
Bullet Train
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Pun Bandhu
About this listen
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 PublishingListeners also enjoyed...
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Featured Article: Worldwide Thrills—The Best International Thriller Audiobooks
Thriller audiobooks are a great escape. They can whisk you around the world and beyond without ever having to leave your home. They can take you to places near and far without having to pack a suitcase. (Oh, and if you are taking a trip, you can bring a book with you—that's two trips in one!) From Havana to Nigeria to Tokyo, these suspense-packed listens will take you on a heart-pounding, journey from the first shocking twist to the final gasp.
Fun and engaging
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AWESOME !
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Exceptional
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Outstanding!
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FUN READ! Unique turns and refreshing
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Loved it.
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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.
Action-packed story!
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Loved it
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You Don't Know What Your Missing
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Love for trains…
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