Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
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Book Reviews of Battle Royale
Book Review: The Rules Are SImple...There Are None.
Summary: 5 Stars
This book disturbed me more than Lord of the Flies. It was more eerie and sinister than 1984. Imagine yourself at the prime of your youth, enjoying a class field trip...only to find out that you've been abducted and brought to an island stronghold to participate in The Program, a government euphamism for a wholesale slaughter.
Don't worry. Your parents have been told not to expect you home for dinner. The Program is no state secret. Everyone knows. It's supposed to be for the public good.
Every year, fifty junior high classes are chosen, and they are sent to a secret place, where they are fitted with collars that monitor their health, location, and record their every word, and if you try to take them off, your head blows up.
You and fourty of your classmates are given very simple instructions. You are to pick up a bag as you exit the room. In it, you'll find a map, a compass, a watch, a bottle of water, a roll, and a weapon.
The last man standing gets to leave the island alive.
And just to make sure you don't get any ideas about rebelling, certain spots on the island, including the government's base, are forbidden. Going there will cause your collar to explode. And should you decide not to kill, be advised, there's a twenty-four hour time-limit. If no-one dies within that time, all of your collars explode at once.
No hope of escape. No chance of being rescued. You, and fourty people you thought you knew, left at each other's mercy.
Prejudices and arguments that seemed trivial now fuel paranoia and hatred. Loyalties are tested. Fears are exploited.
This book is not for the timid.
Book Review: "Royale" A Winning Battle
Summary: 5 Stars
"Battle Royale" begins with a bang, literally and figuratively. An innovative and unique presentational style starts with the introduction printed on the lower half of the first few pages which is mirrored by having the last two sentences appear alone at the bottom of the story's last page. From there, a compelling and gripping narrative unfolds.
There are shining moments in this novel that serve as a vindication of the human spirit. Amidst the disturbing imagry of middle school students slaughtering one another there are examples fo courage, caring, kindness and love. It is the bloodshed that highlights the the touching moments, making them all the more poignant by contrast. The graphic brutality, of which there is much, emphasizes the sympathy and tenderness that is also present. Justice is prominent as well, providing a balance that prevents the story from sliding into nothing more than senseless, gratuitous vilence.
Though sometimes compared to "Lord of the Flies" or "1984", this is a much more sophisticated and well constructed vision than either, offering a more hopeful ending than either. Koushun Takami has so successfully captured the human psyche on all its levels, expertly presenting it in all its varied forms, highlighting compassion and sacrifice, that "Battle Royale" should be required reading for college level psychology and sociology course curriculums.
Other recommended readings: "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding; "1984" by George Orwell; "The Running Man" by Stephen King; "The 10th Victim", "Victim Prime", and "Victim/Hunter" by Robert Sheckley.
Book Review: And you thought 'Survivor' was gritty? Then you haven't read this book...
Summary: 5 Stars
Let's face it. Reality TV is taking over our airwaves but it's the same repeditive drech every time. Tell 'Survivor' to shove off and pick up Battle Royale by Koshun Takami. I've read some good novels in my time, Lord of the Rings, Cloud of Sparrows, Slaughterhouse 5, and many others, but to say I was blown away by Battle Royale would be the understatement of the century.
In the early Twenty-first Century the island nation of Japan has been a totalitarian dictatorship for nearly a century. The public however thinks it's been a lot longer. Every year out of 50,000 High School fresmen classes one is selected to fight in "Battle Experiment #68" Where the selected class is put into an unfimiliar deserted area, in this case an island, provided arms, food, water, maps, and only the bare essentials to survive. Their mission: Kill each other until only one is left standing. The ultimate survival marathon. Friends will turn on each other and lovers will be split apart in this knockdown drag out high octane thriller.
Now for the professional part. The story is very well written. Not focusing on extravagant words and always having 'proper' English it gives the book an overall feeling of realism. To read it aloud sounds as if you are actually talking to someone and not reading a book. Next, the action is top notch. I can't stress this enough. This book is a page tuner from cover to cover. I give this book an overall 5 stars because it really deserves a great rating. It's now at the top of my favorite books list. If you have an eye for action, violence, and thrills then you really should check this out.
Book Review: Quality fiction for pulp fans
Summary: 5 Stars
"Battle Royale" was first published in 1999, has since been made into a movie and manga series and has had sequels, though it still has not gathered a huge following in the United States. It should. It deserves to.
Koushun Takami's novel takes place in the not-too-distant future where a totalitarian government holds a special game every so often. The rules of the game are simple. Kidnapped junior high students are placed on an island. They're given some weapons, chosen randomly. The last one standing is the winner. What do you win? The opportunity to go on with your life. And to make it more challenging, a small explosive has been placed on a circlet around your neck; if so much times passes without any of the students being killed, then all the explosives go off and everyone dies.
This particular novel focuses on one class of students and they're handful of days on an island where the game occurs. There's lots of action here, and a plenty of graphic violence, so stay away if this isn't your type of story. Keep in mind these are young people, barely older than children, doing some very bad things to one another. Imagine "Lord of the Flies" with guns and worse. But fans of hard-hitting adventure tales will love this novel.
There are twists and turns and students die page by page. Eventually it gets down to just four students. Who will die? Who will live? The answer is not an easy one to come to, and I won't give away the ending here. Let's just say you'll be happy with the ending.
Book Review: 'Could you kill your best friend?'
Summary: 5 Stars
'Could you kill your best friend?'This was the theme for the first BR. When I say FIRST BR, that is because, for those who enjoyed the first and don't know, there is a second BR coming out. The theme for BR2 is: 'This time its war!'
Now moving to the book. I am the kind of person that naturally likes the novel better than the movie and this book was just that. The movie was good but the book was MUCH MUCH better.
I learned about BR through a friend. We are both in 8th grade and we came attracted to this story because it involved students around our age group. My friend and I fell in love with BR but she loved it by watching the movie, not reading the novel. After the movie, she read the book and realize how much better the novel was. I had the privilege of reading the novel first and expected alot from the movie.
It IS very gorey, scary, maybe even too much for students around our age. But it also had a delicious thrill. I love novels that can scare me, pain my mind with sorrow, and make me cry with bittersweet romance. This novel had all that and more. It's not a mystery that all around the country, people of different age groups all come to respect this one novel. My friends and I think it is worthy of some recognition, thus, we have many sites about BR to share it with the world.
I recommend this book to anyone who delights in a good book and anyone who likes to be swept over by waves of fear, sorrow, relief and love. Many people, including me, have read and enjoyed it. So enjoy it too! ^_^