Bullet Train is the lovechild of Guy Ritchie’s multiple simultaneous character driven plotlines and Quentin Tarantino’s dark situational humor and gruesome violence. The entire narrative takes place onboard a Japanese bullet train, packing the story and action in one setting for a riveting experience. An ex-assassin boards the train to find a teenager who pushed his son off a roof. An unlucky assassin codenamed Ladybug has to steal a briefcase from a pair of assassins, Tangerine and Lemon, who are transporting the son of a known kingpin. What starts as a seemingly disconnected narrative starts to manifest into a brilliantly woven web of connected characters and motivations as the story progresses, mirroring the best of Guy Ritchie crime thrillers like Snatch, and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
The action is fast and dirty, with the assassins throwing quick jabs, elbows, and kicks at each other without drawing too much attention. This predicament creates hilarious situational humor where the assassins act more hastily and violent than suave and smooth, reminiscent of when things go south in Quentin Tarantino’s movies. One such instance is a fun hand-to-hand combat sequence where the assassins are seated in adjacent seats to attract less attention from the passengers. However, the book is more accurately geared towards mystery fans who appreciate jolting twists and turns that indeed hit like a bullet train.
The essence of the book are the characters. Each of the assassins are fleshed out thoughtfully with multiple layers of character building. The standout character is the villain, a grim psychopathic teenager who tends to outwit the adults around him and force them to do his bidding. What could have been a laughable aspect of the story turned out to be quite dark as the narrative takes a deep dive into the mind of such a despicable and unsettling character and gives a contemplative insight into his motivations.
Bullet Train is a clever action/mystery thriller that is proof of the vast talent pool of thriller authors on an international scale.
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