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Ring
 
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Ring (Paperback)

by Koji Suzuki (Author), Glynne Walley (Translator)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 17.95
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Review

"Anyone curious in how the Japanese see themselves will find this book a fascinating, and ultimately highly disturbing, experience." - Publishers Weekly

"From its eerie opening to its chilling conclusion, this novel by the "Stephen King of Asia" will keep readers glued to its pages." - Library Journal

"But Suzuki is plowing a path that nobody else has traveled, as his 'Ring'-virus is born into an all-too vulnerable world. There are so many extremely clever riffs that never made it into either movie that readers aren't likely to notice how wide the road recently traveled is until they catch their breath and manage to look back." - Agony Columns

"Suzuki's ambitious trilogy does succeed, and it's hard not to be impressed with his aplomb in turning a straight supernatural horror mystery around into a piece of pure science fiction." - TIMES

"Suzuki is called the Stephen King of his country, but that's not really accurate; King isn't nearly as adept at creating complex characters, explaining scientific principles or writing the kind of dialogue that might actually be spoken by humans." - Las Vegas Mercury


Product Description

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.

The success of Koji Suzuki's novel the Ring has lead to manga, television and film adaptations in Japan, Korea, and the U.S.

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6 Reviews
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4.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars ... and then you die, Dec 31 2005
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
Koji Suzuki could easily be considered the Stephen King of Japanese horror, with several movies (and remakes) of his bestseller novels -- particularly "Ring." Yes, that one. The one where you die in a week after seeing the cursed tape. While not quite the same as either film, Suzuki's original novel is a quiet, understated horror classic.

Four teenagers watch a seemingly cursed videotape, which will kill them in one week's time. Seven days later, all four die of heart attacks, including one young man simply keeling off his motorcycle. The uncle of one girl, Kazuyuki Asakawa, also finds the videotape and watches it. Now he has seven days to figure out the mysterious instructions, which happen to be missing. If he doesn't, he's dead.

Accompanied by a less-than-pristine professor, Ryuji Takayama, Asakawa goes in search of what is going on -- he suspects a virus that causes a heart attack. As he goes hunting through the woods for the secret to the videotape, he discovers a legacy of death and terror, left behind by the malevolent Sadako Yamamura. Asakawa's time is running out -- how can he unravel the mystery of the Ring?

Don't expect a carbon copy of the "Ring" movies: No TV apparitions, the lead is a man, and despite her beautiful female appearance, Sadako is a hermaphrodite. However, the "Ring" book is far more horrifying, solidifying Suzuki's position as a classic horror writer. It's impossible not to shiver when you look at the TV, after seeing this.

Suzuki's skill is in calmly, coolly describing horrific events in simple words. It packs a more visceral punch than if he just had floods of blood and gore in detail. The scene where Takayama sees the curse working on his own body is enough to make your skin crawl. And as good horror writers do, he creates a horrific plot based on something everyday. It's so easy to set off the curse, and that is what is so terrifying.

As Suzuki often does, he doesn't make his characters all sympathetic and noble. Asakawa is a cynical, rather self-absorbed man -- although this is what the plot hinges on -- and Takayama is a nihilistic rapist. It weakens the book slightly to not care much about either. Though in a way, the book is more about the "curse" -- which is more a virus -- and about Sadako than either of these men.

Perhaps that's a part of Suzuki's subtle cultural critiques in here, as well as Japanese supernatural beliefs -- nensha, for example, which is how Sadako created the lethal tape -- and the male and female roles in society. Finally he takes a hard look at this question: Should you allow your loved ones and yourself to die, or risk contaminating the world with the lethal videotape?

There's an almost apocalyptic note to the finale of "Ring," although it resulted in two more books. And Suzuki's original, deeply creepy novel is a must-read.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!, Oct 29 2008
By Buffyvssatan (Montreal, Quebec Canada) - See all my reviews
The movie Ringu seemed so creative and original when I saw it. Now that I've read Ring, the movie seems easy and simple and has so little to offer compared to the book.
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5.0 out of 5 stars This is Blood-Curling Horror, Feb 20 2006
By Movie Freak "Matt" (Calgary, Canada) - See all my reviews
This is a great book. Don't worry, in this review, there are no spoilers, unlike those other reviews. Koji Suzuki is at top-notch, and you will still be surprised, even if it is a little predictable. This is so much different then The Ring, and trails of from what Ringu has to offer. This basically follows the same plot as you'd expect... four teens die, and Kazuyuki Asakawa is intrugied by this case. He soon discovers a tape at Villa Log Cabin, and enters the horrifying world of mystery, where one wrong turn can cause a catastrophe with the time left to live.

The end is so good. I wish I forgot what happened, so I could read it again and be shocked at Asakawa's sinister choice. And after the cliffhanger ending, Suzuki leaves the reader no choice but to be so interested to read the book's follow-up, Spiral.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Added Substance to the Well-Known Plot
Being a big fan of both "Ringu" and its American remake "The Ring," I was intrigued to read the book that started it all. Read more
Published on Jul 19 2004 by CreepyT

5.0 out of 5 stars Whoa...
Koji Suzuki, Ring (Vertical, 1991)

So you've seen The Ring. Or, better yet, the Japanese film Ringu. Or both. (You should watch both. See Ringu first.) Or you haven't. Read more

Published on Jun 17 2004 by Robert P. Beveridge

5.0 out of 5 stars A very nice story...
This is a sharply, almost scientifically written horror story. The author manages to offer a modern view of Japan society as it tries to put together a very objective and... Read more
Published on April 29 2004

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