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Dreaming Pachinko
 
 
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Dreaming Pachinko [Paperback]

Isaac Adamson (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Book Description

May 6, 2003

Tokyo, July 2001: Hard-boiled reporter Billy Chaka is back in the neon metropolis interviewing a has-been pop singer turned pachinko fanatic for Youth in Asia magazine. Looks like an easy assignment until he witnesses a beautiful young woman suffer a seizure in the Lucky Benten pachinko hall. When she is later found dead beneath the expressway, Chaka becomes embroiled in an apparent blackmail plot involving a Ministry of Construction official, a brash nineteen-year-old girl, a shadowy entity known only as "Mr. Bojangles," and four silent figures who have a penchant for showing up uninvited inside Chaka's hotel room.

As the bodies pile up and the mystery deepens, Chaka must untangle the lies, obsessions, and seemingly supernatural events that link the dead woman to a forgotten, bloody incident from the desperate closing days of World War II. Spellbinding and hilarious, Dreaming Pachinko will take you on a surreal thrill- ride through the city of the future -- a place where no one can escape the past.


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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Like its predecessors, this third Billy Chaka crime novel (after Hokkaido Popsicle) is an exuberant mix of urban noir and anime-style action, salted with cheeky humor. Billy Chaka is an American journalist based in Cleveland who writes for a magazine called Youth in Asia (pun intentional). His new assignment is to travel to Tokyo and interview a has-been rock singer, Gombei Fukagawa, for a "Where Are They Now?" piece. Fukagawa is a pachinko (Japanese pinball) addict, and while Chaka is interviewing him at the Lucky Benten pachinko parlor, a young woman nearby suffers a seizure. Chaka calls for an ambulance and leaves his name, which sets off a series of events that range from mysterious to surreal to deadly. Over the next few days, Chaka is like a ball in a pachinko machine: tossed about Tokyo, in and out of life-threatening situations, constantly on the move and never knowing what will happen next. Miyuki, the girl who suffered the seizure, turns up dead. Her true identity and her relationship to a wealthy businessman, an underground bookseller and other intriguing characters become the focus of the story, which also involves a priceless objet d'art dating back to the American bombings of Tokyo near the end of WWII. Chaka flashes his trademark deadpan, Chandleresque wit ("she was calendar material, the type that made you wish there were 15 months in a year") and suffers a constant barrage of inventive physical injuries at the hands of both friends and enemies. Adamson sticks close to the hybrid formula he has perfected; his fans will find this a familiar but welcome addition to his oeuvre.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In this fourth Billy Chaka mystery, the intrepid reporter for the teen magazine Youth in Asia (based in Cleveland) is sent once again to Japan. His assignment: locate and interview a one-hit-wonder, former rock star. The complication: while interviewing the fallen idol in a pachinko parlor, Billy sees a beautiful young woman barely escape death after a violent seizure. The further complication: the young woman has disappeared, and her father, the wealthy Mr. Nakodo, would very much like Billy's help in finding her. As usual, Adamson blends noir atmosphere with broad satire, turning what might have been a straightforward mystery into a splendid romp, an offbeat adventure with wacky characters, oddball dialogue, plenty of laughs, and style to spare. This over-the top, delightfully weird series is well on its way to making the jump from cult favorite to mainstream success. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; 1 edition (May 6, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060516232
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060516239
  • Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,315,351 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
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 (3)
4 star:
 (1)
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Pachinko You Say???, June 2, 2003
By 
"slemme" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Dreaming Pachinko (Paperback)
The title did catch my eye, and this is the first chance I have had to read Isaac Adamson, but I can promise you it will not be the last. Adamson takes you down a very intriging and winding path of magazine reporter Billy Chaka beginning with a Japanese Teen Idol, a beautiful girl, her friend, and enemies going back 60 years. The novel is as ingriging as it is a entertaining. The look at Tokyo is wonderful, and will suprise, and educate you at every turn. This lightning fast adventure will keep you turning pages, and staying up much later than you planned.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the predecessors...., July 4, 2003
By 
tzadik "tzadik" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Dreaming Pachinko (Paperback)
This is considerably more gloomy, with images of fire-bombed Tokyo, suicide, and unhappy lives lived. I'm not squeemish about such topics, but I had hoped they would be underlined with the same humor and intelligence as his prior efforts, Tokyo Suckerpuch and Hokkaido Popsicle. Unfortunately, the story feels more forced, and the humor is lacking, though not entirely absent. If you liked the previous two, get this one as well, but hold out hope that the next Billy Chaka adventure returns to his prior excitement.
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3.0 out of 5 stars i was warned, still worth the read though, July 8, 2009
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Dreaming Pachinko (Paperback)
i consider myself warned by tzadik but i couldn't pass up a billy chaka book. i loved the first two, tokyo suckerpunch and hokkaido popsicle, but i agree this one lacked some of the color and flavor. in addition to the gloomy setting and unhappy characters i also felt it dragged in a lot of places, i had gotten used to billy being whisked away every other page but instead he did a lot of thinking and sitting around. i also missed the butt kicking action! is billy chaka getting too old to fight? not once did he defend himself and by the end it was getting downright depressing. i already have kinki lullaby, and i'm really hoping he brings back some of the humor and action!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
They were the first words he'd spoken in almost an hour and I missed them. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
pachinko hall, pachinko industry, pachinko balls, pachinko parlor, pachinko machine, love hotel
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Detective Ihara, Hotel Cerulean, Professor Kujima, Officer Takahashi, Gombei Fukugawa, Inspector Arajiro, Old Man Nakodo, Ark Hills, Ame Kitazawa, Club Kuroi Kiri, Billy Chaka, Lucky Benten Pachinko, Hanran Books, Octopus's Garden, Fallen Stars, House of Nakodo, World War, Nihon University, Benten Temple, Lemon Lime, Ministry of Construction, Oshoku Group, Seven Lucky Gods, Honda Hobbit, Kimchi Breath
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