A review by alexampersand
Ring by Kōji Suzuki
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
4.0
I always find it weird reading a book after watching the movie - especially when the movie is a translated remake. But here we are, with the book that The Ring is (loosely) based on.
There are obviously a lot of similarities - the concept of the video, people dying within 7 days, and the well. But the actual facts and story of Sadako has been completely altered - as well as the contents of the video itself.
I honestly thought that Sadako's backstory, and how the video came about, made a lot more sense in the book, and also I liked the analogy of viral reproduction as it's explained. That was sort of brushed under the carpet with a bit of magic hand waving.
I did think the plot around Sadako's gender was..... unnecessary? It gave it an excuse to lean into some oddly transphobic ideas that didn't really have much impact on the story and how it came to be.
There were also quite a few leaps that were taken by Asakawa in trying to work out the mystery, some of which felt more believable than others...
But generally speaking it was a fun and intriguing read.
There are obviously a lot of similarities - the concept of the video, people dying within 7 days, and the well. But the actual facts and story of Sadako has been completely altered - as well as the contents of the video itself.
I honestly thought that Sadako's backstory, and how the video came about, made a lot more sense in the book, and also I liked the analogy of viral reproduction as it's explained. That was sort of brushed under the carpet with a bit of magic hand waving.
I did think the plot around Sadako's gender was..... unnecessary? It gave it an excuse to lean into some oddly transphobic ideas that didn't really have much impact on the story and how it came to be.
There were also quite a few leaps that were taken by Asakawa in trying to work out the mystery, some of which felt more believable than others...
But generally speaking it was a fun and intriguing read.