-
Battle Royale
- Narrated by: Mark Dacascos
- Length: 19 hrs and 29 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $22.46
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Long Walk
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the near future, when America has become a police state, 100 boys are selected to enter an annual contest where the winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life. Among them is 16-year-old Ray Garraty, and he knows the rules - keep a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings and you're out - permanently.
-
-
ONLY,---- WHAT A STUPID WORD!
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 04-29-16
By: Stephen King
-
The Ruins
- By: Scott Smith
- Narrated by: Patrick Wilson
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Ruins follows two American couples enjoying a pleasant, lazy beach holiday together in Mexico. On an impulse, they go off with newfound friends in search of one of their group, the young German who, in pursuit of a girl, has headed for the remote Mayan ruins, site of a fabled archeological dig.
-
-
Singularly Harsh
- By Fredrick J. on 03-07-17
By: Scott Smith
-
Tales from the Gas Station: Volume One
- By: Jack Townsend
- Narrated by: MrCreepyPasta
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drunk customers. Shoplifting raccoons. Otherworldly visitors. As night shift clerk at the 24-hour gas station at the edge of town, Jack has pretty much seen it all.
-
-
???
- By Avery Adair on 11-27-23
By: Jack Townsend
-
Slayers: A Buffyverse Story
- By: Christopher Golden, Amber Benson
- Narrated by: Amber Benson, Charisma Carpenter, James Charles Leary, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Original cast members from the beloved TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, reunite for an all-new adventure about connections that never die—even if you bury them. A decade has passed since the epic final battle that concluded Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV). The game-changing spell that gave power to all potential Slayers persists. With new Slayers constantly emerging, things are looking grim for the bad guys.
-
-
A dream come true
- By Anonymous User on 10-12-23
By: Christopher Golden, and others
-
Three Assassins
- A Novel
- By: Kotaro Isaka
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Suzuki is an ordinary man until his wife is murdered. To get answers and his revenge, Suzuki abandons his law-abiding lifestyle and takes a low-level job with a front company operated by the crime gang Maiden, who are responsible for his wife’s death. Before long, Suzuki finds himself caught up in a network of quirky and highly effective assassins.
-
-
Amazing
- By JOHN E. on 09-27-23
By: Kotaro Isaka
-
Bullet Train
- A Novel
- By: Kotaro Isaka, Sam Malissa - translator
- Narrated by: Pun Bandhu
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nanao, nicknamed Ladybug - the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world” - boards a bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka with one simple task: Grab a suitcase and get off at the next stop. Unbeknownst to him, the deadly duo Tangerine and Lemon are also after the very same suitcase - and they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard. Satoshi, “the Prince”, with the looks of an innocent schoolboy and the mind of a viciously cunning psychopath, is also in the mix and has history with some of the others.
-
-
The bleh outweighs the meh.
- By T James on 08-31-21
By: Kotaro Isaka, and others
-
The Long Walk
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the near future, when America has become a police state, 100 boys are selected to enter an annual contest where the winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life. Among them is 16-year-old Ray Garraty, and he knows the rules - keep a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings and you're out - permanently.
-
-
ONLY,---- WHAT A STUPID WORD!
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 04-29-16
By: Stephen King
-
The Ruins
- By: Scott Smith
- Narrated by: Patrick Wilson
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Ruins follows two American couples enjoying a pleasant, lazy beach holiday together in Mexico. On an impulse, they go off with newfound friends in search of one of their group, the young German who, in pursuit of a girl, has headed for the remote Mayan ruins, site of a fabled archeological dig.
-
-
Singularly Harsh
- By Fredrick J. on 03-07-17
By: Scott Smith
-
Tales from the Gas Station: Volume One
- By: Jack Townsend
- Narrated by: MrCreepyPasta
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drunk customers. Shoplifting raccoons. Otherworldly visitors. As night shift clerk at the 24-hour gas station at the edge of town, Jack has pretty much seen it all.
-
-
???
- By Avery Adair on 11-27-23
By: Jack Townsend
-
Slayers: A Buffyverse Story
- By: Christopher Golden, Amber Benson
- Narrated by: Amber Benson, Charisma Carpenter, James Charles Leary, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Original cast members from the beloved TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, reunite for an all-new adventure about connections that never die—even if you bury them. A decade has passed since the epic final battle that concluded Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV). The game-changing spell that gave power to all potential Slayers persists. With new Slayers constantly emerging, things are looking grim for the bad guys.
-
-
A dream come true
- By Anonymous User on 10-12-23
By: Christopher Golden, and others
-
Three Assassins
- A Novel
- By: Kotaro Isaka
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Suzuki is an ordinary man until his wife is murdered. To get answers and his revenge, Suzuki abandons his law-abiding lifestyle and takes a low-level job with a front company operated by the crime gang Maiden, who are responsible for his wife’s death. Before long, Suzuki finds himself caught up in a network of quirky and highly effective assassins.
-
-
Amazing
- By JOHN E. on 09-27-23
By: Kotaro Isaka
-
Bullet Train
- A Novel
- By: Kotaro Isaka, Sam Malissa - translator
- Narrated by: Pun Bandhu
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nanao, nicknamed Ladybug - the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world” - boards a bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka with one simple task: Grab a suitcase and get off at the next stop. Unbeknownst to him, the deadly duo Tangerine and Lemon are also after the very same suitcase - and they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard. Satoshi, “the Prince”, with the looks of an innocent schoolboy and the mind of a viciously cunning psychopath, is also in the mix and has history with some of the others.
-
-
The bleh outweighs the meh.
- By T James on 08-31-21
By: Kotaro Isaka, and others
-
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
- A Hunger Games Novel
- By: Suzanne Collins
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 16 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the 10th annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to out charm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute. The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low.
-
-
Bad part
- By Edgars Dumins on 05-19-20
By: Suzanne Collins
-
Red Rising (Part 1 of 2) (Dramatized Adaptation)
- Red Rising, Book 1
- By: Pierce Brown
- Narrated by: full cast, Stewart Crank, John Kielty, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he toils willingly, trusting that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children. But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and lush wilds spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.
-
-
Fantastic
- By Tyler on 07-06-23
By: Pierce Brown
-
Under the Dome
- A Novel
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Raul Esparza
- Length: 34 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester's Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener's hand is severed as "the dome" comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when - or if - it will go away.
-
-
Glad I Listened to 11-22-63 First
- By Russell on 02-09-12
By: Stephen King
-
The Running Man
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was the ultimate death game in a nightmare future America. The year is 2025 and reality TV has grown to the point where people are willing to wager their lives for a chance at a billion-dollar jackpot. Ben Richards is desperate - he needs money to treat his daughter's illness. His last chance is entering a game show called The Running Man where the goal is to avoid capture by Hunters who are employed to kill him.
-
-
Skip the intro
- By Jball359 on 04-29-16
By: Stephen King
-
World War Z: The Complete Edition
- An Oral History of the Zombie War
- By: Max Brooks
- Narrated by: Max Brooks, Alan Alda, John Turturro, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World War Z: The Complete Edition features 21 additional Hollywood A-list actors and sci-fi fan favorites performing stories not included in the original edition. New narrators include Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese, Spiderman star Alfred Molina, The Walking Dead creator Frank Darabont, rapper Common, Firefly star Nathan Fillion, Shaun of the Dead’s Simon Pegg, and members of the casts of Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes and more!
-
-
Will never pre-order again
- By Ignatz on 05-18-13
By: Max Brooks
-
Playground
- By: Aron Beauregard
- Narrated by: Lila Kerry
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Three low-income families have been given a handsome retainer to join Geraldine Borden for a day at her cliffside estate. All the parents must do to collect the rest of their money is allow their children to test out the revolutionary playground equipment Geraldine has been working on for decades. But there’s a reason the structures in the bowels of her gothic castle have taken so long to develop—they were never meant to see the light of day.
-
-
Not for the weak-stomached.
- By Dan Bugbee on 01-26-23
By: Aron Beauregard
-
The Mantis
- A Novel
- By: Kotaro Isaka
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii, Pun Bandhu
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kabuto is a highly skilled assassin eager to escape his dangerous profession and the hold his handler, the sinister Doctor, has over him. The Doctor, a real physician who hands over Kabuto’s targets as “prescriptions” in his regular appointments with him, doesn’t want to lose Kabuto as a profitable asset, but he agrees to let him pay his way out of his employment with a few last jobs. Only the most lucrative jobs involve taking out other professional assassins, and Kabuto’s final assignment puts him and his family—who have no idea about his double life—in danger.
-
-
Kōtarō Isaka does it again!
- By Lex on 01-22-24
By: Kotaro Isaka
-
A Clockwork Orange
- By: Anthony Burgess
- Narrated by: Tom Hollander
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A vicious 15-year-old droog is the central character of this 1963 classic, a frightening fable about good and evil, and the meaning of human freedom. In Anthony Burgess' nightmare vision of the future, where the criminals take over after dark, the story is told by the central character, Alex, who talks in a brutal invented slang that brilliantly renders his and his friends' social pathology.
-
-
Great book, great narration, but not for everyone
- By Steve on 06-28-09
By: Anthony Burgess
-
Tender Is the Flesh
- By: Agustina Bazterrica
- Narrated by: Joseph Balderrama
- Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Working at the local processing plant, Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans - though no one calls them that anymore. His wife has left him, his father is sinking into dementia, and Marcos tries not to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. Then governments initiated the "Transition". Now, eating human meat - "special meat" - is legal. Marcos tries to stick to numbers, consignments, processing.
-
-
A horror masterpiece
- By Chris Brooks on 05-02-22
-
FantasticLand
- A Novel
- By: Mike Bockoven
- Narrated by: Angela Dawe, Luke Daniels
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since the 1970s, FantasticLand has been the theme park where "Fun is Guaranteed!" But when a hurricane ravages the Florida coast and isolates the park, the employees find it anything but fun. Five weeks later, the authorities who rescue the survivors encounter a scene of horror. Photos soon emerge online of heads on spikes outside of rides and viscera and human bones littering the gift shops, breaking records for hits, views, likes, clicks, and shares.
-
-
Absurd...But awesome
- By T.J. on 11-12-17
By: Mike Bockoven
-
The Gray Man
- By: Mark Greaney
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Court Gentry is known as The Gray Man—a legend in the covert realm, moving silently from job to job, accomplishing the impossible, and then fading away. And he always hits his target. But there are forces more lethal than Gentry in the world. And in their eyes, Gentry has just outlived his usefulness. Now, he is going to prove that for him, there's no gray area between killing for a living-and killing to stay alive.
-
-
The gray man talks about gentry in the 3rd person on the court
- By Safekeeper on 07-26-17
By: Mark Greaney
-
The Last Yakuza
- Life and Death in the Japanese Underworld
- By: Jake Adelstein
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Makoto Saigo is half-American and half-Japanese in small-town Japan with a set of talents limited to playing guitar and picking fights. With rock stardom off the table, he turns toward the only place where you can start from the bottom and move up through sheer merit, loyalty, and brute force―the yakuza. Saigo, nicknamed “The Tsunami”, quickly realizes that even within the organization, opinions are as varied as they come, and a clash of philosophies can quickly become deadly. One screw-up can cost you your life, or at least a finger.
-
-
absolutely astounding work. you will not put this down.
- By I_am_Guts on 01-31-24
By: Jake Adelstein
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.
Related to this topic
-
A Murder to Remember
- By: Brynn Kelly
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, Max Roll
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jane Austen fan Amelia Bennett sneaks away from a dull tour of an English country manor, only to run into a man more dashing than Mr. Darcy himself. About to lose his ancestral home to family debts, charming aristocrat Tom Calder invites his American guest to join him in drinking his way through the estate’s priceless wine collection. But when they wake in his bed the next morning, they’re convinced that in their drunken haze they witnessed a murder. Problem is, the body has vanished and no one believes them.
-
-
Loved this sweet, surprising, and laugh out loud story
- By Ginger Warburton on 03-03-24
By: Brynn Kelly
-
The Rip
- By: Holly Craig
- Narrated by: Carly Foxx, Shalom Brune-Franklin
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Luxury villas on hot white sand, views for miles over turquoise water. Flawless hostess Penny gathers guests to an island for her husband’s birthday celebrations. But she soon regrets inviting self-obsessed Eloise. When a child vanishes on the night of the party, their perfect island weekend is ripped apart. Even paradise harbours murky secrets… Has he been taken? Has he drowned? In the panic to find any trace, Penny casts about for someone to blame—even if that person is her own daughter, Rosie. Even clear waters descend to pitch black.
-
-
Intriguing, Engaging, AND BEST NARATORS EVER
- By Hadassah on 03-12-24
By: Holly Craig
-
The Justice
- By: James Patterson, Aaron Cooley
- Narrated by: Sanaa Lathan, David Rasche, Susan Kelechi Watson, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Justice Beth Garner (Sanaa Lathan) just landed the appointment of a lifetime—a seat on the Supreme Court. Now a mysterious company is blackmailing her for her vote on a landmark case. Caught up in the checkered past of her hero and mentor, Chief Justice Clayton Erlenborn, Beth must cunningly maneuver through a dangerous web of secrets, deception, and cold-blooded murder. Armed with only her moral compass and unflinching nerve, she’s up against a sinister world full of undercover agents, domestic terrorists, and black ops assassins—all of whom want her to comply or die.
-
-
So good!
- By Rachel Johnson on 02-24-24
By: James Patterson, and others
-
Verity
- By: Colleen Hoover
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson, Amy Landon
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.
-
-
intriguing but skip if triggered by child abuse
- By Amazon Customer on 05-16-19
By: Colleen Hoover
-
The Housemaid
- By: Sarah A. Denzil
- Narrated by: Sophie Rundle
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It seems like the perfect job. Great wages, accommodation provided and all located within the walls of Highwood Hall, a stunning stately home owned by the Howard family. Not many little girls dream of becoming a maid, but this is an opportunity for me to get back on my feet. And for me to revisit my past....
-
-
FANTASTIC@@@!
- By Kelly on 12-23-21
By: Sarah A. Denzil
-
The Girlfriend
- By: K.L. Slater
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The doorbell rings, just days after my beloved husband’s sudden death. I don’t recognise the woman on our doorstep, with her blonde highlights, a diamond bracelet identical to my own and a bouncing baby boy in her arms. As I show her inside, I notice her eyes grow wide as she takes in our spacious hallway, and the big squashy sofas that we all used to pile on. She glances at the silver-framed family photos and my little daughter hiding behind my skirts. She looks at me, her blue eyes serious. ‘I’m sorry’ she says. ‘I am your husband’s girlfriend. And this is his son.'
-
-
Uh, what?
- By Karyn Cavanaugh on 02-22-23
By: K.L. Slater
-
A Murder to Remember
- By: Brynn Kelly
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, Max Roll
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jane Austen fan Amelia Bennett sneaks away from a dull tour of an English country manor, only to run into a man more dashing than Mr. Darcy himself. About to lose his ancestral home to family debts, charming aristocrat Tom Calder invites his American guest to join him in drinking his way through the estate’s priceless wine collection. But when they wake in his bed the next morning, they’re convinced that in their drunken haze they witnessed a murder. Problem is, the body has vanished and no one believes them.
-
-
Loved this sweet, surprising, and laugh out loud story
- By Ginger Warburton on 03-03-24
By: Brynn Kelly
-
The Rip
- By: Holly Craig
- Narrated by: Carly Foxx, Shalom Brune-Franklin
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Luxury villas on hot white sand, views for miles over turquoise water. Flawless hostess Penny gathers guests to an island for her husband’s birthday celebrations. But she soon regrets inviting self-obsessed Eloise. When a child vanishes on the night of the party, their perfect island weekend is ripped apart. Even paradise harbours murky secrets… Has he been taken? Has he drowned? In the panic to find any trace, Penny casts about for someone to blame—even if that person is her own daughter, Rosie. Even clear waters descend to pitch black.
-
-
Intriguing, Engaging, AND BEST NARATORS EVER
- By Hadassah on 03-12-24
By: Holly Craig
-
The Justice
- By: James Patterson, Aaron Cooley
- Narrated by: Sanaa Lathan, David Rasche, Susan Kelechi Watson, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Justice Beth Garner (Sanaa Lathan) just landed the appointment of a lifetime—a seat on the Supreme Court. Now a mysterious company is blackmailing her for her vote on a landmark case. Caught up in the checkered past of her hero and mentor, Chief Justice Clayton Erlenborn, Beth must cunningly maneuver through a dangerous web of secrets, deception, and cold-blooded murder. Armed with only her moral compass and unflinching nerve, she’s up against a sinister world full of undercover agents, domestic terrorists, and black ops assassins—all of whom want her to comply or die.
-
-
So good!
- By Rachel Johnson on 02-24-24
By: James Patterson, and others
-
Verity
- By: Colleen Hoover
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson, Amy Landon
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.
-
-
intriguing but skip if triggered by child abuse
- By Amazon Customer on 05-16-19
By: Colleen Hoover
-
The Housemaid
- By: Sarah A. Denzil
- Narrated by: Sophie Rundle
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It seems like the perfect job. Great wages, accommodation provided and all located within the walls of Highwood Hall, a stunning stately home owned by the Howard family. Not many little girls dream of becoming a maid, but this is an opportunity for me to get back on my feet. And for me to revisit my past....
-
-
FANTASTIC@@@!
- By Kelly on 12-23-21
By: Sarah A. Denzil
-
The Girlfriend
- By: K.L. Slater
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The doorbell rings, just days after my beloved husband’s sudden death. I don’t recognise the woman on our doorstep, with her blonde highlights, a diamond bracelet identical to my own and a bouncing baby boy in her arms. As I show her inside, I notice her eyes grow wide as she takes in our spacious hallway, and the big squashy sofas that we all used to pile on. She glances at the silver-framed family photos and my little daughter hiding behind my skirts. She looks at me, her blue eyes serious. ‘I’m sorry’ she says. ‘I am your husband’s girlfriend. And this is his son.'
-
-
Uh, what?
- By Karyn Cavanaugh on 02-22-23
By: K.L. Slater
-
We Play Games
- By: Sarah A. Denzil
- Narrated by: Billie Piper, Dan Stevens, Shane Zaza, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the rules turn deadly, winning is everything. Only available from Audible, a gripping psychological thriller from the author of Silent Child, Saving April, and The Broken Ones. Perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, Lisa Jewell and Paula Hawkins. The perfect couple. The perfect marriage. The perfect game. Effie and Ben May have everything. Success. Beauty. Glamour. But beneath the charming smiles and expensive clothes, a twisted game is in progress. A game for which only they know the rules.
-
-
Two hours left
- By Cyndi on 01-17-24
By: Sarah A. Denzil
-
Husband and Wife
- By: K. L. Slater
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
My husband and I are fighting for our lives in hospital after a terrible car accident. But despite my pain, all I can think about is what our families will find behind our front door. The scarf that has been all over the news, belonging to a dead young woman with honey-coloured hair. I have to speak to the police before my husband can. I’m drifting in and out of consciousness, but when I hear my wife talking to the police, accusing me of the murder of an innocent woman, a cold fear grips me. I know I’ve got a temper.
-
-
Good twists
- By Susan Wiegert on 12-25-23
By: K. L. Slater
-
The Narrator
- By: K. L. Slater
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett, Kristin Atherton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the call came it seemed like the answer to my prayers. My career as a voice actor had been over for months and me and my little girl Scarlet were living back at my mum’s place. I felt like a failure professionally—and with Scarlet having problems at school, as a parent as well. So, when I was asked to narrate a new book by disappeared novelist Philippa Roberts I jumped at the chance, even if it meant leaving Scarlet with my ex, Hugo, for a few weeks. Hugo, with his perfect new home and his perfect new girlfriend Saskia. But this isn’t a dream come true. It’s a nightmare.
-
-
Love but it's a production issue!
- By Mary on 09-02-22
By: K. L. Slater
-
You Only Die Twice
- By: Brynn Kelly
- Narrated by: Alan Carlson, Stacia Newcomb
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When high school English teacher Alice Thornton helps her dying Russian neighbor write a spy thriller, she thinks she’s just doing a good deed. But when a sexy mystery man shows up in her classroom, claiming to be the novel’s dashing antihero, Alice is swept into a lethal conspiracy. Enigmatic former CIA operative Carter Beck warns her that the sensational murder plot wasn’t fiction. And because she knows too much, the killer wants her silenced—making Carter her only hope of survival.
-
-
"Survive the day!"
- By Lacey Jane on 08-08-22
By: Brynn Kelly
-
One of Us Is Dead
- By: Jeneva Rose
- Narrated by: Andi Arndt, Hillary Huber, Elizabeth Evans, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Opulence. Sex. Betrayal…sometimes friendship can be deadly. Meet the women of Buckhead—a place of expensive cars, huge houses, and competitive friendships. Who amongst these women will be clever enough to survive Buckhead—and who will wind up dead? They say that friendships can be complex, but no one said it could ever be this deadly.
-
-
Great mystery. Sexually graphic.
- By Sue on 09-04-22
By: Jeneva Rose
-
Hunting Game
- By: Candice Fox
- Narrated by: Krysten Ritter, Anthony Mackie, Tony Goldwyn, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Prepare to be captivated by acclaimed crime writer Candice Fox’s gripping audio thriller, Hunting Game. Featuring an all-star cast including Krysten Ritter, Anthony Mackie, and Tony Goldwyn, you’re about to enter a high-stakes game of cat and mouse. NYPD Detective Esme 'Es' Compran (Krysten Ritter) finds herself torn between her duty and her own desperate circumstances when a child is kidnapped. The victim's father, Jack Dengate (Tony Goldwyn), is a controversial big pharma CEO whose company's price hikes on life-saving drugs have dire consequences for Es' ailing daughter.
-
-
Man what a GREAT story….BUT……
- By ShawniqueLovesToRead on 03-15-24
By: Candice Fox
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Audition
- By: Ryu Murakami, Ralph McCarthy - translator
- Narrated by: David Shih
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this gloriously over-the-top tale, Aoyama, a widower who has lived alone with his son ever since his wife died seven years before, finally decides it is time to remarry. Since Aoyama is a bit rusty when it comes to dating, a filmmaker friend proposes that, in order to attract the perfect wife, they do a casting call for a movie they don't intend to produce. As the resumes pile up, only one of the applicants catches Aoyama's attention - Yamasaki Asami - a striking young former ballerina with a mysterious past. But she is a far cry from the innocent young woman he imagines her to be.
-
-
Adequate?
- By Evan Runyon on 01-04-22
By: Ryu Murakami, and others
-
Out
- A Novel
- By: Natsuo Kirino
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This mesmerizing novel tells the story of a brutal murder in the staid Tokyo suburbs, as a young mother who works the night shift making boxed lunches strangles her abusive husband and then seeks the help of her coworkers to dispose of the body and cover up her crime. The coolly intelligent Masako emerges as the plot's ringleader but quickly discovers that this killing is merely the beginning, as it leads to a terrifying foray into the violent underbelly of Japanese society.
-
-
Out...
- By Christopher on 06-24-16
By: Natsuo Kirino
-
The Mantis
- A Novel
- By: Kotaro Isaka
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii, Pun Bandhu
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kabuto is a highly skilled assassin eager to escape his dangerous profession and the hold his handler, the sinister Doctor, has over him. The Doctor, a real physician who hands over Kabuto’s targets as “prescriptions” in his regular appointments with him, doesn’t want to lose Kabuto as a profitable asset, but he agrees to let him pay his way out of his employment with a few last jobs. Only the most lucrative jobs involve taking out other professional assassins, and Kabuto’s final assignment puts him and his family—who have no idea about his double life—in danger.
-
-
Kōtarō Isaka does it again!
- By Lex on 01-22-24
By: Kotaro Isaka
-
Three Assassins
- A Novel
- By: Kotaro Isaka
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Suzuki is an ordinary man until his wife is murdered. To get answers and his revenge, Suzuki abandons his law-abiding lifestyle and takes a low-level job with a front company operated by the crime gang Maiden, who are responsible for his wife’s death. Before long, Suzuki finds himself caught up in a network of quirky and highly effective assassins.
-
-
Amazing
- By JOHN E. on 09-27-23
By: Kotaro Isaka
-
Bullet Train
- A Novel
- By: Kotaro Isaka, Sam Malissa - translator
- Narrated by: Pun Bandhu
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nanao, nicknamed Ladybug - the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world” - boards a bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka with one simple task: Grab a suitcase and get off at the next stop. Unbeknownst to him, the deadly duo Tangerine and Lemon are also after the very same suitcase - and they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard. Satoshi, “the Prince”, with the looks of an innocent schoolboy and the mind of a viciously cunning psychopath, is also in the mix and has history with some of the others.
-
-
The bleh outweighs the meh.
- By T James on 08-31-21
By: Kotaro Isaka, and others
-
Revenge
- Eleven Dark Tales
- By: Yoko Ogawa
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith, Johanna Parker
- Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An aspiring writer moves into a new apartment and discovers that her landlady has murdered her husband. Elsewhere, an accomplished surgeon is approached by a cabaret singer, whose beautiful appearance belies the grotesque condition of her heart. And while the surgeon's jealous lover vows to kill him, a violent envy also stirs in the soul of a lonely craftsman. Desire meets with impulse and erupts, attracting the attention of the surgeon's neighbor - who is drawn to a decaying residence that is now home to instruments of human torture.
-
-
Maybe, more Gray then Dark?
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 10-28-14
By: Yoko Ogawa
-
Audition
- By: Ryu Murakami, Ralph McCarthy - translator
- Narrated by: David Shih
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this gloriously over-the-top tale, Aoyama, a widower who has lived alone with his son ever since his wife died seven years before, finally decides it is time to remarry. Since Aoyama is a bit rusty when it comes to dating, a filmmaker friend proposes that, in order to attract the perfect wife, they do a casting call for a movie they don't intend to produce. As the resumes pile up, only one of the applicants catches Aoyama's attention - Yamasaki Asami - a striking young former ballerina with a mysterious past. But she is a far cry from the innocent young woman he imagines her to be.
-
-
Adequate?
- By Evan Runyon on 01-04-22
By: Ryu Murakami, and others
-
Out
- A Novel
- By: Natsuo Kirino
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This mesmerizing novel tells the story of a brutal murder in the staid Tokyo suburbs, as a young mother who works the night shift making boxed lunches strangles her abusive husband and then seeks the help of her coworkers to dispose of the body and cover up her crime. The coolly intelligent Masako emerges as the plot's ringleader but quickly discovers that this killing is merely the beginning, as it leads to a terrifying foray into the violent underbelly of Japanese society.
-
-
Out...
- By Christopher on 06-24-16
By: Natsuo Kirino
-
The Mantis
- A Novel
- By: Kotaro Isaka
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii, Pun Bandhu
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kabuto is a highly skilled assassin eager to escape his dangerous profession and the hold his handler, the sinister Doctor, has over him. The Doctor, a real physician who hands over Kabuto’s targets as “prescriptions” in his regular appointments with him, doesn’t want to lose Kabuto as a profitable asset, but he agrees to let him pay his way out of his employment with a few last jobs. Only the most lucrative jobs involve taking out other professional assassins, and Kabuto’s final assignment puts him and his family—who have no idea about his double life—in danger.
-
-
Kōtarō Isaka does it again!
- By Lex on 01-22-24
By: Kotaro Isaka
-
Three Assassins
- A Novel
- By: Kotaro Isaka
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Suzuki is an ordinary man until his wife is murdered. To get answers and his revenge, Suzuki abandons his law-abiding lifestyle and takes a low-level job with a front company operated by the crime gang Maiden, who are responsible for his wife’s death. Before long, Suzuki finds himself caught up in a network of quirky and highly effective assassins.
-
-
Amazing
- By JOHN E. on 09-27-23
By: Kotaro Isaka
-
Bullet Train
- A Novel
- By: Kotaro Isaka, Sam Malissa - translator
- Narrated by: Pun Bandhu
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nanao, nicknamed Ladybug - the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world” - boards a bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka with one simple task: Grab a suitcase and get off at the next stop. Unbeknownst to him, the deadly duo Tangerine and Lemon are also after the very same suitcase - and they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard. Satoshi, “the Prince”, with the looks of an innocent schoolboy and the mind of a viciously cunning psychopath, is also in the mix and has history with some of the others.
-
-
The bleh outweighs the meh.
- By T James on 08-31-21
By: Kotaro Isaka, and others
-
Revenge
- Eleven Dark Tales
- By: Yoko Ogawa
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith, Johanna Parker
- Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An aspiring writer moves into a new apartment and discovers that her landlady has murdered her husband. Elsewhere, an accomplished surgeon is approached by a cabaret singer, whose beautiful appearance belies the grotesque condition of her heart. And while the surgeon's jealous lover vows to kill him, a violent envy also stirs in the soul of a lonely craftsman. Desire meets with impulse and erupts, attracting the attention of the surgeon's neighbor - who is drawn to a decaying residence that is now home to instruments of human torture.
-
-
Maybe, more Gray then Dark?
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 10-28-14
By: Yoko Ogawa
-
The Decagon House Murders
- By: Yukito Ayatsuji, Ho-Ling Wong - translator
- Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A hugely enjoyable, must-listen murder mystery sure to appeal to fans of Elly Griffiths, Anthony Horowitz, and Agatha Christie, with one of the best and most satisfying conclusions you'll ever hear. A classic in Japan, available in English for the first time.
-
-
play it at x1.25 and it's great
- By wafflemeister on 07-06-22
By: Yukito Ayatsuji, and others
-
The Honjin Murders
- By: Seishi Yokomizo
- Narrated by: Akira Matsumoto
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the winter of 1937, the village of Okamura is abuzz with excitement over the forthcoming wedding of a son of the grand Ichiyanagi family. But amid the gossip over the approaching festivities, there is also a worrying rumour - it seems a sinister masked man has been asking questions about the Ichiyanagis around the village. Then, on the night of the wedding, the Ichiyanagi family are woken by a terrible scream, followed by the sound of eerie music - death has come to Okamura, leaving no trace but a bloody samurai sword, thrust into the pristine snow outside the house.
-
-
Enjoyable, Some Audible issues.
- By M on 10-03-21
By: Seishi Yokomizo
-
The Memory Police
- A Novel
- By: Yoko Ogawa, Stephen Snyder - translator
- Narrated by: Traci Kato-Kiriyama
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On an unnamed island off an unnamed coast, objects are disappearing: first hats, then ribbons, birds, roses - until things become much more serious. Most of the island's inhabitants are oblivious to these changes, while those few imbued with the power to recall the lost objects live in fear of the draconian Memory Police, who are committed to ensuring that what has disappeared remains forgotten. When a young woman who is struggling to maintain her career as a novelist discovers that her editor is in danger from the Memory Police, she concocts a plan to hide him beneath her floorboards.
-
-
A Calm, Quiet Dystopian
- By Booky Nooky on 12-13-19
By: Yoko Ogawa, and others
-
Blindness
- By: José Saramago
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A city is hit by a sudden and strange epidemic of "white blindness", which spares no one. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there social conventions quickly crumble and the struggle for survival brings out the worst in people.
-
-
Surrealistic
- By Richard Pesavento on 10-04-08
By: José Saramago
-
Edge of Tomorrow (Movie Tie-in Edition)
- All You Need Is Kill
- By: Hiroshi Sakurazaka
- Narrated by: Mike Martindale
- Length: 5 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the alien Mimics invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor called a Jacket and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to be reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On his 158th iteration, he gets a message from a mysterious ally - the female soldier known as the Full Metal Bitch. Is she the key to Keiji's escape or his final death?
-
-
Don't like the movie edition
- By Mathew Padilla on 09-23-16
-
Ham on Rye
- A Novel
- By: Charles Bukowski
- Narrated by: Christian Baskous
- Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In what is widely hailed as the best of his many novels, Charles Bukowski details the long, lonely years of his own hardscrabble youth in the raw voice of alter ego Henry Chinaski. From a harrowingly cheerless childhood in Germany through acne-riddled high school years, and his adolescent discoveries of alcohol, women, and the Los Angeles Public Library's collection of D. H. Lawrence, Ham on Rye offers a crude, brutal, and savagely funny portrait of an outcast's coming-of-age during the desperate days of the Great Depression.
-
-
Men's version of Virginia Woolf
- By I Ate Your Pug For Lunch and It was Tasty on 12-09-13
By: Charles Bukowski
-
The Long Walk
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the near future, when America has become a police state, 100 boys are selected to enter an annual contest where the winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life. Among them is 16-year-old Ray Garraty, and he knows the rules - keep a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings and you're out - permanently.
-
-
ONLY,---- WHAT A STUPID WORD!
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 04-29-16
By: Stephen King
-
The Books of Blood, Volume 1
- By: Clive Barker
- Narrated by: Simon Vance, Dick Hill, Peter Berkrot, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Weaving tales of the everyday world transformed into an unrecognizable place, where reason no longer exists and logic ceases to explain the workings of the universe, Clive Barker provides the stuff of nightmares in packages too tantalizing to resist. This first volume contains the short stories : "The Book of Blood," "The Midnight Meat Train," "The Yattering and Jack," "Sex, Death, and Starshine," and "In the Hills, the Cities,"
-
-
A BOOK OF BLOOD WRITTEN IN BLOOD
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 10-31-14
By: Clive Barker
-
I Who Have Never Known Men
- By: Jacqueline Harpman
- Narrated by: Nikki Massoud
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Deep underground, 39 women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only a vague recollection of their lives before. As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl—the 40th prisoner—sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground.
-
-
Outstanding
- By katherine on 09-18-23
-
Earthlings
- A Novel
- By: Sayaka Murata
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a child, Natsuki doesn’t fit into her family. Her parents favor her sister, and her best friend is a plush toy hedgehog named Piyyut who has explained to her that he has come from the planet Popinpobopia on a special quest to help her save the Earth.
-
-
Intriguing but disturbing
- By C. Parham on 01-01-21
By: Sayaka Murata
-
Retribution Falls
- Tales of the Ketty Jay, Book 1
- By: Chris Wooding
- Narrated by: Rupert Degas
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frey is the captain of the Ketty Jay, leader of a small and highly dysfunctional band of layabouts. An inveterate womaniser and rogue, he and his gang make a living on the wrong side of the law, avoiding the heavily armed flying frigates of the Coalition Navy. With their trio of ragged fighter craft, they run contraband, rob airships, and generally make a nuisance of themselves. So a hot tip on a cargo freighter loaded with valuables seems like a great prospect for an easy heist and a fast buck. Until the heist goes wrong, and the freighter explodes.
-
-
Please record the rest of the series!
- By fierros on 02-19-18
By: Chris Wooding
-
Stand on Zanzibar
- By: John Brunner, Bruce Sterling - foreword
- Narrated by: Erik Bergmann
- Length: 21 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Niblock House is a rising executive at General Technics, one of a few all-powerful corporations. His work is leading General Technics to the forefront of global domination, both in the marketplace and politically - it's about to take over a country in Africa. Donald Hogan is his roommate, a seemingly sheepish bookworm. But Hogan is a spy, and he's about to discover a breakthrough in genetic engineering that will change the world...and kill him. Society is squeezed into hive-living madness by god-like mega computers and mass-marketed psychedelic drugs.
-
-
perfect audio experience
- By Darryl on 03-24-14
By: John Brunner, and others
What listeners say about Battle Royale
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Teresa
- 10-07-13
Kids should not have guns.
This book was good, but I will admit I had a hard time with the names. I finally found a print out and wrote notes next to the name with a brief character description, this helped me keep all the characters straight. I know some of the descriptions are cliché, but that is how the author wrote them. Of course it didn't hurt that the kids all had numbers next to their names. The narrator was good, I thought he had a clear voice with a slight Asian accent. This is a very dark book in that the scenes are bloody and I think it makes it worse that they were all friends and schoolmates. Yes there is the teenage crushes going on but the kids are 15, they usually don't have much else on their mind. Probably has to do with all the hormones running through their bodies. Even if the other kids are dying, most people/kids think they will be the exception. I picked this book up because I heard it was like Hunger games. The premises is the same where "there can only be one" but the story is much more gruesome. Like the game "clue" each opponent has a different type of weapon that is supplied.
Boys
1. Yoshio Akamatsu- big kid, timid, picked on
2. Keita Iijima- former friend of Shinji
3. Tatsumichi Oki- jock plays handball
4. Toshinori Oda- short, thin, violinist, snob
5. Shogo Kawada- older kid, scarred, held back a year due to injury, scares other delinquents
6. Kazuo Kiriyama- leader of delinquents, father rich, top student, good at sports, different kind of person
7. Yoshitoki Kuninobu- orphan, crush on Norika, Shuya's childhood friend
8. Yoji Kuramoto- Yoshimi's boyfriend
9. Hiroshi Kuronaga- delinquent
10. Ryuhei Sasagawa- delinquent
11. Hiroki Sugimura- tall, lanky, reserved, into marshal arts, Takako's best friend
12. Yutaka Seto- class clown, orphan, Shinji childhood friend
13. Yuichiro Takiguchi- jock
14. Sho Tsukioka- delinquent, gay
15. Shuya Nanahara- main character, orphan, plays electric guitar, used to play baseball
16. Kazushi Niida- jock plays soccer
17. Mitsuru Numai- delinquent
18. Tadakatsu Hatagami- jock plays baseball, Shuya former friend
19. Shinji Mimura- short hair, wears earring, very athletic, mature views on world knowledge
20. Kyoichi Motobuchi- hard studier, class representative, father in government
21. Kazuhiko Yamamoto- girlfriend is Sakura
Girls
1. Mizuho Inada- weird girl
2. Yukie Utsumi- class representative, mainstream girls/neutrals
3. Megumi Eto- believes in ghost
4. Sakura Ogawa- boyfriend is Kazuhiko
5. Izumi Kanai- preppy, mainstream girls/neutrals
6. Yukiko Kitano- Yumiko's childhood friend, likes to bake
7. Yumiko Kusaka- Yukiko's childhood friend, tomboy
8. Kayoko Kotohiki- regular girl
9. Yuko Sakaki- regular girl
10. Hirono Shimizu- delinquent
11. Mitsuko Souma- leader of girl delinquents, pretty
12. Haruka Tanizawa- tall, plays volley ball, mainstream girls/neutrals
13. Takako Chigusa- pretty, track, Hiroki's best friend
14. Mayumi Tendo- delinquent
15. Noriko Nakagawa- normal, petite and playful, likes to write, Yoshitoki's crush
16. Yuka Nakagawa- heavy girl
17. Satomi Noda- model student, calm, intelligent, mainstream girls/neutrals
18. Fumiyo Fujiyoshi- gossipy girl
19. Chisato Matsui- quite, withdrawn, mainstream girls/neutrals
20. Kaori Minami- pop star fan
21. Yoshimi Yahagi- delinquent, Yoji's girlfriend
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
64 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- AJ
- 04-05-13
Amazing book but Dacasos ruined it.
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
If it didn't sound like Mark was bored reading it. He is a pretty good actor but put absolutely no acting in. It was bad and it made me bored and not interested in the book. Good thing I read it a long time ago.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Battle Royale?
Difficult to say. I suppose it would have to be after all the fluff in the beginning and they get right down to the game where the students learn what's going on and have to grab their packs and leave. I felt the author did really well putting the audience in that room.
What didn’t you like about Mark Dacascos’s performance?
Everything but above all just shocked and surprised he played it so stiff. One has to wonder why he was chosen in the first place. It seemed like it was just a paying gig for him and sadly I think the organizers figured nobody would care. Now, plenty of lazy people who would never read the book are going in and having a very bad experience with what is a very good book.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
With the book, impressed. With the audio book, major disappointment.
Any additional comments?
When you don't do something right, redo it. This time without Mark. Love ya, buddy, but this was God awful.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
45 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- TCL
- 09-15-12
Not for those with a weak stomach!
Battle Royale is terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. It's actually given me nightmares. It's also one of my absolute favorite books ever.
I read the print version of the book several times before getting it in audio format, and I think that that made listening to it much easier than if I had listened to it without reading it. The book was translated from Japanese, and the translation's not perfect, so that takes some getting used to, as does the fact that there are 42 children all with very similar Japanese names. It takes a little more concentration to follow Battle Royale than it probably takes for most other books.
If you can get over those few problems, though, and explicit violence doesn't make you cringe, you'll realize that this story is wonderfully terrifying.
Forty-two 15-year-old classmates are thrown onto an island and told to fight until only of of them survives. (Think The Hunger Games, but for grown ups). And heed this warning very seriously - the violence in this book gets *very* graphic. If you're someone for whom that might be a problem, don't buy it. Try the print version instead.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
36 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jason
- 01-25-13
great book, bad narration
This is a great book, not a great audiobook. I read this book twice and decided that it would be fun to listen to it in my spare time since I loved it so much, bad mistake. The narrator is the worst narrator I have ever heard. ever. This is an emotional book and he puts no emotion into it. The characters all sound the same and when someone is dying and yelling at their enemy he reads the same as if they were talking to a friend. He does do a good job pronouncing names but this in no way makes up for how horrible he did with everything else. the narrator manages to make a book that is so intense and exciting come off as such a boring book. sometimes you dont even understand what is going on because of how horrible it is read. I hope that they decide to make another version read by someone that can put emotion into characters. If you really want to enjoy battle royale just pick up the hard copy of the book, it is so much better.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
27 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jim "The Impatient"
- 10-26-14
THE REPUBLIC OF GREATER EAST ASIA
Starts out with lots of promise, then drizzles. This is pre-hunger games. It is obvious that Collins got her story from here. Many have claimed this to be gory and it is, maybe. 15 year old kids are shot, stabbed, etc... by 15 year old kids and by soldiers. Kids are killed in gory fashion, but the way it is written or translated, it does not come across that way. I did not cringe at the gore, nor did I feel the intensity. Some have blamed this on the narrator. I thought the narrator was okay. He is no Dick Hill or Ray Porter, but I honestly did not feel it was his fault.
I found it interesting that a Japanese writer made Asia the bad guys and America the good guys. I also never quite understood why the government wanted these games. Collins does a lot better job explaining the reason for the games then Takami. This game is also secret and not televised, which keeps making you wonder why.
We start with 42 students and one by one they are knocked off. After the Introduction, prologue, chapters 0 thru five, we get into long dialogues on students deciding on if they should play the game and who they should trust. We consistently have this debate and then someone is killed and then the debate starts over. For most children we get a background. Their is lots of talk about who has a crush on who, etc... From chapter 11 thru 21 this sounds a lot like a teen book. Around chapter 22 with 10 hours still to go in this 19 hour marathon, Jim The Impatient said no more. I just didn't care no more.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
25 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Misty
- 07-09-19
wish I could understand what hes saying
Horrible audio. I'm not sure what's worse, the fact that Mark Dacascos has the emotional range of a dead sloth, or the audio quality which makes every third word impossible to understand.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anthony
- 07-14-18
Great book w/ narration so bad I almost died IRL
If I could give 0 stars for the performance rating I would. Mark Dacascos is like a broken Speak 'N' Spell reading from a script. He literally made me fall asleep at the wheel coming home from work. This is no joke, I actually had a minor car accident because his performance of this book bored me to the point of passing out. I woke up when I drifted off the road and blew out my tire on the curb. If I kept going, I would have wound up in a lake.
This is not the book's fault. Battle Royale is an awesome book worthy of being read several times. Even the movie was pretty good. I suggest you buy the book and physically read it, because the audio book could potentially get you killed... I am glad this was free (gifted to me by my brother when I signed up for Audible), because if it weren't I seriously would have returned it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 08-17-17
Monotone reader but AMAZING novel
this book is so good that its not hard to see past readers monotone voice. it would be that much better if he showed enthusiasm. great book! on the edge of my seat!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Danni
- 10-12-16
A cult classic
I have been hearing about Battle Royale since I first got into the dystopian society genre and now I'm kicking myself for not adding it to my collection sooner. This story completely blew me away. What I loved about it was that all of the children involved had preexisting relationships and perceptions of one another giving the story emotional depth. If you're not into violence, I would skip this one. It was incredibly graphic.
The only thing I would change about this is the narrator. This was such an exciting and emotional journey and his narration lacked the passion I was looking for.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Annie
- 09-25-12
Do you have a crush on anyone?
Kids are being murdered in some pretty brutal ways, and yet they spend an awful lot of time discussing their crushes. I find this distracting and ridiculous.
Also distracting is the bad writing. I cannot tell if it's the fault of the author or the translator, but this book contains grammatical errors, at least one confusion between meters and centimeters, and this horrible line: "For a moment, Yutaka fell silent, but then he answered immediately." You cannot have that "moment" and then an immediate answer. There are dozens more lines like this that made me laugh out loud and took me out of the story.
I feel bad for the narrator. I cannot evaluate his performance fairly because the writing is stilted and unnatural. I suspect he did what he could.
All of this is unfortunate because there is something interesting in this book. I was fascinated by ways the relationships between these kids unraveled because of distrust. And given what is revealed at the end about why the program exists, it makes perfect sense. Making people suspicious of one another has always been a key tactic of totalitarian states. But there is too much bad writing, and I could not enjoy the story.
Note to those about to listen: You might want to find a list of characters online and print it out for reference. I am one of those people who has trouble with foreign names, and there are so many characters in this book and the names are sometimes so similar that I lost track a few times. I mean, there's one scene with Yukie, Yuka AND Yuko. I nearly lost my mind.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
7 people found this helpful