A review by mintomillk
Ring by Kōji Suzuki

4.0

4 stars. thoroughly enthralling and not at all what i expected going into this book, having known only of the Ringu series through references and memes to the English movies. Suzuki's work reads more as a slowly unravelling mystery than horror, even as the looming feeling of doom remains throughout the plot with the discovery of the video tape. the ending sequence which sets up the sequel of this book i found very clever, and Suzuki does a great job of maintaining a sense of horrific dread even as resolutions come and lives are saved. Sadako as a character, however, i disliked; both due to her sexual trauma being used as a plot device and the treatment of intersexuality in the novel, which hardly made an impact on the overall story and could have easily done without. she very much felt exoticised for no good reason and i can't blame girlie for murdering as a result.