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Hello and welcome! My name is Emma and I've been a bookseller for over a decade. I also write fantasy under the name E. M. Epps. This blog features my Two-Paragraph Book Reviews. One paragraph from me. One from the book. Here's why I keep it short.

You are here: Home > Review: “Battle Royale” by Koushun Takami
Battle Royale

Review: “Battle Royale” by Koushun Takami

Image Emma 22 August 2010

 

Thumbs down for Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. Science fiction.

It wasn’t the self-proclaimed “violent exploitation” that got to me; frankly, that was just unorginal video-game-style blood and guts. It was the fact that the writing is some of the worst I’ve ever read in a professionally published novel. I don’t know whether it was the author or the translator, but to quote from the book itself: “Damn, this was bad.” And let’s not forget the bouts of utter ridiculousness: apparently the author thinks bulletproof vests make you invincible. I did finish it, because otherwise I would not review it; its one good point was that the plot was fast-paced enough that I could turn the pages quickly and have done with its laughably tone-deaf prose in short order.

“Yutaka then changed his approach, keeping his palms (his right hand held the fork, so it was clenched) and shoe soles on the ground to make sure his body wouldn’t slide down the slope. He felt the skin of his hands scraping away, but he didn’t care. Damn, if someone saw me now they’d think it was funny. Ladies and gentlemen, the Human Beetle.”


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Tagged Japan, notw, science fiction, thumbs down
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My bookstore is an affiliate of Bookshop.org, so we will earn a commission if you click through my links and make a purchase. I, personally, am also an affiliate of the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and will likewise make a commission if you click through those links and make a purchase. Having to use Amazon doesn’t fill me with joy, but they’re the only good affiliate program for used books available right now. So…that’s the way it is.

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