The Curse

Name: The Curse
ISBN: 9787506380430

Cai JunWriters Publishing House2016

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Word count: 280K words
Chapters: 21
ISBN: 9787506380430

Summary

After returning from an archaeological expedition to ancient Loulan, the promising young scholar Jiang He undergoes a drastic change in temperament and dies suddenly three weeks later, leaving his fiancée Bai Bi only a string of keys of unknown origin. Bai Bi sets out to trace the keys and discover the cause of Jiang He's death, only to find that everyone connected with the matter dies one after another: within less than a month, five deaths have occurred at the archaeology institute. As the case grows more baffling, Inspector Ye Xiao takes over the investigation; clue by clue the threads converge on the ancient city of Loulan, long buried by wind and sand, on a secret preserved for a thousand years, and on an ancient curse that seems impossible to escape. The story interweaves Lop Nur, the Loulan woman's corpse, the past of the archaeological team, and a chain of deaths in the modern city, advancing layer by layer between reality and history, love and suspense. As Bai Bi investigates, she comes to see that she is more deeply implicated than she knew, and her own origins become part of the mystery. The novel unfolds its suspense like a play within a play, with Ye Xiao's investigation linking the threads to the truth, and its final point is not merely the curse but the greed, guilt, and evil deep in human hearts. The book was adapted into the television series Soul Lost in Loulan.

Editor's review

《诅咒》是蔡骏早期作品中最能代表“心理悬疑”路线的一本：它不靠血腥或鬼怪吓人，而是把恐惧安置在考古研究所的走廊、深夜的电脑屏幕、医院病房的隔壁床，以及未婚妻等待解释的沉默里。楼兰古城、罗布泊考察和千年女尸构成的异域背景，为都市连环死亡案提供了充满风沙气息的纵深；“诅咒”二字既是传说，也是每一个知情者心里放不下的秘密。蔡骏很擅长把读者推到与白璧相同的视角：她知道线索太少，又在别人的死亡里感到自己被牵连，因此每一次电话铃响、每一把钥匙的转动都足以让人屏住呼吸。再加上叶萧那条冷静推进的刑侦线，情感线、惊悚线和悬疑线相互咬合，节奏明快，很适合一口气读到尾声。当年这部小说被改编成电视剧《魂断楼兰》，由宁静主演，也是不少读者第一次接触蔡骏的入口。若你偏好有历史底色、以人心为谜面的国产悬疑，这本值得放进书单。

Who it's for

A good fit for

喜欢蔡骏作品、想补读“午夜小说馆”早期作品的读者
偏爱楼兰、考古题材与都市连环命案结合的悬疑读者
读过《魂断楼兰》影视剧、想回看原著的故事爱好者
喜欢以女性视角推进调查、情感与悬念并重的读者

Not a good fit for

期待本格推理、要求严密公平解谜的读者
偏好当代社会派、重现实议题的读者
对涉及尸骨、死亡情节较为敏感者

Reading tips

先顺着白璧的视角读，把每一条线索写在纸上，再与叶萧的调查线对照。
把“楼兰考古往事”作为第二条线索追踪，留意人物在时间上的前后矛盾。
读到尾声后再回看前文关于钥匙与女尸的段落，会发现不少伏笔早已埋好。
若时间充裕，可一并读同系列的《病毒》《猫眼》，感受蔡骏早期风格的整体脉络。

About the publisher

Writers Publishing House China · Founded in 1953

Writers Publishing House is a Chinese publisher focused mainly on literary publishing. Its output covers classical literature, foreign literature, folk literature and Eastern philosophy, with some extension into popular reading such as social fiction and parenting books. Its catalogue contains more than 900 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber and its edited editions, Shakespeare's Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream, and foreign literary classics such as The Brothers Karamazov and Lost Illusions. In terms of authors, it includes classical writers such as Cao Xueqin and Gao E, foreign masters such as William Shakespeare, Dostoevsky and Balzac, and translations by translators such as Zhu Shenghao, Geng Jizhi and Fu Lei. Overall, its publishing profile balances Chinese and foreign literary classics, emphasizes quality translations, and serves both academic and general readers; publicly available information on its specific publishing plans is limited.

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue

FAQ

《诅咒》和电视剧《魂断楼兰》是什么关系？

《诅咒》是蔡骏2002年出版的长篇小说，后被改编拍摄为电视连续剧《魂断楼兰》，由宁静主演。电视剧在人物和情节上有所调整，想了解原始故事建议读原著。

这本书收录了哪些作品？

单行本《诅咒》只收录长篇小说《诅咒》。而在“蔡骏午夜小说馆”系列中，《诅咒》这一册同时收录了《诅咒》与《神在看着你》两部长篇，购买时需注意版本。

《诅咒》有多个版本，哪个最常见？

常见版本包括2002年中国社会科学出版社版（“蔡骏午夜小说馆”系列）、2014年南海出版公司版和2016年作家出版社版。本页数据依据2016年作家出版社版（ISBN 9787506380430）。

没读过蔡骏其他作品，能直接读这本吗？

可以。《诅咒》是独立故事，警官叶萧虽在蔡骏多部作品中出场，但本书不依赖前作，直接阅读不会影响理解。

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Cai Jun Author · China · 1978

Cai Jun, born in Shanghai in 1978, is a representative author of Chinese suspense fiction and a member of the China Writers Association. He began publishing stories at the age of 22 and gained wide attention in 2001 with the novel Virus, going on to build a sustained presence in the suspense and mystery genre. His works are often set in modern urban life, where he creates tension through ordinary situations, drawing readers in with layered suspense and unexpected twists and developing a distinctive personal style. His major works include Curse of the Ancient Village, The 19th Floor of Hell, Murder in the River of Time, and Spring Night, several of which have been adapted for film and television, earning him considerable recognition and influence among suspense readers. The collection here includes 43 of his works, among them the Suspense World series and the Di Xiaojie Detective Agency series.