Spiral
by Koji Suzuki
HarperCollins, $96
Spiral opens where Ring closes. But those who haven't read the book (or seen the movie of the same name) that spawned the hit series will still be spooked by the sequel. While performing a post-mortem on Ryuji - the last victim in Ring - Ando discovers a piece of newspaper sticking out of the cadaver's abdomen. The only things on it are two numbers that he later decodes to mean 'ring'. Those familiar with Ring will remember how anyone unfortunate enough to have watched a crackly videotape dies. Ryuji, having succumbed, seems to be directing the pathologist towards the same video, offering further clues about the dead girl whose thoughts are on the recording. Koji Suzuki is more interested 'in a meld of science and superstition' than just horror, The Independent commented in a favourable review, comparing his characters to those found in Haruki Murakami's work and his plots to those favoured by American horror-meister Stephen King. As for the difference between first and second books, USA Today felt the scare factor in Ring to be more immediate and visceral.
