Unique Gangster Thriller with a Shot of Macabre Humour - A Review of Isaka Kotaro's 2010 Novel Bullet Train

Bullet Train is a black humour thriller by Japanese author Isaka Kotaro. It was published under its original title Maria Beetle in 2010 by Kadokawa Shoten. The novel is loosely connected to Three Assassins, originally released as Grasshopper back in 2004, as well as to AX published in 2017, both written by the same author. There is no need to read those other novels to fully understand Bullet Train but if you like the author's unique writing style, you may already know what to read in the future. This novel has gotten critical acclaim in the Western world since it was adapted as an American movie of the same title in the year 2022, starring convincing veteran Brad Pitt and excellent young actress Joey King who deserves more recognition. In addition to this, the novel was also incorporated into a manga series called Waltz between 2009 and 2012 and it was even adapted into a Japanese theatre play in 2018.

The story takes place in present-day Japan on high-speed train Hayate that travels several hours from Tokyo to Morioka. While most reviews claim that there are five hitmen on board, there are actually a grand total of eight different hitmen and hitwomen with different agendas on the train.

Composed and well-read hitman Tangerine and his disorganized and frantic partner Lemon are supposed to bring the son of a mob boss and a case with ransom money to a psychopathic gangster.

Nervous alcoholic Kimura Yuichi had retired from his murderous profession several years ago but must meet with a sociopathic teenager who gravely injured his son.

His elderly parents Kimura Akiko and Kimura Shigeru were a feared assassin duo three decades ago and decide to board the train to save their son and their grandchild.

Nanao is a chaotic and unlucky hitman who is supposed to steal the case with ransom money. He keeps contact with his handler Maria via phone who tries to help him from the outside world.

A hitman nicknamed the Wolf gets on the train to find another hitwoman named The Hornet to assassinate her and decides to execute Nanao for a past conflict upon discovering him.

The hitwoman named The Hornet has actually infiltrated the personnel on the train as she takes care of the food cart. Her job is to murder the son of the mob boss and steal the ransom money. She uses snake poison to assassinate her targets.

Throughout the novel, numerous conflicts between all these different characters arise.

On the positive side, the novel's characters are diversified, memorable and quirky. It's interesting to read about their careers, convictions and goals. The character development is particularly excellent despite the novel's relatively short length of four hundred sixty-five pages. The claustrophobic setting of a train that most characters won't leave alive adds much atmosphere to the novel that only increases towards the finale. The novel offers witty dialogues, hilarious situation comedy and numerous unexpected turns and twists. The combination of thriller elements with precisely dosed elements of comedy is certainly quite unique.

On the negative side, the novel might feature a few too many characters. Readers might be confused at the beginning, especially since perspectives are constantly being changed and numerous flashbacks cut the flow of the main story time and again. As the novel progresses, what starts as a somewhat realistic gangster thriller turns into a macabre farce that requests complete suspension of disbelief. It doesn't happen very often but the finale of the American movie adaptation is much more culminative, emotional and even logical than the completely different resolution offered in the novel that ends rather abruptly. Those differences however justify reading the novel and watching the movie to compare their respective flaws and strengths.

At the end of the day, anyone who is interested in contemporary action novels, gangster literature and thrillers with a shot of macabre humour should give Isaka Kotaro's Bullet Train a chance.

Final Rating: 75%