<B>In a dystopian future Japan, forty-two junior high school students are outfitted with weapons and bid to kill one another until there is only one left standing.</B><BR><BR>Koushun Takami''s notorious high-octane thriller envisions a nightmare scenario: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan—where it became a runaway best seller—<I>Battle Royale</I> is a <I>Lord of the Flies</I> for the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world.