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Ring (Ring #1)

by Koji Suzuki, Robert B. Rohmer (Translator), Glynne Walley (Translator)

3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 · rating details · 4,387 ratings · 288 reviews

A mysterious videotape warns that the viewer will die in one week unless a certain, unspecified act is performed. Exactly one week after watching the tape, four teenagers die one after another of heart failure.

Asakawa, a hardworking journalist, is intrigued by his niece's inexplicable death. His investigation leads him from a metropolitan tokyo teeming with modern society...more

Paperback, 282 pages

Published April 25th 2004 by Vertical (first published 1991)

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Oct 25, 2011 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2006

I didn't find this book to be scary either as I am very rarely frightened by books. I did have high hopes for it, as the American film version is one of the few movies that really creeped me out. (I'm a big horror film fan but none have stayed with me as long as The Ring. I can freak myself out just thinking about it.) I found the book interesting, but not scary. As mentioned by others, it is sufficiently different enough from the films to be engaging and I liked the differences very much. I'm c...more

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Jan 08, 2009 Gette rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've been waiting get my hands on an English translation this novel, since it's the one that launched Japan's Ringu and pretty much the entire 2005 onslaught of Asian horror movies. As expected, the book and movie is quite different, but this book is different enough for me not to know what to make if it yet.[return][return]In the movie, a female reporter investigates the mysterious death of her niece, which leads her to a killer video tape and seven days to unravel the mystery, which cummulated...more I've been waiting get my hands on an English translation this novel, since it's the one that launched Japan's Ringu and pretty much the entire 2005 onslaught of Asian horror movies. As expected, the book and movie is quite different, but this book is different enough for me not to know what to make if it yet.[return][return]In the movie, a female reporter investigates the mysterious death of her niece, which leads her to a killer video tape and seven days to unravel the mystery, which cummulated in this long-haired spook climbing out of the TV.[return][return]In the book, the protagonist is a man names Asakawa, also a reporter, who noticed that three other teens died around the same time as his niece. He tracks down the tape and watches it. There was nothing coherent in it, just some abstract images, and a message:[return][return]"Those who have viewed these images are fated to die at this exact hour one week from now. If you do not wish to die, you must follow this instructions exactly..."[return][return]The tape then cuts to static. [return][return]The race throughout the book is to find out what it said, which sends him on a long chase over Japan trying to discover its origins.[return][return]Joining in the hunt is his professor friend Ryuji Takayama, who provokes even less sympathy by being both male and a sexual predator. Ryuji thinks it's a virus, and he's not too far from wrong.[return][return]What they both find is references to the beautiful Sadako Yamamura, daughter of a famous Japanese psychic who became a laughing stock. Sadako had something to do with creation the tape and could possibly holds the answer to their salvation. [return][return]The structure of the story is similar to the movie but the plot is different. It's like two people writing their own take using the same characters and back story. One might say that the movie version was vastly over-dramatised for cinema audiences. That classic moment when Sadako climbs out of the TV is not even part of the original novel.[return][return]Ring the novel reads more like paranormal detective fiction rather than a horror story. It's creepy, but neither horrific nor nightmare-inducing. If you're looking to relive the movie, you'll be disappointed, but if you want to see where it came from, this is for you.[return][return]Ring is the first of the hugely successful thriller trilogy. The other two books are Spiral and Loop, both also filmed as cult movies.[return][return](2006)(less)

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Dec 22, 2008 Angela rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

As I've posted before on this journal, the American film The Ring is perhaps the creepiest horror movie it has ever been my pleasure to watch. The only problem is, having seen it, I lose a critical element of surprise and suspense going into the reading of Ring, the novel on which that movie is based. I have a genuinely difficult time trying to decide whether those who are unfamiliar with the story should watch the movie or go straight to the book. Koji Suzuki's writing is definitely worth explo...more

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Nov 16, 2012 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 26, 2012 Noise801 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Until a few months ago, I didn’t know the movie ‘The Ring’ was based on a book series. When I heard this, I just had to get the books.
Mind you, it’s the only movie that ever scared me enough to give me a nightmare. Something not very common. So imagine the damage a book could do to my dreams.

In case you are wondering, first read the book and then watch the movie. It makes more sense that way around.

The movie leaves many gaps in the story. It doesn’t explain everything.
The book does, even thoug...more Until a few months ago, I didn’t know the movie ‘The Ring’ was based on a book series. When I heard this, I just had to get the books.
Mind you, it’s the only movie that ever scared me enough to give me a nightmare. Something not very common. So imagine the damage a book could do to my dreams.

In case you are wondering, first read the book and then watch the movie. It makes more sense that way around.

The movie leaves many gaps in the story. It doesn’t explain everything.
The book does, even though it misses that part that makes your stomach turn. It's not as disgusting or scary as the actual films.

First of all, the names and places are all different. But that doesn’t matter. A man, Asakawa, figures out after his niece and three other friends die, that it might have something to do with an old and forgotten legend. Something about a video tape that kills you after seven days.
Curious, he tries to find out where this tape is. Soon, too soon, he figures it out and travels all the way down to a little holiday park where his niece went without her parents knowing about it. He finds the tape and watches it.

It’s as if the tape isn’t just playing. It’s as if it’s happening to him. There’s a baby crying in a womans arms. But he can feel the baby in his arms. The sound isn’t coming from the television, but from his lap. But, of course, there’s no baby. Then, the shocking, yet not disturbing images go on and on. Till the tape shows him a line. You will die in seven days. The only way to save yourself is by...

That’s where he finds a commercial playing, taped over the solution to the problem.

To find out the solution, Asakawa has to go back all the way to the place where this video tape was filmed. Slowly he and his best friend figure out what horrible truth lies behind the tape. Together, in seven days they travel to every place where the girl who made the tape has ever been.
The clock starts ticking even faster when his wife and daughter see the tape too, accidentally. He has to save them, but how?

In this series are four books.(less)

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May 07, 2012 Howard rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the original book story of the famous Japanese and later American remake films 'The Ring'. It was written in 1991 and reflects the times specifically video taping (VHS), no mobile phones etc. The two films are certainly in my top 10 of best horror films and I decided to read the book - but here I must mention that I normally read classics (see my other reads) and what might be called `literature' but I do make the occasional diversion into sci-fi and contemporary fiction.

The basic story...more This is the original book story of the famous Japanese and later American remake films 'The Ring'. It was written in 1991 and reflects the times specifically video taping (VHS), no mobile phones etc. The two films are certainly in my top 10 of best horror films and I decided to read the book - but here I must mention that I normally read classics (see my other reads) and what might be called `literature' but I do make the occasional diversion into sci-fi and contemporary fiction.

The basic story is that a group of 4 teenagers in a remote cabin resort get to watch a disturbing video left in the room - a week later they're all dead from a malevolent force. A reporter Askawa having witnessed one of the deaths basically starts investigating; finding his way to the cabin and the video and is himself now targeted. The end of the video has been taped over and he doesn't know how to break the spell so he enlists the help of his friend Ruyuji. The trail leads back to the cause - an anguished person and her death.

This is one of the few books where the films are very much better. This really is a pale, unimaginative, as linear as an arrow, and pedestrian tale - it's not scary, the few depictions of a terrorised death are weak and the video described itself is bland. I couldn't help (yes I know it's horror fiction) find all the inconsistencies and plot weaknesses. Without too much detail, here are some: how do you throw yourself into a volcano? Would you really watch your husband's suspicious video (porno?) with a talking toddler of 1.5years on your lap? Would you really be that friendly with an admitted rapist? I don't think one bloke could really hoist someone out of a well that easily. With all the possibilities would every single line of enquiry you take be basically correct? The viral spreading scenario is deeply flawed in two ways - even if people did decide to double up (as it were) the worst that would happen is half the population dies and that's not even taking account of the billions of people without access to a video recorder full stop; all Askawa has to do is find a couple of terminally ill people with less than a week to live (end of invasion).

This was a real disappointment: what the book adds to the film in terms of character detail, plot expansion or depictions is basically nothing. The pseudo science of virology is so weak. The films have taken the core idea and made something special - the book offers little.(less)

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Jan 12, 2012 Kell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2009

Having already seen and enjoyed the Japanese film based on the book (and also seen and laughed derisively at the American re-make), I already knew the "secret" of Ring, but wanted to give the source material a try. I wasn't disappointed.

Suzuki's writing is terse without losing any of the required description for a good, all-round immersion in the action - his approach to writing seems to be to use exactly the right amount of words without prettying it up (at least, it comes over that way in the...more

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Dec 21, 2011 Roberta rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2007

Il giornalista Kazuyuki Asakawa indaga sulla morte di quattro giovani (di cui una è sua nipote) avvenuta nello stesso istante anche se in posti diversi a causa di un inspiegabile attacco di cuore. Attratto dalla vicenda Asakawa scopre che i quattro si conoscevano e che, una settimana prima della loro morte, avevano passato una notte in un cottage del centro vacanze “Pacific Land Club” di Hakone. Qui avevano visionato una cassetta priva di custodia e di etichetta contenente uno strano filmato com...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Carles Granados rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: SOS

Shelves: terror

Es un libro excelente!

Muchos conocerán alguna de las versiones cinematográficas (japonesa o americana) que se realizaron a partir del citado libro. Dicen de Koji Suzuki que es el nuevo Stephen King en versión japonesa. Esta afirmación podría parecer muy peregrina y una simple frase promocional del Publishers Weekly para que quede mona en la contraportada del libro. Pero lo cierto es que las novelas de Koji Suzuki (Paradise [1990], Spiral [1995] y Dark Water [1996]) son fenómenos de masas en su p...more Es un libro excelente!

Muchos conocerán alguna de las versiones cinematográficas (japonesa o americana) que se realizaron a partir del citado libro. Dicen de Koji Suzuki que es el nuevo Stephen King en versión japonesa. Esta afirmación podría parecer muy peregrina y una simple frase promocional del Publishers Weekly para que quede mona en la contraportada del libro. Pero lo cierto es que las novelas de Koji Suzuki (Paradise [1990], Spiral [1995] y Dark Water [1996]) son fenómenos de masas en su país y la adaptación al cine de sus historias han gozado de una repercusión mundial.

El libro es un perfecto thriller de miedo atmosférico sobre una investigación a contrarreloj para salvar la vida del protagonista y de aquellos que, como él, vieron posteriormente la maldita cinta. El autor desarrolla con gran maestría argumental todo el proceso de indagación para dilucidar el sortilegio borrado que los podrá salvar. Está muy bien ver como se pasa al inicio de no saber nada (de hasta suponer hipotesis erroneas) a descubrir al final la verdad de todo este oscuro y mortal asunto. Da la sensanción que que la historia no tiene cabos sueltos, que se desarrolla con mucha lógica y de manera estratégica (dándonos a conocer los diferentes datos en su momento justo para así mantener la tensión hasta el final). Y que decir del final? Es trepidante, agobiante, y con una resolución sorpresa genial. Un desenlace redondo!

Literariamente el libro es el típico best-seller, ágil de lectura, con muchos diálogos y sin demasiada floritura ni calidad lingística.
La edición española del libro costaba unos 18 euros (hace unos dos años que lo compré) y no estaba demasiado cuidada (no tiene tapa dura y el guillotinado del papel no es demasiado bueno). Ahora, eso sí, la portada es magnífica, pues reproduce la espeluznante imagen archi-conocida de las carteleras de las sus pelis: el circulo luminoso en medio de la más absoluta oscuridad con el título en medio de The Ring.

Es inevitable hacer una referencia a las versiones cinematográficas. Para empezar después de la versión original en japonés (Ringu) del director Hideo Nakata se hizo una versión americana. Las licencias que se tomó Hideo Nakata en su película son mínimas, y responden más a las características del lenguaje cinematográfico que a cuestiones de guión. No hablaré de la versión americana, que ignora directamente cualquier elemento sacado de la novela para fusilar la película de Nakata. La película ha sido memorable por la escena de Sadako saliendo de la televisión en camisón y con los pelos cubriéndole la cara… una escena que en el libro no aparece. Otros detallitos sin importancia son que el Asakawa del libro es un hombre, mientras que en la película es una mujer (Reiko Asakawa) y que, el tal Ryuji, en la novela es un violador ocasional de universitarias. De este modo, la película gana en efectismo y sensación de miedo (dentro de la contención típica de la cultura japonesa), mientras que la novela gana en profundidad de personajes y de argumentación de la historia. Por eso muchas cosas que en la película se suponen o se deben aceptar tal cual vienen, en el libro se desarrollan mucho más y quedan muy claras.
La verdad es que no sabría decidirme al aconsejar entre libro y película. Nos encontramos en uno de esos casos donde tanto uno como la otra son igual de válidos para hacer vivir las sensaciones de congoja y desasosiego que persiguen sus respectivos autores. En cualquier caso, recomendaría ambas cosas. (less)

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Oct 29, 2010 Chibineko rated it 3 of 5 stars

I picked this book up due to my interest in the movies. I thought that the storyline was incredibly creepy & had heard that the book plotline was drastically different. It was!

Where the movie decided to focus around a female character, the main character in the books is actually a man. Also interesting is that while the main characters are all sympathetically portrayed in the movie, the book's characters are incredibly flawed (especially one in particular). Things are *just* different enoug...more

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May 12, 2010 Paula rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have seen the film 'Ring' the US version and the Japanese version and both scared me differently, I did not sit through the US version because certain parts scared me and the Japanese version just terrified me to the core.

The book is a lot better than the film, there is a lot more tension and you find out more about Sadako and what she is capable of doing, how far she will go.

'Ring' did have tense moments and scary moments, I liked the psychological horror, the fact I was reading the book an...more

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May 06, 2009 P.J. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Reporter Kazuyuki Asakawa further investigates the mysterious, simultaneous deaths of four teenagers — the name of one of them happens to be Hyuji, or Ryuji, depending on who is investigating the murder with Asakawa. Discovered is a videotape that the four schoolfriends watched together exactly one week before their deaths. This bootleg tape brief which someone filmed in real life contains several inexplicable images, followed by the message that the viewer, too, will die in exactly seven days,...more

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Apr 09, 2009 The Writer rated it 5 of 5 stars

As a start, I'd like to believe that almost everyone is familiar with the infamous horror film titled The Ring. Be it either the original Japanese version or the adapted Hollywood version (featuring Naomi Watts), which was approximately half as scary as the original.

So now, I'm going backward. I read the book after I have watched the film decades ago and I could only say now how glad I am for finding this book tucked away in one corner of the local library because that's the way it should be don...more As a start, I'd like to believe that almost everyone is familiar with the infamous horror film titled The Ring. Be it either the original Japanese version or the adapted Hollywood version (featuring Naomi Watts), which was approximately half as scary as the original.

So now, I'm going backward. I read the book after I have watched the film decades ago and I could only say now how glad I am for finding this book tucked away in one corner of the local library because that's the way it should be done *grins*

I assume you all know the story, right? Four high school students who suddenly died at the same time at separate places due to unnatural reasons. A local reporter sniffed the story and decided to investigate it further. Later he found out that a single video tape ignited the curse and whoever watched the tape would die precisely a week after. In order to fight the death spell, Asakawa, the journalist, asked his friend Ryuji, a scholar, to help him analyse the tape to find what actually triggered the curse and how the spell could be lifted.

This book features a lot more details on the relationship between Asakawa and Ryuji (I believe they changed Asakawa role into a female reporter in both Japanese and the Hollywood version) and his own relation with his wife and daughter. As always, the book provides more details that what can be squeezed inside a 2-hour (or was it 1.5 hour?) film.

As much as we'd like to believe that film gives detail picture on how the cursed video supposed to like, the book clearly describes every scenes in the tape and those were not in the same as the ones in the film. The video in the book was described to be less scary but gives a sadder story on the main antagonist's life in this film.

The film, as much as I remember, portrayed Sadako as a long-haired female demon who crawled from the well (and TV screen too!) with squeaky voice and bent posture. It only gave you the chills, but the book gives more depth on what Sadako's previous life was like. It makes the readers symphatise with her fate and understand why she turned into a vicious and revengeful ghost.

Not only that, the book manages to produce the same effect as the film does to you. It definitely gave me the chills when I read it alone in my room and I am no chicken LOL The book now makes me craving to see the film once again. I must find the DVD somewhere...

(less)

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Aug 13, 2011 Ivi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Jeder kennt den Film "The Ring". Auch ich kannte ihn. Um ehrlich zu sein hatte ich überhaupt keine Ahnung, dass der Film eigentlich ein Buch ist. Nachdem ich davon erfahren hatte, musste ich es mir sofort kaufen. Ich wollte mich schon immer mal an dem Horror-Genre versuchen und war davon überzeugt, dass The Ring eine wirklich gute Wahl wäre. Ich wurde nicht enttäuscht. Allerdings sollte man hier vielleicht erwähnen, dass Buch und Film zwar in Bezug auf die Grundelemente gleich sind, sich ansonst...more Jeder kennt den Film "The Ring". Auch ich kannte ihn. Um ehrlich zu sein hatte ich überhaupt keine Ahnung, dass der Film eigentlich ein Buch ist. Nachdem ich davon erfahren hatte, musste ich es mir sofort kaufen. Ich wollte mich schon immer mal an dem Horror-Genre versuchen und war davon überzeugt, dass The Ring eine wirklich gute Wahl wäre. Ich wurde nicht enttäuscht. Allerdings sollte man hier vielleicht erwähnen, dass Buch und Film zwar in Bezug auf die Grundelemente gleich sind, sich ansonsten aber sehr stark unterscheiden und das Buch vor allem viel mehr in die Tiefe geht.

Das Buch hat mich von der ersten Seite an begeistert. Ich war vom ersten Wort an so gefesselt, dass ich es gar nicht mehr aus der Hand legen wollte. Die Geschichte ist mysteriös, geheimnisvoll, spannend und unheimlich zugleich. In diesem Buch steckt wirklich alles drin, was man von einem guten Horrorroman erwartet. Und um es kurz zu erwähnen: Das Buch ist so viel besser als der Film.

Der Schreibstil ist wirklich sehr angenehm. Man findet sehr leicht in die Geschichte hinein. Es lässt sich einfach und flüssig lesen und man möchte gar nicht mehr aufhören, wenn man erst einmal angefangen hat. Auf das grundlegende Thema wird in diesem Buch jedoch ganz anders eingegangen. So vierliert sich der westliche Einfluss ein wenig und präsentiert sich japanischer - mit eindeutig mehr Gefühlen der einzelnen Charaktere. Das Buch ist kein "Schocker" wie man es aus der Traumfabrik in Hollywood kennt. Es ist ein schleichender Horror der während des Lesens ein mulmiges Gefühl hinterlässt und Gänsehaut verursacht.

Auch an die Charaktere hat man sich schnell gewöhnt. Auch wenn man nicht so viel über sie erfährt, wie das womöglich in anderen Büchern der Fall ist, erfährt man genug über sie, um ihr Handeln nachvollziehen zu können. In meinen Augen stehen die Charaktere an sich hier auch nicht so sehr im Vordergrund wie die Geschichte um das geheimnisvolle Video selbst.

Die Aufmachung des Buches hat mir auch gleich von Anfang an unglaublich gut gefallen. Auf dem Cover sieht man den bekannten Ring, der auch im Film zu sehen ist und die Kapitelüberschriften sind mit "Blut" geschrieben worden, was den Gruselfakter noch erhöht. Die Geschichte geht wirklich unter die Haut und entblößt auf alle Fälle mehr Details als der Film es tut. Auch am Ende des Buches erfährt man mehr, als am Ende des Filmes, was in meinen Augen wirklich sehr reizvoll ist, da das Buch als Triologie konzipiert wurde. Allerdings bedeutet das nicht, dass man das Buch nicht auch ohne die weiteren Teile genießen kann.

Fazit: Ich kann das Buch nur für alle Fans dieses Genres empfehlen, ebenso für alle Fans des Filmes "The Ring". Gänsehaut ist vorprogrammiert.(less)

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Dec 29, 2012 Tina Rae rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: mystery fans

Recommended to Tina Rae by: book club

Shelves: book-club, favorites

OH. MY. GOODNESS. THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!!!! I don't even know where to begin. So, I've seen all of the film versions and, honestly, I wasn't too terribly fond of any of them (except the second American film but that's a different story) so going into this book I wasn't sure it would be all that great. Well, as they say, don't judge a book by its movie.

This book literally exceeded all my expectations. I can't even begin to discuss just how amazing it is. Where the films strove to be horror films,...more

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Jul 13, 2010 F.R. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is an effective and intelligent chiller which builds up to an interesting moral question, but it’s not a book I particularly warmed to.

A great deal of that is to do with the central character: a self-centred and unapproachable journalist. There’s an incredible moral ambivalence about him, best illustrated by one of his friends confessing to raping a college student and the journalist having no problem with that information and seeing no need to go to the police. Indeed this story only gets...more

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May 03, 2009 Endah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Kalau saja malam itu, Asakawa, wartawan surat kabar Daily News, Tokyo, tidak pulang dengan taksi, mungkin hidupnya akan tenang-tenang saja sampai hari ini. Atau andai saja supir taksi yang dinaikinya itu tidak bercerita ihwal peristiwa kematian seorang remaja pria pada malam 5 September 1990, tentu Asakawa tak akan pernah terlibat pada urusan pelik yang kemudian mengancam nyawanya itu.

Ya, semua bermula dari kisah supir taksi mengenai tewasnya Shuichi Iwata yang lalu mengingatkan Asakawa kepada k...more Kalau saja malam itu, Asakawa, wartawan surat kabar Daily News, Tokyo, tidak pulang dengan taksi, mungkin hidupnya akan tenang-tenang saja sampai hari ini. Atau andai saja supir taksi yang dinaikinya itu tidak bercerita ihwal peristiwa kematian seorang remaja pria pada malam 5 September 1990, tentu Asakawa tak akan pernah terlibat pada urusan pelik yang kemudian mengancam nyawanya itu.

Ya, semua bermula dari kisah supir taksi mengenai tewasnya Shuichi Iwata yang lalu mengingatkan Asakawa kepada keponakan istrinya, Tomoko Oishi, yang juga tewas pada malam yang sama dan dengan penyebab yang sama : serangan jantung mendadak.

Naluri jurnalisnya segera mencium ada sesuatu yang tidak wajar dan misterius di balik kematian kedua remaja tersebut. Kecurigaan Asakawa makin kuat ketika kemudian ia mendapatkan berita dua orang remaja lainnya juga tewas pada malam yang sama. Ia pun lantas berniat menyelidiki kasus itu.

Hasil penelusurannya membawa wartawan itu ke sebuah resort di Hakone. Ternyata seminggu sebelum kematian keempat remaja malang itu, mereka sempat menginap di resort tersebut dan menonton sebuah video yang mengandung kutukan mematikan bagi penontonnya, termasuk Askawa sendiri. Kutukan itu sebenarnya mempunyai penangkal. Hanya celakanya, bagian yang mengatakan tentang penangkal itu, justru rusak terhapus. Maka, Asakawa harus berlomba dengan waktu memecahkan misteri penangkal atau ia dan keluarganya harus mati seperti keempat remaja tadi.

Dengan dibantu oleh sahabatnya, Ryuji, seorang dosen filsafat, sedikit demi sedikit terkuaklah tabir gelap yang melingkupi kutukan itu. Si pembuat kutukan adalah Sadako, seorang gadis jelita yang meninggal dua puluh lima tahun lalu. Ia merekam video maut tersebut melalui lensa matanya dengan kekuatan supranatural yang dimilikinya, mencoba menyampaikan pesan kepada dunia luar (penonton) perihal kematiannya.

Memang agak sukar dipercaya rasanya bahwa ada orang yang bisa mempunyai kekuatan mistik serupa itu. Apalagi jika fakta tersebut hadir di tengah-tengah dunia modern saat ini dan di negeri berteknologi maju seperti Jepang atau Amerika.

Ring adalah novel yang memadukan mistik dengan ilmu pengetahuan modern. Penulisnya, Koji Suzuki, berpendapat bahwa saat ini justru telah terjadi perkembangan baru dalam ilmu pengetahuan, psikologi paranormal khususnya, yang menyatakan cabang ilmu psikologi tersebut adalah salah satu kunci untuk menyingkap struktur alam semesta (hal 143). Hal inilah yang diangkatnya dalam novel horor yang di Jepang, konon, telah terjual sebanyak 2,8 juta kopi.

Seperti lazimnya cerita horor, Ring pun dijejali adegan-adegan yang (diharapkan dapat) menghadirkan ketegangan ke tengah-tengah publik pembacanya, Ketegangan itu agak berbeda dengan saat kita membaca Da Vinci Code, misalnya. Pada Da Vinci Code, thriller yang tercipta disebabkan oleh bayangan kengerian peristiwa pembunuhan sadis, sedangkan dalam Ring, jikapun kita sedikit merasa tegang, itu karena unsur hantu dan mistisnya, walaupun keduanya sama-sama menyuguhkan kisah misteri pembunuhan.

Belakangan ini kita saksikan layar televisi dan bioskop diramaikan oleh acara serta film-film bertema hantu dan mistik. Tampaknya, tema ini sedang digandrungi. Sebenarnya, lakon horor hantu-hantuan ataupun dunia mistik supranatural bisa sangat menarik jika digarap dengan baik, misalnya, What Lies Beneath (Robert Zemekcis). Tidak seperti yang terjadi pada televisi dan bioskop kita, yang justru terjerumus jadi cerita klenik tak masuk akal.

Novel laris ini juga telah difilmkan, di Jepang dengan judul Ringu dan The Ring ( Gore Verbinski) di Hollywood. Ring adalah buku pertama dari triloginya. Judul buku lanjutannya adalah Spiral dan Loop. Bagi mereka yang gemar kisah horor dengan menyertakan hantu di dalamnya, Ring bisa jadi sangat menarik.
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Dec 26, 2012 Alexandra added it

Avea cartea aceasta in biblioteca personala inca din 2009 Gaudeamus, insa abia acum m-am hotarat sa o citesc... de ce? nu stiu...poate pentru ca pana acum nu m-a interesat atat de mult acest gen de roman....thriller&mystery!
Oricum, nu sunt deloc dezamagita...se citeste usor, dar ajungi sa-ti doresti sa o poti citi mai incat, cat mai incet, foarte incet... acolo unde intervine misterul, teama, groaza, teroarea!
Ziaristul Kazuyuki Asakawa este profund marcat de moartea stranie a nepoatei sale d...more

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Apr 30, 2012 Sean O'Hara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: j-horror, horror, supernatural

Koji Suzuki's Ring has spawned an absurd number of adaptations -- eleven if we include the upcoming Sadako 3D, which gave birth to this monstrosity:

Most have been about as faithful as Bill Clinton in a Tijuana whore house with a box of stogies. The skeleton of the story remains the same -- cursed videotape, stringy-haired ghost girl, etc. -- and reading the book you'll recognize whole scenes from the films, but the context changes drastically. The protagonist is a dude with a wife and daughter,...more

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Jul 16, 2011 D.M. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My wife loved these books, so I promised myself I'd read them after the classics I'd slogged through for the past two years. This volume was the perfect antidote to all the high-flown prose and heavy-handed literature I've been enjoying, as it's just the sort of thing one would pick up and read while on holiday.
I don't know if it's the translation, or if Suzuki's writing is really like this, but I was unimpressed by the prose style. Though it read VERY easily (it took me three days of unsteady r...more

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Jul 28, 2010 Vera F. Maharani rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

Hanya ada satu kata-tiga huruf yang melintas di pikiran saya ketika membaca buku ini. WOW.

Saya tidak perlu berpanjang-panjang menjelaskan alur cerita karena cerita novel ini telah banyak dikenal orang. Ya, ini novel Ring yang itu, yang telah terjual 2,8 juta kopi dan terus bertambah, yang telah difilmkan di Jepang dan diadaptasi oleh Hollywood, yang telah membuat adegan Sadako merangkak keluar dari TV menjadi mindset kita setiap mendengar 'film horor jepang', Ya, ini novel Ring yang itu.

Saya bel...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Benjamin Stahl rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book falls just a little short of getting 4 stars. On the whole, it was a great book though. Koji Suzuki - along with having an awesome name - has a great understanding of horror, and how the genre should work. I think it is due to this, most of all, that he manages to make this book so much more believable and thus "scary" than it otherwise could have been. Most of us have seen the films - I happen to love the American version; strangely, I just don't get the Japanese one though - but this...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Marianne Søiland rated it 4 of 5 stars

Denne boka var uten tvil ekkel og plasserer seg med begge beina godt plantet i den psykologiske thriller sjangeren. Oktober-grøss, uten tvil! Ingenting i historien er forutsigbart, og det ligger en creepy nerve i boka som følger den til siste slutt. Den er grufull i sin enkelhet, selv om omfanget av innholdet er grensesprengende på mange områder. Boka følger tradisjonell thriller-oppskrift, der helten - journalisten Asakawa - er tøff og ressursfull, men likevel en ordinær person. Han blir dratt...more Denne boka var uten tvil ekkel og plasserer seg med begge beina godt plantet i den psykologiske thriller sjangeren. Oktober-grøss, uten tvil! Ingenting i historien er forutsigbart, og det ligger en creepy nerve i boka som følger den til siste slutt. Den er grufull i sin enkelhet, selv om omfanget av innholdet er grensesprengende på mange områder. Boka følger tradisjonell thriller-oppskrift, der helten - journalisten Asakawa - er tøff og ressursfull, men likevel en ordinær person. Han blir dratt inn i fare av hendelser utenfor hans egen kontroll og har kun den sære og någet spesielle kompisen Ryuji som medhjelper.

Personkarakteristikkene er ikke dype, noe som de normalt ikke er i denne sjangeren, men det trenger de heller ikke være. Her er det istedenfor action, hele tiden. Det er mye som står på spill, og livet til helten, og kanskje også menneskeheten(?) kan gå tapt. Plottet vrir og vrenger på seg i flere retninger, og det er en intens nerve her som virkelig holder deg på pinebenken helt til siste side. Likevel da er du ikke helt sikker på hvordan dette egentlig ender, for ironien i konklusjonen vil plage deg lenge etter boka er ferdig. Det er sjelden jeg ikke er fornøyd med å lese oversatt litteratur til engelsk, men denne gang kunne jeg likevel ha tenkt meg å kunne japansk. Jeg ser for meg at nerven i boka kanskje er enda mer intens på originalspråket, delvis spekket som den er med japansk kultur og overtro.

Denne boka pirret nysgjerrigheten min. Den var bra! Når jeg ikke kan legge ei bok fra meg så betyr det at den har fanget meg, og da er jeg såre fornøyd med tiden jeg har dedikert forfatteren. Den britiske dagsavisen The Independent skriver at Suzuki med "The Ring" mikser Murakami med Stephen King. Den litt magre erfaringen jeg foreløpig har med Murakami overbeviser meg ikke om så er helt riktig, men linken til Stephen King ser jeg imidlertid klokkeklart. Suzuki har skrevet to oppfølgere til denne boka, "Spiral" og "Loop". Jeg ser ikke bort fra at jeg må få tak i disse også!
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Apr 12, 2013 Iezati Najlaa Ibrahim rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: titoki

First of all, I just have to say this, I have never been more annoyed with the main character that is Asakawa, I mean, how can you befriended a rapist (even if Ryuji turns out to be this loner virgin at the end), and his mood swings (I know he's dying and all, but still) and I don't know how he's married he's the least romantic person ever (I just couldn't help feeling sorry at his wife when he's about to raise his hand at her, I mean poor lady she's confused she just wants some answers).

Overall...more

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Oct 19, 2010 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Teenagers start dying horrible deaths. There seems to be no connection between the teans, but they did share one experience, they all watched a video that gave them a week to live after viewing it, unless they did ... Not only do they not take it seriously, they erase the ending that gives the way to prevent your death, so the next person is doomed. (this is all early on in the book). The next person who finds the video and watches it tries to figure out the remedy before his time is up. This bo...more

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Apr 07, 2011 Julie Hayes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes it’s the seemingly unimportant choices that we make that can change our lives in unimaginable ways. If Asakawa hadn’t been so tired, if he hadn’t let his commuter pass expire, if he hadn’t taken a taxi that day and listened to the story of the cab driver’s strange encounter with the dead-for-no-apparent-reason motorcycle rider and connected it with the death of his wife’s niece, then would anything that happened after that have happened? Or was it simply meant to be?

This is the book th...more

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Aug 02, 2012 Skip rated it 4 of 5 stars

I decided to give this book a reread so I could also pull out Spiral and Loop, which were all sitting on my bookshelf.

When I first read this book, I went into it with the mindset that I was going to be reading a horror book, but to me it really read as what I would call a paranormal mystery. I'm going to chalk up the feel differences to cultural differences, until I experience otherwise. In contrast, most Western horror books tend to beat one about the head with the Tension Stick™ for most of th...more

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Oct 09, 2011 Clay rated it 2 of 5 stars

So I was looking for some not-so-dumb-modern-horror literature and picked up The Ring by Koji Suzuki. I also like to read challenging, unconventional books, but this is not quite what I was looking for. There were a couple of clichés and I can live with them as long as the main idea is interesting and creative. It was a very easy read and dealt with very serious matter in an extremely childish way as it was obviously written to please a mainstream audience. That guy called Asakawa has a couple o...more

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Dec 04, 2012 Kara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club

This book was so much better than I thought it would be. It's not a book that I would ordinarily read - I'm not a huge fan of horror movies, and just knowing that this is the book that the Ring movies are based on would ordinarily be enough to deter me from reading it. But my book club decided to read it and I do try to be open to reading new books, even if I don't expect to like them.

In this case, I'm SO glad that I decided to read it!

It was a little difficult for me to keep track of all the c...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Elena rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: authors-japanese, le-shok, favorites

That was the most scared book I've ever read in my life. At last, the first of. Three days after the last page, I went sleeping with all lights on in my apartment. I mean it.

More than 8 years passed since I opened this book for the first time ever, and since that I'm occasionally rereading it. Scary effect is declining step by step, but each time I give the Ring another chance, I discover more and more facts, I've never mentioned before. It's about usual life in Japan, places, nature, people......more

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About Koji Suzuki

In addition to being considered "the Japanese Stephen King", Suzuki is also a respected writer on the subject of fatherhood in his native Japan. Several of his works have been adapted into movies, including "Ring" and the short story "Dark Water" from the collection of the same name, as well as a Manga series based on "Ring".

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Trivia About Ring

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Quotes from Ring

“‎...Vào lúc này, hãy thành thực với cảm giác của chính bản thân mình! Trước mặt chúng ta là một tương lai bất định. Mọi chuyện cuối cùng rồi đều có kết cục của nó. Và biết đâu loài người sẽ giải quyết đưcọ mọi thứ bằng tài trí của mình. Đối với loài người, đây chính là một thử thách. Ở thời nào cũng vậy, quỉ sứ luôn thay đổi hình dạng để tồn tại. Dù chúng ta có ra sức tiêu diệt, bọn chúng cũng sẽ vẫn cứ xuất hiện mà thôi.” — 1 person liked it

“Asakawa himself didn't much care if the company made money or lost it. All that mattered to him was whether or not the work was engaging. No matter how easy a job was physically, if it didn't involve imagination, it usually ended up exhausting you.” — 1 person liked it

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