Afbeelding van de auteur.

Soji Shimada

Auteur van The Tokyo Zodiac Murders

27+ Werken 556 Leden 24 Besprekingen

Over de Auteur

Fotografie: Hiroshima Fukuyama-shi Board of Education

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Werken van Soji Shimada

The Tokyo Zodiac Murders (1987) 353 exemplaren
Murder in the Crooked House (1992) 144 exemplaren
天に昇った男 (1994) 3 exemplaren
三浦和義事件 (2002) 3 exemplaren
展望塔の殺人 (1991) 3 exemplaren
奇想、天を動かす (1993) 3 exemplaren
天国からの銃弾 (1995) 3 exemplaren
夜は千の鈴を鳴らす (1992) 3 exemplaren
眩暈 (1995) 3 exemplaren
飛鳥のガラスの靴 (1991) 3 exemplaren
Gli omicidi dello zodiaco (2019) 2 exemplaren
殺人ダイヤルを捜せ (1988) 2 exemplaren
御手洗潔の挨拶 (1991) 2 exemplaren
ら抜き言葉殺人事件 (1991) 2 exemplaren
暗闇坂の人喰いの木 (1990) 1 exemplaar
ネジ式ザゼツキー (2006) 1 exemplaar
暗闇坂の人喰いの木 (1994) 1 exemplaar
水晶のピラミッド (1994) 1 exemplaar
Pの密室 (2001) 1 exemplaar

Gerelateerde werken

The Decagon House Murders (1987) — Introductie, sommige edities; Introductie, sommige edities426 exemplaren
The Realm of the Impossible (2017) — Medewerker — 6 exemplaren

Tagged

Algemene kennis

Geboortedatum
1948
Geslacht
male
Nationaliteit
Japan
Geboorteplaats
Hiroshima, Japan
Prijzen en onderscheidingen
Japan Mystery Literature Award (2009)

Leden

Besprekingen

While the plot was intricate and clever, the format of this book did not appeal to me. I felt it lacked narrative flow and I didn't find the main characters very appealing. It was the author's first, so I may try another to see if I feel he developed more to my taste
 
Gemarkeerd
cspiwak | 15 andere besprekingen | Mar 6, 2024 |
This takes place in the relatively near future, 2091. Xie Hoyu, a 25-year-old man, gets into a terrible motorcycle accident that would likely have killed him if it weren't for advancements in modern medical technology and a coincidentally nearby ambulance. Even so, the work done on him was particularly extensive, and he was left with a cyborg body that had more non-organic parts than anyone else in the world. His doctors were reassured that he seemed to be healing and adjusting well. The one difference that Xie initially noticed was a lack of interest in human company.

When it comes time for him to be discharged, however, the differences in his perceptions of the world become more apparent. Human faces, particularly women's faces, now look demonic and distorted with anger. It's so difficult for him to be around others that he begins contemplating suicide, until one day he sees his salvation: a woman whose face and manner are both refreshingly human and exceedingly beautiful. He becomes consumed by a desire to find her again and speak to her.

I picked this up entirely because of the author - the publisher's description didn't really tell me much beyond that it was sci-fi, and the cover art told me nothing. I had previously read and enjoyed Shimada's mysteries and was willing to try a short science fiction work by him.

Maybe I've just read too much science fiction, but this didn't really offer a lot of surprises. It wasn't hard to guess what was going on with Chigusa - why she behaved the way she did, why there were peculiar rules she had to follow, and why everyone was so surprised by Xie's reaction to her.

The way the work handled gender was odd and problematic. At one point in the story, Xie was somehow magically cured of his monstrous perception of others, but only when it came to men - women still looked demonic to him. The reason for this was never explained. And somehow only Chigusa appeared normal. Not just normal, but a vision of femininity who possessed no negative emotions that might bring Xie discomfort.

Although Xie eventually realized that his behavior towards Chigusa amounted to stalking, and he felt bad about it, that didn't stop him from begging and pleading to be allowed to continue to see and speak to her. While I appreciated the in-text recognition that his behavior was creepy, it felt like Shimada moved on to "but it's fine, really" too quickly and easily. All the focus was on Xie's wants and needs.

In terms of overall logic, it didn't really make sense that Chigusa was the only person Xie saw the way he did. There should have been more, but I suppose that would have complicated things for Shimada, who would then have had to come up with something beyond "she's beautiful" in order to explain why Xie was drawn to Chigusa in particular.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
… (meer)
½
 
Gemarkeerd
Familiar_Diversions | Jul 17, 2023 |
I just love this style of mystery, where the characters are pared down and the technical details of the case are the focus. A locked room mystery x3, and a quirky house to host it. I have to say the ending, though clever, leaves a lot of questions. Like if you were going to end up in prison for this murder any way, isn't there a more straight forward way to kill a guy? It just seemed like our suspect surrendered a bit too readily at the first hint of being found out. And wouldn't someone who hired a hitman, regardless of if that hitman accomplished his task, be charged with attempted murder or something?
That's really beside the point of the enjoyment of the puzzle this book presents though, so I will be reading more from this author.
… (meer)
 
Gemarkeerd
KallieGrace | 6 andere besprekingen | Jun 8, 2023 |
This is a spoiler, but this is basically murderous Cinderella. I do enjoy the puzzle set out for us here, and was able to piece it together by the time the taped money was mentioned. This duo certainly has a Sherlock/Watson dynamic, though I don't think they're quite as endearing.
 
Gemarkeerd
KallieGrace | 15 andere besprekingen | Jun 8, 2023 |

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Statistieken

Werken
27
Ook door
2
Leden
556
Populariteit
#44,900
Waardering
½ 3.6
Besprekingen
24
ISBNs
39
Talen
3

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