Thumbs down for Battle Royale
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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