/lit/ - Literature

Please hear me out.

For various unimportant reasons I was forced to read pic related and The Hunger Games. I found Battle Royale surprisingly engaging, but that isn't what I'm here to discuss.

The Hunger Games is a ripoff. I went in certain it wouldn't be. I've heard over and over that it's just angry fanboys, that the concepts are similar and they just share some elements by probability. No.

I cannot believe they have gotten away with this. I think it's because so few people have read Battle Royale, but The Hunger Games is without a doubt a shameless attempt at softening and re-packaging a solid book for the young adult crowd.

I just get angrier and angrier the more I think about this. When I got to the end of THG, where the big bad Cato (Kazuo) was going to be killed at a distance but survived due to having the unique body armor, I just had to put it down. I finished it later, but, Jesus.

THG is LITERALLY this: Take Battle Royale, soften it for kids, shorten it up, dumb it down, change it just enough to not get caught, sell sell sell.

What a fucking crime. BR was actually powerful and decent in my opinion, memorable at the very least.

I'm sure not many people care, I didn't care until very recently, but it's seriously deplorable.

What does /lit/ think about this?
How can you only publish one fucking book and become such a huge hit? Just a good marketing campaign?

8.5 leaning towards 9/10