I never thought I would try this genre at all ( even more of a realistic expectation than reading non fiction) . I realized I may have abstained with good reason. I did not enjoy either book.I did however finish them, a feat for which I give myself a pat on my back. I did avoid trying to read them in the evenings lest the ‘horror’ seeps into my dreams. Having never tried reading horror before, I do not know if that action deems the books a hit. The rating of both books were 2/5( did not like) based on my usual principle of storyline vs feelings. I will deal with the content one after another.
Dark Matter – Paver, Michelle
This author has transitioned from writing young adult horror (insert shocked emoji here for the existence of such a genre) and this is her first book for adults ( all this was in the introduction of the book which is sometimes entertaining so I check them out)
The story was good, it was based on a group of young men who in 1937 decide to travel and overwinter( spend the dark winter) in the Arctic.They have been warned that the spot they have chosen has something wrong, no further explanations given. Over time our lead character Jack is left alone to deal with the ‘something’ that seems to roam around the place. What ensues next is how Jack does next.
Ring (Ring #1) – Kōji Suzuki
With my apprehension of horror, its not much of a stretch to accept the fact that I have not watched the movie. I have seen a few scenes in passing or when I’m yelling at the person with the remote to change the channel. I was completely caught unawares that these is a completely Japanese book with the original based in its entirety in Japan. There were many conflicting things in this book. The fact that I was reading a sort of translation so the story was stilted in its pace. But the more troubling thing was the presence of women in the story. The role of women ( I genuinely hope that is not the reality of the role of women in the day to day life in the country) was very cringeworthy. Apart from these side issues, it was a good story and you do feel slight chills in between. The side issues , for me though were so glaring and annoyingly poking at my thoughts that I did not enjoy the book. Maybe if i read it in the original Japanese( after I learn the language obviously) it would not sound so chauvinistic and happy to be just so.
Superfluous Reading 