幽霊塔

by Edogawa Rampo, 宮崎駿 (Illustrator), Hayao Miyazaki

長崎の片田舎に建つ古い西洋屋敷に、幽霊が出ると噂される複雑なつくりの時計塔がそびえていた。北川光雄はそこで絶世の美女、野末秋子と出逢い、魅了されていくが……。謎につぐ謎、手に汗握る波瀾万丈の翻案小説。中学生の頃に耽読したという宮崎駿監督が、渾身のカラー解説口絵で、怪奇大ロマンの世界へと誘う。[カラー16頁]

Genres: Mystery

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Hirai Tarō (平井 太郎), better known by the pseudonym Rampo Edogawa ( 江戸川 乱歩), sometimes romanized as "Ranpo Edogawa", was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery fiction.

Reviews

[Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Phantom Tower is one of Edogawa Rampo's standard Gothic murder mystery plus adventure stories, it's entertaining and quite well written with its many clever twists and turns throughout the story.

However, the most intriguing part of this version of the novel is the colored bonus comic done by Miyazaki Hayao, the legendary anime director.

Miyazaki's bonus comic at the back of the novel serves as sort of an introduction to Rampo's story. First I'm intrigued to see the endearing, exquisite artwork and storyboards Miyazaki drawn for The Phantom Tower, then Miyazaki also revealed how he first discovered Rampo's novel as a young boy, and later how he also discovered Rampo's creation is in fact a re-write based on the novel with the same title by another Japanese novelist Kuroiwa Ruikō.

I really like how Miyazaki drew Rampo as a man with a domino mask in his comic (hinting at Rampo's famous fictional character, The Man of Twenty Faces), and Kuroiwa as a struggling writer for his newspaper.

However, turns out Kuroiwa's creation is in turn based on a long-forgotten Gothic romance called A Woman in Grey (by A.M. Williamson).

Well, copyright back then really wasn't all that great, right?

The story itself can very well stand on its own, still, the bonus comic really does add to the entertainment value.

[Angel 一匹狼 · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the beginning I was going to give it four stars: Edogawa being Edogawa we had here a mysterious house with a clock tower, and whispers about a secret passage, a labyrinth, a treasure... We had a mysterious woman with a friend that has a monkey (?), a mysterious man who has a spider's farm... All super the top and silly there is a crazy moment when the main protagonist's fiancée invites the mysterious woman (whom the main character is interested in) to meet in a room because she knows there is a tiger there and wants it to kill her (?; Edogawa being Edogawa) and with Edogawa's style that is always a lot of fun to read.

But then we have a story that goes a little bit in circles, with many moments that could have been cut, characters that decide to talk to do plot exposition while the main character is, oh, how could that happen, hiding for some random reason close by. And the very posh and pedantic and annoying emphasis of the main character (who tells the story) that Akiko (the mysterious woman) cannot be a bad person because she is pretty and has a presence (elitist, anyone?). So, I was going to bring it down to two stars.

But Edogawa being Edogawa, he sticks his landing and the ending, even if not impressive, is of quality enough, and closes all the subplots pretty well (even if it is not his best story by far). Maybe because of its raison d'être (at the ending we learn that this is him remaking a translation he read of an American novel (?)).

PS: This edition includes a comic by Hayao Miyazaki (yep, that Hayao Miyazaki, seemingly a fan of Edogawa)

The best: Edogawa knew how to create an atmosphere

The worst: but the characters are so pedantic, elitist and annoying (Akiko is perfect!) that it sours the experience

Alternatives: by Edogawa: "盲獣" or "一寸法師" are better; then you have Seishi Yokomizo, another Japanese mystery writer from 'back on the day'

6/10

(Japanese; original)

[Whale Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[cal · Rating 4 out of 5]

subterranean exploits in labyrinthine catacombs (iirc) with a major character twist