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evening, a man saunters out after watching television
and fails to come home. He calls his wife to tell her that he
just can't live with her anymore. Left with a baby daughter and
at a loss, Miyuki contacts her husband's childhood friend Shirow
for help. As the two investigate the missing man’s whereabouts,
they come to fear that the disappearance involves more than mere
caprice.
Published a dozen years after
Ring, the contemporary horror classic that won Koji Suzuki
worldwide acclaim, Promenade of the Gods is a mystery
in which the author’s signature use of amateur sleuths comes
to the fore and spellbinds anew. Considered his most important
novel since the famous Ring trilogy, Promenade
shares with it many themes and a character; a guru called Kageyama,
mentioned only in passing in Ring. When the occult and
the media cross ways, a new light begins to shimmer on the horizon.
While an essential companion
piece for connoisseurs of the Ring trilogy and the themes
explored therein, Promenade requires and expects no familiarity
with the earlier series. It is an excellent introduction to the
world of Koji Suzuki and the unique delights of his storytelling
style, which pulls readers along whether they like it or not.
Click
here to read a free preview.
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“A
tensely wrought tale. Suzuki doesn't stereotype true believers
as mindless automatons, the way they've been frequently portrayed
in the mass media. He nevertheless provides interesting insights
into how people in a spiritual vacuum are drawn to cults. The
climax is presented in a deviously clever manner… The style
supports the narrative, raising tension through artful understatement
while working in unexpected shocks. Promenade is a fine
effort, with a ring of plausibility that subtly revives the mood
back in March 1995, when the public's fears of Shoko Asahara’s
doomsday cult were palpable.”
—Mark Schreiber, The Japan Times
PRAISE
FOR PARADISE:
“This
first novel by Koji Suzuki, who went on to reinvent contemporary
horror in the classic Ring
trilogy, gleams with imaginative power. A love story
refracted through time, Paradise pretty much made time
disappear while I read it – one whole Saturday flew past.
What a pleasure, and what a wonderful writer.”
—Peter Straub
PRAISE FOR
THE RING SERIES:
“(Suzuki’s)
stories have a unique, alchemical quality to them and he has demonstrated
a miraculous power for transmuting the very common into the very
frightening.” —Rue Morgue
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