User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
--->EXCERPT<---
SUICIDE forest is real. the Japanese call it Aokigahara Jukai, which means "Sea of Trees." Each year local authorities remove from it more than one hundred bodies, most found hanging from tree branches and in various states of decay. Abandoned tents, moldy sleeping bags, dirty daypacks, and miles of ribbon litter the forest floor. It is said the area is haunted by the ghosts of the suicides, and local often report hearing unexplained screams during the night. Signs warn visitors not to leave the hiking trails. These are routinely ignored by thrill seekers hoping to catch a glimpse of the macabre. Most find their way out again. Some never do.
But we have a bunch of idiots that decided since they couldn't climb Mt. Fuji that day, they would go into the suicide forest to hike and stay the night. REALLY?
I have watched b movies and recent movies and documentaries on the forest. I also love hiking but in no way shape or form would I never go into these woods! Anyway, the said idiots are: Ethan, Mel, Ben, Nina, John Scott, Neil and Tomo. They had another friend named Honda with them but he would not go with them. He is the only none idiot of the group!
I did enjoy the character of Tomo. He just talked crazy stuff, just any old thing all of the time. He was quite amusing even when he wasn't trying to be.
--->EXCERPT<---
I wondered about the peculiar silence of the forest and said, "Hey, Tomo. Where are all of the animals?"
He glanced over his shoulder. "What you mean?"
"There're no animals. No birds or anything."
"It fucking haunted forest, man. Birds scared shitless. They go other forest."I love him. :-D
So Ethan does the narration throughout the whole book and at times I was bored with his thoughts. There were just things from his past and what not, nothing really bad, I just wanted it to be all about the forest. And there were times that I wanted to smack everyone in the group for their stupidity! They acted like they were 5 years-old!
But... at one point the story takes on a whole other twist that I didn't see coming. I enjoyed all of these parts, especially a part where Nina gets some revenge. I wish I could tell you what she did but I will save that for you to find out for yourself!
After all of the craziness is said and done, a few of them make it out alive and some of them don't. I liked the book as I love anything pertaining to the Suicide Forest, not because I'm morbid or want to see any corpses, I just like to learn more about it even if it's in a story or movie.
The author has more places he has written about that I have bought and can't wait to read those too!
And leave the creeping around to the paranormal investigators. LoL
MY BLOG: Melissa Martin's Reading List
Rating: really liked it
The only "horror" thing about this was how HORRIBLE it was.
Rating: really liked it
Not exactly about Aokigahara, setting this suspense-filled, fictional fright inside of Japan's "Suicide Forest" upped the creepy factor considerably. Like sharing ghost-stories in a cemetery. At midnight.
This copy is going to my favorite HS classroom library and I cannot wait to see what "my" students think.
Rating: really liked it
Update: 31/01/18. The Kindle edition is currently gratis in the UK, US and Canada. Hmm. It's got mixed reviews.
Rating: really liked it
DNF at 23%
Spoilers ahead!
Suicide Forest kept popping up on my recommendations, so I decided to give it a go. It seemed like your standard ghost story - a famously haunted location featuring a group of
dumb fucks friends hungry for adventure who each fit into a particular horror stereotype (the jock, the virgin, the comedian, the know-it-all, the insignificant one who dies first... etc).
The Good: --> the writing
The writing was actually pretty decent and the description of the forest gave me the creeps without the usual case of some authors going "Shit's scary, yo!"
The Bad: --> plot holes
Are you trying to tell me that these people have lived in Japan for FOUR YEARS and never, I repeat, NEVER heard of suicide forest?
"The forest is reportedly the most popular site for suicide in Japan and among the top three most popular sites for suicide in the world." (Wikipedia)
It's a very famous place, (even I know of it and I never set foot outside of Europe) so you can probably understand my frustration.
The Ugly: --> the characters
I hated how they had no actual personalities and acted in ways that went against human nature. Now, I know this is a book (a work of FICTION), but every horror book would be 100% scarier if the characters made smart decisions yet still got killed.
For example, this happened like 5 times:
Group: "Hmm... maybe camping out in SUICIDE FOREST isn't such a good idea..."
One person: "Yes it is."
Group: "Wow! Best idea ever!!!!!!!"
********MAJOR FACEPALM*********
Here's a couple more reasons why I hated these people.
Exhibit A:
They have been hiking through the forest for an hour and a half and they were already reduced to half a litre of water after just ONE break with HALF the group. The worst thing about that is that Ethan (the narrator) was confident that that half a litre would last them all through a night of camping AND the walk back. While I'm a self confessed couch potato, even I know that's stupid.
Exhibit B:
Deep in the forest they find a discarded bag with a book in it called "The Complete Manual of Suicide". Ethan's reaction to this:
"Seeing this book was like being slapped in the face with cold, cruel reality" .
You what? You are in a suicide hot spot which is a forest NAMED AFTER the act, there are signs everywhere urging you not to take your life, every person you came across looked at you suspiciously because they were afraid you were there to hang yourself... Why did it take you this long to understand what people do in that forest?? And why react like that to the least shocking piece of evidence?
Exhibit C: (Just so you know, Ethan's brother, Gary, was shot and killed by an 18 year-old heroin addict called Jerome.)
Ethan spent pages and pages thinking about the unfortunate events that led some of his classmates to die in a car crash after one of them decided to go Need for Speed on the city while drunk. He also thought about the people who killed themselves in Suicide Forest, why they did it, what could have stopped them.. etc. But not once does he think about how Jerome ended up like that, how an 18 year old got to the point of robbing people at gunpoint to finance his addiction only to shoot an innocent person, get life in prison and be killed by another inmate seven months into his sentence. I think that's pretty tragic, and while I'm not expecting Ethan to erect a shrine in memory of his brother's killer, his hypocritical behavior pissed me off.
Exhibit D:
So this one isn't really why I hate the characters, but why I hated the book. The portrayal of women was pathetic. Everyone with a vagina was either "hot" or "sexy". Any description of them was pretty much appearance and nothing else, they were simply pretty airheads. Then there was one scene where Ethan saw a woman's discarded bag, and his first (and only) thought about it was "A housewife? A secretary?". *eyeroll*
Bleh
November (2017) update: I wrote this review in early 2016 and my English was... erm... less than stellar back then :D. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Rating: really liked it
If there is a horror book that somehow involves a forest, I will read it. It's because I'm chasing the high of The Ritual, which is just... horror perfection (well, the first half anyway, we pretend the second section doesn't exist). I mean, that book made me scared of
trees. So I keep hoping for a similar wood-themed horror, and end up reading terrible books like this. Sigh.
This is... well, I don't think it's really a horror at all. Literally nothing happens for the first 50%. A bunch of people (not Japanese, except for one, because god forbid a novel set in a non-English-speaking country actually feature people who live there) get lost and wander around in ~so spooky~ woods. That's it. For like 200 pages. Just... walking around. Getting into dumb fights (one guy punches someone because he doesn't like his jacket, what even). Not drinking for 2 days, which doesn't seem to affect anyone at all.
The characters are painfully trope-y, flat, and unlikeable. Also totally inconsistent. Our main guy loves his girlfriend so very much but tries to get with the only other girl in the group (view spoiler)
[after her boyfriend dies?? (hide spoiler)] Our comic relief is the familiar, xenophobic "foreign guy who doesn't speak English well, isn't that KOOKY?" stereotype. There's the military jock. The nerd. It's painfully familiar.
The actual horror element, when you find out what it is, is decently cool. It's interesting, but not new or particularly original. Plus, it doesn't even explain some things, like (view spoiler)
[the crucifixes. Why would Akira put them there? How were they moving when no one was around? Also, what was up with Nina's weird paranormal photo? Never explained (hide spoiler)]. Then there's the mushrooms subplot--the author obviously watched Shrooms, the most hilariously bad horror movie I've seen in a long time, and drew some inspiration.
And for my main gripe, let's talk about factual inaccuracies. Characters here spout some truly incorrect facts all over the place. At first I thought it was just a "quirk" of one character, but no one else seemed to think he was wrong and then
everyone started doing it. Let's take a look at some of them:
"Japan has the highest suicide rate in the developed world."
False. Japan is 7 on the list, not even top 5. So easy to just Google this.
"Fire ants... they're responsible for more human deaths than any other predatory animal on the planet."
Not even close. The #1 killer of humans are *drumroll* humans! If you're going for non-human predatory animals, it's snakes.
A character states that "most people" who attempt suicide by gun "end up permanently maiming themselves."
Haha, what even? Botched suicides via gunshot are quite rare. It's definitely not "most people" who try.
Then there's the insistence that India is a horrible place for women and that rape is a common occurrence there. Someone's been watching the news too much. Statistics are 1.9 to 2.0 cases of sexual assault per 100,000 people in India. In the US? 28.6 per 100,000. Of course these are statistics for reported crimes--there's an estimated 54-60% that do NOT get reported in India (which still puts them under the US--and keep in mind that many are unreported in the US as well). This is a real sore spot for me--when authors just paint an entire country as being barbaric compared to those great white people who are so much better! This information is SO easy to Google. Urgh.
Also, worst horror novel ending ever? (view spoiler)
["Hey honey, I know you have PTSD from our horrible time in the forest where you watched your friends die, and your mom just killed herself in front of you, and you're pregnant (possibly with Akira's baby??), but omg it's gonna be okay, let me pat you on the head and hug you! ~Fin~ (hide spoiler)]
Rating: really liked it
Book – Suicide Forest
Author – Jeremy Bates
Publication Date – December 14, 2014
Genre – Horror/Suspense
Type – Stand Alone
Cliffhanger – No
Rating – 4 out of 5 Stars
Complimentary Copy generously provided by author for Blog Tour in exchange for an honest review.
My Thoughts - Story I have to share with you that this book had the most interesting twist that totally caught me off guard. I was reading this and having flashbacks of Blair Witch Project.
This book was unique with not only the setting and the premise but just about everything else in this story. Throughout the book, I kept wondering – What the hell is going on? How the hell does this all tie in? and most importantly Who is going to survive?
Yes, the beginning was a bit slow…and to tell the truth, I did skim over parts when the characters would digress to their past, but overall this was such an enjoyable read.
Final thoughts…if it rains when you want to climb Mt. Fuji….DON’T CAMP OUT - GO BACK TO YOUR HOTEL!
Re-Cap I think the Synopsis summarizes this book perfectly and I really can’t do it any more justice.
Just add in a jealous boyfriend, a jealous girlfriend, a cocky ass, and OMG…my FAVORITE character from Japan ---- close deaths and some thoughts of suicide from the past and you have the story to a tee!
If you liked Blair Witch Project and Hills Have Eyes…this is a perfect book for you!!
Reason for Reading – Blog Tour
Story – 4.5 out of 5 Stars
Steam – N/A out of 5 Stars
Angst – 4 out of 5 Stars
Writing – 4 out of 5 Stars
Content Flow – 3.75 out of 5 Stars
Told In – Ethan’s POV
Heroine/Personality – Hero/Personality – Ethan – is annoying at times with his jealousy and denial but overall likeable
HEA (Spoiler) - (view spoiler)
[I really don’t know (hide spoiler)]Would Read More from Author? Maybe
Recommend To – anyone who loves a great suspense/horror
For more Reviews, Free E-books and Giveaways
Rating: really liked it
I really liked this story . To be clear it has nothing to do with the new movie out. When it starts out you think you know where it's headed then it takes a U turn . It was interesting and kept me engaged so I do recommend this to people who love horror. I have the other two I. This series as well and I can't wait to read them .
Rating: really liked it
What happened in this story was completely unexpected. This is one of those stories that sticks with you a while and gives you the creeps.
Rating: really liked it
Update, 4th Dec 2017: I had a quick look through some of my old reviews/ratings and saw this one, and you know what? I'm changing my rating to one star. It is a 1.5 star read at
best (for me).
Original review, written 27th March 2017: This book had a creepy, interesting sounding premise and a lot of potential. Unfortunately, it was long winded, drawn-out and just rather
dull, honestly.
So: This book is about an American guy, Ethan, who lives in Japan. One weekend, he, his girlfriend and 3 of their friends plan a trip to climb Mt Fuji. However, it looks like it is going to rain so they have to postpone their climb. While deciding what to do instead, they meet an Israeli couple who are going to camp the night in Aokigahara - Japan's notorious 'Suicide Forest', where hundreds of people a year go to kill themselves and which is said to be haunted by 'Yūrei', the ghosts of those left to die during the practice of 'Ubasute'
(where people would abandon the young or elderly in the forest to die if they couldn't afford to feed them) and the 5 of them decide to tag along. However, when morning comes one of them is found hanging from a tree, dead. Could it be the Yūrei?
Sounds like a great premise for a creepy horror story, right?? I thought so! Especially because this book is
portrayed as a horror story... but it's not. I mention that last part in my description of the book - that one of them is found hanging - only because the blurb mentions this itself. You know when this actually happens? Halfway through the freaking book. HALF the book is literally just them deciding to go camping, and then walking through the forest to find a good camping spot. HALF THE BOOK. The author tries to create suspense, I think, by questioning things such as 'why are there no animals/birds here? Why's there no wind? Why's it so quiet? OoOoOohh' but it doesn't work for me. It's just dull and hard to read.
This book finally started to pick up for me around 75% of the way in, and then I started to almost enjoy the next 20%. This is the only reason it gets 2 stars, not one.
...Then the last 5% happened (for some reason). Without spoiling anything: as with all horror-style stories, the survivor/s go/es back home at the end of the story. Usually we see a little bit of them trying to cope with whatever happened to them while trying to fit back into their previous life. Sometimes, if the writer plans a sequel, we see a little glimpse of the horrors they faced finding them at home. Neither of these things happen in this book - instead, the few pages of being back home are vague and just
absolutely ridiculous. And had nothing to do with the whole rest of the book!
Also: I really did not like
any of the characters.
I'm disappointed in this book.... I think, the author could have written an ok story. But not a full length horror.
If he'd written this as a short story, I think I might have enjoyed it. The amount of things that actually happened would have been perfect for a short story. Instead, to bulk it out as a full length novel, it takes 4 pages for Ethan to take a piss in the bush (literally. Not exaggerating here. 4 pages).
Alternatively, I think the author could write an ok drama as a full length novel. His writing works for that. But just not for horror/thriller in my opinion. Sorry, Jeremy Bates.
Rating: really liked it
Someone had painted what looked to be a white arrow about ten feet up
on each trunk. They pointed in opposite directions.
"Are those arrows?" Mel said, frowning.
"I reckon the police made them,"
Neil said, "to find their way to other trails."
"Or bodies," I said.
Everyone looked at me.I was expecting a supernatural horror tale like
The Forest movie starring Natalie Dormer from this novel set in Aokigahara Jukai, the japanese Sea of Trees better known as the Forest of Suicides, and first part was pointing that way with well developed characters, very bad things happening to them and a strong Blair Witch Project vibe.
If Aokigahara was unsettling during the daylight, it was ten times worse at night and away from the perceived safety of the fire. The blackness of the forest pressed against us like a physical force.Then a very unexpected twist happened, (view spoiler)
[ storyline changed for good in an extreme survival horror bordering to splatterpunk/rape and revenge genres, (hide spoiler)] and I litterally devoured in just one session last 100+ pages.
"So where is it?" Mel said, brushing back the hair that had fallen in front of her face. "Where's the ribbon?"
"That's why I stopped," John Scott said. "I think we're lost."More a ☆☆☆ - ☆☆☆ 1/2 read, but the setting and the suicides theme rised a lot the creepiness factor of this book and I really haven't seen that ending coming,(view spoiler)
[ something like the two kids from the A Tomb for Fireflies anime kids surviving and turning into a slashers family The Hill have Eyes style, (hide spoiler)] a rarity in my late horror readings.
Shadows emerged from their daytime sanctuaries, perverting the trees more than they already were, turning them into looming monsters out of a sadistic fairytale. Grays became charcoals, and charcoals, blacks. Then night was upon us like a thief, swiftly and silently. If anyone tells you they're not afraid of the dark, that's because they have never spent a night in Aokigahara Jukai.Not for everybody, but if you are into all things above give it a try and enjoy.
Rating: really liked it
4.0 StarsThis was easily one of the best pieces of survival horror that I have read in a long time. A lot of work was spent developing the characters and their interpersonal relationships, which made the deterioration of the group so much more personal. The characters did somehow fall into the classic "roles" of a survival story, but I still found them to be reasonably complex and realistically flawed group of people.
I have a personal fascination (and possible obsession) with Japan so I really enjoyed that the narrative revolved so much around the culture. At times,those sections felt a bit like "info dumps", but I honestly enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about the country and its people.
I also appreciated that this book dealt with the topic of suicide in a sensitive, respectful manner. The suicidal individuals in this book were not stigmatized, but instead acknowledged as people with deep untreated pain.
As a survival story, this novel dealt a lot with realistic horror involving thirst, hunger, and physical danger. This book will particularly appeal to read that prefer less supernatural influences in their horror stories. Walking the line between the thriller and horror genres, this was more suspenseful than outright scary. Yet, I found myself absolutely gripped by the narrative and didn't want to stop reading. The story pacing is actually quite slow with lots of flashbacks, but it created a good build to the climax. The ending was not exactly what I was hoping for, but that has more to do with my reading preferences than an actual criticism of the book.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one and would recommend it to anyone looking for a survival story to binge read.
Rating: really liked it
I am obsessed with this subject. This forest. If anyone hears of anymore books, etc., let me know. Please. I heard about this and then I saw this book and read it and his other available works about the scariest places. I love scary places. These are places I want to visit. (Not in a stupid, oh my gosh it’s dark, I’m going to run into the forest by myself with no provisions or gps etc., and so on kind- of -way)
I just find the mysticism around these places interesting. The urban myths vs facts. I like the spookiness.
Don’t even get me started on the Winchester Mansion.
So this book is a good starter about the Aokigahara forest, I think. I would love to read some from a Japanese POV.
Rating: really liked it
Very fast paced. Good & intense. The story is well written & I had no dislikes with it or the characters. I would read more from this author.
Rating: really liked it
I didn't like anything about this book. Firstly the plot was so slow that nothing seemed likely to ever happen. It was a bunch of people wandering around a forest and waiting for something to happen. To amuse themselves on this exciting adventure, they fight, swear and plan sexual encounters. Nothing new or original there.
The characters are uninspiring, obnoxious clowns. The young Japanese characters sound like wannabe gangsta rappers with their language. We got n***** this, n***** that and there were more m***********s and fbombs than the entire population of China. It was a swearfest and showed little imagination for witty dialogue or character development. I wanted the idiots to die, which is not a great start to the book. Of course our heroic MC is the usual drugged up waste of space that you expect in books, along with the steriotype rude, brash, obnoxious American guy John. John is a truly dreadful character and I hated him from page one. The girls as usual were all dippy idiots just there for the guys to feast their eyes on and served no other purpose except to whine constantly. You just wanted everyone to die. NOW.
This is basically a cheaply written book with a z movie plot about disrespectful asshats wandering around looking for their brains.
