What do you think?
刀城言耶 #2
如凶鸟忌讳之物
在濑户内海的鸟坯岛上，鵺敷神社的现任巫女朱音将要举行祈祷丰渔的“鸟人之仪”。该仪式的前一次举行是在十八年前，就在眼前的鸟坯岛上，当时的巫女朱名在坐落于断崖绝壁、无处可逃的拜殿里消失了。不仅如此，当时同在岛上的七个人，除一人幸免外，余者皆不见踪影。而这唯一的幸存者就是如今的巫女朱音。十八年后随着“鸟人之仪”再度举行，巫女朱音竟然也人间蒸发了，参加仪式的其他人接连失踪，一切恍若历史重演……
- GenresMystery
413 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 7, 2025
Definitely one of the mystery solutions that you won't ever forget. Simple to the point of being explainable in one line, but leaves an undeniable impact.
August 11, 2026
Well THAT was a great time! Caution: sleep-deprived mess of a review below.
Magatori no Gotoki Imu Mono (Those Which Shun Like the Bird of Ill Omen) is the second Tojo Genya novel I've read, and I enjoyed it far more than the first one, Majimono no Gotoki Tsuku Mono (Those Which Possess Like The Evil Spirits).
A secretive ritual held at a solitary island, a string of mysterious disappearances, an elaborate locked room (which somehow is insanely tricky even though it's literally under the open air AND is located atop a sheer cliff), creepy coincidences with a mysterious case from the past - we've got it all!
While the first third of the book was undeniably a bit sloggy (and needlessly heavy on infodumps which weren't exactly relevant in a lot of cases), I found it to be a lot better-paced than Majimono, with the plotting also coming across as far stronger overall. It's a tighter read that Majimono in a lot of respects and really doesn't slow down once it starts going. I had so much fun with it, in contrast with my pretty boring time with Majimono!
The horror in this one is subtler, it lurks beneath the surface of the events and rarely jumps out at the reader like it does in Majimono, but this subtlety manages to serve the main story in surprising ways. I generally really enjoyed the atmosphere of this book, possibly moreso than Majimono's.
The mystery in this one is a double-edged sword. A lot of it feels like an afterthought, but the central setpiece (the locked room) is insanely elaborate and the trick is completely deranged. To quote a review I read of this book elsewhere, Mitsuda is an absolute menace. If not for the central trick I'd probably be a lot harsher on the rest of the mystery and the book as a whole BUT it's just that fun I'm sorry.
I do have some complaints, too, though.
The character writing was still generally unremarkable. The human element of the story feels somewhat undercooked and registers as a bit of an afterthought, which isn't a huge deal considering the book's strengths, but it's still a bit disappointing to see. The characters aren't insufferable or anything, but their modus operandi just leaves more to be desired.
This book also shares another of Majimono's issues: some of the sideplots feel undercooked and ultimately not too relevant to the big picture. It feels like they're orbiting around the central mystery rather than being integrated as core parts of it, which is fine, but also a bit underwhelming.
Overall, though, I believe Magatori's issues do not manage to drag down what is otherwise a really good mystery-horror mixture. This book finally made me properly invested into this series and I'm very eager to read more soon.
Magatori no Gotoki Imu Mono (Those Which Shun Like the Bird of Ill Omen) is the second Tojo Genya novel I've read, and I enjoyed it far more than the first one, Majimono no Gotoki Tsuku Mono (Those Which Possess Like The Evil Spirits).
A secretive ritual held at a solitary island, a string of mysterious disappearances, an elaborate locked room (which somehow is insanely tricky even though it's literally under the open air AND is located atop a sheer cliff), creepy coincidences with a mysterious case from the past - we've got it all!
While the first third of the book was undeniably a bit sloggy (and needlessly heavy on infodumps which weren't exactly relevant in a lot of cases), I found it to be a lot better-paced than Majimono, with the plotting also coming across as far stronger overall. It's a tighter read that Majimono in a lot of respects and really doesn't slow down once it starts going. I had so much fun with it, in contrast with my pretty boring time with Majimono!
The horror in this one is subtler, it lurks beneath the surface of the events and rarely jumps out at the reader like it does in Majimono, but this subtlety manages to serve the main story in surprising ways. I generally really enjoyed the atmosphere of this book, possibly moreso than Majimono's.
The mystery in this one is a double-edged sword. A lot of it feels like an afterthought, but the central setpiece (the locked room) is insanely elaborate and the trick is completely deranged. To quote a review I read of this book elsewhere, Mitsuda is an absolute menace. If not for the central trick I'd probably be a lot harsher on the rest of the mystery and the book as a whole BUT it's just that fun I'm sorry.
I do have some complaints, too, though.
The character writing was still generally unremarkable. The human element of the story feels somewhat undercooked and registers as a bit of an afterthought, which isn't a huge deal considering the book's strengths, but it's still a bit disappointing to see. The characters aren't insufferable or anything, but their modus operandi just leaves more to be desired.
This book also shares another of Majimono's issues: some of the sideplots feel undercooked and ultimately not too relevant to the big picture. It feels like they're orbiting around the central mystery rather than being integrated as core parts of it, which is fine, but also a bit underwhelming.
Overall, though, I believe Magatori's issues do not manage to drag down what is otherwise a really good mystery-horror mixture. This book finally made me properly invested into this series and I'm very eager to read more soon.
December 23, 2025
I know, I know, I'm a sucker for punishment. His books are not easy to read, meandering, long winded, and often times deliberately confusing.
This time he even put in some self mockery - one of the characters asks the writer "Who are you explaining all this to?" Listen mate, I'm here for your bizarre mind full of rural folklore and rituals, not for the detailed explanations.
But still you suffer through the whole thing because man he has a damn twisted mind, and he enjoys unsolvable locked room mysteries. A lady shaman who offers herself in self sacrificial sky burial? People who disappear from the island completely after being witness to the horror. A young girl who manages to poison 6 adult scientists / students.
Yeah, I still read through the entire book.
This time he even put in some self mockery - one of the characters asks the writer "Who are you explaining all this to?" Listen mate, I'm here for your bizarre mind full of rural folklore and rituals, not for the detailed explanations.
But still you suffer through the whole thing because man he has a damn twisted mind, and he enjoys unsolvable locked room mysteries. A lady shaman who offers herself in self sacrificial sky burial? People who disappear from the island completely after being witness to the horror. A young girl who manages to poison 6 adult scientists / students.
Yeah, I still read through the entire book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2022
是本詭計相當不錯的小說，可惜的是：
1) 三津田信三這書是初出道的作品，所以在敍事手法上未臻純熟，造成前100頁的故事相當沉悶；
2) 十八年前的事，刀城言耶尚未完滿解決，這是很可惜的 (相信三津田其實是有答案的，可是在最後解答漏掉了，這又是初出道的問題了——不過，相信這書應該發行超過一版，為什麼不作修正呢？)；
3) 譯文相當差劣，緋華璃小姐的譯筆一直沒改善過，橫山秀夫的「64」(舊版) 和這本的譯文都構成相當大的閱讀障礙 (一個黑得深不見底的洞被譯為「張開血盆大口」，叫人摸不著頭腦——血盆大口不該是紅色的嗎？唉～～)；
4) 神殿是一個重要的密室，其設計非常獨特，但完全沒有平面圖，只靠文字描述，看過頭昏腦脹也未能想像神殿是什麼樣子的，加上譯文彆扭，讀得很辛苦；
5) 推理時各種可能性用「一之二」、「三之四」的代號來命名，接著就只用這些代號討論，讀者要仔細跟進 ，得把書翻來覆去地回溯各種代號所指 (坦白說，我不相信現場討論時，各人在沒有紙筆的情況底下，能記得各項代號並能暢順地討論)。
要讀這書，得有跨過各種閱讀障礙的準備。(打的高分是給予詭計部分的。)
1) 三津田信三這書是初出道的作品，所以在敍事手法上未臻純熟，造成前100頁的故事相當沉悶；
2) 十八年前的事，刀城言耶尚未完滿解決，這是很可惜的 (相信三津田其實是有答案的，可是在最後解答漏掉了，這又是初出道的問題了——不過，相信這書應該發行超過一版，為什麼不作修正呢？)；
3) 譯文相當差劣，緋華璃小姐的譯筆一直沒改善過，橫山秀夫的「64」(舊版) 和這本的譯文都構成相當大的閱讀障礙 (一個黑得深不見底的洞被譯為「張開血盆大口」，叫人摸不著頭腦——血盆大口不該是紅色的嗎？唉～～)；
4) 神殿是一個重要的密室，其設計非常獨特，但完全沒有平面圖，只靠文字描述，看過頭昏腦脹也未能想像神殿是什麼樣子的，加上譯文彆扭，讀得很辛苦；
5) 推理時各種可能性用「一之二」、「三之四」的代號來命名，接著就只用這些代號討論，讀者要仔細跟進 ，得把書翻來覆去地回溯各種代號所指 (坦白說，我不相信現場討論時，各人在沒有紙筆的情況底下，能記得各項代號並能暢順地討論)。
要讀這書，得有跨過各種閱讀障礙的準備。(打的高分是給予詭計部分的。)
May 24, 2021
凶鳥的問題在強行想推個恐怖傳說，然而神秘的民俗學氛圍像熱鍋裡的融雪一樣，如果說那是賣點吧，那麼此書賣點就是分秒鐘融融融融融成一鍋水，吸引人程度持續下跌。複雜地形設計給了一堆卻完全沒平面圖，文字描述基本難以憑空勾勒，人物也無聊，最終結尾那個想勾出一筆超自然感的懸念也是徹底失敗的。
April 7, 2015
這回還是滿滿的民俗風味，加入共潛者、船幽靈、鳥女等妖怪的傳說，古事紀的天岩戶、八岐大蛇神話故事，以及真言宗立川流和西藏密宗等宗教元素，還有孤島和密室犯罪。不知道為什麼前半部分就是有些沉悶，大概因為情節還不太緊湊，我斷斷續續讀了三四天，後半部分則是一口氣讀完，大概從刀城言耶獨自探查島上發現洞穴那裡才開始真正緊張起來。鳥人儀式的真相貫串過去和現在的所有謎團，謎底還算有趣，意料不到巫女憑空消失之謎竟有那樣的解答。
這是我的第六本三津田信三的小說，大概也是目前讀過的同系列長篇中最「普通」的一本。我的意思也不是不好看，只是作者在寫這本書時，或許還處於摸索嘗試方向的過渡期，所以比較起來，在詭計或人物塑造方面都沒有其他長篇那樣出色而已。我覺得這系列最特殊的地方就是試圖將本格推理和恐怖小說作結合，而且往往都有個具有想像空間的小說結尾，或者用理性仍舊無法解釋的餘數，但恐怖小說的元素在這本小說似乎降到最低，幾乎只是一部純粹的本格推理，其實有點可惜。
這是我的第六本三津田信三的小說，大概也是目前讀過的同系列長篇中最「普通」的一本。我的意思也不是不好看，只是作者在寫這本書時，或許還處於摸索嘗試方向的過渡期，所以比較起來，在詭計或人物塑造方面都沒有其他長篇那樣出色而已。我覺得這系列最特殊的地方就是試圖將本格推理和恐怖小說作結合，而且往往都有個具有想像空間的小說結尾，或者用理性仍舊無法解釋的餘數，但恐怖小說的元素在這本小說似乎降到最低，幾乎只是一部純粹的本格推理，其實有點可惜。
November 16, 2022
【2022Book20】凶鳥の如き忌むもの (Chinese edition). I think the title roughly means "Being Feared Like a Bird Demon". This book is good for relaxation as a horror folktale story when you feel overstressed. However, it is definitely not a qualified detective novel. Its plot is creative, but the author dealt with the details too casually.
【2022Book20】《如凶鸟忌讳之物》。需要解压的时候当个怪奇小说看看还行，作为侦探小说显然是不够格。就创意还行，但是细节处理得过于粗糙。
【2022Book20】《如凶鸟忌讳之物》。需要解压的时候当个怪奇小说看看还行，作为侦探小说显然是不够格。就创意还行，但是细节处理得过于粗糙。
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews