Although this review will avoid spoilers for Loop, I cannot promise that it will not contain spoilers for the prequels, Ring (Ringu) and Spiral (Rasen), or for any films based on the series.
I won't deny that I've been awaiting my copy of Loop for a long time, and the person who bought it for me has my eternal gratitude. Originally released in 1990, and translated from Japanese to English in the late nineties, Loop is the third book of the Ring series and continues the events of the previous books, Ring and Spiral. Many people will recognise Ring as the basis of the 1998 Japanese film and the 2002 American film, both of the same name.
Those who have seen the Ring films may be surprised by how much they differ from the books. Although Ring suffered minor changes compared to Spiral, it seems impossible, to me, that any sequel to those films based on this third instalment will be anything like the original. The films have spiralled (pun intended) on to such a different tangent, that the shocking events and conclusion of this novel, a conclusion which was subtly introduced in the previous books, cannot survive as a sequel to the films.
For the first few hundred pages of Loop, the reader will probably be wondering exactly how this book corresponds to the previous two. Spiral ended with a horrifying view of a hopeless future, something there seems to be no sign of in Loop. Loop, like Ring and Spiral, takes place in Japan, and considering how Spiral ended, it's highly unlikely that Kaoru, the main character, can live in the same country and yet be unaware of the events set in motion.
So, is the book set in the past, or far in the future, or do the events occur at the same time as in the previous books? How can Kaoru, be unaware of the worldwide events which began in Ring and Spiral? What, exactly, is going on here?
It takes a while for these questions to be answered, but with Suzuki, the ride is always enjoyable. The story begins with a young Kaoru, and introduces the character who we will spend the next almost-five-hundred pages with. As with the previous novels, the main character is interested in scientific discovery and genetics, and this is a major part of the story. The titular Loop is a computer program which mimics the evolution of live on earth, as one can learn from reading the back cover of the book. Scientific jargon abounds, and if this is something that put you off in the previous books, particularly Spiral, then perhaps another series is more your style.
Speaking of the back of the book, don't read it. In my honest opinion, it gives away far more than would be ideal of the novel. Fortunately, I didn't read it until after I finished the book, and I found the entire experience a lot more enjoyable for that. As with all books, the blurb appears to have been written by someone who heard only a Chinese whispers version of the book, and didn't think much of it. Don't read it if you can help it.
Loop has a rather different feel from its predecessors. While Ring and Spiral were chilling horror stories, Loop is more of a mystery novel, and, unlike after reading the previous two books, it's a lot easier to sleep at night after finishing Loop. It's true that Suzuki is a masterful horror writer, as anyone who has read Ring, Spiral or Dark Water – or even seen the films - will know, but I feel he handled the mystery of Loop equally well.
Loop does reference and describe parts of its predecessors – it's actually possible to read the book as a stand alone, as you could do with the other books. What's interesting about this is the way that scenes take on an entirely different air, simply because of the viewpoint they are told from. Loop is, once again, told in third person, but heavily leans on the impressions of a single character, as Ring did with Asakawa and Spiral did with Ando.
In summary, Loop is an excellent, imaginative, unique and original continuation of the Ring series, with Suzuki's consummate skill taking the books in a direction no one could have foreseen.
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