Reviews

S: Es by Kōji Suzuki

wanderaerrr's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

alexampersand's review against another edition

3.0

There's a potentially interesting idea at the core of the book, however about two-thirds of the way through we once again end up rehashing the plot of Ring. And I get it, we want to make sure new readers are caught up and forgetful readers have their memories refreshed. But just reading a character reciting the entire story for himself feels a little dry. 

And then the resolution of the book is pretty much once again just a multi-page monologue from one character just explaining everything that was happening.

So... interesting plot with the serial killer, but ultimately quite poorly executed for me.

mrdcoolblue's review against another edition

challenging reflective medium-paced

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

2.0

The book series is nothing like the film series, but even disregarding that, this book has very strange pacing, no climax to speak of. While there are a few good tense moments, the series had left the horror genre a long time ago. I would call this sci-fi fantasy. Don’t come into this looking for a ghost story. 

seasidewitchery's review against another edition

1.0

Here’s the deal, this book is weird. It takes you on this large roundabout journey to an anti-climactic ending that left me wondering: are Akane and Takenori sort-of-but-not related? And I can’t even begin to explain why I am wondering that without spoiling the ending for you. As a standalone, I rate it low (1 out of 5, maybe?), but it may be a great book for a reader who is a huge fan of Sadako and the Ring series.

Read my entire review here:
https://thebeewitchedreader.com/2018/02/26/february-nrb-s-es-by-koji-suzuki/

madskbae's review against another edition

2.0

This is less of a review than it is a warning.

The narrative in the first two thirds of the book is extremely compelling, well-written, and thrilling.

Then it seems like the author suddenly gives up, and the final part of the book is composed of his notes for what would have been the continuation of the series. Just an endless info-dump of plotless exposition, rambling through plainly stated facts about something that REALLY feels like it would be enough material for another 2-3 novels. (Bad novels, mind - the plots sound awful.)

I've read Suzuki before and am aware he struggles with endings, but this is something else. It feels unfinished, and really ends everything on an extremely sour note.

zimb0's review against another edition

5.0

Might be my favorite sequel to “Ring.”


Still don’t understand why Ry was a rapist or maybe not? In the first book.

blueschala's review against another edition

3.0

The Ring books are like junk food for my brain. I know they're not that good, but they're just so delightfully weird, I can't resist them. This book is pretty much a direct sequel to Spiral, so I recommend reading at least the first two books and maybe Birthday as well before reading this one. I found the characters in S very engaging and found myself holding my breath during a few tense scenes. I wouldn't say the book is scary, but it is deeply unsettling.

Still haven't figured out why there are safe handling instructions for meat on the back cover.

zuuru's review against another edition

4.0

I'n amazed it managed to combine the lore of all the previous books, especially considering how wildly off-genre (as compared to Ring and Spiral) Loop went. The first half of course remains the best part and the author still has the issue of tl;dr massive lore dumps, but the solution to the main problem of the story actually really satisfied me.

sabrielabhorsen's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

3.0

em_harring's review against another edition

2.0

The first half or so of this had me. I was interested in what was going on and enjoyed the mystery that Suzuki was crafting and followed along well enough considering I haven't read the first four books in the series in well over 15 years.

The second half kind of went off the rails, though. It was wild and weird and took a turn I wasn't expecting and didn't love.

Spoiler

Asexual reproduction? Really? Why.

The plot was also 'wrapped up' in a weirdly placed monologue. I would have loved more action than just an explanation of what was happening.

The writing as a whole was pretty stilted and awkward at times.

Overall, a weird addition to the Ring series.