The Space Alien: The Boy Detectives Club

少年探偵 #9

by Edogawa Rampo, Eugene Woodbury (Translation)

The year is 1953. The Korean War is winding down. The Cold War is heating up. The United States detonated the first hydrogen bomb the year before. Godzilla will make his debut a year later. UFOs are appearing all over the world. And in Ranpo Edogawa's latest novel, five flying saucers zoom across the skies of Tokyo.

A day after that incident, a woodsman stumbles out of the forest to report the landing of an alien spacecraft in the mountains southwest of Tokyo. A month later, Ichiro Hirano's next-door neighbor goes missing. And then reappears as abruptly as he vanished, claiming was kidnapped by a lizard creature from outer space.

That same lizard creature is now stalking the pretty and talented sister of Ichiro's best friend. What in the world is going on? What do the aliens want? And where did they come from? These are the kind of questions that only master sleuth Kogoro Akechi and the Boy Detectives Club can hope to answer.

Genres: Mystery, Classics, Japanese Literature

138 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

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

[Iggyizzy2000 · Rating 3 out of 5]

ความรู้สึก'ก่อน'จะอ่านตอนนี้เหมือนจะไม่ค่อยน่าสนใจเนื่องจากการรวมเอาเรื่องราวสืบสวน(แบบเยาวชน)มาผสมกับแนวไซไฟเรื่องมนุษย์ต่างดาวนั้นมันดูเหมือนจะคาดเดาบทสรุปได้ง่ายที่คงไม่พ้นการใช้ทริคของฝั่ง'นักสืบอะเกะชิ โคะโงะโร' (+เจ้าหนูโคะบายาชิ) vs ฝั่งผู้ร้าย ที่อาจเป็นมนุษย์ต่างดาวจริงๆ? คนปลอมตัว? หรือ แผนสมคบคิดของรัฐบาล?

แต่พออ่านไปอ่านมาเรื่องราวก็สนุกดี เรื่องราวไม่ได้เน้นการเฉือนคมกันแต่ 'รัมโปะ' เล่าตอนนี้แบบนิยายไซไฟด้วยสัดส่วนที่เยอะและสนุกสนานโดยแอบใส่บรรยากาศหลอนๆนิดๆในเจ้าตัวมนุษย์ต่างดาว
ถือว่าเป็นแท็คติกที่ผู้แต่งหลอกล่อให้ผู้อ่านเลิกสนใจการไขคดีได้พักใหญ่ๆโดยให้ไปสนใจความแปลกของเรื่องมนุษย์ต่างดาวและจุดประสงค์การมาของมันมากกว่า
จัดได้ว่าเป็นตอนที่มาแปลกมีเอกลักษณ์อีกตอนนึงที่ไม่จำเป็นต้องเน้นการเล่าเรื่องการสืบคดีแต่อย่างเดียว

[KunPunnawat · Rating 4 out of 5]

มารอบนี้ออกแนว Sci-Fi หน่อยๆ
ถึงแม้จะเฉลยทริคแล้ว แต่ก็ยัง Sci-Fi อยู่ดี

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

สนุกมากกกกกกกกกก
เสียดายที่เพิ่งได้หยิบซีรีส์นี้มาอ่าน
และเสียดายมากที่ไม่ได้ตามอ่านตั้งแต่เล่มแรก
ไม่รู้เล่มอื่นๆในซีรีส์นี้สนุกอย่างนี้ไหม
แต่จะพยายามหามาอ่านให้ได้

[Nathpol · Rating 1 out of 5]

ไปเรื่อยเกิ๊นนนนะ

[nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really liked this with the exception of the ending. i've read most of the edogawa rampo-san works i could find, and i know that he mostly writes mysteries; i was intrigued when i found a sci-fi book written by him, and for it to turn into a mystery wasn't a surprise at all, but i am rather disappointed that he chose to do it in that way.

the sci-fi genre was something that i was really into when i was younger, and i think i mostly watched movies and tv shows about aliens, but never read about them, so i really liked the setting for this story and the premise. it was very interesting seeing rampo-san write a non-human monster and i really like how he wrote about the aliens and the ufos.

i'm not quite sure but this reads like a children's book. there are a lot of elements that made me feel like rampo-san is, for a lack of a better word really, channeling his child-like wonder about the bizarre and the odd and i really enjoyed that.

i didn't like the ending. i didn't like the manner in which everything resolved, i think i would've liked it more had the aliens been real. i like that everything ties down to "the fiend with twenty faces" because it's kind of funny and it means that it's always going to be him and akechi against one another, which i find to be an interesting idea even if it can get boring over time.

this is also the first story where i read about "the fiend" and i find him interesting in all honesty. his philosophy and reasoning for everything is rather interesting and i want to know who he really is and why he's, seemingly, always behind all the crimes

i don't have much further to say about this book without spoiling everything. i really liked it in spite of the ending, which i am rather disappointed about. i would recommend it to those who want to read a weird mix of sci-fi and mystery (because it isn't really what you'd think it is) and to those wanting to read more of rampo-san's books.

[Zita Azlina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it on a whim and wow- this is unexpectedly engaging.

I know nothing about his writing. I've known that he wrote mystery though. When I first read the blurb for this book, I was like.. WOW what kind of story would this be? And when I read it... OH DO I FELL IN LOVE?

The storytelling itself is very easy, it's flowing like water. Even with a lot of riddles, we don't left puzzled by plot holes because Edogawa certainly didn't left any. The character of the Detective and Yoshio, his assistant is interesting. Oh, I can't wait to read more about them. The only thing I found absolutely meh is the revelation of the plot twist (it was VERY rushed. And we don't have the point of view of HOW exactly the Detective Akechi uncover those... which is a pity of course). Also, because I read this without context and by not knowing anything about Edogawa's writing, I don't know who actually the Fiends of Twenty Faces exactly was.

Well, even with that flaws (which 100% my fault actually), this book is still amazing and I'd still thanks to this book that I found my OTHER FAVOURITE AUTHOR (foreshadowing). Good job Edogawa Ranpo! Best wishes for you .. I guess.

[Mehedi Sarwar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short novel is part of the "A Boy Detective Club Mystery" and suitable more for the children and young adults. Rampo's contents for adults are darker and seriously resembles the wroks of Edgar Alan Poe.

A few space aliens appeared in the Tokyo sky, they have superior strength, they can fly. Pretty soon, they started to appear in other parts of the world with mysterious activities. Detective Akechi Kogoro is assigned to hunt them down.

The novel is a lot of fun, reminded me of my early young adult days when I used to love more simplistic mystery and adventure novels.

[Jan Moens · Rating 4 out of 5]

6,5/10

[Angel 一匹狼 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was reading 一寸法師 (The Dwarf) from the same Rampo Edogawa, but it was a little difficult, so I decided to take a break from it and go back to his 少年探偵 series, from which I had read two books, the first and the third.

As soon as I started it I recognized its style. It's Rampo Edogawa's YA without doubt. Fast, easy, fun, with things happening non-stop, even if it just feels that they are happening for the sake of it. There's less direct talk to the readers than in the previous novels, but still, the same Edogawa-san.

If the first novel was a mystery one, and the third was a revenge story, this tenth is a sci-fi, but with the same characters as in previous novels. Actually all recurring characters take a step back to leave the spotlight to the aliens. Since the beginning the aliens appear here and there, breaking havoc. That doesn't mean we don't have a chance to enjoy Kobayashi-kun appearances and Akechi tantei's sharp mind, but this is not really a mystery novel, but a very strange sci-fi with detectives and policemen. It feels as if Edogawa started thinking that he was going to write mystery novels for teenagers and then just decided to, what the heck, play with all genres.

That doesn't mean it's boring. Quite the opposite, all these changes actually keep fresh the idea of Akechi tantei and his young detectives. And of course we have one or two nice twists.

It's a curio, but a fun one. And I can't help but feeling I'm becoming a Rampo Edogawa fan.

6,5

[Sem · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd have thought that after having been blown to smithereens by the USAF the possibility of an alien invasion would be of little concern.

[Le · Rating 3 out of 5]

全部推给撒谎就对了，最后四十面向的停战宣言听得是有点感动的，会不会看完这套书就喜欢上反派了？