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je_fancyb's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I think this was ahead of its time in a lot of fun ways and unfortunately OF its time in some others. Moves at a really good clip but some developments just Happen with little reason and the text does itself a disservice by pointing it out
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, and Murder
jaylee_books's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Transphobia
Moderate: Chronic illness and Death of parent
kchin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
It's all sorts of messed up. There must be significance to some parts of the book that I didn't grasp but it's likely cultural nuances. As a long time horror fan I'm happy to have finally read this cult classic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
desertlurker's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Transphobia
Moderate: Suicide
annelisezj's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Overall, good read!
Kept me on my toes and even though some portions seemed obvious I still enjoyed the twists and turns each chapter took.
I will be definitely picking up the next one in the series.
Kept me on my toes and even though some portions seemed obvious I still enjoyed the twists and turns each chapter took.
I will be definitely picking up the next one in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I saw the film (Ringu) recently and really enjoyed it, so I decided to finally get around to reading this.
Much like the film it’s a slow burn that gradually speeds up towards the end. I prefer the book purely because it goes more in depth about Sadako and her reasons for becoming an Onryo, but I prefer the movies version of Asakawa.
That being said This Asakawa is a really compelling protagonist. Despite everything he really cares about his family.
There were various elements that made me uncomfy, such as Asakawa’s attitude towards intersexuality, and generally the way women are portrayed, however I wonder if (for the time) it may have been considered progressive? I don’t know, I think it’d be interesting to research and I like how the story has evolved over the time.
A solid read!
Much like the film it’s a slow burn that gradually speeds up towards the end. I prefer the book purely because it goes more in depth about Sadako and her reasons for becoming an Onryo, but I prefer the movies version of Asakawa.
That being said This Asakawa is a really compelling protagonist. Despite everything he really cares about his family.
There were various elements that made me uncomfy, such as Asakawa’s attitude towards intersexuality, and generally the way women are portrayed, however I wonder if (for the time) it may have been considered progressive? I don’t know, I think it’d be interesting to research and I like how the story has evolved over the time.
A solid read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Suicide, Transphobia, and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming, Blood, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexism, Violence, and Vomit
emilyyjjean's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
5.0
Fantastic! I really loved the movie The Ring, and never knew it was based off of this book. The book is even better than the movie!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Suicide and Death of parent
flowtjo's review against another edition
medium-paced
1.0
It has some of the most egregious use of intersex characters, sexism and rape as plot features I've ever seen. It's not a bad translation job, a product of its time or cultural difference - the writer had a couple of good ideas and wrapped them up in his terrible views, badly defined characters and very limited knowledge of both the occult and science. A mildly interesting story that turned out to be such a nasty little book. So so disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Suicide, and Transphobia
Starts off OK, but the latter half of the book is riddled with transphobia/anti-intersex speech, a lot of rape, and healthy doses of sexism against women throughout. Ye been warned.kattrent's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was excited and surprised to know that The Ring was a book before a movie! And a series at that!
After finishing the novel I can definitely say there are a few things- I would not recommend this to most intersex peoples because it can be seen as vilifying them towards the end of the novel because Sadako is found to be intersex after she is raped and the fact that she is perpetuating the curse as a means of reproduction . Besides that, I found the twist and pacing to be well done, and the imagery was stunning.
After finishing the novel I can definitely say there are a few things- I would not recommend this to most intersex peoples because it can be seen as vilifying them towards the end of the novel
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Murder
jsi550's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Stalking, and Murder