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Battle Royale (GOLLANCZ S.F.) [Paperback]

Koushun Takami (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
RRP: £9.99
Price: £6.89 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Book Description

Publication Date: 10 May 2007 | Series: GOLLANCZ S.F.

Koushun Takami's notorious high-octane thriller is based on an irresistible premise: a class of 42 junior high school students are taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are electronically collared, provided with weapons of varying potency, and sent out onto the island.

If they are in the wrong part of the island at the wrong time, their collars will explode. If they band together to save themselves a collar will explode at random. If they try to escape from the island, they will be blown up. Their only chance for survival lies in killing their classmates.

Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan - where it then proceeded to become a runaway bestseller - Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, and a potent story of politics and survival in a dog-eat-dog world.

Made into a controversial hit movie of the same name, Battle Royale is already a contemporary Japanese pulp classic, and is now available for the first time to the UK mainstream.

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Battle Royale (GOLLANCZ S.F.) + Battle Royale [DVD] [2001]
Price For Both: £14.56

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  • Battle Royale [DVD] [2001] ~ Tatsuya Fujiwara DVD £7.67

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Product details

  • Paperback: 624 pages
  • Publisher: Gollancz (10 May 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0575080493
  • ISBN-13: 978-0575080492
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 3.7 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 11,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Book Description

"Top of the class" now has a whole new meaning . . .

About the Author

Koushun Takami is best-known as the author of the novel Battle Royale, originally published in Japanese, and later translated into English by Yuji Oniki. Battle Royale was rejected in the final round of the literary competition for which it was written owing to its controversial content. It become a bestseller when finally released in 1999 and, a year later, became a manga series and a feature film.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting and thought-provoking read 23 Oct 2007
By Alexandra Coke
Format:Paperback
I read this book after seeing the film, and reading some of the manga, so I came to it expecting more of the same - I was pleasantly surprised.

The book has the luxury of being able to explore each character in depth, something that the film was unable to do. You get a more rounded portrait of the class, although don't assume that this is just the book of the film - the characters here are more like the ones in the manga, but they're subtly different again from their graphic-novel counterparts. These are characters that we half-know, and it's interesting to find out more about them - how friendships developed, what's going on inside their heads as they go through their ordeal.

Shuuya, our hero, is likeable and capable of calling up our affection. Noriko remains a bit of a drip, but that's only to be expected in a book which offers up only one or two strong, interesting female characters. As a reader, you honestly start to wonder what you would do in that situation.

However, I can't skate over the fact that this is an awkward book to read. The name of the translator is Japanese, not European, and it's an inescapable fact that this book isn't perfectly translated. Sentences can be shaky and repetitive, with word-choices that seem strange to a Westerner. The introduction at the beginning could do with some explaining. Some metaphors are very strange and come across as either inappropriate or just plain weird, and you do get the sense that this novel could have done with a bit more editing before it was published in the English language - and maybe another translator for good measure.

That's not to say that it's a bad book. Although some of the characters can be confusing and difficult to keep track of (why the author gives some of the 42 characters the same first names or last names is beyond me), it's a good story, and you'll keep reading it right to the end. Just ignore the strange errors in grammar if you're a nit-picker like me, and sit back to enjoy the interplay of teenage personalities as they try to deal with an impossible situation.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars From the Aussie Zombie 27 Jan 2012
By Kat from The Aussie Zombie
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I first heard of Battle Royale when reading reviews of The Hunger Games, when it was suggested that Ms. Collins' inspiration must have come from this book. It took me a while, but after seeing a few more recommendations, I purchased a copy and sat it on my shelf. Where it sat for several months until last Saturday I decided I felt like reading a paperback book and it was the first one I picked up.

To be honest, at first I was a little wary - sure the storyline sounds amazing, but how could I possibly keep 42 (!) characters (with Japanese names which also confuse me) straight in my head? I have trouble with half a dozen sometimes....so it was with a little trepidation that I opened the book to the first page.......

I was immediately hooked - keeping the characters straight was made easier by a list of names in the front of the book, and when characters that had been previously mentioned reappeared, the link back through the writing was strong enough that I was fully aware of who was who, their story, their actions and their fates.

This is not a book for the faint hearted - Takami holds nothing back in his imagination, and some scenes are jaw-dropping in their intensity and detail, but the story itself stops Battle Royale from spiraling into a mindless bloodbath. There are twists and turns I never saw coming and the ending is breathtaking (and unexpected!).

Three days and more than 600 pages later I finished reading (I put off the final 20-odd pages off because I didn't want it to end!), put down the book, turned to my boyfriend and said just one word "Wow!".

I wish I could tell you more about this book, but it is a difficult book to review without giving away key parts of the story. If you can get a copy, you should definitely invest in this book - I'll definitely be going back to this one again!
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Battle Royale 2 July 2009
By Richard Ashby
Format:Paperback
Without a doubt the best book I've ever read.
I'm not going into detail into why it's great but will get straight to the point.
-Full of twists
-Well written (but not perfectly translated, still brilliant though)
-Brilliant character background
-Beautifully detailed scenes
Really worth a read. You probably won't regret it!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Royale with cheese
So bad I couldn't put it down. Fantastic, thrilling, roller coaster. I can't help thinking that the translation was not great, unless everyone in Japan talks like they have stepped... Read more
Published 1 day ago by Gezza
4.0 out of 5 stars Makes your heart Race
When the Hunger Games first game out and I talked to my friend about it she told me it sounded an awful lot like a Japanese story she had read. Read more
Published 27 days ago by Barmy_Bex
3.0 out of 5 stars Good ideas, poor translation
After reading, and enjoying, the hugely successful Hunger Games trilogy, I wanted read Battle Royal to see how the book compare, as they have a similar storyline (children made to... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Miss A C R Finch
3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but bad translation.
I feel almost cheated with this book, cheated because I don't read Japanese. The story is great, the idea exciting yet I feel the translation lets it down. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Lucky13
5.0 out of 5 stars A great book
A thrilling read, so much better than the Hunger Games (which is still good) and left me wondering what had happened to the characters long after I turned the final page. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Scarlett
5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest novel of all time!
This is the most amazing book I have ever read. The writing was phenomenal with multiple perspectives and great chapter structure. Read more
Published 8 months ago by MethodMan
3.0 out of 5 stars Hardcore Hunger Games
I first heard about Battle Royale a few years ago after reading the Hunger Games. There seemed to be a lot of unfavourable reviews for the Hunger Games when they compared it to... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Filonian Babe
5.0 out of 5 stars Dark & Thrilling
I was very excited to read this book after seeing the film a few years ago and then being reminded of it after reading the hunger games trilogy. Read more
Published 9 months ago by booklover
4.0 out of 5 stars Battle Royale...
I picked this book up after looking at reveiws for 'The Hunger Games'. For some strange reason, I thought that 'Battle Royale' would be better (maybe because it sounded like it had... Read more
Published 10 months ago by The Demon
5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I've read!
Without a doubt, the best book I've read! Great storyline and interest (yet disturbing) characters. The movie is also worth watching, but the book is way better! Buy it!
Published 10 months ago by blanka
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