The dust jacket calls him "the sinister poet of humidity" but Koji Suzuki writes more than just dead wet girls. Before The Ring and Dark Water made him famous Suzuki wrote Paradise, a collection of three adventure tales. If you're looking for a Japanese-lit fix, you might want to look elsewhere, for there is nothing here from the Land of the Rising Sun.

Legend (prehistoric Asia)
A youth breaks one of his tribe's sacred rules and brings calamity down upon them all.

Paradise (South Pacific islands)
A desperate trio of shipwrecked sailors find an island paradise where love is free, food is plentiful and life is sweet... for a time.

The Desert (New Mexico/Arizona)
A new-age guru invites a New York City composer to visit a subterranean lake, hoping to inspire his next masterpiece.

There is a thread that connects all three tales together but it is thin. To be honest, I felt this collection was uneven, but that can be said even of collections by seasoned writers. I enjoyed the titular story the best. It was nice to see a different side of Suzuki but I do prefer his horror tales. ( )