So for the last two months or so, I kept telling myself, don't forget to write an announcement, it'll take no time at all, it'll just be a short post.... And in the end, I still didn't manage to write this thing in time...
Last year,
Locked Room International released the hilarious impossible crime mystery The 8 Mansion Murders by
Takemaru ABIKO, translated by yours truly. That was not the first time Abiko had been translated to English, as some of his work for videogames (like
The Starship Damrey (3DS)) had already been available in the West, but
The 8 Mansion Murders was his first proper mystery
novel which had been translated into English. I was obviously happy to see that the novel was received pretty well when it released (if you haven't read it yet, please do). For those who enjoyed the novel, I have good news, as more Abiko is available now. The June/August 2019 issue of
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (which should be available right now) features Abiko's impossible crime short story
A Smart Dummy In The Tent (orig.: 1990), once again translated by me. The story is part of Abiko's
Mario series, and stars a... ventriloquist's dummy as the detective. Yoshio is an incredibly gifted, but somewhat clumsy ventriloquist who performs together with his puppet Mario. However, Yoshio's great secret is that Mario isn't just a tool of his trade,
Mario's a whole seperate personality of Yoshio. And despite his arrogant and wise-cracking personality, Mario's also actually
really clever and sharp, which comes in handy in
A Smart Dummy In The Tent, when Yoshio and his love interest Mutsuki get involved with an impossible crime that occurs in the backstage area of a circus tent.
Those who enjoyed the comedy and banter of
The 8 Mansion Murders should really check out the story, as this one too is immensely fun to read, while the impossible crime angle of the story is also quite original, really fitting to the circus setting. I hope you'll enjoy the read! To end with a completely uninteresting note: I have been to the circus in real life only once, when I was a kid!
As for other projects and related announcements, that's a tale for another day. Another day that might not really ask for a DeLorean, but some patience will be necessary.
My review of "A Smart Dummy in the Tent" is coming at the end of the week and, hopefully, more will follow. Preferably the whole collection.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, have you read the recent flurry of reviews of James Scott Byrnside's Goodnight Irene and The Opening Night Murders? I would like to get your take on this western-style shin honkaku mystery writer.
Looking forward to your review.
DeleteYeah, I noticed the collective jump on those books :P I haven't read the novels myself yet, but they have been added to the never-ending wishlist.
See also Puppet Detective Sakon. I think you said you did not like that one however.
ReplyDeleteMjeah, I have seen (most of?) the anime and read the manga, but the plots are relatively simple and it just doesn't really work for me (the art is good though).
Deleteomg can't wait to see what you have cooked up for us in terms of releases and translations. color me intrigued.
ReplyDeleteI just got around to re-reading this one and sorry to say I didn't love this one too much. Despite multiple people's insistence the solution is entirely original, to my eye the principle is basically identical to G. K. Chesterton's (ROT13) "Gur Benpyr bs gur Qbt", relying on the same idea of (ROT13) gur jnyyf bs gur ybpxrq-ebbz orvat jrveq va fhpu n jnl gung nyybj fbzrbar gb xvyy guebhtu gurz, va gung fgbel vg orvat gb fgno guebhtu gur tncf va gur jbbq naq va guvf fgbel vg orvat n tbysonyy guebhtu gur grag zngrevny.
ReplyDeleteI maintain that the locked-room trick was the least interesting part of that Chesterton story, and I didn't really find it too much better here either. It also has the same issue that THAT Great Ace Attorney 2 case has, where despite relying on the same concept, it incorporates the worst part of the story while also not meaningfully replacing the important and impressive trick. It's all the worst, I think, for the solution being (ROT13) n pbfzvp nppvqrag, too.
Sadly I don't think Abiko Takemaru and I will ever get on, as I also didn't particularly love 8 MANSION MURDERS, with these two being my two least favorite of the translated honkaku/shin-honkaku so far.
Well, it'd be weird if we'd all like the same stories, right? I already mentioned it in the post itself I do really like the trick, because I also think it's completely different from the story you refer to ROT13 va gur frafr gung vg qbrfa'g tb *guebhtu* gur jnyyf, vg *hfrf* naq *genafsvtherf* gur jnyy vgfrys gb nppbzcyvfu n gevpx. which to me is a completely different premise, and I have also read a few other stories too that do completely other variants on this latter premise, so I see it as a completely different "branch'
Delete