Reiko - A Japanese Ghost Story

Sometimes you read a book by a little-known author and you just hate yourself for wasting time and money on a story that wasn't good. You persevere, and you persevere, completely annoyed that you spent €2.00 on a digital pile of garbage - only so you can validate your opinion come review-time, because no one likes a person who says they hate a book yet never bloody finished it! But not so with "Reiko" by Jason Avonleigh. This was actually quite good.A young man named James travels from England to Japan to research the difference between Western and Japanese ghosts. Is the experience and activity of a ghost culture-specific or do ghosts behave and appear the same way everywhere in the world? James is a sceptic, a non-believer of ghosts, and he is reluctant to use the research notes left behind by his predecessor Charlie, an Oxford graduate who went mad and hanged himself in the process of answering this very question. An ill-fated trip to Japan's most haunted town, Izumi, had apparently pushed Charlie off the edge, and determined to lay this matter to rest, James arranges to spend a week in Izumi to finish Charlie's research and also confirm that the guy just went insane, that he didn't see any ghosts... In spite of himself, James becomes interested in the sequential deaths of five high school students from Izumi, an incident Charlie had studied extensively in the run-up to his death. As James starts to interview the faculty, he finds himself unwittingly cursed by the presence of Reiko, the first victim whose body was never found, and a spirit who appears intent on telling him something...Although the story seems to be a typical Japanese tale of ghostly revenge like "The Ring", what makes it different is the way it truthfully examines why foreigners might go to Japan. If you have gone to Japan yourself, either as an exchange student or as a foreign language teacher, you will immediately identify with the cultural references, descriptions of the Japanese landscape, and the loneliness James feels as the reputation of Charlie overshadows his own identity (the author has clearly been to Japan himself as a student). At one point, the protagonist sagely observes that people who retreat to far-flung places like Japan do so to escape from something at home, and tend to be social misfits - much like the Japanese who might withdraw from the pressures of their own culture by immersing themselves in a foreign language or culture.Also, what makes "Reiko" a bit more interesting than the average Japanese horror movie, is the genuine horror I felt as James and the other characters realised why the ghost of Reiko had followed him. And the trick here isn't the ghost herself, but the living influence that can still manipulate the spiritual world. Do vengeful Japanese ghosts really remain on Earth because they were not reposed in accordance to the Buddhist tradition prior to death? Or do they possess a sentient form of revenge, just for the sake of revenge? Some readers found the ending of "Reiko" to be silly, but I think this is mainly down to a dim appreciation of the cultural elements at play between Japan and the West, as well as lacking the imagination to plumb the definitions of evil (it is truly shocking how far some people will go for 'good intentions'). The writing is typically British in execution and control (measured prose, with well-timed punctuation; that sort of thing), and while I found that sections lagged due to excessive internalisation, this didn't detract from the flow of the story and actually made the protagonist a legitimate mouthpiece for the horror at hand. After all, it's a hard thing to do, making a sceptic afraid of the very thing they don't believe in.So, yes, I would strongly recommend "Reiko" to horror/mystery lovers, those who like Japanese culture in general, and those seeking something different and reasonably well-written from a little-known author.

This was a thought provoking, captivating and slightly odd book. The blurb about it had intrigued me and drew me in.At times I felt this was a little hard going, especially towards the end but I ploughed through it and finished it with something akin to curiosity. That said I did feel that it was a rather odd read with some pleasantly interesting characters. It was well written with only a few minor typos here and there but it read well.I guess ghost stories will have some interest in our minds especially any differences or similarities, and any common threads through them. It was an interesting read but I came away thinking it was all a bit odd. Maybe that was the point. It was enjoyable enough for what it was.

This book started off quite good making you want to delve further into it, but towards the end the storyline starting becoming I don't know which word to use so maybe sort of random, though he may have tried to make it more unpredictable in a way to make it more compelling to the reader to find out what will happen, I thought the ending was a bit silly myself. If this book was turned into a film it might be another one of those weird quite rubbish japanese films. Well I suppose horror must be a bit harder to write than say a crime thriller or a romance. I thought his style of writing (sentence structure, plot construction, vocabulary etc) was a bit amateurish too, nothing that wrong with it, it's perfectly readable, but was just lacking something, maybe experience, or artistic flair compared to some better writers of literature that I have read.

It is a good ghost story and it has a presence of something reminiscent of the atmosphere in the Ringu (the original Japanese horror story, not the American re-make). It starts a bit slow, with bits and pieces not wanting to connect, but in the end it all falls into place. Once you understand WHY the teenagers all had to die and WHAT the danger was for the main character it all sort of makes sense.I liked how the writer mixed some Japanese cultural traditions in. I liked how he created the main villain the way you don't guess who it is until late in the story. I even liked a fairly typical for a horror story presence of the voodoo practice to rectify the evil, as it somehow married the East and West there.I think it would make a good film, if the makers don't fall for the Hollywood dead - predictable cheap horror film style. May be a Japanese film crew?

This was OK. Not really frightening (if the Exorcist is a '10', this would be a '1'), the slight food-related twist was rather telegraphed, but I liked the main characters and the relationship between them. As a Japanophile, I've noted that if this was set in a England or the U.S., I wouldn't have the enthusiasm for the story to finish this book.

Worth a go. Above average ghost story that has some creepy moments. A useful edition to the genre. Enjoyable scary.

Downloaded this to escape for a few hours on a stormy Sunday and it was the best decision ever, I couldn't put it. Our protagonist, James, travels from Britain to Japan to study the differences between eastern and western ghosts. A cynic at first, James is sceptical when he learns of the fate of the last British student, charlie, who was writing a similar these. Following in his footsteps, James is drawn into the mystery of Charlie's fate, the disappearance and deaths of five local students and what ties them all together - he's about to meet Reiko.

This ist a very strange book. Almost everything I could say about it would be a spoiler, so only that: I rarely came across such a ghoulish idea for a plot (with the possible exception of Grimms Fairy Tales). And I rarely read a book that was so gentle, so human, so full of understanding. I lived not with the characters, I lived in them. And all that although it is not easy for a foreigner like me to get the "feel" of Japan, let alone the subtle differences between Western and Easterrn ghosts, which is what the hero of the book is studying in a haunted village.Oh, by the way: Whenever you think "Ah, that's it, now I know how it will go on" - you're most certainly wrong.

James Avonleigh's Reiko - A Japanese Ghost Story had me hooked from the first page and guessing to the end. An interesting and very different take on ghost stories looks into cultural differences in the paranormal. Like comparing movies such as The Ring an The Grudge to American horror movies this book is a very different and pleasant change. A British student and scholar comes to Japan. His research lands him straight into a perplexing case involving the suicide of his predecessor, mysterious deaths, a missing student, and a frightened community. Slow moving and gentle the story still has that ominous feel from beginning to end. I highly recommend it.

The description of this novel drew me in immediately. Five high school friends in a remote village in Japan all die within a two week period. There is never any explanation for their mysterious deaths. Four years later, a British paranormal researcher begins to delve into the events. He uncovers a dark, unspoken side of Japanese culture that threatens to destroy him.I was hooked from the opening line. "Japanese ghosts are different. Your ghosts would not feel at home here." This sets the stage for a fascinating look at ghosts from a non-western perspective. Avonleigh does an excellent job of transporting us into a culture caught between two worlds. In post-World War II Japan, western influences dominate. But there is still the East tugging at the shadows and inserting its presence into Tokyo's ever-present flashing neon. The hushed whispers surrounding the village of Izumi are laced with western references to Hell as well as Buddhism and Shintoism. The cultural juxtapositions are jarring and create a sense of tension before our protagonist James ever sets foot in the village. The story builds to a frightening climax that will leave you disturbed for some time after.Reiko: A Japanese Ghost Story takes the reader outside the traditional horror boundaries. From the Gothic literary tradition to Stephen King, horror is dominated by the West. Avonleigh reminds us that there is a big world out there and it has its share of darkness as well. While Avonleigh's characters are a bit weak at times, it's a minor flaw in this one.Originally published at Horror Novel Reviews

It was an okay story. Certainly not original and completely predictable. Not the slightest bit scary but it was interesting. It reminded me of a Jdrama I saw a few years ago. There were some mistakes in the plot but too minor to worry about while reading. I don't want to go bashing this book or it's author because he's done something that most armchair critics haven't...he has published a book. So good on him.

Spellbinding right up to the very end. Once you start into it, it won't release you. Yes! Japanese ghost are different than most. They have purpose and intention. You don't ever want to be on the receiving end of their purposeful intent.