This month’s column looks at two very different novels: Promenade of the Gods (Vertical, Inc.), a thriller from legendary horror writer Koji “Ringu” Suzuki, and The Tarot Cafe: The Wild Hunt (Tokyopop), a prose adaptation of the popular manhwa series.

Promenade of the Gods

By Koji Suzuki, Translated by Takami Nieda
Vertical, 319 pp.

From Koji Suzuku, author of the Ring series and Dark Water, comes Promenade of the Gods. Billed as a parallel tale to the original Ring, Promenade focuses on a minor character and event that are only mentioned offhand in the original novel. Suzuku spins out a new story that’s completely unrelated to the events of the Ring saga and yet is set in the same world. The result is this stand-alone novel that can be picked up and enjoyed on its own.

Shirow is a fairly successful businessman who runs his own cram school; financially independent and with a strong staff capable of running the company without him, he floats from day to day with little worries. Then one morning a he gets a phone call from Miyuki, the wife of his long time friend Matsuoka. Months ago, Matsuoka vanished and Miyuki seeks Shirow’s help in finding him. As the two search for Matsuoka, they begin to uncover evidence that indicates that his disappearance is just the tip of a much larger and potentially dangerous iceberg.

Let’s cut right to the chase: despite the fact that Promenade is shelved in the horror section next to the Ring and such, it is most assuredly not a horror novel. If anything, it belongs in the mystery section, as the plot ostensibly focuses on disappearances and kidnappings. In fact, it’s barely even a mystery novel–at heart, Promenade is a well-done character study about two people in their thirties feeling the sense of longing, regret and loss that come with a mid-life crisis. Large chunks of this book delve into Shirow and Miyuki’s personal lives, desires and fears, with the mystery almost feeling tacked on at times. And while it is set in the Ring world, there’s no sign of the infamous video tape, Sadako, or any of the supernatural horror elements that are present in that series. If there’s any horror in the book, it’s of a more existential nature, the horror of realizing how your dreams have faded and died away, only to be replaced by the banality of daily life, that the person you had hoped to be is far from the reality you’re now facing.

It’s definitely the most mature Suzuki novel I’ve come across so far; in fact if it wasn’t for his name being smack dab on the cover I’d think it was from a compeltely different author. The focus, the ideas within it, are just so radically different from anything that I’ve read from him before with the possible exception of “Lemon Heart.” It really feels like a different author’s work, not to mention the work of someone who is also facing these same challenges and contemplating a way out.

I get the feeling that Promenade’s reception might be a bit bumpy at first. That’s not because it’s a bad novel–far from it. It’s just a bit of a bait-and-switch novel. Suzuki’s name, which is synomous with Japanese horror in the US, means that Promenade is being racked in the horror section of most bookstores will almost definitely lead people to expect something closer in tone to his previous works. I have to admit that I was thrown for a bit of a loop when I got into the book, but in the end I did find it a rewarding and enjoyable tale.

Promenade of the Gods is available now.

–Reviewed by Ken Haley

The Tarot Cafe: The Wild Hunt, Vol. 1

Art by Sang-Sun Park, Story by Chandra Rooney
Tokyopop, 208 pp.

The Tarot Café was among the first—and most popular—manhwa series Tokyopop licensed, making its American debut in 2005. In 2007, Tokyopop hired writer Chandra Rooney to adapt the concept into a series of light novels, the first of which debuts in January. I’m pleased to report that her adaptation is entertaining and true to the spirit of Sang-Sun Park’s manhwa, yet accessible to readers unfamiliar with the original series.

Volume one focuses on Bryn, an up-and-coming actress who appears to lead a charmed life: she has a handsome, talented fiancé; a plum part in a new TV show; and a loving family that supports her career. Bryn has a terrible secret, however: her fiancé, Jack, has disappeared without a trace. Her only clue to his whereabouts is a recurring dream in which she sees a mysterious, powerful demon pursuing Jack through a dark forest. Desperate to reunite with him, Bryn turns to Pamela, a fortuneteller, for a tarot reading—a reading that proves fateful for both women.

Though the basic set-up and characters are nearly identical to the manhwa, Rooney composed an original scenario for her novel. She skillfully incorporates information about Pamela and her employees into the text, drawing on the series’ full run for juicy tidbits from their pasts. More importantly, she uses this information to good dramatic effect, drawing parallels between Bryn’s current plight and Pamela’s back story to show us how Pamela became the all-powerful seer we meet in the manhwa.

My chief criticism of the book is the prose: it’s a little purple. No one wears red lipstick or answers the phone; they apply crimson paint to their lips and raise the cellular flip phone delicately to one ear. Given the target audience for the book, I doubt readers will mind such overly deliberate writing; one might even argue that it captures the manhwa’s fervid, Romantic tone more effectively than the matter-of-fact prose found in most light novels. More discerning prose stylists, however, may find the book’s tone too reminiscent of their high school literary magazine to be a truly satisfying read.

I also found some of the book’s gender dynamics a little unsettling. Bryn is a very damaged character who blames her “selfish” desire to have a career for Jack’s estrangement and subsequent disappearance. Though Pamela tries to convince her otherwise, Bryn is willing to sacrifice her career and family to be with Jack, despite his deranged and destructive behavior. A fifteen-year-old may see Bryn’s stance as tragic or romantic—anything for true love!—but a grown-up is more likely to see it as unhealthy, self-abnegating behavior best addressed on the therapist’s couch, not at the Tarot Café.

That said, I still think The Tarot Café is one of the best “novelizations” of a manga to be published in the US. Rooney pulls off the difficult trick of writing for fans and newcomers alike, demonstrating her knowledge of the original story while expanding its universe to include new characters. Her work functions both as an effective companion to the manhwa and a stand-alone YA novel, and should be a hit with teens who love supernatural soap operas.

N.B. This review is based on an uncorrected proof from the publisher. Though the cover promises illustrations by Sang-Sun Park, the version I read didn’t feature much artwork, just some decorative elements at the beginning of each chapter and the bottom of every page. Nonetheless, the book’s basic presentation is attractive. I do not know if the final version will include additional images by Park.

Volume one of The Tarot Cafe: The Wild Hunt will be available on January 13, 2009.

–Reviewed by Katherine Dacey