Birthday (Ring Series, Book 4)

Well, as I loved all previous Ringu books, I loved this one too. Mostly I was shocked when in 180 page in first sentence was written date June 27, 1991 (one day before I got into this world). I WAS BORN ON JUNE 28, 1991. So I was very surprised by that date. Never found such thing with my birthday in a any book. And it is even more mysterious that this book is named "Birthday".My favorite chapter of course was about Sadako's life in theater. I saw movie by this book...and I think right now I'm gonna find that DVD and watch it again.Koji Suzuki was first Japanese author I noticed in Lithuania when I still was a teen. When I bought this book, I thought it will be very hard to read in English his book, but it wasn't at all. In fact very easy to read. Maybe other 3 books would be hard to read in English, but I read them in Lithuanian any way. I really wish to read more of his books. They are very interesting, have deep feelings, and they so calm me that I fall asleep reading his books.So in any case- I LOVED THIS BOOK VERY MUCH.

This is not an ordinary sequel, but then neither is Spiral or Loop for that matter. They might tie into the Ring story and explain it further, but they can also stand on their on as well. Once picked up none of the books in this series is easy to put down. I pretty much plowed through them and am now reading the mangas. Only two of which I got here on amazon. The novel called Loop wasn't a movie or a manga but is a great read and explains a whole lot about the nature of the Ring virus and this book here(Birthday) is actually three stories that tell about the women of the ring. One the stories called Lemon Heart, was the basis for the Ring 0 movie. If you thought that you know the Ring just from the movies and TV show, think again, these turn the story on it's ear and then some. Best to get all of them for the full story. Watch, read, and enjoy! Sadako lives!

Satisfying conclusion to characters from the Ring trilogy

There's quite a few decent reviews here, so I won't restate what they're saying.Although a series of short stories, this is certainly a continuation of the 'Ring' saga. Only the first-shortest-tale I feel is unnecessary as it goes into the gory detail of an event that was better left a bit mysterious-the birth of a 'new' cloned Sadako. In the previous novels we knew what happened although there was no play-by-play of the actual birthing of the baby. But that's my only real criticism, and that's a quite short story anyway.The bulk of the book is a continuation of exactly where we left off in 'Loop'. The way that book ended sure left us wondering exactly what happened after the main character allowed his physical body to perish so that he may enter, reconstituted, into the Loop virtual world.I rarely read any fiction at all, but after reading Suzuki's 'Ring' series i'm a convert to his writings, even if I was disappointed with his non-Ring associated novel 'Promenade Of The Gods'.

I love all of his novels, I have all of them

Gotta finish the Ring series if you're going to begin it. Great.

I liked it. If you are very interested in The Ring series like me, this book fills in a few gaps.

It's almost pointless to even mention the Ring films at this point, as they bare almost no resemblance to the story anymore by just book 2 (unless you count Rasen, but by the end of that it doesn't count anymore at all in the film universe). Ring 0: Birthday was loosely based on the second story in this book, Lemon Heart. The rest of the book is new.This is an anthology based around three central characters in the trilogy (all female) and themes of birth relating to the storyline.1. Floating CoffinPlot: This, the first story, takes place in the middle of book 2, Spiral. We get a glimpse of Mai Takano, and what exactly happens when she gives birth to Sadako and dies.Review: Of the three stories, this was by far my least favorite. It has no real relevance to progressing the story or showing anything. This one was a little bit of a bore. However, the next stories made me completely forget about this one's lack of interest.2. Lemon HeartPlot: Toyama, a middle-aged man, is approached by a detective that is looking for information on Yamamura Sadako. Toyama is one of the only survivors from a theater troupe that Sadako was in shortly before she disappeared. Toyama recounts being in love with her, and in the end of the story gets a surprise visit from a familiar face.Review: My favorite of the three. Great story that sheds some more light on how Sadako was in life, and introduces some foreshadowing and dramatic irony that we know will lead to events that take place in "Ring" and "Spiral".3. Happy BirthdayPlot: Reiko, still pregnant, is brought to New Mexico and informed of what exactly happened to Kaoru. She takes a look into the Loop world to see how he manages to get rid of Sadako and save the world, leading up to the birth of his child.Review: Another great story. I sort of hoped it would be longer, as it was the conclusion to the entire series and I felt at first that it was much too short to be the ending. However, looking back, I see how the entire anthology was the ending. Although only one has a story that ends it, the others sort of bring the legend and story of Sadako to a full circle.All in all, great anthology that is a must-read for fans of the first three books.5 stars / 5

I ordered a used copy, it was a steal at less than 200 INR. You should buy this only if you have read the three books in the ring universe by koji suzuki and are a fan of the ring universe, otherwise you may give this one a miss.

An excellent read and well recommended. A series of short stories. One of these was made into a film called Darkwater.

really awesome. Im a huge fan of his work, and this one is non-put-downable.You prolly should read the ring trilogy first though.

...After reading Suzuki's trilogy of "Ring", "Spiral" and "Loop", "Birthday" is perfect to round things up.More background information is given from different perspectives of the main characters.

Love reading Koji Suzuki books. Three stories in one was great and loved reading this book. Read this book three times already.