Tokyo Raider is set a couple decades after Murder on the Orient Elite, another Grimnoir short audiobook story by Larry Correia. It follows Jake Sullivan’s son, Joe, when Tōru Tokugawa—the leader of the Imperium—requests he come to Tokyo and help them. Definitely an unusual request, since the Imperium still had antagonistic views toward the United States.
As usual, Correia did a great job writing the story. It was fun to see the potential future of the series through Sullivan’s son. Joe (what a great name, right?), was an interesting character. He had definite influences from his father. However, he was his own man and not just a copy of Jake. I hope to see more stories featuring Joe.
Bronson Pinchot did a great job narrating the story, and he is an excellent reader.. He had several different voices for the various characters, so it was easy to distinguish them from each other. His Japanese voices weren’t all that Japanese sounding to anyone familiar with actual Japanese voices, but still sounded vaguely “Asian” enough that most people won’t notice.
The pacing of the story was perfect for the short format. There were no wasted scenes. Correia is a wonderful short story writer, and this is one of my favorites. The biggest drawback to the story is that it is only available in audio format (at least at this time).
At just over an hour long, this is a quick listen. It’s a solid story on its own, and only serves to enhance the Grimnoir series. I strongly recommend it, and I hope it sees print at some point.
Release Date: December 1, 2014 (USA)
ISBNs: none
Publisher: Audible Studios
Language: English
MySF Rating: Four point five stars
Family Friendliness: 95%
Alcohol/Drugs: 1 (brief)
Language: 2 (mostly mild, some stronger)
Sexuality: 0
Violence: 2 (monster/mecha violence, death)