Reviews tagging 'Death'

Ring by Kōji Suzuki

24 reviews

novellearts's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.0

I’m a bit conflicted on this book. I ended up giving it a 4 because is I still found it enjoyable.. but there were parts of the story that I found extremely unnecessary. 

Why did the author find it necessary to have the best friend Ryuji admit to raping a girl? And why did Asakawa not do anything about that admission? Not only that but then there’s a second rape at the end with Sadako who turns out to be intersex and is then murdered.

This is one of the rare occurrences where I did enjoy the film more than the book. I missed the possession aspect that the film gave to this story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Death

saldre's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Violence, Child death, Murder, Rape, Suicide, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Death

figsofpeach's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Transphobia, and Rape

kenziehath's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, and Sexual assault

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Transphobia, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Death, Child death, and Rape

Moderate: Chronic illness and Death of parent

sashaanauo's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

i think i enjoyed the plot concept more than I enjoyed actually engaging with this book. the pacing towards the midpoint slowed down a bit too much for my liking, and the unprompted misogyny and transphobic themes really threw me off. the main two characters also being bad people (a rapist and a friend of a rapist) made it really hard to connect with the story as well. i wouldnt mind the two main characters being bad people if it felt like the narrative framed them in a negative manor, but i didnt feel they were at all. i know this is a translated story from 90s japan, but I felt the story would have benefited for a better exploration of its female characters. regardless of all my negative thoughts on the novel, i genuinely enjoyed the explorative mystery element of this novel. the way the it played out was very natural and enjoyable to discover along with the characters. also I know it's a series but the ending happened a lot faster than I was expecting

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Death, Misogyny, and Rape

pimmles's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexual violence, Death, and Rape

Minor: Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Murder, Medical content, Transphobia, Violence, and Drug use

Regarding the "minor" transphobia tag, not 100% accurate, more intersex-phobia details ahead:

During the story it is revealed that Sadako is intersex. I put it as minor because the author, to his credit, never seems to actually treat that as a negative thing in any regard. It is talked about as a medical curiosity but no more, though it is ofcourse on the infamous horror villain and does have some problematic elements to it.

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicide, Pregnancy, Child death, Death, Murder, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse

choco_bunbun's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Blood and Misogyny

Minor: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Grief, and Transphobia

judassilver's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Misogyny, Murder, and Transphobia

Moderate: Death, Alcoholism, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic