You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I always wanted to get around to reading the book the movie was inspired by…so…here we are. Finally.
I must say this one wasn’t so much as scary as it was mysterious. You spend most of the book trying to solve the puzzle of the VHS tape and nothing other than that. Nothing spooky happens during this time, it’s really just a sense of urgency to solve the mystery before time runs out.
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
while I’m giving this book a 3.75, that’s not to say it wasn’t an enjoyable read. I really liked the pace, I liked that it was simple enough to understand, and yet just mysterious enough for me to be thrilled by. I also thought a lot of the “discovering” and plot twists were well done. however, as many other people have stated, it is like rampant with really weird views and details on women?? I mean it was written in 1991 but like for example, there’s a certain part in the book that was about Sadako that genuinely made me sigh. I love the story itself it’s very interesting and for the time it was certainly a new plot concept, I just wish stuff like that had been left out
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Rape, Murder
Moderate: Misogyny
asakawa got on my nerves because i just kept thinking *omg get a grip and do what you need to*
kind of weird with women. ryuji assaults women occasionally (maybe.. since we can’t know for sure”) and sadako is also assaulted. asakawa’s wife strikes you as annoying and flat. mai is flat. the characters’ beauty is lingered on in favor of developing personalities (yawn!)
interesting combination of smallpox and horror, i like that a lot. definitely better than the movie concept of some girl getting revenge, this feels more complex and interesting
writing was so-so for me
kind of weird with women. ryuji assaults women occasionally (maybe.. since we can’t know for sure”) and sadako is also assaulted. asakawa’s wife strikes you as annoying and flat. mai is flat. the characters’ beauty is lingered on in favor of developing personalities (yawn!)
interesting combination of smallpox and horror, i like that a lot. definitely better than the movie concept of some girl getting revenge, this feels more complex and interesting
writing was so-so for me
dark
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:
Complicated
An interesting story partly ruined by the authors weird choices. Although its pretty common to have casual/random violence against women in books written by Japanese male authors so it tracks I guess. Also rest in piss Ryuji.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Blood
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
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
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Stoked to read the rest of the series but this book is also a great stand alone read if you like open endings
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
This was a wonderful surprise!
Of course I watched the movie when I was young, and it scared me a lot!
I knew from page 1 that this was going to be a million times better than the Hollywood movie, as is the case 99.9% of the time with translated fiction and their Hollywood counterparts, and I was right!
I found the premise and philosophical musings fascinating! And the fact this was about the characters genuinely trying to solve a mystery that had supernatural elements made for quite the page turner.
I will definitely read the next one!
Of course I watched the movie when I was young, and it scared me a lot!
I knew from page 1 that this was going to be a million times better than the Hollywood movie, as is the case 99.9% of the time with translated fiction and their Hollywood counterparts, and I was right!
I will definitely read the next one!