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The way Sadako's curse kills is also more interesting in the books - Sadako never appears herself until the second book, the crawling out of the TV is purely an invention of the movies. The actual deaths are heart attacks caused by a strong sense of dread - it's rare we see why a character's heart gives out, but the opening scene of the first book implies that the curse takes the situation that you are in and drives your fight or flight reaction into overdrive until your heart just gives up. The opening scene is a girl studying for an exam late at night in her home alone while her parents are at a baseball game. She starts having strange feelings of dread, and starts feeling vulnerable - suddenly for no reason she is afraid to be home alone, becoming increasingly paranoid, asking herself when her parents will be back and it just builds until her heart gives in. There is also a couple in a car who parked on the side of the road to make out - they are found clawing at the inside of the doors, clearly terrified of something. That one's particularly interesting because normally a couple like that, you'd expect to find them dead in each other's arms, but they are as far apart as they can be, like they were trying to escape each other. It's likely that their fears were of being taken advantage of, starting to worry out of nowhere if this was really what they wanted or are they being pressured by the other person and "oh God why is the door locked, did they do that?! Am I about to become a statistic?!" We never see into their heads, they are dead from the start, but due to how the first character perceives her situation and how those two were found it's likely that that was the idea.
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Dec 18, 2017 06:44
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all of those things happened to me
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Dec 18, 2017 07:12
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BioEnchanted, you've single-handedly made me want to read this series. It no longer sounds terrible, it sounds completely bonkers in the best kind of way.
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Dec 18, 2017 10:46
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Trauma Dog 3000 posted:all of those things happened to me thank you for your service
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Dec 18, 2017 13:21
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Rough Lobster posted:BioEnchanted, you've single-handedly made me want to read this series. It no longer sounds terrible, it sounds completely bonkers in the best kind of way. The first two books (Ring and Spiral) are legitimately good horror books. Loop -- where the whole thing about it being a simulation comes out -- is crap IMO, and I'm not sure that any of the later two (three?) ever got translated. Other Koji Suzuki books include Edge (mediocre), Promenade of the Gods (awful), and Dark Water (passable, but a collection of short stories).
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Dec 18, 2017 15:54
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Highlights from the worst dregs of Japanese horror novels: A guy gets addicted to buying girls on skewers. Opens a pizza joint to support his addiction but runs out of money. I think the twist ending is he buys one with his last bit of money and it’s a girl he knew from when they were kids. Ogres are released from Hell and aren’t sure what to do with themselves so they just sort of derp around murduring everyone in grotesque ways. Eventually they discover sex only their bodily fluids are highly corrosive acid which leads to shenanigans. Boys hire kappa to murder their little bro who is bullying both them and their dad. Somehow the little bro becomes a zombie and the POV switches to him as he seeks out delicious brains which will allow him to become a Real Boy again. Edit: oh yeah and there was the one where a guy and girl discuss how horrible this new technology is that allows guys to make these order-made girlfriends who have false memories and who melt into biodegradable material when the guy gets tired of them. Surprise, the POV female character melts at the end of the conversation. Getsuya has a new favorite as of 17:36 on Dec 18, 2017 |
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Dec 18, 2017 17:32
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Getsuya posted:Boys hire kappa to murder their little bro who is bullying both them and their dad. Somehow the little bro becomes a zombie and the POV switches to him as he seeks out delicious brains which will allow him to become a Real Boy again. This one sounds pretty interesting, actually.
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Dec 18, 2017 17:47
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Barry Bluejeans posted:This one sounds pretty interesting, actually. There are some things that make it pretty horrible that I’m glossing over but one interesting thing is the almost fantasy-novel level of world building that goes into it. The author actually creates a persistent world for a series of disconnected horror novels. He also does some trippy drug-induced lucid nightmare bits. The main issue is they aren’t scary, they’re kinda pointless, and they rely pretty heavily on sexual stuff for the horror moments which is kind of a recurring theme in (bad) Japanese horror.
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Dec 18, 2017 17:54
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Getsuya posted:A guy gets addicted to buying girls on skewers. Opens a pizza joint to support his addiction but runs out of money. I think the twist ending is he buys one with his last bit of money and it’s a girl he knew from when they were kids. I. What? Why? What did he do with the girls on skewers? Why is that a thing to purchase? What the gently caress?
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Dec 18, 2017 17:58
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RoboRodent posted:I. What? Why? What did he do with the girls on skewers? Why is that a thing to purchase? What the gently caress? Got a boner I assume. It's a horrible murder porn story. I don't think there's anything deeper going on.
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Dec 18, 2017 18:15
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RoboRodent posted:I. What? Why? What did he do with the girls on skewers? Why is that a thing to purchase? What the gently caress? it's a fetish obviously. 
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Dec 18, 2017 18:15
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The concept of the story is that the skewer girls are part of an old religious tradition and thus are kept specifically for certain festivals. People aren’t supposed to own them privately but of course the right amount of money can make it possible. I don’t know. Maybe it’s a deeply veiled anti-whaling rant.
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Dec 18, 2017 18:24
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Guy who talked about Parasite Eve being weird but not holding a candle to this; you're spot on the money. That was an odd book, but this stuff is just weird.
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Dec 18, 2017 19:22
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To be fair I was pulling these books off a list titled ‘Grotesque horror novels you can’t possibly read to the end’ or something like this. I don’t think they’re indicative of Japanese horror in general.
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Dec 18, 2017 20:09
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Getsuya posted:To be fair I was pulling these books off a list titled ‘Grotesque horror novels you can’t possibly read to the end’ or something like this. I don’t think they’re indicative of Japanese horror in general. Do you have a link?
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Dec 18, 2017 22:43
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https://matome.naver.jp/m/odai/2141175430552168501 The page and all the books are Japanese only though. Edit: the first book; Satsujinki, is actually fairly decent if you want to see what happens when a Japanese author sets out to write his take on US slasher horror like Friday the 13th. Getsuya has a new favorite as of 22:58 on Dec 18, 2017 |
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Dec 18, 2017 22:45
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Getsuya posted:Highlights from the worst dregs of Japanese horror novels: So Japanese pulp horror is a lot like British pulp horror, but grosser?
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Dec 19, 2017 00:16
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I picked up another one off that list called Beelzebub. Reviews have warned that if you hate bugs and like cats you shouldn't read it. Both of those things apply to me so I should have a fun time. If there are any highlights I'll post them. Apparently in an interview the author stated that she had to cut about 200 pages of additional grotesque scenes from her already 650 page novel (which is, by the way, absolutely massive by Japanese novel standards).
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Dec 19, 2017 01:03
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Japan is great at thrillers though - I'm a big fan of Confessions by Kanae Minato. The movie is great too.
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Dec 19, 2017 02:03
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eating only apples posted:Japan is great at thrillers though - I'm a big fan of Confessions by Kanae Minato. The movie is great too. Yea Confessions is an entertaining read. I'm not sure if all the twists would hold up to scrutiny, but I don't care. The first time through was a helluva ride. Natsuo Kirino writes some great stuff too, but I think only three of her books are in English. Getsuya posted:I picked up another one off that list called Beelzebub. Reviews have warned that if you hate bugs and like cats you shouldn't read it. Both of those things apply to me so I should have a fun time. If there are any highlights I'll post them. and you might as well just share that list. Sounds rad Ambitious Spider has a new favorite as of 02:46 on Dec 19, 2017 |
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Dec 19, 2017 02:39
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Ambitious Spider posted:
I linked it a few posts up, but these are all in Japanese. Edit: holy poo poo Beelzebub is awesome. I need a ‘post your favorite nightmare fuel scenes from grotesque horror stories’ thread Getsuya has a new favorite as of 03:58 on Dec 19, 2017 |
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Dec 19, 2017 03:02
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Getsuya posted:I linked it a few posts up, but these are all in Japanese. The google translations are pretty fantastic: "A certain summer in the '90s. A group of "TC members" gathered at Futaba mountain is going to be murdered one by one by the hands of that suddenly appeared. Blood splashes wet the night, the torn pieces of meat blooms in bloom ... feast of infernal hell. But do not be dazzled by this fear. An unprecedented trap set by the writer awaits the reader behind the tragedy. - The most fearable and amazing horror and mystery drawn with a stylist full of groove feeling." " Sanae Kitajima is a psychiatrist who is involved in terminal care at hospice. Lovers and writer Takanashi was a pathological death phobia, but after participating in the Amazon research team hosted by the newspaper company, the personality showed a strange transformation and was fascinated by the "death" that was so scared As I was, I committed suicide. In addition, it is understood that other members of the survey team have committed suicide one after another in an unusual way. What on Earth happened? What does Takanashi leave just before his death say "Can you hear the angels of angels?" The fear of the unexpected attacks you." wish you could get the whole books translated that way
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Dec 19, 2017 14:38
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I kind of want to do a Let’s Read of Beelezebub but I’m afraid some people might find it too far past good taste and think I’m a psycho for even reading it.
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Dec 19, 2017 16:02
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Getsuya posted:I kind of want to do a Let’s Read of Beelezebub but I’m afraid some people might find it too far past good taste and think I’m a psycho for even reading it. We have someone doing the 'Sword of Truth' books and there was a 40 page thread about Miranda Leek's 'Twisted'. If there is a standard for good taste we plowed past that somewhere between the BDSM nuns with magic pain dildos and the were-rollercoaster.
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Dec 19, 2017 16:29
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I guess I can just replace all the really bad stuff with breakfast cereal like that Tsukihime LP.
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Dec 19, 2017 16:33
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Getsuya posted:I kind of want to do a Let’s Read of Beelezebub but I’m afraid some people might find it too far past good taste and think I’m a psycho for even reading it. Alternatively you could garner an audience that's a little too into it.
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Dec 19, 2017 18:10
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there wolf posted:Alternatively you could garner an audience that's a little too into it. That sounds like it would be every bit as much an enjoyable spectacle as the Let's Read proceedings themselves.
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Dec 19, 2017 18:23
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YggiDee posted:magic pain dildos That the protagonist wears around his neck for the rest of the series, after it's been in his rear end.
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Dec 19, 2017 19:27
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YggiDee posted:We have someone doing the 'Sword of Truth' books and there was a 40 page thread about Miranda Leek's 'Twisted'. If there is a standard for good taste we plowed past that somewhere between the BDSM nuns with magic pain dildos and the were-rollercoaster. We had a John Ringo Let's Read. We had an Unintended Consequences Let's Read. I wouldn't be surprised if we had had a Turner Diaries Let's Read
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Dec 19, 2017 22:57
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I will always support Let's Reads of horrible and weird books.
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Dec 20, 2017 00:35
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Rough Lobster posted:I will always support Let's Reads of horrible and weird books. 
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Dec 20, 2017 00:55
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LET'S READ War of the Archangels (The Satanic Uprising): A Novel
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Dec 20, 2017 08:58
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I think Garth Nix has come up in this thread, but I’m not sure. I read a bunch of random MG stuff to help me write for that market, and I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read except his stuff. The name of the series was Keeper of the Keys or Keys to the Kingdom or something. It was a textbook case of passive MC who basically just got shunted from setpiece to setpiece so Nix could show off the (admittedly fairly interesting) world he had built. I think it was 3 or so books in before MC did something because he wanted to rather than being ordered/forced to, and even then it was more he was giving in and just going along with things than actually being driven by an inner desire to achieve a goal. Are all his books like that?
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Dec 20, 2017 20:04
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Getsuya posted:I think Garth Nix has come up in this thread, but I’m not sure. I read a bunch of random MG stuff to help me write for that market, and I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read except his stuff. The name of the series was Keeper of the Keys or Keys to the Kingdom or something. It was a textbook case of passive MC who basically just got shunted from setpiece to setpiece so Nix could show off the (admittedly fairly interesting) world he had built. From what I can tell, Nix has three good books, which are the first three Abhorsen books. There are some fans of his other work, but most everything else is panned at varying levels.
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Dec 20, 2017 20:25
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Getsuya posted:I think Garth Nix has come up in this thread, but I’m not sure. I read a bunch of random MG stuff to help me write for that market, and I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read except his stuff. The name of the series was Keeper of the Keys or Keys to the Kingdom or something. It was a textbook case of passive MC who basically just got shunted from setpiece to setpiece so Nix could show off the (admittedly fairly interesting) world he had built. Mostly, yeah. This criticism applies basically word for word to the Seventh Tower series he wrote as well. Loved it when I was 10 though.
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Dec 20, 2017 20:35
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Poor Miserable Gurgi posted:From what I can tell, Nix has three good books, which are the first three Abhorsen books. This is truth. I regretted ever reading anything of his other than the first three.
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Dec 20, 2017 20:46
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Poor Miserable Gurgi posted:From what I can tell, Nix has three good books, which are the first three Abhorsen books. There are some fans of his other work, but most everything else is panned at varying levels. Bummer and/or yay. Because those are exactly the three Garth Nix books I've read. They were quite good though.
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Dec 20, 2017 23:10
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Well Beelzebub turned out to be a book worthy of this thread so it's time to share some highlights. Basically the book was a mash-up of Joe's Apartment, The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, The Omen and every scrap of Satanist literature the author could get his hands on. It starts out great, with hints at the possibility of giant bugs coming out and attacking everyone, but sadly never delivers on this. What it does have is a whole lot of kids dying. One of the main points in the book is that a bunch of young kids need to die to summon Beelzebub, so the middle portion of the book almost takes on a 'monster of the week' nature as the concept 'beloved animal/teacher/costumed character gets possessed by evil bugs and graphically murders the nearest crowd of children' is repeated 5 times. I only read the first one, then when I realized it was just going to keep being like that I skimmed past it. My hope was that this would all lead to Beelzebub getting summoned and the promised giant bug-ocalypse coming to pass for a great final act. Nnnnope. Instead the final act is 300 or so pages of navel-gazing about the nature of Christianity and Satanism, deciphering dumb poem codes (the stupid evil chants in this book take up at least 100 pages, I'm not joking), and just chapters and chapters of people talking about what's going on as the author infodumps every single idea he's ever had about Western religion. I'd give examples but my eyes glazed over trying to parse insane religious ramblings in Japanese. It didn't help that the infodump character was a homeless guy with an insanely thick accent so I couldn't make heads or tails of the stuff he was saying. Most of it boiled down to: 'bugs are aliens, God and Satan are the same except God just happened to be the one of the pair that created humanity'. Oh, although some of it is absolutely hilarious because actual plot points are based around puns. See, ever since the beginning of the book, the MC has been having dream encounters with this guy she calls 'Chuuma'. He gets her pregnant through dream-sex and tells her to name the child 'Know'. She also gets really, really bad headaches while she's pregnant, and she has some black blotches on her brain in some x-rays. Surprise! Chuuma is God, and she was bastardizing the English 'Tumor', which is the form he was taking within her. Yes, God was the black blotches on her brain. But it gets better. See, the reason he had her call the child 'Know' is that it's actually supposed to be 'No'. Why? Because the first Christ was Iesu (using Japanese pronunciation), which is phonetically the same as YES. So. First we had Yes Christ. Now we're getting No Christ. I can't make this poo poo up. Anyway the ending is this super horrible traumatizing bit where 'Chuuma' takes over the MC and forces her to (maybe don't read this bit if you're even remotely squeamish) nail her baby son to a cross to prevent the birth of Beelzebub So that's just horrible. All I wanted was giant bugs killing folks creatively and I didn't get that. However, there were two extremely good scenes in the book. 1. The exorcism of a possessed baby. First of all the baby itself is an awesome monster. After it gets possessed by a demon cockroach it (again gross stuff don't look) snaps and tears off its mom's finger with its mouth despite not having any teeth. It also does that to her nipple later when she tries to breast feed. I think it cranks up the horror in the early part of the book very well. Anyway two priests show up to exorcise it and it's awesome. The evil bugs go full on Joe's Apartment, making all sorts of jokes about Christianity and revealing all the perversions of the two priests. The best part is when the priests try to use a crucifix to scare off the demonic bugs and the bugs go: "The cross? We love the cross! That's what they used to kill Jesus right? Father Idiot." and then they gather on the floor to form an image of Christ on the cross sticking his tongue out and rocking a huge boner. The priests get really upset. 2. One of the most effective horrific scenes I've ever seen or read before is in this book. Don't read if you're squeamish about bugs or (non sexual) child abuse When the main girl was 10 her parents, both insanely dedicated etymologists, were always trying to get her to like bugs. Unfortunately she hates them, and hates the fact that their house is a bug museum that is full of bugs. Well, at one point she wakes up pinned to a table in the basement lab. Her dad patiently explains that he REALLY wants her to like bugs as much as they do, and he and her mother would like to give her an opportunity to help them with an experiment that could change the world of etymology forever! See there's this ultra-rare beetle - only 3 left in the world, and the last mating pair happens to be in their house. Problem with these bugs is they only lay eggs in the eyes of little girls. The larva then hatch and use the inner bits of the eye for sustenance before popping out and flying away. The host doesn't die, but sadly they do pretty much lose that eye. How would she like to be the host for these magnificent, rare bugs? Que and absolutely agonizing scene in which the mom pins the girl down, holding her right eye open, as dad slowly, deliberately lowers this giant beetle toward her. Her whole field of view is full of the stinger-like egg chute twitching and thrusting toward her eye. Her dad promises her a Barbie doll if she'll just be a good girl about it. Man I still get shivers and a queasy feeling just thinking about that scene. So, all in all, it started out solid with some good early gore/scares but once it started focusing on kids dying it kind of lost any entertainment value. Right after that stuff comes an endless slog through the author's endless navel gazing on the nature of God and Satan and an ending that just makes you feel horrible for having read it. Giant bugs, which are teased in the beginning of the book, do not rampage apocalyptically in the climax, so there went all that potential. The author knows how to do gore and shock but very little else. I don't think I'll be looking up any of his other works.
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Dec 21, 2017 01:06
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PYF terrible book: Once it started focusing on kids dying it kind of lost any entertainment value
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Dec 21, 2017 02:08
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Isn't deadly-bugs like a subgenre in British horror? I know the 'I don't even own a television' guys have done one or two along those lines.
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Dec 21, 2017 02:14
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