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frozenheartv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌘
Are you a fan of crime, and mystery thriller books but at the same time, crave meaningful philosophies and funny moments? If so, then this book is for you.
The book gripped me from the start to the end. I felt like I was on that bullet train, watching over all of the characters in action. The characters are well-built, and their personalities are consistent from the start to the end. There were many deep moments, and every page was packed with details. There were also funny moments that made me kind of laugh out loud as well. The author sprinkled the hints smartly here and there. At the time when you read them, you might think that they were random, but they were not.
However, nothing is perfect. I have to lower my rating a bit because there were plot holes. The ending left a hole in my chest. Although most of the things were explained vaguely at the end; I felt the story was not complete. There were a lot of references to the Thomas & Friends show to the point that I was afraid I would miss many things if I didn't stop reading and started to watch the show. Of course, it was not to that extent but the reference was mentioned that many times to the point I wanted to check the show. Moreover, I know I'm a bit bad here, but come one, my favorite characters :(...
It was a well-written book. As a crime and mystery fan, I recommend this book!
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Murder
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Fatphobia, Genocide, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Mass/school shootings, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism
melsage1823's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A fun unique tale different from its movie adaptation. Its fun twisted and thrilling book to read and I throughly enjoyed it.
As much as I love this book similar to Steven Kings the Shinning there was specific outdated language that fustrates. I know the book was first published in 2010 but I wish Isaka when asking Malissa to translate had changed parts of the book. As given the current political climate the outdated cross dresser character almost made me vomit and crawl out of my skin. There was fatphobic and misogynistic language too. (Call me a snowflake all you want but I don't care) It really took me out the world of the book especially the "cross dresser" who was very clearly trans.
Even though its a bit of a stereotype I'm not going to talk about the Autistic Coding of Lemon and Tangerine (to some extent) as it will give away spoilers but those guys deserved better.
Also thought the ending got wrapped up way too quickly for all the surviving characters at the end apart from one particular character at the end.
Apart from that though this is a fabulous book and I heavily recommend you pick it up. Not relevant to my critic but I love how I finished the book on the LNER train. Finishing Bullet Train on a Train is ironic and special.
One of things I loved was how cleverly the povs were written. I read in reviews that people didn't like the multiple plot point povs but for me they were one of the best parts of the book. In my opinion jumping from character to character wasn't boring at all and Isaka's writing as well Malissa's incredible translation made the descriptions and plot points work very well. The povs entertained me even more when they crossed over and you got to see for example Tangerine before he walked past the Prince.
The characters were amazing every character kept me throughly entertained and they were all included brilliantly and actually well fleshed out. The Prince who was recast as Joey King in the film version was a fascinating character and a lot better fleshed out in this book, I found his povs super pyscologly interesting. Lemon and Tangerine stood out too because I loved their dynamic and personalities. Nanao was epic too infact all the characters were. No character bored me and that's fabulous. Due to the characters being fleshed out super well it allowed for fresh and fun dynamics that worked well, when all the povs eventually came together.
From the action, to keeping my attention, to the fun cliffhanger chapters. Bullet Train is a thrilling immerse book that takes you along for the ride with the characters. Definitely do recommend if you like Murder Mysteries but desire it in a fresh format.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Sexism, and Transphobia
Minor: Trafficking and War
There's serious blackmail which might be triggering and an outdated cross dresser character that shows up in three or four chapters.bxnnny's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Alcoholism and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, and Gaslighting
Minor: Transphobia
one of the main characters is clearly a psychopath/sociopath and several of the chapters are written in their perspective. i found some of the content to be a lot, particularly if you have dealt with narcissm/abuse in some capacity.ggcd1981's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Abandonment
Minor: Misogyny and Pedophilia
vivmorris's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Blood, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
annaledbetter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Fatphobia and Transphobia