The Ring Cycle

[DiscoUkulele]

Memes! Science! Gender-Bending!

The Ring was a big hit in the US, and it's Japanese counterpart, Ringu, and the subsequent sequels (Ringu 2, Rasen [Spiral], and Ringu 0: Birthday) were a nation-wide phenomenon. In fact, there were even radio dramas and (atrocious) TV miniseries that followed. Not to mention manga. So I'm sure everyone has seen at least one of these incarnations of the story (most likely the US remake).

These films were based on The Ring Cycle, a series of books (Ring, Spiral, Loop, and Birthday) by Koji Suzuki. Unfortunately, NONE of the cinematic versions are true to the books, which go much deeper than the shock ending of the first movie. There's much, much more to it than "you watch the tape and you die".

All four books have been translated into English and are available in the United States.

So why the fuck am I posting about them on a Discordian site? The novels deal heavily with memes, genetics, subliminal messages,  and a tiny bit of psychism and the occult. If you're at all interested in technohorror, I highly recommend them.

I'll try to give you a spoiler-free version of what they're all about:

Ringu

Ringu is very similar to the Japanese movie in some respects, but the Japanese movie left out major plot points, particularly one crucial gender-bending detail. If you don't know anything about it, here's a quick summary: One night, four teenagers all drop dead of apparent heart attacks. A reporter, who's niece was among the victims, starts to investigate and discovers that all four of the kids had watched a videotape several days before their deaths. He manages to watch the strange tape for himself, which appears to have mind-altering effects on the viewer. The tape ends with a warning: "YOU WILL DIE IN SEVEN DAYS UNLESS YOU...". Apparently some asshole taped over the ending.

Soon after, his wife and son manage to sneak a peek at the tape as well, and the reporter must unravel the mystery by the end of the week or they'll all die.

This novel is all about the spread of a meme, and it's got some pretty clever jabs at the media along the way.

Rasen/Spiral

This is where things get good. The poor victim (who appears to have been infected with Smallpox..) at the end of the first novel winds up on the operating table of a  former colleague. The two were heavily interested in cryptography when they were students, and used to create linguistic puzzles for fun. When the Doctor opens the victim's stomach, he finds a piece of paper with a strange code written on it, which leads the Doctor on a mad quest to solve the biggest riddle of his career.

This book is SO. DAMN. COOL. Koji Suzuki blends together memes, genetics, and science fiction into a mindfuck of a novel. The main character this time around is a Doctor, who approaches the "curse" from a scientific perspective. There are no more ghosts or curses from beyond the grave. All elements of the supernatural are pretty much wiped from this book. And it goes to some pretty dark and fucked up places.

As the curse spreads throughout the city, it starts to mutate much like a virus, and starts to adapt and spread in new ways. Which leads up to a chilling, apocalyptic conclusion. Watching a video tape no longer matters; just reading about the curse (say... in a novel, for instance), might be enough to get yourself infected.

This book is all about change, mutation, DNA (hence the title of the book). So far, it's hands-down my favorite of the series.

Loop

I'm just starting to read this one, so I can't say much just yet. But I've heard good things. Apparently it's the biggest mindfuck of all of the books.

Birthday

Is a collection of short stories related to the Ring mythos. It ties up a couple loose ends. The film version is my favorite of all of the movies.

Anyways, definitely check them out if you're a cyberpunk or technohorror kinda person.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I watched the Ring when I was 12 weeks pregnant with Little Orange. She kicked so hard that my husband could feel her foot on his elbow.

The fact that at 12 weeks, the fetus is too small and the bones too soft to feel kicking internally, let alone externally, is irrelevant.

[LMNO]

Hm.  Sounds interesting, DU.  I'll see if I can find the books.  Thanks for the tip.

[Cain]

Sounds almost like a horror version of Snow Crash.  Which I would be down with.

[eighteen buddha strike]

... and I thought this thread was going to be about the Nibelungenleid

Anyway, I'll second that Ringu and Spiral are both really fucking good.

[Aucoq]

Wow, I had no idea the Ring and its sequels were based on novels.  They sound great.   I'm a huge fan of technohorror and cyberpunk so I'll definitely be picking those books up.