I took this book up to our cabin in 2009 to read, but the events of life saw to it that I didn't get to read it until now. I studied Japanese history as an undergrad, so the modern world of Tokyo is a mystery to me. Adamson's tale was entertaining, and chock full of all those sorts of little pop culture details that were really interesting to read. Add in a mystery and a touch of history, and maybe a supernatural event or two, and the result was a fine read. (

)

bookczuk | Apr 22, 2011 |

The back says, "spellbinding and hilarious," which it sort of was. I found it a bit wearisome after a while because the whole air of parodying hard-boiled detective novels gets repetitive. I keep it in my library because it's deliciously atmospheric.

julialonni | May 9, 2008 |

http://zogworld.com/2004/12/05/book-review-dreaming-pachinko-by-isaac-adamson/

mr_zog | Feb 26, 2007 |

Review at angharad_reads:
http://www.librarything.com/card_social.php?book=798314 (

)

angharad | Nov 15, 2005 |

3rd novel in the Billy Chaka series. Still seems a bit moodier than I hoped for, but at least the paranormality is integrated into the plot again. It had seemed less important in the second book, which'd disappointed me. (

)

angharad_reads | Nov 7, 2005 |

date ▼ | votes

Showing 5 of 5

▾Published reviews

no reviews | add a review

▾Other authors

» Add other authors

▾Work-to-work relationships

view history

▾Common Knowledge

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.

For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Series (with order)

Billy Chaka Adventure (3)

Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Awards and honors

Epigraph

Dedication

First words

Quotations

Last words

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Publisher series

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Haiku summary

▾Book descriptions

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0060516232, Paperback)

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.

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:56:48 -0500)

▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.