Rating: 
Summary: great story, average writing
Review: Adamson certainly knows how to dream up a compelling anf action-packed story, but what should be a great read is dragged down by his inability to write dialog in more than one voice. Every single character, whther hip young teen or elderly matron, speaks like a 20-something guy from the States trying to sound tough. If this author can ever learn to create more than one character voice, then he'll be a force to be reckoned with. Until then, well, the story itself is a lot of fun even if the words used to tell it leave a little something to be desired
Rating: 
Summary: Mysteries Rarely Comes Off As This Much Fun!
Review: Adamson's first Billy Chaka adventure gives you a high-speed tour through Tokyo. What makes this book so fun is the character of Billy Chaka, a modern day Philip Marlowe minus the caustic edge. Add that he is not a professional detective, but a journalist for "Asian Youth" magazine; it's his feline curiosity over a slick Geisha that hurls him into a cloak & dagger chase involving Yakuza, a religious cult, a Speed Tribe (teen bikers) and an honest-to-god private detective.The heart of this book is fun & mystery, but Adamson does a great job of painting Billy Chaka as a youthful adult nearing the cusp of middle age. You see a streetwise and all too curious man, halfway to that cynical Marlowe persona, but still maintaining a youthful inquisitiveness and an uncontrollable desire for Geisha! Only drawback is enough typos to be noticeable, but not enough to dilute such a fantastic tale. Check this book out, you won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't finish it
Review: Couldn't get to the middle, even. I agree with some of the other reviewers: the protagonist seemed to be the author's wish-fulfillment, the writing is not so good. For some reason, the author's humor just did not get to me. I could tell it was supposed to be funny but it just didn't hit me. The main thing going for this book is that it's easy to read.
Rating:
Summary: An Engaging Debut Novel
Review: FUN - that's the operative word when it comes to Isaac Adamson's new novel Tokyo Suckerpunch. The lead character, Billy Chaka, is vaguely reminiscent of heroes like James Bond, Philip Marlowe, and Jackie Chan, that is - if you can imagine any of these three working for an Asian Tiger Beat-esque magazine based in Cleveland. The world that Adamson creates in this novel is, to say the least, unique. With all the exotic and sometimes just plain weird things going on in this book, you can never quite tell whether Adamson's being serious or just pulling your leg. The story is told with such straight-faced authority that things like a handicapped martial arts tournament or a talking whiskey dispenser seem almost plausible. As with most debuts, the novel has a certain rawness to it, which can have both good and bad points. The plot, much like a Raymond Chandler mystery, sometimes gets a bit convoluted, but - also like a Chandler novel - it's the protagonist that keeps you interested. Because of Billy Chaka himself, I had a tough time putting this book down.All in all, Tokyo Suckerpunch is a fun read. I can't wait for the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent...a mystery with a great sense of humor
Review: I love these books (also get the next book, Hokkaido Popsicle.) They are a much needed break from the two dominating trends in writing, heavy meandering literature and last-page twist detective books. Billy Chaka rules. I don't want to give anything anway....but COME ON! The guys works for a mag called Youth In Asia. Nuff said. Hat's off to the cover designer...they got the attitude right.
Rating: 
Summary: A Neo-Tokyo Tonic that packs a punch
Review: If you hate to read great books...DONT READ THIS...adamsons' dialogue and brilliant story telling create an amazing who dunit capturing the flaws and fanits of tokyo using various characters each unique in itself. If you love all things JAPAN and and a great story dont wait to read this book along with hokkaido popsicle and dreaming pachinko!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Yakuza, murder, arson, religious cults, geisha, and Purple.
Review: It isn't easy being the top reporter for Cleveland's number-one Asian teen magazine. Billy Chaka travels the world in search of the hip, the hot, the happening, and somehow always manages to find a little trouble along the way. This trip is nothing different. In Japan to cover the Handicapped Martial Arts Championship, Billy finds himself embroiled in a mystery that involves the yakuza, youth gangs, a religious cult, and a geisha with a hazy background. And that's before you count the murder, the arson, and the movie that's (apparently) being made of his life. Such is the life of the jet-set reporter. Tokyo Suckerpunch is a simply stunning tour of Japanese pop culture, told with a combination of cynicism and awe that seems highly appropriate for the amalgamation of weird that is modern-day Japan. Isaac Adamson appears to have done his research, a problem with many of the tales of Japan told by westerners. This book will have you laughing - and gaping - at the antics of both the hero and of those he encounters. A fast read well worth the time you put into it.
Rating:
Summary: A mystery novel with a kick (or a punch)
Review: It seems there wherever you go, you encounter a weird glorification of the Japanese culture. From anime lovers to those who preach of Japanese traditions (more often than not without knowing much about them), it is hard to find an objective and yet an entertaining view of modern Japan.
Here's where Isaac Adamson doesn't disappoint. In his character, Billy Chaka, an American journalist working for a teen magazine finding stories in Tokyo, Adamson combines a strong lead character who doesn't take himself too seriously while remaining a kick-bum (literally) smart mouth. In this installation of the Billy Chaka adventures, Billy pursues a mysterious geisha, finding a weird conspiracy full of what works best in mystery novels: personal tragedy, greed, and of course, dark secrets. Billy Chaka, one of the few gaijin speaking fluent Japanese has an easy time infiltrating the Japanese culture, but even he can manage to get in trouble before solving the mystery (and even that only partially).
This is a fast-read novel, entertaining and engaging. It does not glorify the Japanese (nor any other) culture, but neither does it condemn it nor patronize it. Most of the characters are very well developed and work well with the plot. It is a good book, and an excellent beginning of a series. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Tokyo Suckerpunch - Only For Suckers
Review: This book promised to be funny, entertaining and above all eye-opening, but I must say, it was just plain stupid.
Adaamson certainly knows a lot about Japanese culture, and a lot of it he seems to interject meaninglessly, as though to say, "I really know a lot about Japanese culture." But this sort of thing falls really short when he starts making mistakes - it's called yakitori, not "yakatori" and a yukata, not a "yakata".
If you have a below average IQ, please read this book. It will satisfy your extremely low level needs for literature.
Rating:
Summary: Do NOT buy or Read this book
Review: This book was a huge dissapointment. Do not be tempted to buy it.
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