tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8031063966272508587.post6563932070367943927..comments2024-03-27T06:07:20.345+01:00Comments on ボクの事件簿: The Vanishing MagicianHo-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04673330638260132388noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8031063966272508587.post-37766478086318474052018-03-23T16:44:57.651+01:002018-03-23T16:44:57.651+01:00Regarding the ending, I think it's an up-to-yo...Regarding the ending, I think it's an up-to-your-interpretation thing, though I'd assume the two would go together.<br /><br />And I'm happy to see you too enjoyed the novel. It's really a gem and that for a debut novel (in fact, while the other novels I've read weren't bad by any standard, they still were not as good as this novel).Ho-Linghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04673330638260132388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8031063966272508587.post-5157464263535088402018-03-23T09:44:26.232+01:002018-03-23T09:44:26.232+01:00Hi Ho-Ling, I guess I'd just post right here, ...Hi Ho-Ling, I guess I'd just post right here, since this post is about 11 Mai no Trump. What can I say? Absolutely amazing from start to finish. My favorite movie had always been Christopher Nolan's Prestige, so you can imagine how pleased I am with a novel all about magicians! The clues and foreshadowing were all so masterfully inserted into the story, I could only marvel at everything's cohesiveness during the grand revelation.<br /><br />I do have a very minor and trivial question about the ending. Using ROT13 because of minor spoiler:<br /><br />Va gur raqvat, gur tvey cebgntbavfg jba gur zntvp fubj njneq naq erghearq gb ure frng. Gura fur fcbggrq gur phycevg naq gur jevgre bs 11 Znv ab Gehzc (gur bar jub cresbezrq gur fhzzngvba) obgu yrnivat gur prerzbal ebbz gbtrgure. Fur punfrf nsgre gurz naq gura gur fgbel whfg raqf evtug gurer. Fb V nz thrffvat gur phycevg jnf whfg tbvat gb ghea uvzfrys va? Rvgure gung, be gur jevgre jvyy ghea uvz va gb gur cbyvpr?deltazechshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14060233179207796738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8031063966272508587.post-27835975617053914282017-08-31T15:43:47.845+02:002017-08-31T15:43:47.845+02:00Yeah, the Queen shorts are great and an underappre...Yeah, the Queen shorts are great and an underappreciated part of their work! Ho-Linghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04673330638260132388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8031063966272508587.post-18696456602879477872017-08-31T14:12:28.187+02:002017-08-31T14:12:28.187+02:00I suppose I've had no reason to allude to Chin...I suppose I've had no reason to allude to Chinese translations in my messages on TomCat's blog - though I might have made one in relation to Case Closed/ Conan. But I certainly have mentioned on multiple occasions on your blog my preference for English rather than Chinese translations of quality Japanese mystery novels. :D<br /><br />I do confess a predilection away from short stories - for some reason I've found novels a fuller and better medium for puzzles and mysteries? Maybe I just need to start reading some mystery short stories... Especially when I run out of good Ellery Queen novels - I believe their short stories are highly rated? Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03389512470283015279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8031063966272508587.post-766151015815466742017-08-31T07:47:47.106+02:002017-08-31T07:47:47.106+02:00Ah, that's a very good point you make, that a ...Ah, that's a very good point you make, that a story about stage magic will often tend to take the form of a "text" (the show) vs. interpretation (the story around it).<br /><br />Oh, I quite like those 'cut-these-pages-open' gimmicks you sometimes see in Japanese books! I think I have two of them by Higashino Keigo (and they don't even conceal the solution, just the hints). Ashibe Taku released an interesting one two about half a year ago. It's a book which you can read from either the front of the book or the back: there are two seperate narratives, each one starting on the other end of the book. And the middle part is sealed, which I assume will show how the two narratives are connected.Ho-Linghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04673330638260132388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8031063966272508587.post-2780712598206402632017-08-31T07:42:49.324+02:002017-08-31T07:42:49.324+02:00I´d love to do an Awasaka novel, for those reading...I´d love to do an Awasaka novel, for those reading with the powers to make it be ;P I don't think any of his work has been translated in English yet, and the A Aiichirou series does really rank among the best of Japanese mystery fiction in short story format.<br /><br />And I like how TomCat assumed you were talking about an English (Dutch/other Western language) translation :D Ho-Linghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04673330638260132388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8031063966272508587.post-52277235624090619712017-08-30T13:24:11.631+02:002017-08-30T13:24:11.631+02:00In Mandarin, I'm afraid... Though perhaps you ...In Mandarin, I'm afraid... Though perhaps you might persuade Ho Ling to do a translation into English? :DJonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03389512470283015279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8031063966272508587.post-88083520851786444082017-08-30T10:01:16.015+02:002017-08-30T10:01:16.015+02:00One of the A Aiichirou stories has a children'...One of the A Aiichirou stories has a children's story within it that is part of a larger puzzle; and "shiawase no sho" is all about a cult's sacred text in a similarly tricky fashion. I think the mentality of stage magicians probably lends itself to the kind of writing where a story works on its own and then shows a new meaning in a larger context. The sequel to "shiawase no sho", "seisha to shisha" does it with even more deliberate artifice: the gatherings are uncut; you read a short story in the uncut pages; then you cut the pages and read a novel with a somewhat different story. Of course that kind of tricky construction means those stories will never be translated.nigel.holmeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00387290866972027637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8031063966272508587.post-34129028704919588532017-08-30T08:10:01.677+02:002017-08-30T08:10:01.677+02:00I'm unable to the find a translation of this b...I'm unable to the find a translation of this book. New or secondhand. Are you sure there's a translation of it available? TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8031063966272508587.post-55314553353581786332017-08-30T02:14:23.895+02:002017-08-30T02:14:23.895+02:00Thanks for the review. :) Thankfully, there's ...Thanks for the review. :) Thankfully, there's a translation of this novel in my local library - and its under 300 pages! Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03389512470283015279noreply@blogger.com