Spiral (Ring #2)

Originally published in Japan as Rasen by Kadokawa Shoten, Tokyo, 1995 Stunning Japanese thriller with a chilling supernatural twist – the sequel to Ring, which can also be read as a standalone. Pathologist Ando is at a low point in his life. His small son’s death from drowning has resulted in the break-up of his marriage & he is suffering from traumatic recurrent nightmares. Work is his only escape, & his depressing world of loneliness & regret is shaken up when an old rival from medical school, Ryuji Takayama, turns up on his slab ready to be dissected.Through Ryuji’s bizarre demise Ando learns of a series of mysterious deaths that seem to have been caused by a sinister virus. From beyond the grave Ryuji appears to be leading Ando towards a suspicious videotape – could this hold the answer to the riddle of the strange deaths? Or is it merely the first clue? When Ando meets Mai, an attractive former student of Ryuji’s, his desire to solve the puzzle transcends curiosity & becomes a matter of life or death.Koji Suzuki was born in 1957 in Hamamatsu, southwest of Tokyo. He attended Keio University where he majored in French. After graduating he held numerous odd jobs, including a stint as a cram school teacher – an unorthodox one who loved telling scary stories to entertain his students. He holds a first-class yachting licence & has crossed the US from Key West to Los Angeles on his motorcycle. The father of two daughters, Suzuki is a respected authority on childrearing & has written numerous works on the subject. He acquired his expertise when he was still a struggling writer & househusband. Suzuki also translated a children’s book into Japanese, The Little Sod Diaries by the crime novelist Simon Brett.Glynne Walley is an Associate Professor of Japanese Literature at the University of Oregon & author of Good Dogs. Dr. Ando who has yet to recover from his son's death at sea, conducts an autopsy on an old friend who has died under unusual circumstances. The corpse, that of cynical philosophy professor Ryuji Takayama, has something to tell him. And Ryuji isn't the only one who chooses to make a reappearance in this story. You don't know what the RING is yet. The terms of the curse of the videotape undergo a jaw-dropping reconfiguration in this novel, the horror master's stunning reinvention of his own bestselling tale. Spiral is written as a stand-alone work; for Rinbg fans, its' a sequel that redefines the word.