A review by an_everyday_penguin
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

challenging dark funny sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

It feels weird to say this book is hilarious because it's so dark and terrible, but also it's hilarious in a really dark and dry way. Obviously, everything in this book was pretty messed up because the premise is messed up, but it was still an enjoyable read. I liked it a lot, and I liked that the author wasn't holding back on the readers and just wrote everything as graphic and bloody as he could. There were times when it dragged on a bit, and the main characters, Shuya and Noriko, were not that interesting. They felt very boring and generic, and there were other characters I wanted to follow a lot more. Some parts also felt a little unrealistic within the premise, but there weren't too many and they weren't too bad. Overall, this was a really good book that I enjoyed, but it is very dark and graphic.
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