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Battle Royale cover art

Battle Royale

Written by: Koushun Takami, Yuji Oniki - translator
Narrated by: Mark Dacascos
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Publisher's Summary

Battle Royale, a high-octane thriller about senseless youth violence in a dystopian world, it is one of Japan's best-selling - and most controversial - novels. As part of a ruthless program by the totalitarian government, ninth-grade students are taken to a small isolated island with a map, food, and various weapons. Forced to wear special collars that explode when they break a rule, they must fight each other for three days until only one "winner" remains. The elimination contest becomes the ultimate in must-see reality television.

A Japanese pulp classic available in English-language audio for the first time, Battle Royale is a potent allegory of what it means to be young and survive in today's dog-eat-dog world. The first novel by small-town journalist Koushun Takami, it went on to become an even more notorious film by 70-year-old director Kinji Fukusaku.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©1999 Koushun Takami; Translation copyright 2009, Yuji Oniki (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

What listeners say about Battle Royale

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Damn, they went there!

No holds bar. Loved it. Would recommend this to anyone who loved the Hunger Games.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • JK
  • 2021-02-22

I (knits brows) loved it!

I really enjoyed this book.

I could do without each character knitting their brows 5+ times, but that could be a weirdness of the translation

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story, slightly annoying narration

I read a lot of reviews for this before I got it, a lot said the narration was boring or dull, but I was pleasantly surprised it wasn't as bad as I thought. BUT every time the narrator said a word with an "S" or "Sh" sound it whistled in a way that made me crazy, it hurt my ears. That is the only reason I give the performance a lower score, those sharp, ear stabbing S's. The story is amazing though, I listened to it through twice in a row, Loved it and would recommend it if you can deal with the annoying audio bit. I always wanted to read this but had no time and listening to it at work was a great way to finally do it.

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1 person found this helpful