Battle Royale (1999)
by Koushun Takami The government of a fascist, alternate-history Japan selects a junior-high school class at random each year and sequesters them on an island with instructions to either kill each other or be killed by the explosive collars around their necks. This is a good concept that offers plentiful opportunities for action, moral dilemmas, and social commentary. Unfortunately, Koushun Takami blows these opportunities fairly consistently. Koushun Takami What remains is overheated prose for lovers of manga. "Battle Royale" (Italian) At more than 600 pages (!), this novel is far too long for this slim premise. "Battle Royale" (French) Lots of pages are given over to the philosophical musings and moral anguish of the 42 participants, which makes for a lot of repetition. "Battle Royale" (Norwegian) It doesn't help that the book often reads as if it were written by a junior-high student, though it's not clear how much responsibility for