魔術師

明智小五郎事件簿 #5

by Edogawa Rampo, 江戶川亂步, 王華懋 (Translator)

明智小五郎被綁架了！
未來的明智夫人——文代小姐，與名偵探首次交鋒！

個性孤僻的福田得二郎喪妻後，獨自與幾名僕傭住在一起。某天早上起床時，得二郎在被單上發現一張寫著「十一月廿日」的紙片。接下來的每一天早上，被單上皆留有紙張，而其上數字依序遞減。得二郎愈來愈恐懼，雖不清楚是何人所為，亦不清楚數字意味著什麼，但那彷彿預告著自己的死期將近……

而明智為協助警方破案竟遭綁架！過程中並與未來的明智夫人初次交手。眼前的她，到底是敵是友？

這次的強敵更勝蛛蜘男。惡人深諳千變萬化的魔術技法，巧妙地運用在犯罪上，迷惑大夥的眼睛，讓人無法分辨目擊的是血淋淋的真實案件，抑或幻覺。「魔術師」稱號不脛而走。

無頭屍、獄門舟、五體分屍、七尺巨人、會動的骸骨……離奇事件接連發生，不但警方焦頭爛額，一般民眾更陷入恐慌，深怕被魔術師盯上。

明智小五郎能否安然脫身，與強敵正面對戰？

Genres: Japanese Literature

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1931

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

[Zr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many revenge stories are really exciting. But it's more compelling when the avenger is the protagonist and not the villain, as in The Count of Monte Cristo. Because Edogawa's villains are so superficial, the villain is the villain, and while there are plausible character motivations, the writer and reader fail to develop sympathy for the villains.
The villain like Javert in Les Misérables impressed me more because the reader also understands the villain who is a flesh and blood human being while nobody is an unforgivable villain. (But yeah it’s not comparable I mean this one is only a crime fiction xx

Edogawa's narrative strategy probably won't be accepted by everyone, I found it ok, certainly not as brilliantly entertaining as Nabokov's sometimes slightly prophetic narration in Lolita.

“I don't know anything, and my children have even less to do with it. There is no reason to pass on the hatred of fathers to future generations.” Somehow relatable

[I Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

The descriptions were such that I felt like I was there and I looked forward to what was going to happen next.

[Angel 一匹狼 · Rating 2 out of 5]

5.5/10

(Original Japanese)