Entering the Game

Name: Entering the Game
ISBN: 9787516830765

轩弦Taihai Publishing House · ChinaDec 2021

2.8

Word count: 169K words
Chapters: 29
ISBN: 9787516830765

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Summary

Three years ago, a string of murders shattered the calm of Xingyi Island. Three years later, the survivors are brought together again at the prompting of someone with a hidden agenda. With explosives that could go off at any moment threatening everyone’s life, the only way to escape is to follow the rules: take turns recounting what happened and uncover the truth behind the serial murders. The truth of three years ago is baffling, and a suicide long kept secret comes to the surface. What connects it all? When everything turns into a Rashomon-style maze of conflicting accounts, can the truth finally be revealed and everyone escape danger?

Editor's review

Xuan Xian’s Entering the Game places the classic mode of detective fiction on a sealed island: a serial murder case from three years ago, survivors forced to reunite, and turn-by-turn testimonies under the threat of explosives form a typical snowstorm manor–style narrative. The novel’s greatest appeal is that it is not content merely with solving the puzzle; it also makes every narrator a potential unreliable narrator. The truth of three years ago is repeatedly dismantled and reassembled through each retelling, while a suicide long kept secret acts like a hidden thread stitching past and present together. This Rashomon-like structure keeps readers constantly revising their judgments and makes them feel strongly involved. The author controls the pace tightly, and the presence of the pressure device—the explosives—gives every memory a sense of urgency, avoiding the dullness that pure puzzle fiction can easily fall into. It is suitable for reading in one sitting over a weekend or during a trip, and also for readers who like to take notes and work out the murderer themselves as they read. Note that this kind of work has a high density of information, and readers need to pay attention to remembering the character relationships; otherwise, they may confuse the clues halfway through.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Detective fiction readers who enjoy honkaku mystery and the snowstorm manor模式
Readers who enjoy multi-perspective narration and like to deduce the truth themselves
People looking for a suspenseful read they can finish in one sitting over a weekend or during a trip
Readers interested in ensemble drama in a closed space and the contest of human nature

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer light, warm stories and dislike depictions of violence and death
Readers who lack patience for multi-character, multi-clue narratives and easily confuse characters
Serious literary readers expecting deep social-issue themes or literary expression

Reading tips

It is advisable to prepare paper and pen or sticky notes and jot down each narrator’s key testimony and contradictions
When reading each survivor’s recollection, pause first and speculate on its credibility before continuing
Pay attention to the timeline between the suicide three years ago and the serial murders; after finishing, look back at the earlier foreshadowing
Try to read continuously and avoid long interruptions that may blur character relationships and clue memory

About the publisher

Taihai Publishing House China · Founded in 1997

Founded in 1997 and based in Beijing, Taihai Publishing House takes “building cultural bridges and promoting cross-strait unity” as its mission, focusing on Taiwan-related studies, social sciences and humanities, Chinese and foreign history, and literature. Judging from the 709 titles in the database, its publishing centers on foreign literature and classic works, with attention to Eastern philosophy, architecture, and social culture. Representative books include Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha and Steppenwolf and the four-volume Hesse literary series, Liang Sicheng’s A History of Chinese Architecture, Lao She’s Teahouse (unabridged classic edition), Sun Wu’s The Art of War, and collections by W. Somerset Maugham, Yasunari Kawabata, and Yukio Mishima. Its authors include major foreign writers such as Hesse, Maugham, Kawabata, and Mishima, as well as Liang Sicheng, Lao She, and Sun Wu. Its publishing features complete presentation of classic texts and series-based organization of foreign literature; public information on its Taiwan-related studies titles and authors is limited.

版权信息
第一局无人清白
第01章驾驶员的发言
第02章何金玲的发言
第03章彭顾君的发言
第04章尹少莲的发言
第05章白衣男子的发言
第06章何金玲的发言
第07章钟哲瀚的发言
第08章张雅菱的发言
第09章慕容思炫的发言
第10章彭顾君的发言
第11章尹少莲的发言
第12章梅曼荷的发言
第13章慕容思炫的发言
第14章尹少莲的发言
第15章梅曼荷的发言
第16章慕容思炫的发言
第17章 “欧先生”的发言
第18章钟哲瀚的发言
第19章慕容思炫的发言
第20章 “欧先生”的发言
第二局毒龙之心
第三局猫脸老人的杀意
第四局迷途之蝶
上篇：泣蝶
中篇：痴蝶
下篇：哀蝶
第五局俄狄浦斯之泪

FAQ

I haven’t read other works by Xuan Xian. Can I read this one directly?

Yes. This book is a standalone story and does not depend on prior knowledge from the author’s other works. However, the book has many characters and interwoven clues. Readers new to this kind of multi-perspective mystery may need to spend a little more attention in the first half sorting out the character relationships; once they get into it, it will flow much more smoothly.

Is this book suitable for teenagers?

The book involves serial murder, the threat of explosives, and suicide, and its overall atmosphere is dark and tense. Whether it is suitable for teenagers should be judged in light of the child’s tolerance for suspenseful and violent content; for younger readers, it is best for a parent to look through it first before deciding.

What should I do if I easily confuse the characters while reading?

This is common in multi-perspective mystery works. While reading, you can make a simple character list, noting each survivor’s relationship to the case three years ago and the contradictions in their accounts. As the rounds of testimony progress, the characters will gradually become clearer, so there is no need to give up just because you cannot remember them at first.

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About the author

轩弦 Author

Xuan Xian is a Chinese author known for suspense and mystery fiction. Public information about the author is limited: only two works are known to be published under this name, the representative titles being The Spade Society and Entering the Game. Judging from the common classification of these two works, Xuan Xian's writing focuses on the suspense and mystery genre, emphasizing the arrangement of cases and the advancement of plot, while the titles themselves suggest themes of strategy, entrapment, and puzzle-solving. Because no more detailed biographical information is available, the author's nationality, dates of birth and death, and English name remain unconfirmed, and readers can learn about the author mainly through the works themselves. On the basis of the available material, Xuan Xian's output is small in scale, yet it has left a recognizable mark within the suspense and mystery genre, making it worth the attention of readers who enjoy domestic mystery fiction, tight plotting, and clever puzzle design.