Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
“Isaac Adamson paints an ultra-modern Tokyo that contrasts with its enigmatic history like neon against a dark sky.” Christopher Moore, author of FLUKE: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings and BLOODSUCKING FIENDS: A Love Story
Review
“An exuberant mix of urban noir and anime-style action, salted with cheeky humor.” Publishers Weekly
Review
“Delightfully weird ... A splendid romp, an offbeat adventure with wacky characters, oddball dialogue, plenty of laughs, and style to spare.” Booklist
Synopsis
Dreaming Pachinko -- the third in the Billy Chaka series -- finds reporter Billy Chaka in Tokyo to write a feature on washed-up talk-show host Gohan Takeshita. While interviewing Takeshita in a noisy pachinko arcade, Chaka witnesses a young woman having a seizure. The following day, the woman's influential father, Mr. Nakodo, summons Chaka to his posh mansion to tell him that his daughter Miyuki has disappeared. When the woman is found dead, Chaka becomes embroiled in a mystery involving a scandalized history professor, a brash 19-year-old girl, a shadowy entity known only as "Mr. Bojangles, " and four silent figures who have a penchant for showing up unannounced in Chaka's room at the bizarre Hotel Cerulean.
As the bodies pile up and the mystery deepens, Chaka untangles the lies and obsessions that link Miyuki Nakodo to a forgotten, bloody incident from the end of World War II.
About the Author
Isaac Adamson was born in Fort Collins, CO, during the Year of the Pig. He plays soccer well, guitar poorly, and is currenly living in Chicago.