Baccano!

バッカーノ！

• by Narita Ryohgo
• published by Dengeki Bunko

1930 - New York.

Prohibition makes the gangsters rich...and makes it hard for alchemists trying to recreate the liquor that made the immortal.

More than two hundred years ago, a group of thirty alchemists summoned a demon, and asked for immortality. He gave it to them. The only thing that can kill them...is another immortal. Each of them can "eat" the others, obtaining all their knowledge.

The demon also taught one of them how to make the liquor. But only one of them.

In 1930, an old, evil alchemist and his body guard, a young Camorra gangster recently promoted to the highest rank in his small family, and the world's dumbest thieves all crash together on the spiral of destiny, their plot threads crossing and recrossing as coincidence draws them all together.

Structurally perfect and hideously fun, everything about this book was completely satisfying. This is a book I wanted to write myself, and I hate the author for beating me to it.

• Baccano! The Rolling Bootleggers

The original book, with the above plot.

• Baccano! 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad

Two volumes, each covering the same time frame but from the viewpoints of a different set of characters. Commie terrorists, deranged killers, immortal alchemists, stupid couples, stowaways, assassins, and a crybaby gang boss with a face tattoo and the astonishingly awesome name of Jaguji Splot. I just can't stop saying that name. Jaguji Splot! Then the anime spoils my fun by spelling it Jacuzzi.

• Baccano! 1932 Drug & The Dominoes

Takes place in Manhattan before and after the events of the previous two novels. The information dealers sell bits of information two rival gangs, a drug addict, and a rich girl searching for her missing brother, while a bag of drugs trades hands as the dominoes begin to fall.

• Baccano! 2001 The Children of Bottle

Five immortal alchemists, one mysterious village cut off from the world that thinks they're devils. Smile!

• Baccano! 1933 The Slash ~Cloudy to Rainy~

Classic farce structure; a vast number of people with different agendas and levels of craaazy all descend on the same house at the same time and chaos erupts.