When this book originally released, I was probably still at the height of my appreciation for Koji Suzuki after having read the first two Ring books in the years before it and loving them. I remember being pretty excited when Edge was still fresh but I never actually got to it until now. It feels pretty good to have it finally checked off the list after it spent around 12 years on my "to read" list.

In theory, the premise and themes of this book are something I'd love to see Suzuki put his hands on. What I loved about his Ring books is the mixing of hard science and spooky paranormal elements. In Ring it's biology, but with Edge, he tackles physics. I give him props for attempting to wrangle some very ambitious, large-scale concepts too, but it doesn't really come together in a very engaging or satisfying way in the end.
I didn't hate reading the book as there were parts I enjoyed just fine. It has a good set-up with a journalist investigating mysterious sudden disappearances of people, which eventually leads into the bigger revelations. But none of the characters were very interesting and the story takes lengthy, meandering breaks from the actual plot to dive into their personal struggles and tragic backstories.
The main character's story about her perfect scientist dad having gone missing from one day to the next when she was 17, leaving her without any parent figure but a boat load of cash, comparing every man in her life with her perfect dad, wasn't really that interesting. Plus, Suzuki isn't the greatest at writing a female protagonist in this one in general, with some classic Japanese conservatist ideas about gender roles peaking through in a slightly annoying way.

The final reveal about why all of the strange things are happening felt too much for me as well and I would have much preferred if there was no actual reason or if it had simply been left ambiguous. I don't think the end of the universe has to have a reason to be effective. In fact, I think it would have been more powerful if it just happened without being able to pinpoint an instigator. But a lot of the reveals and explanations in the final act felt unnecessary and strange.

Well, all of these things made this one a slight curiosity but an ultimately mediocre read. It wasn't painful to get through because I still like Suzuki's simple, clear writing with the occasional neat embellishment which flows pretty well and builds decent atmosphere at points. But this is surely the weakest text by his that I have read so far.