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Black Ice cover

Black Ice

张成功Qunzhong Publishing House · ChinaApr 2023

3.9
Word count
176K words
Chapters
164
ISBN
9787501424559
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Tags

Mystery and Suspense Portrait GalleryUndercover InvestigationBusiness UndercurrentLove EntanglementsDesire TrapGood versus EvilDrug BustCrime PursuitUrban RomanceCriminal Psychology

Summary

A series of cases surfaces in Haizhou, drawing the attention of the authorities. The common thread linking them is a woman named Liu Mei, manager of a tower owned by the city's pharmaceutical group. The police therefore send Wang Jingwen, a young, beautiful, and highly educated woman, to infiltrate the group under the guise of an investor and quietly gather evidence. Guo Xiaopeng, the group's chairman, is an enviable diamond bachelor, and Wang Jingwen takes to him at once. Yet beneath Guo's upright, ambitious exterior lurks a cunning, seasoned drug lord. With his mistress Liu Mei working against her at every turn, Wang Jingwen's operation meets obstacles everywhere. Meanwhile, Li Xinjian, deputy head of the criminal investigation unit, leads his team in destroying one of Guo's methamphetamine production sites. Deprived of raw materials, Guo sends Liu Mei to Xinjiang to procure more, and a fierce struggle unfolds there. On another front, Wang Jingwen falls into the trap of love Guo has carefully woven.

Editor's review

Black Ice is the opening work of Zhang Chenggong's "Black Trilogy" and, with its cold, unsparing prose and penetrating scrutiny of reality, has left a profound mark on the history of contemporary Chinese police fiction. This is no simple cops-and-robbers showdown but a meticulously drawn portrait of society at the turn of the century. The author, a veteran reporter on legal and political affairs, forged the sprawling cases and observations of human nature gathered over years of frontline reporting into Guo Xiaopeng, a villain of extraordinary complexity and charisma. He is at once a chemistry prodigy returned from America, a successful entrepreneur, and a ruthless, internally consistent drug lord. This "high-IQ crime" premise was groundbreaking for literature and screen alike at the time, and its depth far surpasses that of ordinary plot-driven fiction. The value of reading Black Ice lies in glimpsing, through the harrowing front lines of the drug war, the spiritual wasteland and human alienation wrought by runaway desire in the early years of economic transition. The book's layered portrayal of criminal psychology and its exploration of the blurred boundary between good and evil remain powerfully thought-provoking today. It is a work that demands slow, attentive reading; its literary texture and intellectual weight are hard for later works in the same vein to match.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Readers interested in the social landscape and shifting human values of the late 1990s
  • Literature lovers drawn to high-IQ crime fiction who value plot logic and character depth
  • Close observers of police and legal-political subjects who want to understand the origins of this kind of literature
  • Readers seeking fiction that transcends simple good-versus-evil binaries and engages complex social issues

Not a good fit for

  • Casual readers looking for light, fast-paced entertainment
  • Readers highly sensitive to or averse to dark content such as drug crime

Reading tips

  1. Read alongside the TV adaptation (starring Wang Zhiwen) to compare the distinct appeal of literary narrative and visual storytelling.
  2. While reading, pay attention to the supporting characters (such as the criminal investigation captain); they embody different forms of commitment and dilemma within the system.
  3. The ending is worth pondering; after finishing the last chapter, revisit the opening—you may find new insights.

About the publisher

Qunzhong Publishing House China · Founded in 1956

Qunzhong Publishing House is a publisher grounded in public security work and oriented toward society, focusing on books on politics, law, public security operations, public security teaching materials, and literature and art. Its current library contains 20 titles, covering categories such as war and military life, mystery and detective fiction, classic works, social novels, and otherworld fantasy. Representative books include The Secret Envoy, Black Ice, Ultimate Evil, Desperate Situation, Black Hole, The Case Is Solved: Chronicle of a Shocking Major Case, The Criminal Police Squad, and The Special Agent Company. Representative authors include Zhang Chenggong, Wang Xiaoyi, Zhu Weijian, Zang Qing, Zhang Ce, Zhang Liyu, Niu Bocheng, and Ding Yihe. Its publishing character lies in drawing on a public security professional background to combine legal and criminal investigation themes with literary narrative, forming a list that gives equal weight to mystery and detective fiction and social novels. As public information is limited, other publishing details are omitted.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 序章
  3. 第一章 杀手来袭
  4. 01
  5. 02
  6. 03
  7. 04
  8. 05
  9. 06
  10. 07
  11. 08
  12. 09
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 第二章 昔日女友
  17. 01
  18. 02
  19. 03
  20. 04
  21. 05
  22. 06
  23. 07
  24. 08
  25. 第三章 萌生情愫
  26. 01
  27. 02
  28. 03
  29. 04
  30. 05
  31. 06
  32. 07
  33. 08
  34. 09
  35. 10
  36. 第四章 暗流涌动
  37. 01
  38. 02
  39. 03
  40. 04
  41. 05
  42. 06
  43. 07
  44. 08
  45. 09
  46. 第五章 动了杀机
  47. 01
  48. 02
  49. 03
  50. 04
  51. 05
  52. 06
  53. 07
  54. 08
  55. 09
  56. 第六章 密林黑枪
  57. 01
  58. 02
  59. 03
  60. 04
  61. 05
  62. 06
  63. 07
  64. 第七章 疑窦丛生
  65. 01
  66. 02
  67. 03
  68. 04
  69. 05
  70. 06
  71. 第八章 蛇鼠一窝
  72. 01
  73. 02
  74. 03
  75. 04
  76. 05
  77. 06
  78. 第九章 愿者上钩
  79. 01
  80. 02
  81. 03
  82. 04
  83. 05
  84. 第十章 栽赃陷害
  85. 01
  86. 02
  87. 03
  88. 04
  89. 05
  90. 06
  91. 07
  92. 08
  93. 第十一章 深仇大恨
  94. 01
  95. 02
  96. 03
  97. 04
  98. 05
  99. 06
  100. 第十二章 勾心斗角
  101. 01
  102. 02
  103. 03
  104. 04
  105. 05
  106. 第十三章 深陷情网
  107. 01
  108. 02
  109. 03
  110. 04
  111. 05
  112. 06
  113. 07
  114. 第十四章 死亡陷阱
  115. 01
  116. 02
  117. 03
  118. 04
  119. 05
  120. 第十五章 神秘大佬
  121. 01
  122. 02
  123. 03
  124. 04
  125. 05
  126. 06
  127. 07
  128. 第十六章 化险为夷
  129. 01
  130. 02
  131. 03
  132. 04
  133. 第十七章 匪夷所思
  134. 01
  135. 02
  136. 03
  137. 04
  138. 05
  139. 第十八章 雷霆出击
  140. 01
  141. 02
  142. 03
  143. 04
  144. 05
  145. 06
  146. 07
  147. 第十九章 金蝉脱壳
  148. 01
  149. 02
  150. 03
  151. 04
  152. 05
  153. 06
  154. 07
  155. 08
  156. 第二十章 死有余辜
  157. 01
  158. 02
  159. 03
  160. 04
  161. 05
  162. 06
  163. 07
  164. 尾声

FAQ

Which is better, the Black Ice novel or the TV series?
Each is an outstanding example of its own art form. The novel delves deeper into the characters' inner worlds and lays out the social backdrop more substantially, excelling in psychological description and intellectual depth; the TV series, powered by Wang Zhiwen's superb performance and those of the cast, visualizes the characters' dramatic tension and reached a wider audience. Read the original first, then watch the series for the fullest experience.
Is this book based on a real case?
It is not a direct adaptation of any single specific case. Drawing on the many real cases, character prototypes, and social phenomena he encountered during his long career as a legal-political reporter, author Zhang Chenggong carried out extensive artistic distillation and fictional creation, giving the work a strong sense of reality and the stamp of its era.
What are the other two books in the "Black Trilogy"? Do they need to be read in order?
The other two are Black Hole and Black Mist. The three works have independent stories and no directly connected characters, but they share a common theme, each probing the dark side of society during the transition period. They can be read out of order, but following the order of composition (Black Ice, Black Hole, Black Mist) gives a clearer sense of how the author's thinking evolved and how the issues of the era shifted.

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About the author

张成功 Author

Zhang Chenggong is a Chinese author of genre fiction. Public information about him is limited, and the works currently confirmed include eight titles, such as Secret Envoy, Black Ice, Black Hole, Black Fog, Black Gold, and The True Colors of a Detective. His writing is mainly concentrated in two directions: war and military fiction, and suspense and mystery fiction, with some works also classified as premium novels. Judging from the distribution of subjects, he writes both narratives set against a military background and crime and detective stories, often advancing the plot through cases and maintaining tension between the unfolding of suspense and the relationships among characters. Although the number of his works is not large, titles such as Black Ice and The True Colors of a Detective are relatively recognizable among readers of genre fiction, indicating that his writing has achieved a certain influence in the area where military and suspense fiction intersect. Since no reliable records of the author's life, native place, or writing career have been found, no speculation is made here; this note only briefly describes the thematic orientation and stylistic features presented by his existing works.

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