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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm glad I read this in addition to the first two volumes of the manga; I think this is proof that while you don't necessarily need to read the novel by Koji Suzuki, it helps a lot if you have read it prior and makes this volume more enriching. A lot of the details in this volume concern time Sadako spent with an acting troupe in a theater, and this is a direct reference back to some of the details learned about her in the novel Ring. While it's detached in the novel as a focus on gathering more information about Sadako, here we get more of an emotional bias as we follow along with her in particular and the fear and struggles she faces in the meantime. I think this could be read as a prelude to the first two volumes, but I still followed just fine reading this as the third. Highly recommended if you're going through the manga adaptations of the story!
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder
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. It doesn't matter. You must read Ring.
The story is relatively similar, but both Nakata and Verbinski took very large liberties with the original text (for example, both made Asakawa's character female-- which allowed the world to get weak-kneed at seeing Nanako Matsushima and Naomi Watts gracing screens again, but was otherwise seemingly gratuitous), including some major messing with the backstory. So if you've seen the films, the book will be familiar, but will still end up being a whole new experience.
Asakawa is a reporter. He was disgraced a couple of years ago during a sudden, unexplained outburst of popularity of stories about the occult in Japan (though you don't find out exactly how early on). One night, on the way home, he catches a cab, and he and the driver strike up a conversation about an event that happened a month previously to the cabdriver: a kid on a motorbike died of sudden heart failure. The death is eerily similar to that of Asakawa's niece on the same night. And from that coincidence, Asakawa starts to research the connection between the two deaths, which turns out to be far more than he bargained for.
What made for a creepily effective thriller on screen actually reads more like a hardboiled detective thriller (those familiar with the premise will note the obvious similarity to certain crime films of the past, notably D. O. A.). Suzuki keeps the horrors even farther offscreen than did Nakata (and the difference in the "revelation" at the end will surely startle those who are expecting the same kind of special-effects extravaganza Nakata used as a payoff), focusing on the mystery and the bond between Asakawa and his best friend, Ryuji, who gets involved in the investigation with him.
The book's flaws are minor, and conducive to mystery writing. Asakawa's edtor is a dead ringer for Tony Vincenzo (the editor in "Kolchak: The Night Stalker"), and a few of the other minor characters are about as shallow. Still, there are less obvious "kill me" characters running around, and the minor characters aren't really given enough screen time to make it an issue.
Compelling, well-written, expertly translated, and full of twists, even for those who have seen the movie. Highly recommended, and a shoo-in for this year's ten-best list. **** ½
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. It doesn't matter. You must read Ring.
The story is relatively similar, but both Nakata and Verbinski took very large liberties with the original text (for example, both made Asakawa's character female-- which allowed the world to get weak-kneed at seeing Nanako Matsushima and Naomi Watts gracing screens again, but was otherwise seemingly gratuitous), including some major messing with the backstory. So if you've seen the films, the book will be familiar, but will still end up being a whole new experience.
Asakawa is a reporter. He was disgraced a couple of years ago during a sudden, unexplained outburst of popularity of stories about the occult in Japan (though you don't find out exactly how early on). One night, on the way home, he catches a cab, and he and the driver strike up a conversation about an event that happened a month previously to the cabdriver: a kid on a motorbike died of sudden heart failure. The death is eerily similar to that of Asakawa's niece on the same night. And from that coincidence, Asakawa starts to research the connection between the two deaths, which turns out to be far more than he bargained for.
What made for a creepily effective thriller on screen actually reads more like a hardboiled detective thriller (those familiar with the premise will note the obvious similarity to certain crime films of the past, notably D. O. A.). Suzuki keeps the horrors even farther offscreen than did Nakata (and the difference in the "revelation" at the end will surely startle those who are expecting the same kind of special-effects extravaganza Nakata used as a payoff), focusing on the mystery and the bond between Asakawa and his best friend, Ryuji, who gets involved in the investigation with him.
The book's flaws are minor, and conducive to mystery writing. Asakawa's edtor is a dead ringer for Tony Vincenzo (the editor in "Kolchak: The Night Stalker"), and a few of the other minor characters are about as shallow. Still, there are less obvious "kill me" characters running around, and the minor characters aren't really given enough screen time to make it an issue.
Compelling, well-written, expertly translated, and full of twists, even for those who have seen the movie. Highly recommended, and a shoo-in for this year's ten-best list. **** ½
3.5*
A premissa do livro é boa, a história apesar de lenta é interessante, cheia suspense e mistério... no entanto por mais do que uma vez estive tentada a fechar o livro para nunca mais o abrir devido aos comentários e acções que algumas personagens têm ao longo livro.Já li livros mais violentos e que abordam temáticas semelhantes, mas a maneira como a violação foi abordada neste livro deixou-me - eu ia dizer desconfortável, mas mais do que desconfortável provocou-me... raiva e alguma irritação. Talvez agora a frio consiga perceber algumas das escolhas do autor, em particular porque a temática da violação poderia também estar por detrás dos motivos da Samira ou ele querer que o leitor pense que é uma das razões de uma personagem morrer... Não sei. Sei que não gostei desses momentos. Estou ainda a ponderar se irei ler os restantes livros da série.
A premissa do livro é boa, a história apesar de lenta é interessante, cheia suspense e mistério... no entanto por mais do que uma vez estive tentada a fechar o livro para nunca mais o abrir devido aos comentários e acções que algumas personagens têm ao longo livro.
From BBC Radio 4 - Drama:
Listen. Watch. Until the end. You will be consumed by the lost.'
British journalist Mitchell Hooper lives in Tokyo with his wife Toni. When he begins investigating the mysterious deaths of four teenagers, he discovers a nightmarish secret. They all died after watching the same video tape.
When Mitchell watches the tape himself, he is cursed to die in seven days. And so as the countdown to death begins, he must solve the riddle of the curse.
Ring is Japanese horror at its best - a radio adaptation of the classic novel by Koji Suzuki, which inspired the infamous 1998 film. It stars Matthew Gravelle (Broadchurch), Eve Myles (Torchwood), Akira Koieyama (Rush) and Naoko Mori (Torchwood).
To turn up the horror put on your headphones and listen to the immersive 'binaural' mix of the programme for a unique 3D listening experience.
Fright Night: pure horror from BBC Radio 4
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06g63fk
Listen. Watch. Until the end. You will be consumed by the lost.'
British journalist Mitchell Hooper lives in Tokyo with his wife Toni. When he begins investigating the mysterious deaths of four teenagers, he discovers a nightmarish secret. They all died after watching the same video tape.
When Mitchell watches the tape himself, he is cursed to die in seven days. And so as the countdown to death begins, he must solve the riddle of the curse.
Ring is Japanese horror at its best - a radio adaptation of the classic novel by Koji Suzuki, which inspired the infamous 1998 film. It stars Matthew Gravelle (Broadchurch), Eve Myles (Torchwood), Akira Koieyama (Rush) and Naoko Mori (Torchwood).
To turn up the horror put on your headphones and listen to the immersive 'binaural' mix of the programme for a unique 3D listening experience.
Fright Night: pure horror from BBC Radio 4
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06g63fk
I didn't love this book, sadly. I definitely found it intriguing and compelling enough to keep reading, but the primary main characters were difficult to like. I don't have to like main characters, but both of them left me feeling...unsettled. I'm still pondering this one.