Jiang Liu's beautiful words were like a shot in the arm, leading a group of editors to re-understand the outstanding masterpiece "Astrological Killing Magic".
But in order for "Astrology Killing Magic" to successfully enter the Edogawa Ranpo Prize.
Jiang Liumeili did not end her speech. Instead, she pointed her finger at the radar chart she drew and said with high spirits:
"As editors of Kodansha, you should know this very well."
"Editing is a very grueling job. Not only do you have to read a lot of new submissions every day, but you also have to read a huge amount to support your thinking and not be out of touch with the times."
"But the human brain is not a hard drive, and memory is always limited."
"In order not to forget every book I read, I specially designed this radar chart to record the advantages and disadvantages of each book. This radar chart is what I call the Six Dimensions of Reasoning."
Uyama Hiideomi approached the Six Dimensions of Reasoning drawn by Eryu Meimei, and found that what was drawn on it was "Prison Gate Island", the pinnacle work of Mr. Masashi Yokomou. (picture)
In the counterclockwise direction of the radar chart, the words style, resonance, logic, temperament, trickery, and aftertaste are written respectively.
Uyama Hiideomi was very interested in the so-called "Six Dimensions of Reasoning" named Eryumei. He pointed at the numerical values on it and asked:
"Miss Jiang Liu, can you explain to us what these six dimensions represent?"
"I can barely understand the writing style, trickery, and logic, but the resonance, aftertaste, and temperament really make me a little confused."
Eryumei raised her face when she heard Uyama Hinodeomi's words, revealing her graceful jawline and said:
"Writing style refers to the writing style and narrative ability. Combined with the writing style and narrative ability of Mr. Henggou Zhengshi in Prison Gate Island, I gave it a high score of 90 points."
"Resonance refers to whether the author has written characters or plots that can touch people's hearts. I gave Prison Gate Island 80 points for this aspect."
"Logic and trickery are very easy to understand. Logic refers to the logic and structure of the story, and whether the information is disclosed. trickery refers to the core trick or whether the motive is eye-catching. For a masterpiece like Prison Gate Island, I think I give it 80 points for logic and 90 points for trickery.”
"As for the temperament and aftertaste, although it sounds a bit unclear, it is actually not difficult to understand."
"Temperament means whether the author has written an unexpected plot that is eye-catching, or whether the author has shown his charm and madness in the text! Let the readers be impressed!"
"For the supreme masterpiece of the master of reasoning, Mr. Henggou Zhengshi, Prison Gate Island's natural temperament is perfect, there is no doubt about it!"
"The aftertaste is easier to understand. There are so many books in the world. After reading many of them, they are like toilet paper. They are thrown away after reading. They have no memory points at all and can only be used to pass the time. "
"But a book with a full aftertaste will be unforgettable and will shine in the memory even decades later!"
"Prison Gate Island certainly belongs to this category. Thirty-two years have passed since it was published in 1947. This book is still not forgotten, which is enough for me to give it a high score of 90!"
Eryu's beautiful Six-Dimensional Reasoning Table may seem ordinary, but to the editors of Kodansha, it is like a heavy shell!
Editors actually have their own scoring standards, but most of these scoring standards are simple numerical values, such as giving 10 points to the masterpiece "Prison Gate Island".
I’ll give “Honjin Murder Incident” a score of 9.9, which is weaker than “Prison Gate Island” but is still a masterpiece of reasoning.
Although this scoring method is very common, it is not suitable for mystery novels.
Because readers of mystery novels have a wide range of tastes, some focus on writing, some focus on trickery, some focus on aftertaste, and there are even readers who specifically look for pure love stories in mystery novels.
Therefore, simply using numerical values to score will inevitably lead to biased results.
But Jiang Liu's beautiful "Six Dimensions of Reasoning" solved this problem almost perfectly.
Not only does it list the six most important dimensions in mystery novels, but it also evaluates them item by item, allowing people to see the strengths and weaknesses of the work at a glance!
Jiang Liumeili took out another radar chart she drew from the table, pasted it on the whiteboard, pointed to the radar chart drawn on it and said (picture):
"Don't underestimate my 'Six Dimensions of Reasoning'."
"Because it is scored from six dimensions, it is very fair and impartial. For example, last year, in 1979, Mr. Tendo Makoto's masterpiece "" won the 32nd Japanese Mystery Writers Association Novel Award. "The Great Abduction."
"The story of "The Big Kidnapping" is very simple. It tells the story of a wealthy old woman who was kidnapped by three robbers and demanded a huge sum of 10 billion yen."
"And even with such an appalling start, the truth is that the old lady didn't want to be levied inheritance tax by the country, so she faked it with the three robbers and planned this funny kidnapping case."
"Although there is no trick or logic in this story by Mr. Tendo Makoto, I can only give two 10-point evaluations."
"But this story has an endless aftertaste. Even if there is no trick, it still does not affect "The Great Abduction" becoming a bestseller, nor does it affect some people to praise it as a masterpiece of farce mystery!"
"The fundamental reason is that Mr. Tendo Makoto won the first prize from the Japan Mystery Writers Association with his excellent comedy style, high personal temperament, and endless aftertaste!"
"Mystery novels are such a kind of existence. As long as one of them is extremely outstanding, they will be sought after!"
Jiang Liumei took out a piece of light-transmitting paper and placed it on the whiteboard. Then he drew a hexagonal radar chart on the clean paper, and wrote the words astrology murder magic on it:
"The same goes for "Astrological Killing Magic", but it is not a masterpiece with only one or two outstanding items like "The Great Abduction", but a monster that can rival the masterpiece "Prison Gate Island"!"
Although Jiang Liumei was young, she was full of aura. She stood in front of eleven editors without any stage fright and spoke non-stop for a long time.
Maybe I talked too much and felt thirsty.
Jiang Liumei raised her faded white neck, took a sip of blueberry-flavored wave soda, and then looked at Uyama Hinodeomi and asked:
"Mr. Yushan, after saying so much, I still don't know the name of this teacher..."
When Uyama Hinode heard Eryu's beautiful words, he understood that Eryu's beauty was crucial to whether "Astrology Killing Magic" could be shortlisted for the Edogawa Ranpo Prize!
Thinking of this, Uyama Hidden Minister immediately spoke:
"Maijo, Mr. Maijo Kyousuke."
Jiang Liumei raised the corner of her mouth and nodded, pointing at the unfinished radar chart and said:
"Makiro-sensei's writing style is excellent. Not only does he create an image of the famous detective Mitarai's wisdom as pure as a god, he also depicts such a complex story concisely."
"This sophisticated writing style is completely unlike a new writer who is writing a book for the first time. In this case, I give 80 points to Mr. Wucheng's writing style."
"As for resonance..."
"I would give 90 points for resonance with Yukiko's tragic experience and obscure murder motive."
"Logic is the weakest item in the book. I can only give it 70 points."
"But this does not mean that the logic of "Astrology Killing Magic" is poor, but the core conspiracy in the book is too powerful. No matter what kind of foreshadowing has been laid before, it is impossible to share the information fairly with readers."
After Eryumi finished speaking, a look of admiration for Maijo Kyousuke appeared on her face.
Waving her slender arms, she drew four strokes on the radar chart, filling it up instantly (picture):
"As for the three items of temperament, intrigue, and aftertaste, for me personally, I would give them a perfect score of 100."
"The reason is very simple, because Teacher Keisuke Maijo is the most talented writer I have ever seen!"
"The Astrology Killing Magic is the most powerful trick I have ever seen!"
"I will remember for the rest of my life the pleasure I had watching Astrology."
"And I will never forget it until I die!"
