The Ring (Ring, #1)

by Koji Suzuki

A mysterious videotape warns that the viewer will die in one week unless a certain, unspecified act is performed. Exactly one week after watching the tape, four teenagers die one after another of heart failure.

Asakawa, a hardworking journalist, is intrigued by his niece's inexplicable death. His investigation leads him from a metropolitan tokyo teeming with modern society's fears to a rural Japan--a mountain resort, a volcanic island, and a countryside clinic--haunted by the past. His attempt to solve the tape's mystery before it's too late--for everyone--assumes an increasingly deadly urgency. Ring is a chillingly told horror story, a masterfully suspenseful mystery, and post-modern trip.

• ISBN10: 1932234004
• ISBN13: 9781932234008
• Publish Date: 1 May 2003
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 1 June 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Vertical Inc.
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 286
• Language: English

Reviews

[pamela]

For a book that spawned two pantshittingly terrifying films, Ring was remarkably not scary. It was an easy read, I was entertained, I wanted to solve the mystery, but not once was I scared. Which is saying something. I'm a complete coward when it comes to horror.

One of the issues with this book was not the writer's lack of talent, but the very clear indication that something was lost in translation. There was something rigid about the writing and the characters never felt fleshed out in the way they should. Asakawa, the protagonist, is emotionally distant and neglectful but culturally unmistakably Japanese, and his best friend Riuji who shares Asakawa's prospective fate is a casual rapist. These characters had irredeemable character flaws so it made them very difficult to engage with, although with a cultural understanding and if it had been read in its original Japanese I do feel these characters might have been a little more personable.

Ironically, the unlikeable and shallow protagonists may just have been this novel's stroke of genius. Instead of traditional heroes and villians, I found myself sympathising more with the 'evil' Sadako who's spirit is the villain of the story. The heroic protagonists, racing against time to save themselves from the machinations of the evil villain are themselves far more villainous than the pitiable Sadako ever was. It is such a shame then that the end didn't quite work as well as it should have. There was nothing inherently evil about Sadako when she was alive, and not enough explanation given as to why she became so evil as a consequence of the things that happened to her. A bit more psychological exploration would have been in order.

As a horror novel Ring was a little lacklustre. It lacked a sense of terror and dread that the greats of the genre have. It was a diverting read, and it was certainly easy to mentally digest, but it didn't make me excited to keep reading the rest of the series. If I want a good scare (and I NEVER thought I'd type these words) I'd recommend the film instead.

Review also available at http://iblamewizards.com/review-ring-by-koji-suzuki/