Number One with a Bullet
Fresh off its first run on Podshow, we’re happy to announce the addition of Number One with a Bullet by Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff. Here’s the synopsis of this action-packed podcast novel:
When the top ten hitmen face off in a last-man standing contest being bet on by some of the world’s richest men, the only rule is to stay alive.
Assassins are ruthless and clever killers who get paid a lot of money to make problems go away. And pretty soon one of them is going to be a hundred million dollars richer if they can eliminate all the competition, before the competition eliminates them. But for retired hitman Johnny Dane, considered at one point to be the best hired killer in the world, getting out of the life doesn’t necessarily mean getting out of the game.
Welcome to the world of high-priced hitmen and the game they’ve been thrust into. The last man (or woman) standing not only gets the prize but will be the only top notch assassin left available for hire. One of the top ten best killers has been notoriously absent from the contest, Johnny Dane. Having left the life, he’s disappeared to an oceanfront hideaway and has vowed never to return, but when the game finds him and threatens the only woman he’s ever loved, Dane realizes the only way out, is to get back in.
April 24th, 2007 at 11:45 am
I really liked Number One with a Bullet. I listened to it on his own podshow.com feed. Since this is a movie script Mark Y.N. read it as written, which takes around five minutes to get used to; but once you do, the staccato nature of the delivery and the brevity of description pulls you into the action… kicking and screaming (insert Mark’s signature delivery on those last three words).
The ending of the story came a little quickly for me. The middle third could have been expanded upon, dealing a bit more with the other assassins and the “powers that be” that are running this “contest.” But the action is intense and Y.M. does a great job of creating diverse characters that are mostly delivered by his own voice.
I highly recommend this ultra-visual aural adventure… is that even English?
April 24th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
I really like this story and can picture it as a movie (and an awesome one at that!) through the narration. The characters get a little confusing at times, but that may be a personal problem I have when listening to audio books. Glad to see you are available through podiobooks finally. I find podshow difficult to work through occasionally…
April 24th, 2007 at 6:46 pm
OMG, I love the action and the way it’s narrated. This would make such an amazing action movie and I can totally see why Mark read it that way. The story just has an incredible visual style. Consider me a big fan. JS.
April 25th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
ah chapter 11 is 13 you need to fix that
April 29th, 2007 at 9:46 am
Fixed!
May 2nd, 2007 at 11:40 am
Rock ‘n Roll action! Great job Mark!
August 1st, 2007 at 4:58 pm
This action-packed offering by Mark Yoshimoto-Nemcoff kicked butt and is not for the faint of heart.
August 18th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
The audio is riddled with intentional distortion. Will not listen to more than 30 seconds of it, though I wanted to. Whoever engineered this disaster needs to pay more attention to his ears, and less to that magic “everything at 0″ button. Disgraceful, the unobservant nature of the new digital class. From fitness clubs and bars with 4:3 images stretched to 16:9 flatscreens, to music CDs where there’s one volume level (loud as it gets), it’s obvious that more people are focusing on gadgets, not what those gadgets are able to deliver. Few more “tweaks” and “improvements”, and this podiobook would be nothing but a square wave with an imprinted frequency.
As usual, of course, the biggest disappointment with this audio bumbling is that it’s obvious the source audio delivered well enough — good voice, with a good mic, utterly ruined in post. Podiobooks should be ashamed to release this. Are you not in the business of delivering audio?
September 5th, 2007 at 7:38 am
I did not like this story. Full of cliches. Dragged out and then ended. Felt like a Hollywood movie that concentrated on explosions and not story.
September 18th, 2007 at 9:25 am
I think this is one of those stories where presentation won me over more than the story itself. There were many eye rolling moments just as there were many “wow, that’s pretty cool” moments as well. I did enjoy how Mark was able to fill every chapter with at least one action scene, some more believable than others.
September 24th, 2007 at 8:07 am
Absolutely loved this story and I’m so happy it won the Parsec Award. I thought the way it kept me on the edge of my seat and the cliff hangers were so well done. Audio quality was excellent. Charley above doesn’t know what he’s taking about. I’m glad to hear a book finally delivered with professional quality. I wanted more music though. Two thumbs up!
September 26th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Hollywood take notice. I would LOVE to see this on the big screen. It felt like a major action movie from the first to the last chapter and the story just kept moving. Big, big kudos to Mark Y.N. for this turbo blast of a story. Consider me a big fan. Now just tell me when the sequel is.
October 5th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Where can I get the script in word or txt format?
October 30th, 2007 at 8:35 am
Outstanding story!! Picked this Podiobook because I previously listened to (and loved) “The Doomsday Club”. Found this book dangerous to listen to while driving as I had to hold my breath, scroll to the next chapter on my Ipod and watch the road simultaneously. Thanks so much for the wild ride.
November 3rd, 2007 at 11:43 pm
I agree with everyone who says they could see this as a movie- that was my first thought. A big, exciting action movie. Who could star? Hey, charley hardman, there’s nothing wrong with the audio at all. Once again, you’re a nerd and you lose. Clean the wax out of your ears, then go outside and actually talk to real people.
November 22nd, 2007 at 9:37 pm
Good stuff, Good narration,, great effort
March 6th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
This author is great his other books are REally good. This one was just tooo cheesey. Like how the evil billionare was the father to his girlfriend, that made no sense. or the scene where the billionare bangs the chick and smashes her face, i have seen that same crap in a thousand movies. However Doomsday club is one of the best books ever.
ps- assasins fighting each other? the guy they force out of retirement? i have seen that move on usa about 40 times
June 16th, 2008 at 12:43 am
Johnny Dane is the number one assassin in the world…doesn’t say much for the other contenders does it?
Most of the time it seemed Dane was scrapping by on sheer luck rather than being a total badass ex-Navy Seal.