tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post4877115878441253402..comments2024-03-27T22:32:02.739+01:00Comments on Beneath the Stains of Time: The Kindaichi Case Files: The Antlion Trench Murder Case TomCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-74540227442027027362019-01-02T09:22:29.631+01:002019-01-02T09:22:29.631+01:00I'm afraid my reading of the Kindaichi series ...I'm afraid my reading of the Kindaichi series is going to be all over the place. Just wait until you see what I found for that upcoming review, which is scheduled for next Tuesday. <br /><br />If you thought <i>House of Wax</i> felt artificial, especially in comparison with <i>The Headless Samurai</i>, it probably wasn't the English translation. <i>House of Wax</i> has a brilliant plot and is still one of my favorites, but the setting and characters are contrived: an ancient castle transplanted from Europe with a number of Western characters, including the nephew of Lt. Columbo, wandering around in it. This gives the story a notably different atmosphere and made it stand out in the series, but can understand if this doesn't work for everyone. <br /><br />I have not read <i>Burial Francs</i> or <i>Playing the Fool</i> (<i>Foreigners Hotel Murders</i>), but <i>Death TV</i> was not too bad with a pretty good alibi-trick and false solutions. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-86133823691703056202019-01-01T10:28:37.404+01:002019-01-01T10:28:37.404+01:00Looking forward to your next Kindaichi review - wi...Looking forward to your next Kindaichi review - will you be sticking to the R series, or moving backwards? <br /><br />I definitely thought 'Headless Samurai' was the strongest of the first series - I thought it had a simple but clever locked-room resolution, and a genuinely claustrophobic and eerie atmosphere. I was expecting to like 'Wax Doll Murders' more, but I wonder if reading it in English made it rather artificial for me> <br /><br />Admittedly, my memories of the entries are somewhat vague... But I recall also liking 'Burial Franc Murders', 'Snow Demon TV Murders' and 'Foreigners' Hotel Murders'. Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03389512470283015279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-66280511008088469512018-12-30T12:48:49.190+01:002018-12-30T12:48:49.190+01:00There's a special Kindaichi review scheduled f...There's a special Kindaichi review scheduled for the second week of January, 2019. So you have that to look forward to.<br /><br />Yes, this case obviously borrowed from that previous case, which was one of the best titles from the series, but I can see why you prefer <i>The Headless Samurai</i>. As you'll probably remember, I reviewed <i>The Headless Samurai</i> earlier this year and went in with the intention of hating it. It was going to be a good, old-fashioned Kanari bashing! Well, that didn't turned out as planned, did it? <br /><br />I liked the cover of volume 6 more than the previous one, but yes, volume 5 would have been more fitting, because Kindaichi wears his color-coded kimono on it.TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-33408673472672656862018-12-29T15:47:15.753+01:002018-12-29T15:47:15.753+01:00Thanks for the review, TomCat, and I'm always ...Thanks for the review, TomCat, and I'm always encouraged to see more reviews of Kindaichi. :) <br /><br />I recall thinking, when I first read 'Antlion Trench Murders', that the solution borrowed quite heavily from a previous case. But I think I didn't feel too harshly towards 'Antlion Trench', as I wasn't especially favourably inclined towards the previous case in question. I know it is one of the most popular cases for the early Kindaichi, but I've always preferred 'Headless Samurai' instead. <br /><br />Back to 'Antlion Trench', I agree that it's 'an oddly interesting detective story', and I like the clues pertaining to the wristband. Much as I feel more kindly towards 'Antlion Trench', I'd concede that it wasn't one of the strongest entries in the Kindaichi 'R' series.<br /><br />P.S. Interestingly enough, of the two volumes that featured 'Antlion Trench', you picked the volume cover showcasing 'Vampire Cherry Blossom Murders'. Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03389512470283015279noreply@blogger.com