I struggled with this novel, the characters and the ambitious narrative. The setting was filmic and can understand it will make a great cinematic thriller.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.
I saw so much hype about this book I couldn't wait to read it! Had addictive thriller written all over it.
However from the beginning I just wasn't drawn it at all. It took a while for me to get my head round the different characters and what they were doing on the bullet train, but I just didn't connect with any of them and didnt rush to pick it back up.
I finished it as wanted to see how it ended but the ending fell flat and left me a bit confused if I'm honest!
I know some people absolutely love it but this one wasn't for me!

Nanao, nicknamed Lady Bird—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.

All aboard the Shinkansen. Please ensure your baggage is not blocking the walkway and you have a valid ticket ready for inspection. This week’s review is Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka, a new crime thriller direct from the shores of Japan.

At first glance, you might be fooled into thinking Bullet Train is fairly standard by-the-numbers stuff. You’re wrong. The narrative takes the opportunity to explore exactly why each character has ended up in the chaotic moment they find themselves in. Nanao, for example, always manages to find himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or the right place at the right time, it kind of depends on your perspective. Meanwhile, Tangerine and Lemon could easily be viewed as two-dimensional hit men types but they are far more fleshed out that that. We learn all the character’s weird little idiosyncrasies. Those odds and sods that motivate them. It’s all gleefully odd. It certainly came as a bit of a surprise just how much of the plot relates to the philosophical ponderings of Thomas the Tank Engine, but who am I to judge. Yes, you did read that correctly. One of the characters is more than a little obsessed with the locomotive residents of the isle of Sodor. Unexpected, but it works in a bizarre, utterly random sort of way. I suppose it makes sense what with most of the action taking place on a train.

Scenes often get replayed from differing viewpoints, or there are slight overlaps between chapters. I liked this approach, but it does demand your complete attention. It gives the plot a marvellous sense of continuous forward motion. The action continues to escalate into what amounts to a sort of demented shell game. Everyone is terribly keen to get their hands on an extremely valuable suitcase. They all seem more than prepared to screw one another over to get it. The big question is, who is going to be the last assassin standing?

As an aside, some of you will no doubt be aware that Bullet Train is imminently set to make the jump from page to screen (see the trailer below). I am genuinely curious to see what stays and what goes from the novel. Looking at the cast list I can see one main character has been gender-flipped and ages of others have been tweaked. That’s all good, but I’m not sure about westernising just about everyone. Is Brad Pitt the right fight for Lady Bird? Time will tell. I can only hope the movie has the same quirky feeling as the book. Meanwhile, I’ll suppose I’ll try and give the movie a fair shake. Perhaps I’ll even manage to contain my disappointment that the entire cast isn’t Japanese. I just get so annoyed when this sort of blatant whitewashing happens. It is completely unnecessary. Remember when the spectacular All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka was made into the movie Edge of Tomorrow featuring Tom Cruise. Why Hollywood? Why??

Anyway, back to the book – I really enjoyed Bullet Train. Isaka’s writing has a wonderfully offbeat feeling. There is a whole rogue’s gallery of career criminals, introspective killers, and homicidal teenagers to discover. I’d be hard-pressed to tell you who was my favourite. I’m also pleased to note another one of Isaka’s novels is due to be released soon. I’ve managed to get ahead of the curve on this one. I’ve already got a review copy of Three Assassins on my Kindle ready to go!

Bullet Train is published by Vintage and is available from 1st April. Highly recommended.

My musical recommendation to accompany this novel is the soundtrack to Yakuza 0 by Hidenori Shoji. Once it gets going, it has a suitably ballistic vibe that captures the frenetic tone of the novel perfectly.

This Book is quite Violent & something make your stomach churn , it reminded me of the Book & Movie `Train Spotting ' & it also had vibes of Quentin Tarantino movie Kill Bill ! It's frenetic pace between characters especially The Prince , Lemon & Tangerine seemed to go with all I've been told of the pace at which a Shinkansen ( Bullet Train ) travels . It was also full of strange Japanese Humour too. #NetGalley , #GoodReads, #FB,#Instagram,#Amazon.co.uk , #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>,#<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/358a5cecda71b11036ec19d9f7bf5c96d13e2c55" width="80" height="80" alt="100 Book Reviews" title="100 Book Reviews"/>

It's rare that I reach the end of a book, feeling as conflicted about whether I liked it or not as I did at the beginning, but Bullet Train is one of those books. It's entertaining, I will give it that and incredibly cinematic, and I can see why it is getting an adaptation because it is the kind of story that will work incredibly well in that medium, but was perhaps a little too ambitious trying to capture that in book format? There is a level of bizarreness to the plot, characters and humour that do mean you have to be in the right mood for this one, and it was one that I had to come back to when I was in the right frame of mind. Still, I think if you like quirky characters, a plot that is essentially an assassin having a bad day, and cinematic action then this could be the book for you - at the same time, I feel it will be a book that you'll either love or hate.

Rating: 3.5 stars

I personally really enjoyed ‘Bullet Train’, but I can see this being a bit of ‘love it or hate it’ book. This book isn’t subtle at all, so if you’re looking for a more grounded or realistic action thriller, this is not the book for you.

That being said, here are the 2 standout elements of this novel to me:

1. Zany/exaggerated characters
If you want a complex character study, ‘Bullet Train’ ain’t it. All the characters are basically defined by a few quirky or exaggerated traits and for the most part, don’t get much more character development. I didn’t mind this, because I was mainly reading this book for the action, and I felt like this tactic made the characters pretty distinct, and I liked reading about all these different characters with completely different motivations and life philosophies clash with each other.

(I didn’t want to compare it to anime, as just because this book is Japanese doesn’t mean that it is in any way similar/inspired by anime, but I would say that if you have the patience to watch characters monologue in shounen shows, you’ll probably enjoy this book).

Also there are basically no female characters, which was a bit of a disappointment

2. The setting
I don’t why, but for some reason setting a piece of fiction on a train just automatically makes it better? I personally loved how this setting made all the action more claustrophobic, as there were only so many places the characters could go on the train. But I can potentially see some people getting a bit bored by this, as the setting also constrains the level of action that can take place.

So if you’re looking for a slower-paced action novel (not to be oxymoronic lol) with a distinct setting and eccentric characters, I would wholeheartedly recommend ‘Bullet Train’.

I can see why this has been made into a movie. All the action is on a train, packed to the gills with hired killers and psychopaths. The reasons for this, and the interweaving between the various characters, are gradually uncovered as the action plays out. It’s clever and fast-moving. Also farcical and quirky. It grew on me but there were a few things that didn’t quite work for me. In the first instance, I had trouble telling a few of the characters apart. This could well be my fault for having to read in short spells at the start, so I didn’t get properly submerged in what was going on. But I felt it could have done with stronger characterisation from the outset. My other issue was there are instances where one or more characters gets into a long philosophical ramble. Perhaps it was that the translation wasn’t quite smooth enough at these moments to get the point across, or perhaps I just wasn’t in the rhythm of the thing, but they felt a bit random and a bit boring, to be honest. However, the strands of the plot came together well and I enjoyed the book more as I went along. There was one incident on the railway platform that had me laughing out loud. So this one was a mixed bag for me, but I can see why it has been popular and it will be interesting to see how the movie turns out.

From the start I found myself struggling with this story. It has some really great moments of action which make for an exciting story, but I generally find they work better (for me) on the big screen than in a book. There were so many different strands that it never became too dull or focused on one aspect, which is great because it keeps the action moving forward. Some of the characters were really great - Lemon and Tangerine especially shined through, and their relationship was funny - but others felt very over the top and extreme - the Prince, let’s face it, how many teenagers have the kind of knowledge and smarts to be able to do everything he did? Even the rich ones. It was well paced, though at times I wondered how they were going to maintain this pace throughout the whole book. It’s not my usual cup of tea but it’s good to try something a bit different and expand my comfort zone of books.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I have seen reviews of this book saying that someone 'could not stop reading'. Well, I certainly could and did so about 10% of the way in.
Life is too short to read books that don't grab my attention and hold it. I am not sure if it was the translation or just the fact that I didn't like the story, but this book was not at all to my taste.

Unfortunately I couldn't connect with the humour in the book. Also. I couldn't understand how so many people could be murdered and bodies moved with nobody else noticing. It was only as I went to write the review that I realised it was being made into a film. I can easily imagine it as a zany, black comedy but as a book it didn't work for me.

Bullet Train is one weird novel, it’s hard to explain and I’m not sure I can do its quirkiness justice in a few lines. Think Quentin Tarantino directing a feature length animated Thomas the Tank Engine and you’d be there - well, almost!

Great characterisation, flashbacks, action and comedy the book has everything you’d want. Wait a second, let me add something here - whenever I compared Tarantino and Thomas the Tank Engine I thought I was tripping!

Could you ever imagine Agatha Christie writing a novel of a train with five killers on board and characters named Prince, Tangerine and Lemon? I don’t think so, but this was never mean’t to be a sedate romp on the Orient Express with people dining with fine china. This book is something else and I for one can’t wait to see the movie starring Bullock, King and Mr Pitt.

Poor yourself a shot of Japanese Whisky or a glass or two of wine and sit back and read an entertaining train journey that I guarantee you’ve never read anything like it before!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Bullet Train.

Phew! I have no idea how to review this book! In a nutshell, there’s fruit trying to rescue a child and a suitcase. An insect trying to steal the suitcase from the fruit and a big hornet involved with a giant snake. Intrigued? You should be!

This book is like nothing I’ve ever read before. Totally bizarre in places, a very long train ride, and great characters. I still really don’t know what to make of it! But I can say it’s a solid 4 stars and is definitely worth a read!

I finished this book yesterday and had to take a night to think about the review as there was just so much going in that I couldn't quite make sense of it all!

The entire book takes place during a 2.5 hour train journey, during which the number of bodies pile up high without a single other person on the train noticing or reporting to anyone. There are a number of plot lines, which all eventually combine together in the most unlikely of ways. I enjoy a fast paced thriller, and this certainly delivered on this front, with action from the first to the last page. However, there were lots of characters involved, all from the criminal underworld and it all felt a bit too much at times, and sometimes the action felt like it could tip over into farce - especially with the character of Nanao and his bad luck.

There were aspects of it I didn't quite understand the reasoning behind - such as Lemon's obsession with Thomas the Tank engine which was repeated so often that it seemed to lose its significance. I also couldn't quite understand how so many new characters managed to get on the train throughout it's journey, while no-one who was supposed to get off managed to do so.

I haven't read any fiction by Kotaro Isaka before and it felt like I had started half way through a series of books as there was a lot of references to other characters who featured in the criminal world, and by calling them by their nicknames and their MOs it felt like I should know the characters from previous works which would have put some of the events in this book into context.

It was easy to read once I got my head around all the main players - as each of the chapters is shown from a different POV - and there were certainly enough twists and turns to keep me interested throughout. I liked the fact that you couldn't judge the 'bad guys' on their appearance, and the 14 year old villain is truly chilling.

This is one of the few books I've read where I think I would probably enjoy it better as the film rather than the book.

This is very much a character led story but one with a decent enough plot. Unfortunately I didn’t buy into those characters as they seemed the most unlikely lot of assassins you could ever get together. The setting was inspired and could have made such a good book.

Been looking forward to this one for a while after it came high recommend and did not disappoint. Whips along at such a pace that I couldn't put it down. I'll definitely look for more by this author.

Satoshi looks like an innocent schoolboy but he is really a viciously cunning psychopath. Kimura's young son is in a coma thanks to him, and Kimura has tracked him onto the bullet train heading from Tokyo to Morioka to exact his revenge. But Kimura soon discovers that they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard.
Nanao, the self-proclaimed 'unluckiest assassin in the world', and the deadly partnership of Tangerine and Lemon are also travelling to Morioka. A suitcase full of money leads others to show their hands. Why are they all on the same train, and who will get off alive at the last station?

This is a brilliant set to read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and action with wonderful world building.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

This was very good. At the start I wasn’t sure about the tongue in cheek dialogue and air of comedy, but I soon got into it. The young character was very well written, and very unlikeable. The sheets number of characters could have been confusing but it was handled very well.

I can see why this book has been made into a film. It has an interesting storyline and is well written. It will also be quite an entertaining film as it turns out to be the slapstick version of a thriller. There are a number of contract killers in one train at the same time and it's only a matter of time before they start killing each other off. From teenage wannabes to seasoned pros going from calamity to calamity I found the story quite amusing as well as being full of suspense.
I feel at times that the author wanders from the story as though he was looking to increase his word count needlessly which detracts from the book a bit but not so much that it puts you off completely. It is still very much worth a read.
Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book for which I've reviewed voluntarily

After requesting this book from NetGalley I started seeing the reviews for it go down, and I wasn't sure I'd enjoy it.
I am happy to say that I did. It's a funny book that felt sufficiently different from my most recent reads. Think of Tarantino-inspired literature and characters in an enclosed space and you more or less get the picture.

This is a crazy train ride in which a number of professional assassins are on board the same train, all trying to steal the same suitcase. The book is told from multiple points of view as the train advances towards its destination.
My biggest pet peeve with multiple-POV books is that many times their voices sound exactly the same. Instead, here we have different voices truly representing the different characters. Yes, Lemon's obsession with Thomas the Tank Engine and its characters is a bit annoying at some point, but it really tells you so much about his character that I can't see it being any other way.
I loved how at the beginning of each chapter there was a little illustration of the train depicting in which coaches the chapter took place.

It could have been cut short for a bit (some of the flashbacks didn't feel like they added to the story), but overall it was an enjoyable (if slightly vanilla-y) read and a good palate cleanser in between much harder books. Maybe it could have been a bit shorter than it was.

I just watched the trailer for the movie that's based on this book and although it's not my cup of tea, I think it seems to completely capture the absurdity of the whole situation of the train, so it might give you an idea of whether you wanna board this train or stay on the station.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

I'm afraid to say I wasn't particularly enthralled with this book. Initially I threw myself into the story and was quite invested but as things carried on, I found my interest waning. The book seemed to lose momentum and plod along with not much action at that point. I'm really sorry to say that I didn't finish reading the book but did peek at the endings.
This story was mainly about a handful of people who have murder on their mind but who comes out on top?!!
I appreciate the time and effort that goes into creating characters and their roles within a story. This story was quite intricate so all those situations within a situation must have taken some managing and as far as that goes I give full marks!
#Netgalley, #randomhouse.