly characters . . . all of whom are on board one of Japan’s high speed bullet trains, traveling from Tokyo to Marioka. And just like that opening sentence, the pace will leave you breathless.
The novel begins when a man named Yunichi Kimura boards the train in Tokyo with the intention of killing the person who pushed his six year-old son Wataru, off of a five story building . . . leaving him comatose.
The person Kimura’s looking for is a rich and sadistic teen named Satoshi Oji. But the evil young genius surprises the grieving father with a stun gun, incapacitates him and ties the older man up with duct tape. Oji then tells his captive that he’ll have Wataru killed if Kimura—who seems to have a special skill set—doesn’t do his bidding.
As Oji begins tauting Kimura in order to break his spirit and make him easier to manipulate, the focus shifts to a pair of not-too-bright but vicious and deadly thugs named Tangerine and Lemon, who’ve just killed more than a dozen people while rescuing the young son of their crimelord boss. They’re supposed to bring the boy, and the suitcase filled with cash for his ransom, back home. But they have problems. Huge problems. Life and death type trouble.
As the narrative shifts back and forth between those points of view . . . more thugs, thieves and mysteries enter the plot . . . including a lost bag of cash, an empty bag, multiple corpses and, oh yeah, there’s another bag with a missing poisonous snake inside . . .
If you’re a fan of non-stop action and relentless plot twists, Bullet Train is a great way to wrap up your summer reading. You won’t be disappointed. It’s kick-ass!

On the Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo, Kimura boards in search of the person who pushed his young son off of a roof. On this same train, the deadly duo of Tangerine and Lemon are returning the ransom money and the kidnapped son to his father, a violent mob boss. Nanao, working a case for a client, is tasked in retrieving a suitcase and hoping that this is an easy job but knowing that something always goes wrong. Satoshi, The Prince, a very young psychopath, is playing his own violent game.
As each assassin begins to realize who else is on the train, they try and figure out if they are all after the same thing or are they being pitted against each other.
A thrilling psychological gangster story with defined characters and exciting plot line.
Thank you NetGalley for this e-galley of the "Bullet Train".

This one slightly missed the mark for me. It was page upon page of attempted quirky humor, juxtaposed with violence and neither one were done particularly well. The first few chapters are introducing the characters: the alcoholic hitman suffering after a terrible event with a sociopathic 13 year old, the narcissistic sociopathic 13 year old who can apparently take down tall adults in a single bound, the unluckiest hitman ever that is always one coincidence away from cheaply moving the plot line forward, and twin-but-not-related hitmen who are one duplex away from being a sitcom gag. This book just seemed to draaaaaaaag on, and was made longer by the constant stopping to remind us that this hitman is unhealthily obsessed with Thomas the Train (supposed to be funny? He is a hitman with ASD maybe? Hilarious…) or that that hitman is so unlucky that even his girlfriend’s lose their purse around him. Overall, this sounded like a fun little Knives Out type romp on the train, but ended up being every bit as interesting as a story about public transit. Not a fan.

I received an ARC from NetGalley, but my opinions are all mine.

I am a little disappointed that this book that I requested 16 days before publication was approved for reading and archived on the same day. I did not get a chance to download it before it was unavailable to download. I was recently able to borrow it from a friend though so here are my thoughts. I appreciate the cinematic atmosphere of this thriller. To me, this book read like a violent, action packed movie that is completely implausible but also very fun. I enjoyed the characters and I think that readers who enjoy a very fast-paced book will LOVE this book. From the synopsis, I expected this to be a book with a lot of moving parts that would come together in the end like a closed-door mystery. The feel of this book was definitely more "thriller" than "mystery:" though. For me, this is not a fave, but I can already name several people in my social circle that will enjoy this. If you like fast-paced thrillers with a cinematic, Quentin Tarantino feel, you should definitely pick this book up.

Maybe it was the translation or maybe it’s me but I just couldn’t get into this book. The plot was convoluted, the humor fell flat, and the dialogue was stilted Not recommended

First published in Japan in 2010; published in translation by Overlook Press on August 3, 2021

Kotaro Isaka brings a playful sensibility to crime fiction. Bullet Train follows a number of murderous characters through a complex plot, but Isaka balances the grimness of crime with the amusing oddities of human behavior.

As the title suggests, the story takes place on a train. Two passengers, Lemon and Tangerine, were hired to recover the kidnapped son of crime boss Yoshio Minegishi. Their second and third priorities were to recover the ransom money and to kill the kidnappers. They board the train with the son, having accomplished all three objectives. Unfortunately for them, little time passes before the son dies of an unknown cause. To compound their trouble, a fellow named Nanao has been hired to steal the suitcase full of ransom money. He snatches the bag, but his lifetime of bad luck makes it impossible to disembark with the bag before someone else takes it.

The novel’s other key element involves an eleven-year-old boy named Satoshi “The Prince” Oji. A personification of evil, the Prince has mastered the art of manipulating adults and other kids to do his bidding. Killing and torture are not an issue for the Prince, although he typically forces others to do his killing for him. Yuichi Kimura boards the train to kill the Prince because Kimura believes that the Prince is responsible for his six-year-old son’s fall from a building and the son’s ensuing coma. Kimura quickly becomes the Prince’s captive.

The train is largely empty as it journeys from stop to stop. Most of the passengers are killers. They are familiar with each other by reputation, including two late arrivals who had retired from the game before circumstances compel them to prove that their senior status hasn’t slowed their wits or determination.

The rising body count assures that the plot moves as quickly as the train. While the plot is fun, the novel’s characters account for much of the reading pleasure. Nanao is certain that he travels under a cloud of bad luck. Kimura has been trying to recover from alcoholism since his son’s fall and blames himself for his son’s fate, in part because Kimura’s father regards him as worthless. Lemon is obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine while Tangerine is a serious reader of fiction. The Prince asks nearly everyone he meets why it is wrong to commit murder and is never satisfied with their answers. Only the grandfather who appears near the novel’s end delivers a thoughtful answer to the question.

Who killed Minegishi’s son? Who hired Nanao to steal the bag of money and why? Can any of the adults outsmart the eleven-year-old Prince? Bullet Train eventually provides satisfactory answers to all those questions. Mystery and crime novel fans should enjoy the clever plot, but the quirky characters make Bullet Train stand apart from the self-impressed heros and cartoon villains who populate crime novels that readers in the West usually encounter.

RECOMMENDED

2.5 stars. Bullet Train is the English translation of an incredibly popular Japanese novel, in which five assassins find themselves on the same train heading out of Tokyo and realize that their missions may be linked. It's a fast-paced, adrenaline-laced novel, with quirky characters that wax poetic on everything from the meaning of life, to the novels of Virginia Woolf, to Thomas the Tank Engine. Yes...you read that right. I'm sure the fact checker had a fantastic time with this novel.

I, unfortunately, did not have a fantastic time with this novel. Although it was certainly clever and cinematic (and I will definitely see the film when it's released next year), I struggled to connect with the characters and to stay engaged with the stream of the narrative. The translation felt a bit clunky to me, especially in terms of dialogue, and the pacing was off and the execution was messy. I spent large portions of the book feeling bored, and I didn't find the ending to be very satisfying. It may have been a case of wrong book, wrong time, but I was more than ready to get off this train.

Thank you to NetGalley and Abrams Books for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

This type of thriller isn't my usual favorite, but wow was Bullet Train and exception. I stayed up WAY past my bedtime to finish this- I simply had to know the ending. If you are looking for a book to take you out of a reading rut- THIS IS IT!

Bullet Train Is an incredibly fun caper that takes place on the bullet train from Tokyo. I had a great time with this book. It’s drags a little bit in middle, but the ending more than made up for it. There are so many storylines the author had to pull together, and he did so, brilliantly. Recommended..

This is kind of a one joke setup: What if a bunch of criminal types were confined on a train and everyone of their interactions went awry? The body count keeps rising and no one really knows who is behind what. Kind of humorous and kind of a morality tale, I just couldn't figure out what the point was supposed to be.

I wish I could tell you I didn’t choose to read Bullet Train because it’s being adapted into a “major motion picture” starring Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, Joey King, and Lady Gaga, but that would be a lie and I wouldn’t do you like that.

The book itself is the translation of an uber-popular Japanese novel originally titled Maria Beetle, in which five assassins board a high-speed train headed to Tokyo and realize their missions might be linked. I’ve heard it compared to the style of Quentin Tarantino movies, and I can see that, but I also kept thinking of 1996 movie “Trainspotting” - not just for the train-name connection but more so for the frenetic pace.

Bullet Train is thrill ride (too easy?) that I found myself not overly keen to take. The characters are certainly quirky (with names like The Prince, Tangerine and Lemon) and the text seesaws between the depths of the meaning of life and the frivolity of Thomas the Tank Engine. If that sounds weird, it is.

This is a very particular type of adrenaline thriller that perhaps I was just not in the mood to read. Others may enjoy the action more than I did, and if not, you always have the movie that will pull into the station in April 2022. (Sorry, so lame.)

I was looking forward to this novel, but I felt like the plot was too convoluted. I could see myself enjoying this more as a movie than a book.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSIacRBlTvg/

"Bullet Train", by Kotaro Isaka, translated into English by Sam Malissa, and published at @abramsbooks was one of my most anticipated releases of 2021. Japanese thrillers are my favorite sub-genre of thrillers, so I was very excited to discover that a new voice that is a best-selling author in Japan was coming to the English-speaking world. To top it all off, it was actually available in the "Read Now" section on @netgalley . Quite lucky of me, I would say...very much unlike the main protagonist of this story, Nanao.

I really don't want to give too much away in terms of plot, as thrillers are best left to be discovered as one reads them. I will say though, that this book is ridiculous, in a good way. It's crazy and quite unbelievable, and that's exactly what makes it fun. The setting, as suggested by the title, is a bullet train, the famous Japanese Shinkansen. Aboard the train, there are several assassins, all with fairly simple tasks. But when the tasks start getting them in each other's ways, chaos ensues. Add a fourteen year old psychopath who philosophies about genocide and toys with everyone for the fun of it, and you get one of the wildest rides I've been on in a while.

I found the writing to be very cinematic, so I was very happy to see this will be made into a movie soon. I'm sure it will translate very well on screen. I did feel like the book was a bit on the long side, with the pace slowing down some in the middle, but overall I enjoyed it a lot and felt it all came together nicely. The sections about "The Prince" were a bit hard to read at times. I doubt I'm the only person feeling so, but ever since becoming a mother, I have a harder time reading about psychopathic/ killer children.

All in all, this was a fun thriller. It's quite unlike others I've read before, more on the satirical side. I am curious now about Kotaro Isaka's other works ( "Remote Control" seems to be available in English), and will definitely check them out. In the meantime, I recommend checking "Bullet Train" out. Suspend belief, and enjoy the ride. Thank you to NetGalley and AbramsBooks / The Overlook Press for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.