The Suffering
Ratings8
Average rating4.1
15
Ratings8
Average rating4.1
Breathtaking and haunting, Rin Chupeco's second novel is a chilling companion to her debut, The Girl from the Well. The darkness will find you. Seventeen-year-old Tark knows what it is to be powerless. But Okiku changed that. A restless spirit who ended life as a victim and started death as an avenger, she's groomed Tark to destroy the wicked. But when darkness pulls them deep into Aokigahara, known as Japan's suicide forest, Okiku's justice becomes blurred, and Tark is the one who will pay the price...
Series
2 primary booksThe Girl from the Well is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 2014 with contributions by Rin Chupeco.
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This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: The Suffering
Bound together, Tark and Okiku each have their own brand of hunting. Tark uses rituals to exorcise the dead, while Okiku avenges murdered children. When Okiku targets a boy from Tark's school for murderous intentions, Tark begins to doubt they are any better than those they kill. When they receive word that Kagura has gone missing in Japan's suicide forest, Aokigahara, the two must come to terms with how they feel and set their sights on the darkness within the forest.
In The Suffering, Rin Chupeco once again brings Japanese folklore to life. The horror that awaits in the forest is only the beginning for Tark and Okiku. As they began to search Aokigahara the casual ease bodies are found is disturbing, yet not entirely beyond the truth. Even before they reach the deeper mythology and spirits, the tone is set and it only gets darker as the story progresses.
As Tark and Okiku search for Kagura, the settings come to life in chilling clarity. You can hear the spirits as they claw across the ground on finger bones and gnash their teeth in attempts to kill Tark. And the horror as Tark begins to uncover what is hidden within the forest and what has been done to innocents makes your skin crawl.
Paranormal horror at its finest, I could continuously read books about Tark and Okiku fighting off the dead. Tark fends off the fear as best he can with sarcastic comebacks but doesn't hesitate to admit when he is beyond scared. Tark uses all he can at his disposal to trap and exorcise the spirits. And through it all you see Okiku fighting by his side, beginning to realize that she's more than just a vengeful spirit. The chemistry between the two is addicting. I highly recommend The Suffering to fans of horror.
