The 10th Victim by Robert Sheckley is actually a novelization of the Italian film of the same name, which is in turn a film adaptation of the short story "The Seventh Victim," which was also written by Robert Sheckley. Considering that Sheckley has no screenwriting credits attached to the film (and the film has five screenwriting credits!), just a "Story by" acknowledgement, it's hard to pinpoint where most of the content in this novel originates. I can say, however, that having seen the film before reading the book, I found the book much more entertaining, and with many scenes from the film not appearing in the novelization, I'm willing to give Sheckley full credit.
Besides all of that, The 10th Victim is a wacky little farce that takes place in a future where international war has been eliminated through the application of "The Hunt," a voluntary assassination game in which contestants are designated alternately as Hunters and Victims until they are killed or survive ten rounds. The main characters are attractive sociopath Caroline and handsome apathetic Marcello, both of whom are on their tenth round of The Hunt. Caroline is now the Hunter, and she has drawn Marcello as her Victim. Is this relationship doomed from the start?
Sheckley handles this tale of government-assisted homicide with a playfully tongue-in-cheek style that makes a morbidly fun read out of what has the potential for sci-fi moral posturing. The ending was a little bizarre and felt like a false stop, but considering that this isn't a book that begs to be taken seriously, it's a minor sin that can be forgiven. There are two more books after this in the "Victim" trilogy that I have yet to read, and I am definitely curious if the tone changes throughout.
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