69novels Chapter 176 It's an honor for me to lose to Teacher Mai.
Chapter 176 It's an honor for me to lose to Teacher Mai.
Chapter 176 It's an honor for me to lose to Teacher Mai.
Upon its release, "Dear S-kun" immediately sparked a wave of commentary in the Japanese mystery fiction world.
There are three reasons for the flood of comments.
The first reason is the excellent quality, superb skills, and amazing plot twists of Maijo Kyosuke's "Dear S-kun"!
The second reason is the comment made by Manji Gonda before the title of "Dear S-kun".
Because Manji Gonda claimed that the inspiration for "Dear S-kun" came from Lord Lord Dunsony's "Two Bottles of Seasoning".
This creates a second layer of misleading for some readers who have read Lord Lord Dunsony's "Two Bottles of Seasoning".
After all, they say their inspiration came from "Two Bottles of Seasoning".
However, apart from the similar method of handling the corpse, there is no direct connection between the core tricks of "Dear Mr. S" and "Two Bottles of Seasoning".
However, the comment added by Manji Gonda almost amounted to deceiving all the readers.
So when readers saw the ending of "Dear Mr. S", the terrifying impact became even stronger!
As for the last topic that sparked heated discussions in the Japanese mystery fiction community...
This is Seishi Yokomizo's commentary on "Dear S-kun".
Regardless of how Seishi Yokomizo, the "Grandmaster of Authentic Mystery," evaluates Kyosuke Maijo's short mystery novel, "Dear S-kun."
Just considering that Seishi Yokomizo wrote his second review of Kyosuke Maijo's short mystery novel, that alone is a topic worthy of heated discussion.
In the Japanese mystery genre, it's rare for a short mystery story published in a weekly magazine to receive a review.
The last time more than two writers or critics wrote reviews for a short mystery novel was.
Just over half a month ago, Manji Gonda and Kiyoshi Kasai wrote "Conclusion" to Kyosuke Maishiro.
One more time.
It is "A Bellflower" by Miyoshi Toru, Chen Shunchen, Tsuchiya Takao, Itsuki Hiroyuki, and Gonda Manji for Maijo Kyosuke.
The joint commentary written by the authors.
In about a month, only Maishiro Kyosuke's short mystery stories were able to receive comments from writers and critics. This was thanks in no small part to the selfless help of the excellent editor-in-chief, Eri Ryumi, and Maishiro Kyosuke's personal charm.
But this also confirms that in the Japanese mystery fiction world, author reviews are extremely valuable.
Because of a short mystery story, I want to get comments from famous masters.
There are only two possibilities: one is that someone like Maijo Kyosuke bought it through strong connections or by paying a high price.
Another possibility is that a master or critic is about to publish a collection of their essays.
For example, selecting the ten best "classic mystery short stories" or ten "unconventional mystery short stories," or ten "the best works of XXX" —
Only under such circumstances, when selected by masters and critics to compile short detective stories into a book, can one receive comments from masters or critics.
It is like Lord Lord Dunsony's "Two Bottles of Seasoning," which is extremely famous, widely circulated, and of the highest quality.
It was only a few years after his death that Edogawa Ranpo selected it as a representative work of "wonderful aftertaste" and gave it his own comment.
In other words, in the entire history of Japanese mystery fiction, very few works have received reviews while still being published in weekly magazines!
Compared to short mystery novels, it is much harder to get reviews for long mystery novels!
Because if you want to invite a master, you need the critic's comments.
You need to send your work to a master or critic first, and wait for them to read it at least once before they can give you their comments.
However, most masters or critics are extremely busy.
In addition to writing their own works, they also frequently attend various events, such as book signings, lectures, being invited to serve as judges for awards, participating in meetings of various "clubs" and "associations," or compiling anthologies and collections of reviews.
Therefore, most masters and critics are not very willing to accept commissions to write reviews.
Since I thought it was great after watching it, writing a couple of comments wasn't a difficult thing.
However, if you are not satisfied after watching it, it is still acceptable to have wasted your time.
It's quite embarrassing when someone else's work is delayed in publication while waiting for your review, only to find that due to quality issues, you can't write any impressive reviews.
If they encounter some petty writers, they might even hold a grudge. Over time, many masters and critics stop writing reviews for ordinary writers.
Therefore, even for writers like Nishimura Juyuki and Akagawa Jiro, who are considered "powerful writers," after writing a long work, if they want to get comments from some heavyweight mystery masters or critics, it's not enough to just give them a large sum of money; they also need other masters to introduce them to them.
This kind of thing doesn't just happen among mid-level writers; it happens at every level.
For example, Seicho Matsumoto, the "father of social mystery," had just won the Akutagawa Prize and wanted to promote his new work. He sought out Yasushi Inoue, a "literary giant" who also won the Akutagawa Prize and wrote "Fuurin Kazan."
He wanted Inoue Yasushi to write a review for him to improve his status in the literary world.
Unexpectedly, Inoue Yasushi, who was at the height of his popularity at the time, did not think highly of Matsumoto Seicho and coldly refused to help Matsumoto Seicho write a review.
Although Matsumoto Seicho later surpassed Inoue Yasushi's achievements in the entire literary field, he still felt very sad about being rejected by Inoue Yasushi.
Therefore, when Kyosuke Maijo's "A Bellflower" received a joint review from five masters: Tetsu Miyoshi, Shunchen Chen, Takao Tsuchiya, Hiroyuki Itsuki, and Manji Gonda.
"Conclusion" received comments from Manji Gonda and Kiyoshi Kasai.
After receiving comments from Seishi Yokomizo and Takao Tsuchiya, "The Summer of the Ubume" was published.
"Dear S-kun" has once again received comments from Manji Gonda and Seishi Yokomizo!
This forces everyone to re-evaluate Maijo Kyosuke's connections and status!
Because the comments from other writers and critics are more palatable.
However, the fact that he received comments from "Grandmaster of Authentic Mystery" Seishi Yokomizo twice, "Master of Authentic Mystery" Takao Shiya twice, and mystery critic Manji Gonda three times is enough to demonstrate Kyosuke Maijo's ability and audience!
It's important to know that mystery writers and mystery critics often have a mutual aversion to each other. The last person to receive unanimous recommendations from both mystery writers and critics was Edogawa Ranpo, the "father of Japanese mystery" who wrote "The Two-Sen Coin"!
As a result, under these circumstances, Maijo Kyosuke's popularity was boosted once again!
With the reviews from Seishi Yokomizo and Manji Gonda, it was destined that the sales of the magazine "Top Hat," which featured "Dear S-kun," would not be low!
Nine hundred thousand copies of the fifth issue of "Top Hat" magazine began to be distributed and sold at bookstores and newsstands throughout Japan starting at 5:00 a.m. on February 11.
After ten hours, the entire stock was finally sold out around 3 p.m.!
All readers who have read "Dear S-kun" were utterly shocked by the "curiosity motive" created by Maijo Kyosuke.
After all, the incredible plot twists and terrifying truths in "Dear S" were truly unexpected!
This inevitably reminded some of Kyosuke Maijo's loyal readers of the horror elements and bizarre motives in his previous works.
In "A Bellflower," Suzue, who would kill to create an opportunity to see her beloved—
In *The Astrological Murders*, a grand scheme unfolds as revenge: six people are killed, and five of their bodies are pieced together to form the six corpses.
In "The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate," to prevent his son from committing patricide, the inmate was poisoned before his execution.
In *The Summer of the Ubume*, there are terrifying exorcism rituals and horrific mental illnesses—
It seems that—among Maijo Kyosuke's works, apart from "Conclusion" and "Third Time Limit"—
Almost every work contains bizarre and eerie elements that send chills down the spine.
Loyal readers have summarized the elements in Kyosuke Maijo's works.
I don't know which reader came up with the idea, but in the public eye, Maijo Kyosuke was given the title of "weird genius"!
Because this title was so perfectly suited to Maijo Kyosuke's personal style, it spread throughout Japan in less than a day.
The title of "unconventional genius" has become Maijo Kyosuke's new title after "Japan's youngest well-known writer"!
July 13, 1980, 2 p.m.
Inside a three-story villa in Ikebukuro, Toshima Ward, Tokyo.
An elderly man wearing a kimono, with medium-length hair, black-rimmed glasses, and a cigarette dangling from his mouth, was sitting in a rattan chair, reading a magazine.
The magazine he was holding was the fifth issue of "Top Hat," which featured thirteen people wearing black top hats gathered around a table, emulating the Last Supper.
Beside him stood the master of mystery commentary, Manji Gonda, respectfully.
On ordinary days, Manji Gonda is outspoken and confrontational, and even dared to openly insult Sasazawa Saho, a "social commentary giant," more than a decade ago. Yet, in front of this old man, he was as respectful as if he were worshipping a god!
reason?
Naturally, this old man was no ordinary person.
He is the founder of the Japan Mystery Critics Association, a master of Chinese studies, the vice chairman of the Japan Mystery Writers Association, a disciple of Edogawa Ranpo, the president of Japan-Yoshi University, a famous anthologist, and a famous translator.
Kazutaro Nakajima is hailed as the top mystery literature expert after Edogawa Ranpo!
Although Kazutaro Nakajima can only be considered a "powerful writer" among mystery writers.
However, his status in the mystery commentary world far surpasses that of Yokomizo Seishi, and Matsumoto Seichō's status in the mystery commentary world is second only to Edogawa Ranpo!
In addition to his previous titles, Kazutaro Nakajima has another very prestigious title.
"The guardian deity of Japanese mystery commentary!"
This title alone is enough to describe Kazutaro Nakajima's status in the mystery commentary world!
However, the reason why Kazutaro Nakajima hasn't been very active in the mystery commentary world lately is...
The reason for this is that Kazutaro Nakajima is already over sixty years old and has many jobs and is very busy.
For the past five years, he has been working tirelessly on compiling "The Handbook of Reasoning," and has been unable to spare any time for it.
Therefore, all matters concerning the Japan Mystery Critics Association, big and small, were handed over to his successor, namely the vice president of the Japan Mystery Critics Association, Gonda Manji, to take charge.
But there are three reasons why Kazutaro Nakajima would suddenly appear this time.
The first reason is that his self-compiled "Handbook of Reasoning" has been completed and published.
The second reason was that Kazutaro Nakajima wanted to see it.
It was able to rank in the sales charts of "Monthly Shunju BEST10" published by Bungei Shunju.
He defeated Jiro Akagawa, Toshiyuki Nishimura, Seicho Matsumoto, Tsumabuchi Awasaka, Makoto Tendo, and Seiichi Morimura, ultimately squeezing himself into ninth place and almost failing to make the rankings. Just what kind of ability does Kyosuke Maijo possess?
As for the last reason...
Naturally, it was because the "Grandmaster of Authentic Mystery," Seishi Yokomizo, who was already critically ill, would write reviews for a writer who had only been in the industry for a month, twice in a row.
This kind of thing is just like how Maijo Kyosuke suddenly took the top two spots in Monthly Shunju's BEST10; it's really too abnormal and too strange.
So, Nakajima Kazutaro returned to Tokyo overnight from his villa in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture.
He also instructed Gonda Manji to bring all the works and information about the author Maijo Kyosuke, as he wanted to catch up on Maijo Kyosuke's works and experiences.
After all, Kazutaro Nakajima and Seishi Yokomizo were old friends. Kazutaro Nakajima knew Seishi Yokomizo's character very well, and he understood that with Seishi Yokomizo's personality, he would not write reviews for Kyosuke Maijo twice in a row for money!
To verify whether Maijo Kyosuke is truly a genius, and whether he is as amazing as the rumors suggest.
So, Kazutaro Nakajima sat in his villa.
I spent two whole days reading through "A Bellflower", "The Astrological Murders", "Convergence", "The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate", "The Third Statute", "Summer of the Ubume", and the manuscript of "The Plunge" that Gonda Manji got from Eri Miri.
At this moment, Nakajima Kazutaro is watching Maijo Kyosuke's latest work, "Dear S-kun," which was published two days ago in the fifth issue of the magazine "Top Hat"!
Kazutaro Nakajima is, after all, a master of mystery criticism. He has been studying mystery works from home and abroad since he was young, and it is no exaggeration to call him a bookworm.
So over the years, not only has the reading volume been frighteningly high, but the reading speed has also been incredibly fast!
In less than half an hour, Kazutaro Nakajima had read through "Dear S-kun".
Just as Gonda Manji was about to ask Nakajima Kazutaro for his opinion on Maijo Kyosuke after seeing that his teacher had finished reading "Dear S-kun".
But then I saw Kazutaro Nakajima turn to the first page of the magazine and start reading again.
Faced with this situation, Gonda Manji didn't say anything, but he was overjoyed.
Because Kazutaro Nakajima was his teacher and his mentor in the world of mystery commentary.
Manji Gonda really understood Kazutaro Nakajima's personality too well.
Kazutaro Nakajima is the kind of amazing person who seems to have a copy machine in his brain!
Any book that passes through his mind once will be completely memorized!
In Manji Gonda's memory, only a small number of works would make Kazutaro Nakajima read and reread them repeatedly, but those works were things like "Brain Hell," "The Black Death Mansion Murder Case," "An Offering to Nothingness," and "Paradise Lost in a Box."
That level of unusual color work.
Therefore, when Nakajima Kazutaro read "Dear S-kun" for the second time, Gonda Manji knew that this time "Dear S-kun" had moved Nakajima Kazutaro!
Thinking of all this, Gonda Manji quietly waited to the side, not daring to disturb Nakajima Kazutaro in the slightest.
When Kazutaro Nakajima read "Dear S-kun" for the second time, he was much slower than the first time.
However, it only took less than an hour.
After reading "Dear S-kun" for the second time, Nakajima Kazutaro once again moved the book title back to "Dear S-kun," then chuckled and murmured, "It inherits the ingenious structure of the great writer Wilkie Collins's 'What Goes Around Comes Around'!"
"It surpasses the bizarre and fantastical elements of Lord Lord Dunsony's *Two Bottles of Seasoning*."
"The most bizarre and fantastical masterpiece in Japanese history!"
Kazutaro Nakajima paused for a moment, then turned to Manji Gonda beside him and said with a smile, "Manji, Yokomizo-sensei's comments are truly insightful!"
"What a brilliant structure, inheriting the masterpiece of a great writer, surpassing even the bizarre and fantastical elements of the King of Strange Tales!"
"I used to think that after Yokomizo became seriously ill, he had mental problems and his appreciation level declined."
"Looking back now, I underestimated the abilities of this bizarre genius, Kyosuke Maijo, and misunderstood Professor Yokomizo's level of appreciation!"
Kazutaro Nakajima patted all of Kyosuke Maijo's works stacked on the coffee table beside him, and a smile of appreciation appeared on his face: "Manji, we're all on the same side, so I won't mince words."
"When I learned at my villa in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, that this writer, Kyosuke Maijo, who had only been in the industry for a month and a few days, had actually taken first and second place on the January 1980 sales chart of Monthly Shunju BEST10."
My first thought was, "Why should I?"
"How come this guy, who's only been in office for a month, managed to snag first and second place in 'Monthly Spring and Autumn BEST10' with just two works?"
"It almost squeezed my 'Detective Arts Handbook,' which I've been working on for five years, out of this issue's 'Monthly Spring and Autumn BEST10' ranking!"
Kazutaro Nakajima patted a stack of works by Kyosuke Maijo with his hand again, and continued to laugh at Manji Gonda: "Manji, people are hard to get rid of jealousy and envy."
"When I felt jealous, my first thought wasn't to look at Jojo Kyosuke's works to verify his true abilities."
"I'm starting to suspect that Kippei Sendou of Bungei Shunju Publishing is accepting money for ranking photos!"
"But now it seems I was blind to the true nature of Mount Tai."
"It's an honor to lose to Mr. Zhangcheng!"
"Kyosuke Maijo's ability to outshine everyone else is absolutely due to his solid skills and his love for mystery novels!"
"If it weren't for that, how could he have gotten Yokomizo-sensei's evaluation?"
Kazutaro Nakajima paused for a moment, then beckoned to Manji Gonda, who was standing to the side, and said, "How about this, Manji?"
"It just so happens that I haven't been back to our Japanese Mystery Criticism Association in a long time. Zhao, could you contact all the members? I'd like to go back and talk to everyone."
"As for what topic to discuss, let's not waste any time. Let's focus on Mr. Zhang Cheng, this rising star writer, and have a lively discussion!"