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Spent Bullets
Set in Taiwan and the Silicon Valley, a collection of linked stories that explore the meaning of success and the purpose of existence, centered on the short life and long shadow of an engineering genius who descends deeper into despair while rising higher on the professional ladder.
The hard-working geniuses of Spent Bullets are the crème de la crème of the meritocracy. Educated in the best schools in Taiwan, they move to lucrative positions in America’s big tech, reaching the pinnacle of career prestige. Yet there is a dark side to their relentless focus and achievements.
In an age that idolizes success, Terao Tetsuya’s piercing novel explores the grotesque contortions of psyches shaped by hyper-competitive systems, where the measure of one’s worth is a capacity for suffering—witnessed through the brief, shining life of Jie-Heng, a prodigy who can solve any logic problem—but not the problem of human relations. Jie-Heng mostly does what is expected of him, even if it means diminishing his individuality. A young man with no center to ground him, he tries to fit in, yet fails to connect because of other people’s fear, misunderstanding, resentment, and obsessive adoration.
His most vital deviation is a perverse, longstanding relationship with Wu Yi-Hsiang, a tormentor turned lover who offers a thin tether to reality. Wu Yi-Hsiang is fascinated by Jie-Heng’s intellect and, with his own anxious need to please, carefully tends to Jie-Heng's desire for debasement. When Jie-Heng’s yearning to embrace the void is tragically realized, he leaves behind a host of unanswered questions, complicated feelings, and cohorts who carry his memory like a bullet in a glass case that will never tarnish.
A searing look at our time and culture, Terao Tetsuya exposes the absurdity of to make money, to be a better person, to be someone you're not. With cool, calculating precision, he illuminates the promise and peril of gifted young people who patiently bear the burdens of their fate.
Translated from Chinese by Kevin Wang
The hard-working geniuses of Spent Bullets are the crème de la crème of the meritocracy. Educated in the best schools in Taiwan, they move to lucrative positions in America’s big tech, reaching the pinnacle of career prestige. Yet there is a dark side to their relentless focus and achievements.
In an age that idolizes success, Terao Tetsuya’s piercing novel explores the grotesque contortions of psyches shaped by hyper-competitive systems, where the measure of one’s worth is a capacity for suffering—witnessed through the brief, shining life of Jie-Heng, a prodigy who can solve any logic problem—but not the problem of human relations. Jie-Heng mostly does what is expected of him, even if it means diminishing his individuality. A young man with no center to ground him, he tries to fit in, yet fails to connect because of other people’s fear, misunderstanding, resentment, and obsessive adoration.
His most vital deviation is a perverse, longstanding relationship with Wu Yi-Hsiang, a tormentor turned lover who offers a thin tether to reality. Wu Yi-Hsiang is fascinated by Jie-Heng’s intellect and, with his own anxious need to please, carefully tends to Jie-Heng's desire for debasement. When Jie-Heng’s yearning to embrace the void is tragically realized, he leaves behind a host of unanswered questions, complicated feelings, and cohorts who carry his memory like a bullet in a glass case that will never tarnish.
A searing look at our time and culture, Terao Tetsuya exposes the absurdity of to make money, to be a better person, to be someone you're not. With cool, calculating precision, he illuminates the promise and peril of gifted young people who patiently bear the burdens of their fate.
Translated from Chinese by Kevin Wang
- GenresShort StoriesFictionAsia
208 pages, Hardcover
Published October 14, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
July 16, 2023
看完最大的想法就是，希望台灣的作家們可以改掉把極端當藝術的觀念，把你們狂暴的腦袋釋放在如何精細雕琢一部優美且感人肺腑的故事，就算悖倫也可以雅緻得讓人移不開眼，而不是像這本書，一直有種類似吃檸檬後牙齒酸軟的不適感，就是忍不住瞇眼不敢直看的那種情色暴力。其中我最喜歡的是父親變義兄的那篇，還挺有意思，但整部書而言就還好。
April 19, 2026
What a depressingly freaky little book
October 11, 2025
I'm no prude but this was quite a bit more crass than I thought it was going to be. It's very crude and uncomfortable, not in an entirely bad way if you're expecting it, but personally if I hadn't received an ARC I would've DNFed.
The prose is good but the form and impact of the book are strange. The fact that all of the stories follow the same cast of characters makes it feel like a badly paced novel instead of distinct short stories.
From the synopsis--especially "A searing look at our time and culture, Terao Tetsuya exposes the absurdity of striving: to make money, to be a better person, to be someone you're not"--I expected a lot more insight about people and the world we live in. Instead, in the afterword, the author himself says about the book, "This experience is intended to be, above all, aesthetic in nature. I'm afraid those seeking social commentary or indictments here will come away disappointed." I wish his marketing team had taken this to heart, because it is much more aligned with my experience of reading this.
If you want vibes, interpersonal drama, deviancy and darkness, this might interest you. If you're looking for deeper insights, I'd pass on this one.
Thank you to HarperVia and NetGalley for the ARC.
The prose is good but the form and impact of the book are strange. The fact that all of the stories follow the same cast of characters makes it feel like a badly paced novel instead of distinct short stories.
From the synopsis--especially "A searing look at our time and culture, Terao Tetsuya exposes the absurdity of striving: to make money, to be a better person, to be someone you're not"--I expected a lot more insight about people and the world we live in. Instead, in the afterword, the author himself says about the book, "This experience is intended to be, above all, aesthetic in nature. I'm afraid those seeking social commentary or indictments here will come away disappointed." I wish his marketing team had taken this to heart, because it is much more aligned with my experience of reading this.
If you want vibes, interpersonal drama, deviancy and darkness, this might interest you. If you're looking for deeper insights, I'd pass on this one.
Thank you to HarperVia and NetGalley for the ARC.
October 28, 2022
《子彈是餘生》讀後感——獻給那些正在或曾在菁英之路狂奔的你的地獄情書
PR 99之上，還有 PR 99.9，還有PR 99.99，還有 PR 99.999⋯⋯是我讀完這本書後冒出的想法。
《子彈是餘生》作者寺尾哲也，台大資工系畢。曾任 Google 工程師八年，待過 MTV、台北、東京。
比起看F社（現在應該叫M社才對）自家產品裡，各種冠上「矽谷」開頭的主頁們，說起灣區生活種種光鮮與無奈，這本散文集說的則是身在其中，一小群被稱為菁英、人生勝利組的人，來自台灣、身為同志，在暗裡揭不得光、才智與痛苦竟然媲美的，彷彿酷刑一般的故事。
敘事者「我」、明亨、介恆、小花，這些眾人稱羨的學霸、前途璀璨的閃亮之星，在暗夜的美國州際公路上，在作者筆下或許就像明亨說的「星星多得跟垃圾一樣」。即使已是被仰望的星辰，也要比亮度、比誰能燃燒的更久，比誰是真貨誰是冒牌。
每個人在宇宙的維度裡都很渺小，只是有些人的才華，註定要對他人成為一種壓迫，施以非自願的碾壓與痛苦。
不過不過，就連天才，也一樣活得悲哀。這樣不知道能不能稍稍安慰到人？在菁英道路、企業天梯的終點，等待著我們的到底是什麼？是一代移民的美夢成真？是無比巨大的空乏，還是楚門一樣戲一場？這些答案書裡通通沒有，但是一篇篇故事裡，你可能會在某些情節裡照見自己，或者這些毒素在你身上留下的副產物。
本書必須當成虛構，否則太過寫實，且與某些人生片段雖不盡相同，但骨子裡的流竄幾分相似，令人不忍直視。
*警語：不推薦在睡前閱讀，因為隔天醒來心情會很不好，苦主就是我💁♀️，雖然讀完心情好不到哪裡去，但還是很過癮🤓
PR 99之上，還有 PR 99.9，還有PR 99.99，還有 PR 99.999⋯⋯是我讀完這本書後冒出的想法。
《子彈是餘生》作者寺尾哲也，台大資工系畢。曾任 Google 工程師八年，待過 MTV、台北、東京。
比起看F社（現在應該叫M社才對）自家產品裡，各種冠上「矽谷」開頭的主頁們，說起灣區生活種種光鮮與無奈，這本散文集說的則是身在其中，一小群被稱為菁英、人生勝利組的人，來自台灣、身為同志，在暗裡揭不得光、才智與痛苦竟然媲美的，彷彿酷刑一般的故事。
敘事者「我」、明亨、介恆、小花，這些眾人稱羨的學霸、前途璀璨的閃亮之星，在暗夜的美國州際公路上，在作者筆下或許就像明亨說的「星星多得跟垃圾一樣」。即使已是被仰望的星辰，也要比亮度、比誰能燃燒的更久，比誰是真貨誰是冒牌。
每個人在宇宙的維度裡都很渺小，只是有些人的才華，註定要對他人成為一種壓迫，施以非自願的碾壓與痛苦。
不過不過，就連天才，也一樣活得悲哀。這樣不知道能不能稍稍安慰到人？在菁英道路、企業天梯的終點，等待著我們的到底是什麼？是一代移民的美夢成真？是無比巨大的空乏，還是楚門一樣戲一場？這些答案書裡通通沒有，但是一篇篇故事裡，你可能會在某些情節裡照見自己，或者這些毒素在你身上留下的副產物。
本書必須當成虛構，否則太過寫實，且與某些人生片段雖不盡相同，但骨子裡的流竄幾分相似，令人不忍直視。
*警語：不推薦在睡前閱讀，因為隔天醒來心情會很不好，苦主就是我💁♀️，雖然讀完心情好不到哪裡去，但還是很過癮🤓
March 1, 2026
admittedly, it is a bit weird. a lot weird. but i really liked it surprisingly and yes the humor is dark but quite vividly real.
——-
wait i actually really like the writing.
is this what it’s like to be in a boy’s world?
“some people are born to be main characters.”
NO WAY i’m the same way, i put either one song or one album on repeat for two weeks at a time!!!
“Just deal with it a little longer and we’ll be all right.” but how long is a little longer? what happens when that becomes a constant?
“At least she was willing to admit that she pushed herself to the breaking point.”
“At the end of the day, everyone except for Jie-Heng is a worthless worm, including you and me. I really wish people would understand this.” correct. most of us are just very very mediocre.
——-
wait i actually really like the writing.
is this what it’s like to be in a boy’s world?
“some people are born to be main characters.”
NO WAY i’m the same way, i put either one song or one album on repeat for two weeks at a time!!!
“Just deal with it a little longer and we’ll be all right.” but how long is a little longer? what happens when that becomes a constant?
“At least she was willing to admit that she pushed herself to the breaking point.”
“At the end of the day, everyone except for Jie-Heng is a worthless worm, including you and me. I really wish people would understand this.” correct. most of us are just very very mediocre.
Read
January 19, 2026aggressive, raw, oppressed queer nerd subconscious and how they survive (barely) in the world
first time reading a mandarin book translated in english instead of just the mandarin book itself. it felt strange and aggressive at times, challenging. i appreciated the earnest translator notes in the end
first time reading a mandarin book translated in english instead of just the mandarin book itself. it felt strange and aggressive at times, challenging. i appreciated the earnest translator notes in the end
April 9, 2026
Dużo spijania moczu i fantazjowania o śmierci
January 14, 2026
This echoes of Camus and also reminds me of Chuck Palahniuk: a study of meaningless, absurdity, self-loathing and self destructive behavior, only in a different context. Here it’s the pipeline from the computer studies department at National Taiwan University to big tech in Silicon Valley. The writing is extremely sharp and pacey, yet because the characters are all so deadpan, the reader is really forced to interpret what their actions mean. There are very graphic descriptions of gay sex that some readers may not like.
Read
May 1, 2026freaky ahh book
the marketing did the book injustice it was so mf different from what the book is (and the authors self description of the book). cant tell if i love or hate this book but would love to reread it in the og mandarin version to get the full juice (or piss in this case) of it if a simplified kne ever comes out
the marketing did the book injustice it was so mf different from what the book is (and the authors self description of the book). cant tell if i love or hate this book but would love to reread it in the og mandarin version to get the full juice (or piss in this case) of it if a simplified kne ever comes out
June 29, 2025
thank you to harpervia publishing for the ARC of the english translated version – what an honor to get my hands on this book that is so devastatingly funny and funnily devastating. it was the most surreal experience spending an afternoon in my apartment in the guting-taipower-gongguan area of taipei, piecing the linked stories together and against the background of larger taiwanese society in multiple ways; how one character and timeline fits into another in this collection, how i could pinpoint context of each location and re-location mentioned in the book as someone who has worked with top students in the taiwanese higher education system for the past two years.
the stories relate to larger themes of taiwan's unique flavor of academic pressure as well as the classic observation of IQ-EQ opportunity cost that makes it so characters like chieh-heng go to the extremes in order to attempt connection with other humans (and some characters become a part of the brain drain exodus to the west). just as the author took inspiration from real people in his life as an ntu student, i see glimpses of chieh-heng in many of the university students i work with. at what point is being a prodigy no longer worth it? how far can we push ourselves to be accepted, just for our striving for productivity to be in vain as we inevitably complete a go-around the social horseshoe and we realize that the extremes of lethargic "vegetable" and hardworking genius are much closer to each other than expected —as is literally experienced by characters in this book, one way or another.
the author's forward provides a disclaimer that readers seeking social commentary will be left disappointed, but i can't help but feel like the unhinged nature of the short story collection exactly depicts the absurdity of the pressures — self-imposed and otherwise — that overachievers place on themselves and project onto others.
the stories relate to larger themes of taiwan's unique flavor of academic pressure as well as the classic observation of IQ-EQ opportunity cost that makes it so characters like chieh-heng go to the extremes in order to attempt connection with other humans (and some characters become a part of the brain drain exodus to the west). just as the author took inspiration from real people in his life as an ntu student, i see glimpses of chieh-heng in many of the university students i work with. at what point is being a prodigy no longer worth it? how far can we push ourselves to be accepted, just for our striving for productivity to be in vain as we inevitably complete a go-around the social horseshoe and we realize that the extremes of lethargic "vegetable" and hardworking genius are much closer to each other than expected —as is literally experienced by characters in this book, one way or another.
the author's forward provides a disclaimer that readers seeking social commentary will be left disappointed, but i can't help but feel like the unhinged nature of the short story collection exactly depicts the absurdity of the pressures — self-imposed and otherwise — that overachievers place on themselves and project onto others.
August 17, 2025
I hate to say this was a nothing burger. But for me it was a nothing burger. The stories are disjointed and loosely connected. It took a few chapters for me to realize the same characters were involved throughout. Third person combined with the haphazard writing left me very disconnected to the characters and what happened to them. No real plot to speak of and very little substance to any of the characters. Not for me.
December 1, 2022
沉重得令人窒息嘅作品，作者用冷酷、旁觀、不帶感情嘅簡單語句，呈現出生命嘅扭曲同痛苦。閲讀間，不免思考「我」同「我」之間嘅關係，作者並未挑明，但諗深一層，「我」係咪真係讀者以為係嘅人，其實都唔係咁重要。無論係以做ATM奴嚟「維持社交」，堅持喺落盲棋嘅時候「唔記得」自己落子喺相同地方，被困賭場噴水池前失禁...都係「我」，都係嗰個係競賽中落得傷痕累累嘅，以「賺取更多金錢」報復嘅「我」。
係一本睇完會想翻睇嘅書，或者喺重複經歷、剖析、體驗中，先可以將混雜嘅思緒情感整理成 coherrent 嘅體會同感想。
恕我功力不足難以將雜亂嘅思緒以美麗嘅文字梳理清楚。
呢篇書評寫得幾好，在此附上：https://www.openbook.org.tw/article/p...
係一本睇完會想翻睇嘅書，或者喺重複經歷、剖析、體驗中，先可以將混雜嘅思緒情感整理成 coherrent 嘅體會同感想。
恕我功力不足難以將雜亂嘅思緒以美麗嘅文字梳理清楚。
呢篇書評寫得幾好，在此附上：https://www.openbook.org.tw/article/p...
August 2, 2024
沒看懂、也不想看懂
October 22, 2025
Brutal; hard to read, impossible to put down.
September 30, 2025
Spent Bullets
Terao Tetsuya translated by Kevin Wang
A sparse mystery box of short stories that tell of a group of people and their interconnected lives throughout the years. Spanning from Taiwan to Las Vegas. Stories are set before and after the suicide of Jie-Heng and explore the impact of his death as well as what led to his choice. Exploring ideas of human interaction or the consequences of not understanding it, the rise of tech “geniuses”, and dedicating yourself to something or someone and its costs.
The stories are always narrated by an unnamed character (although the identity of each stories narrator can be puzzled out with context clues) in a sparse yet deliberate way. I read the book entirely in an afternoon but found myself thinking about it for far longer. At times it reminded me of a thinner A Visit From the Goon Squad and I was always interested to see how the stories would connect with each other or play upon the themes of the past one. The tone of each story while bleak is often humorous at the same time with a surprising amount of queer content.
This release came as a welcome surprise in a year of many memorable titles.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperVia for providing an eARC for review.
Terao Tetsuya translated by Kevin Wang
A sparse mystery box of short stories that tell of a group of people and their interconnected lives throughout the years. Spanning from Taiwan to Las Vegas. Stories are set before and after the suicide of Jie-Heng and explore the impact of his death as well as what led to his choice. Exploring ideas of human interaction or the consequences of not understanding it, the rise of tech “geniuses”, and dedicating yourself to something or someone and its costs.
The stories are always narrated by an unnamed character (although the identity of each stories narrator can be puzzled out with context clues) in a sparse yet deliberate way. I read the book entirely in an afternoon but found myself thinking about it for far longer. At times it reminded me of a thinner A Visit From the Goon Squad and I was always interested to see how the stories would connect with each other or play upon the themes of the past one. The tone of each story while bleak is often humorous at the same time with a surprising amount of queer content.
This release came as a welcome surprise in a year of many memorable titles.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperVia for providing an eARC for review.
October 5, 2025
A collection of linked stories that centers the themes of the eternal and endless pursuit of success, what it means, and the purpose of existence. The themes are explored thoroughly through the structure of the book and the stylistic choices.
The narrator sounds kinda dead inside but it matches the vibe of the book. I figured the lack of internal dialogue for each narrator was intentional, and then the note at the end mentioned that it was. It really helps add to the tones of chaos and melancholy that the book exudes.
The author/translator notes at the end is important if you’re not familiar with Taiwanese culture, as I’m not super familiar with it. It helped answer and put into context a few questions I had about some of the characters and their decisions.
It was a super interesting listen, but do be aware of the TWs.
Thank you Net Galley and HarperVia for the ALC.
The narrator sounds kinda dead inside but it matches the vibe of the book. I figured the lack of internal dialogue for each narrator was intentional, and then the note at the end mentioned that it was. It really helps add to the tones of chaos and melancholy that the book exudes.
The author/translator notes at the end is important if you’re not familiar with Taiwanese culture, as I’m not super familiar with it. It helped answer and put into context a few questions I had about some of the characters and their decisions.
It was a super interesting listen, but do be aware of the TWs.
Thank you Net Galley and HarperVia for the ALC.
December 3, 2025
A short, spare, and disquietingly straightforward collection of stories revolving around a group of existentially troubled Taiwanese expatriates. These are the academic elites from their homeland who have leveraged their education and ambition into wealth and success in America but find degradation and suicidality at the end.
The author, translator, and illustrator notes at the end help provide context. But really, this book feels like it's more than they themselves understand. Highly recommend for fans of deadpan stories with minimal interiority and maximal anhedonial despair.
The author, translator, and illustrator notes at the end help provide context. But really, this book feels like it's more than they themselves understand. Highly recommend for fans of deadpan stories with minimal interiority and maximal anhedonial despair.
September 29, 2025
Connected short stories about a young genius and his peers who deal with the stress of growing up in a high-pressure and hyper-competitive society with lots of face pissing, degradation, and suicidal ideation (and beyond…). Not quite what I was expecting going into it.
It was a lot, made worse by a robotic audio narration.
Perhaps I would’ve found more to like about this had I read more of the physical book, but as is this was a miss for me.
It was a lot, made worse by a robotic audio narration.
Perhaps I would’ve found more to like about this had I read more of the physical book, but as is this was a miss for me.
August 29, 2025
this book severely took me by surprise. nothing like what I was expecting it to be and initially I was slightly put off (I still am a little lol) but I can't deny the impact and pull of the story here. I didn't realize just how much it was drawing me in until I was surprised to see that I had finished it already. simply put, very well done and something that I will think about for a while
October 21, 2025
Interestingly, the authors note and translators note at the end made me appreciate this book more. It was ok.
Read
March 12, 2026- Ensemble of stories very engagingly and thoughtfully structured/sequenced
- the comments here clamoring to call it “absurdist” confuse me
- paly/gunn jump scare
- the comments here clamoring to call it “absurdist” confuse me
- paly/gunn jump scare
March 22, 2025
*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC
3.5 stars - Spent Bullets chronicles the lives of Taiwanese intellectual elites in both their homeland and Silicon Valley, ultimately asking whether the seemingly endless pursuit of success is worth the brutal emotional, mental and physical tolls.
I think this theme is ever relevant and Tetsuya (still weird to call a Taiwanese author by their Japanese pen name) explores it quite deftly through the narrative, stylistic choices and structure. The latter is particularly compelling with the author's intentional obfuscation of who each chapter's narrator is. I also enjoyed the book's melancholic yet chaotic tone, and how unpredictable the story and characters can be through a single word or action.
Overall, this was an interesting read, though readers should be warned that its content features a whole host of trigger warnings.
3.5 stars - Spent Bullets chronicles the lives of Taiwanese intellectual elites in both their homeland and Silicon Valley, ultimately asking whether the seemingly endless pursuit of success is worth the brutal emotional, mental and physical tolls.
I think this theme is ever relevant and Tetsuya (still weird to call a Taiwanese author by their Japanese pen name) explores it quite deftly through the narrative, stylistic choices and structure. The latter is particularly compelling with the author's intentional obfuscation of who each chapter's narrator is. I also enjoyed the book's melancholic yet chaotic tone, and how unpredictable the story and characters can be through a single word or action.
Overall, this was an interesting read, though readers should be warned that its content features a whole host of trigger warnings.
October 15, 2025
this book was a TRIP. It grabbed me by the brain and didn't let go. It's like nine interconnected stories that are part dark comedy, part existential crisis, and I am HERE for it.
Okay so Imagine the most cutthroat academic pressure cooker in Taiwan, mixed with the glittering, soul-sucking grind of Silicon Valley. Now picture the overachievers trapped in that system, and you've got the vibe. If you've ever pushed yourself to the brink for a goal and then lay awake at 3 AM wondering "BUT WHY THO," this book is your new best friend. It's hilariously dark, beautifully brutal, and so, so real.
The characters are all chasing this idea of "excellence" like it's the last bus home, and let me tell you, the drama is delicious. One story starts with a junior high school urination ritual (yes, you read that right) that spirals into a wild obsessive crush. Another has friends mourning a genius by getting high, stealing office drinks, and having deep talks about... skunk farts. I also maybe cried a little....I don't know it was really good.
What makes it so good is Tetsuya's writing and Kevin Wang's translation is; it's sharp enough to slice a tomato and then uses that tomato to make a metaphor about life's futility. A blind Go match becomes a life-or-death strategy game. A corporate retreat involves shooting guns to work out romantic issues. It's absurd and I loved every second. It’s not all doom and gloom, though! Even when things get heavy with themes of loneliness or the immigrant struggle, there's this weird, tender beauty and a ton of wit. It’s like the book version of staring at a really pretty flower growing through a crack in the pavement.
This book has a special place in my heart as an Asian girlie who went through peer and academic pressure in uni. Spent Bullets is for anyone who likes their fiction smart, subversive, and with a killer sense of humor. It doesn't just show you the cracks in our drive to succeed; it throws glitter on them and throws a party.
Go read it pls it's out now. You can thank me later.
Thank you so much HarperVia for sending me a copy of this book! I appreciate it so much 💛✨
Okay so Imagine the most cutthroat academic pressure cooker in Taiwan, mixed with the glittering, soul-sucking grind of Silicon Valley. Now picture the overachievers trapped in that system, and you've got the vibe. If you've ever pushed yourself to the brink for a goal and then lay awake at 3 AM wondering "BUT WHY THO," this book is your new best friend. It's hilariously dark, beautifully brutal, and so, so real.
The characters are all chasing this idea of "excellence" like it's the last bus home, and let me tell you, the drama is delicious. One story starts with a junior high school urination ritual (yes, you read that right) that spirals into a wild obsessive crush. Another has friends mourning a genius by getting high, stealing office drinks, and having deep talks about... skunk farts. I also maybe cried a little....I don't know it was really good.
What makes it so good is Tetsuya's writing and Kevin Wang's translation is; it's sharp enough to slice a tomato and then uses that tomato to make a metaphor about life's futility. A blind Go match becomes a life-or-death strategy game. A corporate retreat involves shooting guns to work out romantic issues. It's absurd and I loved every second. It’s not all doom and gloom, though! Even when things get heavy with themes of loneliness or the immigrant struggle, there's this weird, tender beauty and a ton of wit. It’s like the book version of staring at a really pretty flower growing through a crack in the pavement.
This book has a special place in my heart as an Asian girlie who went through peer and academic pressure in uni. Spent Bullets is for anyone who likes their fiction smart, subversive, and with a killer sense of humor. It doesn't just show you the cracks in our drive to succeed; it throws glitter on them and throws a party.
Go read it pls it's out now. You can thank me later.
Thank you so much HarperVia for sending me a copy of this book! I appreciate it so much 💛✨
December 5, 2025
deeply disturbing, a diatribe against pressure cooker upbringings and a peek into what life can be like when competition is described as the end goal, not a mere element of life. I loved the unflinching grittiness of each of these stories and how in some cases I’m not entirely clear on what happened and in other cases i could have done with fewer details. While not a horror book, the addition of elements of what i think could be described as body horror was clever and well executed. well done.
rep: mostly Asian cast, gay men
spice: several vivid sex scenes, including BDSM or kinky scenes
tw: suicide, attempted suicide (on page), gun violence, gambling, and more
rep: mostly Asian cast, gay men
spice: several vivid sex scenes, including BDSM or kinky scenes
tw: suicide, attempted suicide (on page), gun violence, gambling, and more
April 11, 2026
Fucking harrowing. Full of characters who are detached from everything, whether their own success, the others around them, even their own physical sexual pleasure. A challenging read that may change to four stars as I think on it.
May 1, 2025
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing and eARC of this novel!
This book follows the same vein as the movies Black Swan and Whiplash. Highlighting the characters desire to achieve more, no matter the cost. The structure is also quite disorientating. We jump around to different characters each chapter with no indication of who is narrating or when in the timeline the chapter is occurring. I kept thinking that just wasn't paying attention enough to catch onto who was narrating, but it was explained in the afterward that this was intentional. I feel like this is the kind of book that would get better upon each reread, as the structure would likely start to become more clear.
This book follows the same vein as the movies Black Swan and Whiplash. Highlighting the characters desire to achieve more, no matter the cost. The structure is also quite disorientating. We jump around to different characters each chapter with no indication of who is narrating or when in the timeline the chapter is occurring. I kept thinking that just wasn't paying attention enough to catch onto who was narrating, but it was explained in the afterward that this was intentional. I feel like this is the kind of book that would get better upon each reread, as the structure would likely start to become more clear.
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March 31, 2026spent bullets is crass and sisyphean in a way that i found oddly comforting by the end. i devoured it in a single afternoon near the national taiwan university campus, which, incidentally, shapes the characters in this collection. structurally, spent bullets reminds me of jennifer eagan's a visit from the goon squad. i was impressed by how the characters are so well defined that i could guess who narrates each story despite the monotonous first-person voices (the monotony is not a critique at all, as it suits the collection's themes—or aesthetics, as terao tetsuya might say). kevin wang's thoughtful translation does, as far as this half-taiwanese reader can tell, a splendid job of conveying terao tetsuya's words and putting them into cultural context; i highlighted several excerpts to admire them for figurative language and prose.
August 10, 2023
以前就讀過得到林榮三文學獎的〈州際公路〉，印象深刻，整個短篇小說看起來敘事隱晦，語焉不詳，欲言又止，卻又什麼都說了，兩個大學同窗在美國，話題總圍繞著不在現場/人世的天才同學介恆。作者把既存的幾篇短篇，擴充成這本短篇小說集，「我」、介恆、明亨、吳以翔、小花這幾個反覆出現的角色構成一個可能的宇宙時空。
與〈州際公路〉帶給我強烈的喜歡相比，《子彈是餘生》並未給我一個滿足的感覺，原因在於可獨立來看卻各篇絲連的《子彈是餘生》幾乎沖毀原本的情感與情節節制感，短篇故事在其中一篇〈渦蟲 ∄〉突然透露「我=介恆」之後，���篇的「我」各指為誰似乎都可以推論而出，兩個在前面獨立進行的「我/介恆/明亨/小花」台大資工系同窗線與「我/吳以翔」BDSM線突然在此匯集，帶來的首要影響便是作為天才的介恆，他的掙扎與平凡推翻了台大資工線對於介恆人物塑造的神秘感，以及他自殺的謎團。可能我不喜歡這種前面感覺是開放的解讀，最後作者卻還是把話說死的結構。聽了作者的專訪podcast，台大資工線的「我」=BDSM線的吳以翔這樣的意圖，把國中糾葛的關係再度拉到延伸到大學繼續相遇糾纏，突然覺得整件事melodrama了起來。
與〈州際公路〉帶給我強烈的喜歡相比，《子彈是餘生》並未給我一個滿足的感覺，原因在於可獨立來看卻各篇絲連的《子彈是餘生》幾乎沖毀原本的情感與情節節制感，短篇故事在其中一篇〈渦蟲 ∄〉突然透露「我=介恆」之後，���篇的「我」各指為誰似乎都可以推論而出，兩個在前面獨立進行的「我/介恆/明亨/小花」台大資工系同窗線與「我/吳以翔」BDSM線突然在此匯集，帶來的首要影響便是作為天才的介恆，他的掙扎與平凡推翻了台大資工線對於介恆人物塑造的神秘感，以及他自殺的謎團。可能我不喜歡這種前面感覺是開放的解讀，最後作者卻還是把話說死的結構。聽了作者的專訪podcast，台大資工線的「我」=BDSM線的吳以翔這樣的意圖，把國中糾葛的關係再度拉到延伸到大學繼續相遇糾纏，突然覺得整件事melodrama了起來。
March 2, 2024
體制既得利益者的無病呻吟。不推薦。
October 3, 2025
hmmm I have mixed feelings about this one... I like it and dislike it. I like it for how absurd it seems, and yet that is also why I also dislike it. The stories are connected but they're not connected in a way that makes a whole lot of sense. I think I would like to attempt reading this one again to see if I can glean anything else. I get where the writer is going, but I'm unsure if it landed.
I think the afterward/note from author/translator is important to read though. There's lot about Taiwanese culture I'm unaware of, and I wonder if knowing more of that would help.
ETA: the narration is fine to me. it's dead sounding but that's the point.
thank you to netgalley and HarperVia for the eARC!
I think the afterward/note from author/translator is important to read though. There's lot about Taiwanese culture I'm unaware of, and I wonder if knowing more of that would help.
ETA: the narration is fine to me. it's dead sounding but that's the point.
thank you to netgalley and HarperVia for the eARC!
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