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Ring
Ring is divided in the following way: Part One: Autumn; Part Two: Highlands; Part Three: Gusts and Part Four: Ripples. The main character Kazuyuki Asakawa, an overworked journalist for a weekly Japanese newspaper Daily News, father and husband, becomes obsessed by the mystery to ensue. He learned that his niece Tomoko Oishi died in Japan of sudden heart failure but she was not the only one. A fellow classmate died of the same thing at the same time and some others as well. The book is about Asakawa's investigations of these mysterious deaths and his quest to learn about the origin of the video responsible for taking the life of those who watch it exactly 7 days later unless they find the "charm" and cause of the "virus" in order to stay alive. To be saved, Asakawa must find out what he needs to do, so he enlists a former classmate Ryuji Takayama, a Philosophy Professor who has expert knowledge on Paranormal Psychology to help him solve the crimes while they intend to save their own lives since they both watch the video.
The Autumn section is where Asakawa begins researching these deaths. While he searches for a common link for these deaths he has many questions: How did they all end up dead from sudden heart failure? What led to this sad fate?... In the Highlands section, Asakawa is led into a cabin where he is confronted with a dark force via a creepy video he watches and learns of his fate from a phone call confirming his impending fate. He is told he must follow instructions but they are erased from the tape and he feels like he will meet the same fate as his niece and the other victims. By now, Asakawa realizes he cannot solve the mystery on his own and Ryuji enters the investigation in the Gusts section. Asakawa not really wanting to show Ryuji the video ends up making a copy of it so he can show it to him. He feels he has no other alternative but to do so. Asakawa finds out to his horror that his wife Shizu and their child Yoko watched the video due to his carelessness of leaving it visible to the naked eye and from here on he really starts to panic. Things get really interesting from here as Asakawa, Ryuji and friend Yoshino start piecing together the puzzle of Sadako (Samara-Ring US film) and the tape. Asakawa and Ryuji go on a journey to a highland resort, a volcanic island and a countryside clinic in Japan which are all haunted by the past. What they find out is alarming and only heightens the level of chill factor. Many details are left out for those who plan to read the book. This is the largest section of the Ring and without saying too much, after they recover something from the dark depths below, the horror does not end there. Just when Asakawa thought his time was up he did not die but he cannot figure out why he is still alive. Sadly Ryuji meets a worse fate after figuring out the "charm". There was not enough time for him to tell Asakawa what it is. Does Asakawa finally figure out what he must do next in order to save the lives of his wife and child? I will leave the answer up to you to figure out. |
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Asian
Horror and Sci-Fi fans have probably heard the story of the Ring even
if they haven't watched it in its many adaptations. For hardcore fans
I recommend you watch the following: Ringu (Japan), Ring 2 (Japan),
Ring: Spiral (Japan), Ring O: Birthday (Japan), Ring (Television series
Japan), The Ring Virus (Korea) and The Ring (US). Vertical Inc. has
made available this translated version of the book for American audiences
to read about the origin of the Ring, the first book of a trilogy.
The book is as gripping as the adaptations I have seen, but it is
different and has many surprises in store for readers.
Though
the films are classified in the horror genre, the book is more like
a mystery thriller and science fiction novel. I found it almost impossible
to put the book down. Though the translation read smoothly for the
most part, the prose did at times get dry and it slipped on some of
the cultural idioms. However, I enjoyed Ring very much and read in
just a few days. I want to point out, this is a minor mishap and something
that can happen with a lot of translations. Another good thing to
point out is that English translations are in the works for the other
two books in the trilogy.