Second Sister

by Chan Ho-Kei, Jeremy Tiang (Translator)

Nga-Yee, a librarian, lives a quiet life with her fifteen-year-old sister Siu-Man. After a difficult, impoverished upbringing and the deaths of their parents, they are finally finding a bit of stability. Then one day, Nga-Yee comes home to find her teenage sister has jumped to her death.

Was it suicide, or was she pushed? And does it have anything to do with a recent trip on the Hong Kong subway which left Siu-Man silent and withdrawn? Nga-Yee cannot rest until she knows the truth about her sister – even if that means tracking down her sister's friends one by one and making them confess.

Part detective novel, part revenge thriller, Second Sister explores themes of sexual harassment, internet bullying and teenage suicide – and vividly captures the zeitgeist of Hong Kong today.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Detective, China

496 pages, Hardcover

First published July 31, 2017

About the author

Chan Ho-Kei 陳浩基 was born and raised in Hong Kong. He has worked as software engineer, scriptwriter, game designer and editor of comic magazines. His writing career started in 2008 at the age of thirty-three, with the short story ‘The Case of Jack and the Beanstalk,’ which was shortlisted for the Mystery Writers of Taiwan Award. He went on to win the award again the following year with ‘The Locked Room of Bluebeard.’

In 2011, Chan’s first novel, THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD, won the biggest mystery prize in the Chinese-speaking world, the Soji Shimada Mystery Award, and has subsequently been published in Taiwan (Crown), China (New Star), Japan (Bungeishunju), Thailand (Nanmee) and Italy (Metropoli d’Asia).

Reviews

[Laura y sus libros · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hasta este momento nunca había leído ningún autor oriental que no fuera japonés, y es que comenzar lecturas de este tipo tienen un gran hándicap y es la enorme diferencia cultural y de lenguaje que tenemos, siempre tengo dudas sobre las traducciones de estos idiomas tan complejos al castellano. Como con los libros de Murakami me llevo muy muy bien, decidí que era el momento para ampliar mis horizontes y cuando ví que Motus sacaba una obra del autor Hongkonés Chan Ho-Kei, me lancé a leer su edición anticipada.

Al principio cuesta un poco cambiar el chip y quedarse con el nombre de los distintos personajes, pero aunque es una obra con una extensión considerable, los personajes principales son pocos y rápidamente te haces con ellos.

La trama comienza rápido ya que antes siquiera de que sepamos quien es Siu-Man , ésta se suicida y es a través de su hermana Nga-Yee y su deseo de conocer qué ha ocurrido, como iremos desgranando la historia de esta adolescente que no vió más salida que saltar por la ventana.

Aparentemente al comenzar la historia tenemos un argumento simple de detectives. La hermana de Siu-Man necesita saber qué ha pasado, su sentimiento de culpabilidad no la deja descansar y hará todo lo que esté en su mano para conocer la historia al completo. Para ello Nga-Yee contratará un detective privado que ante la impotencia y falta de rastro, la remite a un Hacker: el Sr.N. Así que acompañando a esta pareja de Sherlock y Watson a la Hongkonesa, iremos descubriendo por un lado el poder de las redes, lo desamparados que estamos (¡Yo aún estoy en shock con lo que he aprendido en este libro respecto a ciberseguridad o mejor dicho a la falta de ella que tenemos!), el poder de la presión social , la desinformación a la que estamos expuestos y en definitiva lo que llevo a Siu-Man a morir con 15 años recién cumplidos.

De forma paralela se introduce otra trama que al principio te deja confundida ya que parece no tener nada que ver, pero enseguida empiezas a vislumbrar por donde pueden ir los tiros. Nos habla de un analista informático con ansias de crecer en la empresa en la que está.

Ambas historias aparentemente inconexas te llevan a pensar en diversos hilos de unión de los cuales he de decir que no acerté ni uno. Es al final cuando conocemos cómo se entrelazan dichas historias y cómo la una no puede existir sin la otra.

La novela merece la pena sin duda, quizás para mi gusto le han sobrado unas 100 páginas pero tengo que confesar que las últimas 100 me han mantenido con la boca abierta todo el tiempo, vamos que poco más y desayuno moscas. El final me ha encantado, deja todo más que hilado pero de una manera magistral.

Así que os animo a probar esta novela ciber-negra que os hará cambiar las claves de vuestras cuentas y os sorprenderá sin duda. Espero que traduzcan otra obras de Chan Ho-Kei porque creo que darán mucho que hablar.

[Paul Ataua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teenage Siu-Man is groped on the subway and the incident leads to the perpetrator being convicted and imprisoned. Online bullying of Siu-Man follows that ends in her throwing herself out of the window to her death. The story really begins when her sister hires a hacker to track down the bullies. It is my second Chan Ho-Kei book after ‘The Borrowed’. It starts so well, so much so that I felt this might turn out to be one of my favorite reads of the year, but then it gets bogged down in the cyber description and the hacker’s constant revelations of his technique for generating clues. It is a pity that so much time is given to world of the internet and so little to the thriller it might have been. An OK read!

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an engaging crime thriller in Hong Kong.... that grabbed my attention immediately....starting with the prologue.

Prologue (first sentence):
“When Nga-Yee left her flat at eight that morning, she had no idea your whole life would change that day”.

Chapter 1... ( first sentence):
“Your sister killed herself”.

Nga-Yee Au, twenty-three yrs. old, had been labeled by her secondary schoolmates a loner, and introvert, a nerd.
“Everyone has the right to choose how to live their lives. Trying to fit in with other peoples ideas is pure foolishness”.

Siu-Man Au, fifteen yrs. old,... was Nga-Yee’s sister.

The Au sisters lived at the Wun Wah House.
Their neighbor, Auntie Chan lived on the twenty-second floor.... same floor that the sisters lived on.
The girls knew Auntie Chan enough to say hello, but that was about it.
When Nga-Yee returned home from around six p.m., ....(thinking about what she was going to fix for dinner for she and Siu-Man), she noticed a police car and a crowd of people in front of her building.
Auntie Chan, grabbed Nga-Yee’s arm frantically in a sheer terror state.
The only word that Nga-Yee understood was ‘sister’.
“A teenage girl in a white school uniform lay there, tangled hair obscuring her face, dark red liquid puddling around her head”.

Siu-Man was the only family Nga-Yee had in the world.
Nga-Yee didn’t want to admit to herself that her sister had ample reason to seek death.
She had been under a lot of pressure for the past six months, but Nga-Yee felt certain that her sister didn’t kill herself.

The sisters parents were born in the 1960s, second generation immigrants. When the war broke out between the Nationalists and Communist in 1946, large numbers of refugees began searching from the mainland into Hong Kong.

A few months before Siu-Man was found dead - from their twenty-second story flat....
a man by the name of Shiu Tak-Ping - forty-three years old - owner of a stationary shop, ‘touched/groped’ Siu-Man while on a crowded train: extremely inappropriate sexual advances.

After a hearing, Shiu Tak-Ping was charged with indecent assault. He was sent to prison for three months.
Not long after - a week before Siu-Man’s fifteenth birthday - an article came out in ‘The Popcorn’, a major paper saying:
“Fourteen-Year-Old Slut Sent My Uncle to Prison”.
WHO WROTE THAT BLOG OF LIES?
The widespread news was horrific slander and injustice. Siu-Man was an innocent young girl. She was called a whore on social media...a target of public abuse and objectification from a bunch of strangers.
“The newspapers and magazines covered this story from many different angles, some agreeing that it was a miscarriage of justice, others criticizing this behavior as a form of bullying. Yet, whether they were pro or anti-, it didn’t change the fact that Sui-Man was now a public figure”.

Sergeant Ching told Nga-Yee that they had plenty of evidence to show that her sister jumped - killed herself…did it to herself…committed suicide.
Just speaking to the sergeant, Nga-Yee felt a mixture of pain, bitterness, and resentment towards him.
Nga-Yee knew her sister better than anyone and that just couldn’t be the case.
Or??? Could it?

After a father’s work-related accident, a mothers illness, ( cancer), a sister’s suicide—
Nga-Yee -at 23 yrs. old, —had no family left.

I ‘ached’ for Nga-Yee.
She had more than her share of loss. I cared for her all the way through this novel.

What follows after the reality that Siu-Man, was really dead...was a cat and mouse crime investigation....
...also historical details about the government’s role in public affordable housing for lower income residents.

Nga-Yee knew she couldn’t keep pushing her tasks on to coworkers, but all she could focus on was finding Siu-Man’s killer.
She went through webpages N had given her. Only two classmate students attended Sky-Man’s funeral. There were about 18 other suspects… and all strangers
to Nga-Yee.

N had the ruthlessness of a hardened criminal, but he was more upright than the majority of people… always using his abilities to help the weak.
He was an interesting character. I thought of Dexter a few times - or Lisbeth Salander -
I also liked how is character developed in relationship to Nga-Yee.

“There were evil people everywhere…and there were modern-day night in shining armor‘s”....

This story had pulsating elements that kept me turning the pages.... with characters to root for and villains to catch.
It also opened my eyes to the crime and assaults in Hong Kong.

I really enjoyed reading Chan Ho-Kei’s novel ....
The translation was done well. Perhaps the storytelling itself was a little long in the middle section— with added commentary that might have been more tightly edited— but I enjoyed the intimacy
that shined through the chaotic and colorful underworld of Hong Kong.

Thank you Netgalley, Grove Atlantic, and Chan Ho-Kei

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teenager Siu-Man is subjected to cyber bullying after she is groped on the subway and a man is convicted of the crime. The bullying is started by the nephew of the convicted man, but it spreads to others, to the extent that Siu-Man jumps out of a window and dies. Her older sister Nga-Yee hires a hacker known as N to track down the nephew. I was expecting more family drama, which is how the book began. As N digs deeper into the motive behind the bullying his search centers around Siu-Man’s classmates. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the book is more about the basic garbage dump that is the internet, hacking and revenge. N not only has a lot of skill, he is full of secrets and his reveals kept surprising me. This is really a plot driven, not character driven book.

The book was about 100 pages too long, but at least the author didn’t shoehorn a romance into the book, for which I was grateful. The writing was pretty colorless. I couldn’t find any language that I wanted to quote. That may be due to the translation, but even if that is just the author’s style I would read more by him. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

[Cường Trịnh Minh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Updating

Có thể nói mình sẵn sàng cho 5* từ những phần đầu của quyển sách này vì nội dung nói về thứ mình cực ghét đó là “giết người không dao”.

Dạo gần đây, mình rất sợ hãi mạng xã hội và rất mong muốn có thể ngừng sử dụng nó nếu được. Mình cảm thấy chỉ cần một bình luận ác ý chưa biết đúng hay sai sẽ dẫn dụ cả ngàn bình luận ác ý hùa theo. Ai cũng cho mình là chính nghĩa, ai cũng cho mình quyền xử phạt người khác ở thời đại 4.0 này.

Mình đọc quyển này trong thời gian VN đang bùng dich Covid lần thứ 3, nguyên nhân do 1 tiếp viên hàng không không tuân thủ quy định cách ly. Nhưng việc BN này đang bị cộng đồng mạng bêu rếu, miệt thị lại là giới tính, xu hướng tính dục và ham muốn của anh ta. Sự việc này khiến cho mình thích quyển sách này vô cùng vì nó và mình đều lên án góc tối của mạng xã hội, cách mà góc tối này cướp đi mạng sống của một người dễ dàng như thế nào!

Tối qua đọc xong trong lòng vẫn còn phẫn nộ về vụ việc BN1342 nên tối qua review chỉ đa số là cảm xúc về sự việc ấy.

Nói sâu hơn về tác phẩm, mình đọc cuốn này khá thấy thích thú nữa là vì có liên quan tới IT, công việc của mình hiện tại. Đối với công nghệ 4.0, người điều tra cũng phải dùng công nghệ 4.0 để điều tra. Mặc dù vậy, trong đó có khá nhiều kiến thức về mạng, security mà mình đọc vài lần cũng chưa hiểu lắm dù dân trong nghề nên không biết với những bạn ko trong nghề đọc có bị nản không.

Ngoài ra, quyển sách miêu tả sâu về tâm lý nhân vật, từ đó thấy được góc khuất, mong muốn, khắc khoải của mỗi người là khác nhau, từ đó không ai có thể dựa trên mong muốn của mình mà quyết định là người khác thậm chí người trong gia đình cũng có chung mong muốn với mình.

[Fahri Rasihan · Rating 5 out of 5]

• Judul : Second Sister - Putri Kedua
• Penulis : Chan Ho-Kei
• Penerjemah : Reita Ariyanti
• Penyunting : Ratih Susanty & Anastasia Aemilia
• Penerbit : Gramedia Pustaka Utama
• Terbit : 21 Februari 2021
• Harga : Rp 185.000,-
• Tebal : 632 halaman
• Ukuran : 13.5 × 20 cm
• Cover : Softcover
• ISBN : 9786020646572

"𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘣𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘬𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘪 𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨-𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘩 𝘬𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘫𝘢𝘵𝘪." (hal. 6)

Nga-Yee tidak pernah menyangka jika akan menemukan adiknya dalam kondisi tidak bernyawa selepas pulang bekerja. Saat berjalan pulang menuju apartemennya Nga-Yee melihat orang-orang tengah berkerumun. Ketika mendekati kerumunan tersebut Nga-Yee ditarik oleh tetangganya yang memberitahu Nga-Yee jika adiknya, Siu-Man, tewas karena melompat dari lantai dua puluh apartemen tempat mereka tinggal. Nga-Yee tak percaya jika adiknya bunuh diri. Selama ini Nga-Yee pikir jika kondisi adiknya telah baik-baik saja. Setelah kasus pelecehan seksual yang terjadi pada Siu-Man, Nga-Yee memang sempat khawatir dengan kondisi adiknya itu. Apalagi sebelum kejadian tersebut ibu mereka juga pergi meninggalkan mereka akibat penyakit kanker. Tapi, seiring berjalannya waktu Nga-Yee yakin jika Siu-Man telah pulih dari segala cobaan yang menerpanya. Nga-Yee menyaksikan sendiri jika adiknya bertingkah biasa saja saat ditanyai soal perasaannya. Namun, nyatanya Siu-Man memendam derita dan perih selama ini. Apalagi saat Nga-Yee tahu ada seseorang yang menyudutkan Siu-Man atas kasus pelecehan seksual yang dialaminya.

Setelah menemukan fakta jika Siu-Man bunuh diri akibat dorongan dari seseorang yang mengunggah tulisan di 𝘱𝘰𝘱𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯, Nga-Yee bertekad untuk mencari orang tersebut. 𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘬𝘪𝘵727 menjadi nama pengguna yang menyudutkan Siu-Man di situs daring 𝘱𝘰𝘱𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯. 𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘬𝘪𝘵727 menuduh Siu-Man telah berbohong atas peristiwa pelecehan seksual yang dialaminya. Siu-Man juga dituduh sebagai gadis remaja yang nakal, liar, dan perebut kekasih orang lain. Nga-Yee yang membaca postingan tersebut merasakan dendam dan amarah terhadap 𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘬𝘪𝘵727. Berawal dari informasi rekan kerjanya di perpustakaan, Nga-Yee pada akhirnya menemukan sosok N. N merupakan seorang "detektif" dunia maya yang bisa membantu Nga-Yee menemukan identitas dari 𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘬𝘪𝘵727. Namun, nyatanya N sendiri merupakan pribadi yang congkak dan sulit dimintai pertolongan. Nga-Yee sampai harus menguras habis tabungannya agar N mau membantu menemukan 𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘬𝘪𝘵727. Setelah sepakat N mencoba untuk menelusuri setiap fakta yang ada di dunia maya agar dapat membawanya ke pelaku yang mendorong Siu-Man agar melakukan tindakan bunuh diri. Dapatkah N menemukan 𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘬𝘪𝘵727? Siapa sebenarnya sosok 𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘬𝘪𝘵727 ini?

"𝘚𝘦𝘮𝘶𝘢 𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘺𝘢 𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯. 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘫𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘢𝘶 𝘣𝘪𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘶𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘮𝘶, 𝘬𝘢𝘶 𝘣𝘪𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘯 𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘬𝘢." (hal. 77)

Ini menjadi kali pertama bagi saya membaca novel dari penulis Hong Kong. Bagaimana biasanya literatur Asia yang terbit di Indonesia lebih banyak didominasi dari Jepang dan Korea Selatan. Namun, kali ini Gramedia Pustaka Utama mencoba memperkenalkan penulis Hong Kong kepada para pembaca di Indonesia. Memang sebelum Second Sister, Gramedia Pustaka Utama juga telah menerbitkan The Borrowed dari penulis yang sama, Chan Ho-Kei. Bagi saya tulisan Chan Ho-Kei tidak kalah apik dengan penulis-penulis dari Jepang dan Korea Selatan. Tidak hanya ceritanya yang apik novel ini pun mempunyai 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 buku yang tidak kalah ciamik. 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 buku versi terjemahannya sendiri merupakan karya dari Martin Dima yang memang sudah tidak usah diragukan lagi. Warna hitam dan merah yang mendominasi 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 bukunya seakan menambah kesan misterius dan brutal tentang dunia maya. Ditambah potongan gambar berupa sosok bertudung yang menghadap komputer mewakili N, lalu sosok wanita berkacamata di sebelahnya merupakan Nga-Yee, dan ilustrasi gadis yang sedang memeluk lututnya digambarkan sebagai Siu-Man. Penggambaran tiga tokoh sentralnya ini semakin diperkuat dengan latar kota Hong Kong yang dipenuhi gedung pencakar langit. Sebuah 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 buku yang tidak hanya menarik, tapi juga bisa mewakili isi bukunya.

Second Sister memiliki tema cerita perihal dunia maya atau internet. Bagaimana di dalam dunia maya biasanya sering kali kita temukan orang-orang aneh dan gila yang bisa bersembunyi di balik akun anonim. Seperti Siu-Man yang memutuskan untuk mengakhiri hidupnya setelah ditekan dan diteror oleh seseorang dengan nama 𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘬𝘪𝘵727 yang mengunggah postingan di 𝘱𝘰𝘱𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯 yang menyudutkan Siu-Man. Nga-Yee yang mengetahui fakta di balik kematian Siu-Man bertekad untuk mencari siapa sebenarnya sosok 𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘬𝘪𝘵727. Di bantu seorang peretas bernama N, Nga-Yee berharap bisa mencari keadilan bagi adiknya. Cerita yang tersaji dalam novel ini terasa 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 dengan kehidupan di zaman sekarang. Bagaimana dunia maya seakan menjadi realitas baru bagi kehidupan kita. Nyatanya dunia maya sendiri dapat menjadi tempat yang menakutkan. Ho-Kei sukses menarasikan cerita Nga-Yee dan Siu-Man dengan amat baik. Selain sebagai penulis profesi Ho-Kei sebagai insinyur perangkat lunak pun membuat informasi tentang dunia maya terasa meyakinkan dan menguatkan jalan ceritanya.

Ada dua tokoh utama yang hadir dalam Second Sister, yaitu Nga-Yee dan N. Nga-Yee sendiri adalah kakak dari Siu-Man yang harus banting tulang untuk menghidupi kebutuhan mereka. Setelah ditinggal pergi kedua orangtuanya, Nga-Yee langsung mengambil peran sebagai kepala keluarga. Nga-Yee rela melepas mimpinya asalkan Siu-Man bisa mendapatkan pendidikan hingga jenjang perguruan tinggi. Nga-Yee sendiri berprofesi sebagai pustakawan. Nga-Yee merupakan sosok pekerja keras dan mandiri, tapi sayangnya akibat tuntutan hidup yang mencekik di Hong Kong, Nga-Yee seakan lupa perannya sebagai seorang kakak yang sebenarnya. Selanjutnya ada tokoh N yang mungkin dari namanya saja sudah terdengar misterius. N merupakan seorang peretas yang menggunakan keahliannya membantu orang-orang untuk membalaskan dendam mereka. Namun, saat Nga-Yee datang meminta bantuannya untuk mencari sosok 𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘬𝘪𝘵727, N tidak bisa menolak. N sendiri merupakan pribadi yang congkak, sombong, dan seenaknya. Akan tetapi di balik sifatnya yang menyebalkan itu N tetap memiliki sisi baik di dalam dirinya. Selain dua tokoh ini ada pula tokoh Siu-Man, adik Nga-Yee, yang menjadi benang merah dalam jalan ceritanya. Siu-Man sendiri hanya hadir sepotong-sepotong dari berbagai percakapan dan ingatan yang Nga-Yee miliki. Bagi saya Ho-Kei sukses menghidupkan tokoh-tokohnya. Apalagi di awal cerita pembaca langsung disuguhi latar belakang keluarga Nga-Yee yang memang sudah harus bekerja keras sejak awal. Latar belakang ini penting dan amat berpengaruh pada jalan ceritanya. Menciptakan sesuatu yang terasa dalam dan menyentuh saat pembaca tahu apa yang dialami Nga-Yee selama ini.

Second Sister menggunakan sudut pandang orang ketiga untuk narasi ceritanya. Penggunaan sudut pandang ini terasa tepat karena Ho-Kei bisa memperlihatkan sakit hati dan kehilangan Nga-Yee setelah Siu-Man tewas. Narasi yang ditulis oleh Ho-Kei terasa nyaman untuk dibaca dan diikuti. Apalagi dengan deskripsi dan detail yang luar biasa rinci. Berbagai hal yang dimasukkan dibahas dengan presisi. Mulai dari internet, perlengkapan yang digunakan N untuk meretas, hingga situasi politik yang terjadi di Hong Kong. Semuanya dibahas dengan porsi yang mengenyangkan dan penuh gizi bagi para pembacanya. Ho-Kei tidak hanya asal memasukkan sesuatu dalam jalan ceritanya, tapi ada penjelasan yang mendetail yang turut menyertainya. Hasil terjemahannya pun sangat enak untuk dibaca dengan diksi yang mumpuni. Alur ceritanya mungkin tergolong lambat dan perlahan-lahan, tapi ini bisa dibilang wajar. Ho-Kei seperti tidak ingin instan dalam meramu cerita. Meskipun lambat, namun entah kenapa saya justru malah terbuai karenanya. Mungkin karena semua unsur yang dimasukkan Ho-Kei tidak hanya sekadar jadi pelengkap, tapi malah menjadi pondasi yang menguatkan jalan ceritanya. Latar tempat kota Hong Kong pun terasa hidup dan nyata karena Ho-Kei selalu menyertakan nama tempat dan jalan yang didatangi oleh setiap tokohnya.

Permasalahan yang timbul dalam Second Sister berawal dari kasus pelecehan seksual yang dialami oleh Siu-Man. Kasus tersebut pada akhirnya berbuntut panjang hingga mendorong Siu-Man untuk mengakhiri hidupnya. Nga-Yee yang masih belum rela dengan kepergian adiknya mencoba mencari tahu dalang di balik kematian Siu-Man. Melalui kemampuan N dalam meretas Nga-Yee mencoba untuk mencari identitas orang yang telah membuat Siu-Man melakukan tindakan bunuh diri. Awalnya saya kira konfliknya cuma begitu saja, tapi ternyata konfliknya jauh lebih kompleks dari yang terlihat. Di sini Ho-Kei seakan membelitkan benang kusut dalam konfliknya. Rumit, tapi masih bisa diurai jika kita mau sabar untuk mengikutinya. Ho-Kei sukses menipu pembaca dengan konflik yang luar biasa tidak terduga. Nyatanya ini bukan hanya kasus bunuh diri, pelecehan seksual, dan perundungan, tapi lebih dari itu. Saya teramat menikmati konfliknya yang menuju akhir cerita mulai berbelok arah menuju sesuatu yang tidak terduga. Semuanya terasa masuk akal dan tidak terkesan dipaksakan. Justru Ho-Kei malah menambah intensitas keseruan dalam sebuah konflik yang rumit, tapi di situlah daya tariknya.

Menjadi sebuah pengalaman yang menyenangkan dan mencerahkan saat membaca Second Sister. Di sini saya tidak hanya disuguhi sebuah fiksi yang menarik, tapi ada pengetahuan baru yang saya dapatkan. Mulai dari dunia maya, perangkat komputer, hingga kehidupan masyarakat Hong Kong. Di mana ternyata Hong Kong menjadi tempat yang menyesakkan bagi penduduknya. Biaya hidup yang serba mahal dan harga properti yang selangit seakan menjadi momok yang menakutkan. Saya bisa merasakan alasan Nga-Yee yang harus banting tulang jika ingin tetap bertahan hidup di belantara kota Hong Kong. Selain itu detail-detail yang ada menjadi kelebihan dari novel ini. Detailnya tidak membuat jenuh, tapin sebaliknya menambah rasa penasaran. Banyak sekali pesan yang saya tangkap dari Second Sister. Seperti pelecehan seksual, kejamnya komentar netizen, hingga apa sebenarnya yang kita cari sebagai manusia. Second Sister seakan mengingatkan saya kembali akan dunia maya yang ternyata bisa jauh lebih berbahaya dibandingkan dunia nyata. Saya sangat merekomendasikan buku ini untuk dibaca, khusunya bagi penikmat literatur Asia.

"𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘢 𝘪𝘵𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘩𝘭𝘶𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘩, 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘈𝘶. 𝘉𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘶 𝘬𝘢𝘶 𝘣𝘪𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘬𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘢𝘯, 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘬𝘢 𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘪𝘩 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘢𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘭 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘬𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘪." (hal. 103)

"𝘚𝘦𝘫𝘶𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘺𝘢, 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘪 𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘩 𝘵𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘬 𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘻𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨---𝘵𝘢𝘬 𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘬 𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘱 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘬 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘬𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘮𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘯. 𝘓𝘦𝘣𝘪𝘩 𝘮𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘬 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘫𝘦𝘬, 𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘱, 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘩𝘬𝘢𝘯. 𝘉𝘢𝘩𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘫𝘪𝘬𝘢 𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘩𝘶𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘶 𝘱𝘶𝘯, 𝘬𝘢𝘶 𝘣𝘪𝘴𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘵. 𝘚𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘢 𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘨𝘢𝘱 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘰𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘬 𝘤𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘱 𝘬𝘶𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘬𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘫𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘣. 𝘗𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘩 𝘴𝘦𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘪." (hal. 513)

"𝘖𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨-𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘢𝘬 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘪 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘺𝘪 𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘪𝘧𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘢. 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘬𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘭𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘪 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘶 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘬 𝘥𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘮." (hal. 607)

[Hestia Istiviani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Resensi panjangnya menyusul. Pokoknya ada banyak hal yang ingin aku ceritakan pada khalayak ramai tentang buku ini. Dari narasinya yang enak diikuti, terjemahannya yang layak dapat apresiasi, referensi yang bukan sekadar menyombongkan diri, hingga bagaimana semua detil cerita dijalin dengan rapi.

Chan Ho-Kei masuk daftarku untuk penulis Asia Timur genre thriller/detektif bersama dengan Keigo Higashino, Akiyoshi Rikako, dan Minato Kanae

[T O À N P H A N · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ngoài bản chất vụ án là nêu bật được hệ quả xấu xí và khôn lường của thời đại internet thì tất cả mọi thứ còn lại, từ hình tượng, tính cách, nội tâm nhân vật đến diễn biến, quá trình, bước ngoặt điều tra và kết quả phá án đều nhàm chán, cũ rích, dông dài.
•
Tui cực ghét cái kiểu nhân vật, một là không biết gì nên cứ hay hỏi, hai là biết mọi thứ nên đâm thích nói. Gộp cả anh cả ả lại thì thật đúng mệt mỏi, chỉ mong kết mẹ vụ án cho rồi.

[Trang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lâu lắm mới thức đêm đọc cố 1 quyển truyện đến tận trang cuối cùng. Đọc 1 mạch từ 8h tối đến 2h sáng xong gấp sách lại trong sự mãn nguyện

Cả 2 quyển của Trần Hạo Cơ mình đều rất thích. Có thể vì dòng trinh thám Hongkong này khá là mới mẻ với kinh nghiệm đọc trinh thám của mình. Không biết cuốn này có chuyển thể thành phim không chứ thực sự là plot tiềm năng kinh khủng.

Quyển này đọc thấy gần gũi chân thực hơn 13.67 quá nhiều luôn. Vì thế giới mạng internet bây giờ chắc là cuộc sống song song của hầu hết tất cả mọi người rồi. Highly recommend!!!

[Jessica Woodbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed THE BORROWED but didn't like this one quite as much. Still, it has a solid hook and for readers who enjoy twisty, intricate mysteries.

SECOND SISTER centers on N, who is a Sherlock-ian character, if Sherlock was a hacker. I haven't seen many mysteries that use technology as well as this one does. With that said, the biggest weakness of the book is how much time is spent explaining things to us. Our protagonist, Nga-Yee, has hired N to find who drove her sister to suicide. An average person would need to have most of N's actions explained, but Nga-Yee is practically a luddite, without even a basic understanding of cell phones, so every explanation takes quite some time. I got a little tired of these explanations, but I understand how they are somewhat necessary in a story with this much tech and manipulation of tech. I probably would have warmed to the book more if Nga-Yee wasn't quite so ignorant and isolated, though it's possible we are getting warmed up for a series here with the relationship between the two opposites of N and Nga-Yee at its center, and that could be interesting.

The mystery itself has very satisfying twists and turns, with at least a couple reveals that are well-earned and impressive. Structurally, it's hard to complain, it's meticulously put together.

There is a lot here about suicide, particularly teen suicide. There's also sexual harassment/assault of minors as a major plot point.

Readers who are not used to the somewhat choppy style of Asian crime fiction in translation may be better off starting with THE BORROWED or DEATH NOTICE, or an author like Keigo Higashino (who gets a shout-out in this book!) for books that will be a bit more accessible for those used to English-language crime fiction before moving to this one.

[Hà Khuất · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5
Hụt 5 sao vì nhân vật chính hơi hoàn hảo quá cảm giác l thật lắm :))

[Daniel Portillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

El suicidio de una adolescente acosada a través de la red en la ciudad de Hong Kong, y la reacción de su hermana que intentará encontrar a los culpables, y vengar su muerte, es el punto de partida de esta interesante novela. Chan Ho-Key desarrolla una historia llena de intriga y giros que nos invitará a reflexionar sobre temas importantes y de gran actualidad, como el acoso, la impunidad en la red, la venganza, la culpa, la soledad, las relaciones familiares o las injusticias sociales.

"Pero recuerda que tienes que utilizar bien tu vida. Solamente escuchándote a ti mismo y tomando las decisiones correctas podrá ir limando ese dolor y redimirte La culpa pasará a formar parte de tu ser, y será la prueba de que eres una buena persona."

Hong Kong Hacker es también la excusa ideal para conocer un poquito mejor el funcionamiento de la deep web o los hackers, de las start-ups tecnológicas y de la sociedad y la forma de vida en Hong Kong.

[Pradnya Paramitha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bentar, otakku agak keteteran 😂

Format teka-teki buku ini agak beda sih. Pelakunya dikasih tahu sejak pertengahan buku, tapi aku tetap dibikin penasaran tentang kenapa kenapa dan kenapa. Lalu plot twistnya, astagaaaa 😱

Buku ini penuh informasi soal dunia cyber, teknologi, dan psikologi. Aku penasaran, apa iya ya teknologi yang dipake N ini beneran ada. Kalo iya, ngeri euy, apa yang bisa dilakukan oleh seorang hacker ke hidup seseorang. Bukan cuma sesederhana ngambil serupiah-dua rupiah dari rekening tanpa terdeteksi doang ini sih.

Aku suka hampir keseluruhan buku ini. Bahasanya lugas dan santai. Materinya berat tapi cukup bisa dimengerti, yaaa ... walau tetap banyak aja yg soal IT-IT an yang aku gak paham. Buku ini sekitar 620 halaman, dan anehnya aku nggak pengin buru-buru ngelarin. Aku menikmati baca setiap bagiannya. Padahal biasanya aku ingin cepat-cepat kelar baca buku supaya bisa pindah ke buku lainnya. Lagian plis lah tulung itu interaksi Nga-Yee dan N kocak betul 😂😂 kadang aku kasihan sama Nga-Yee pas dibego-begoin sama N, tapi aku takjub juga saat N yang dewa banget itu bisa dengan sabar nerangin satu per satu ke Nga-Yee yang "gak tahu apa-apa" itu 😂

Tadi kubilang hampir suka semuanya, ya. Ada satu bagian yang aku gak suka dan bikin bintangnya berkurang satu, yaitu penjelasan di bagian-bagian akhir. Yang tentang apa dan bagaimana N melakukan misinya. Telling banget. Meskipun tetap ngalir dan mudah diikuti, rasanya kayak cuma lagi dengerin cerita teman. Jadi kurang seru gitu yaaa ~~

Oh ya, aku juga bingung bagian Christopher Song itu fungsinya apa.

Sedih sih pas digambarkan bagaimana perlakuan orang-orang ke Siu-Man sebagai korban pelecehan seksual. Makin sedih, karena emang begitulah kebanyakan yang sering terjadi di dunia nyata :((

Oh satu lagi. Yang jelas, dari N ini, aku menyimpulkan, orang kalo udah kebanyakan duit emang suka ngelakuin yang aneh-aneh. Wkwk. Yah, gimana lagi? Dia kan sudah bosan foya-foya dan punya banyak waktu luang karena nggak perlu mikirin tanggal gajian dan tagihan kartu kredit 😂

[rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trời ơi!!!!!!! Không thể nào mà không cho em nó 10 điểm được ạ. Đây là cuốn đứng top 1 năm nay của mình luôn ạ huhu.
Đan chồng đan, chéo chồng chéo, tất cả đi từ bất ngờ này tới bất ngờ khác, hết từ sự lật mở này đến lật mở khác. Mình bị quay như chong chóng ở những trang cuối, đọc liền tù tì và kết thúc trong sự mãn nguyện cực kì luôn ấy. Thực sự rất hay và hài lòng, đồ sộ, nhiều kiến thức chuyên môn về công nghệ nhưng chẳng hề nhàm chán chút nào. Mình thực sự tự hỏi sao mình đã không đọc em nó sớm hơn luôn ấy.
Mình không quá mong chờ nhiều khi mới lật giở những trang đầu, nhưng càng về sau, mình càng bị cuốn hút theo mạch truyện, càng bị lôi kéo đi không dừng nổi....Và lúc này đây, mình thấy thực sự hài lòng. Cuốn đầu trải nghiệm của Chan Ho Kei, thực sự đã lên kệ thêm vài cuốn nữa rồi. Thực sự highly recommend cuốn này luônnnnn.
Một điều nho nhỏ là ship một OTP Nem với Di ạ, mấy trang cuối mà quắn quéo luôn =)))
Không những kiến thức chuyên môn về công nghệ sâu rộng mà cả kiến thức sách của tác giả đồ sộ thật: Minato Kanae, Higashino Keigo rồi Conan nữa...
Rate 5/5.

[Sulhan Habibi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mengapa 5 bintang?

1. Kasusnya tidak sesederhana yang aku bayangkan sebelumnya.

2. Gaya bercerita yang bagus sekali.

3. Tema yang cukup berat namun disampaikan dengan lugas jadi gampang dipahami. Apalagi tentang dunia internet, plus dan minusnya.

4. Karakter N yang eksentrik dan diimbangi oleh Nga-Yee yang polos namun kadang punya analisis yang bagus.

5. Karena lebih fokus sama ceritanya maka secara tidak sadar aku dikecoh.

6. Beberapa kosakata baru yang dipakai oleh penerjemah. Menarik mencari tahu banyak akan kosakata ini.

Ya itu lah kurang lebihnya. Walaupun ada beberapa salah ketik yang cukup "mengganggu" (dan ngeselin) masih tidak mengurangi bintang untuk buku ini. Pembulatan ke bintang 5.

[hans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly incredible! I got hooked from the prologue till the end. Nerve-racking and thrilling. Really fancy the idea of mixing both online abuse/bullying with paedophilia and suicidal-- heavy and triggering, but the author really did well in constructing his whole idea thoroughly and compelling.

I am starstruck with N, like really how can he be so bold and indifferent but helpful and admirable all at once? His tech abilities and secrecy tactics were absolutely cunning. From the start I know he would take the case and I didn't expect him to be 'that' meticulous and prepared but all the way through finding the culprit to revenge and exposing the real sexual harasser were perfectly executed and planned, I'm in awe.

A mind-twisting narrative that I've been manipulated by the author too on Rat and N's real character. The term of 'sexual predators' on the blurb also caught my attention so I've been waiting for the plot to tell me a story about the predator without realising that I've been reading about the predator since from the beginning, how crafty the author fools me!

It was quite heart-wrenching after knowing the real story behind both story of Siu Man and Little Seven but this whole plot really taught me a great life lesson.

"...human beings naturally love expressing their opinions more than they want to understand other people. We always talk too much and listen too little, which is why the world is so noisy."

Love its fast-paced and excitement-- watching Little Seven and Rat to reap what they sow, having the abuser gets humiliated, Nga Yee realisation about her whole intention, N of keeping his real identity unrevealed and Ducky you need a shout out!

On extra note, I like how the author made the two scenarios on how an adult could manipulate little kids and misuse them-- from the sexual abuser side as well as the Rat. Being an adult you should be the one that protecting the kids, teaching them the good and bad; not harassing, threatening or helping them to do more damage and ruining their life. It making me sad thinking how Siu Man ended her life also Little Seven to carry the burden of the aftermath.

A great cyber crime and psychological plot. A probably my favorite book of this month! Thanks to Pansing Distribution for sending me a copy of this book in return of an honest review 💛

[Claire Vu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75/5
Video review hệ #KhôngSpoil ở đây: https://youtu.be/3o40JvI2fGs

Vẫn thấy phảng phất bóng dáng của 13.67, nhất là ở cách thức "thực thi công lý" và cách xây dựng hình tượng người thực thi công lý. Cụ thể hơn, Nem - nhân vật thám tử điều tra của Người trong lưới - giống với Quan Chấn Đạc của 13.67 ở chỗ: Họ tài giỏi, và họ luôn đi trên làn ranh mỏng giữa trắng và đen. Họ giống như cách nhân vật Sherlock Holmes (bản BBC do Benedict Cumberbatch thủ vai) nói về chính mình:

I may be on the side of the angels but don't think for one second that I am one of them (Tôi có thể đứng cùng phe với bên thiện, nhưng đừng bao giờ nghĩ tôi là một người thiện).

Qua Người Trong Lưới, mình càng có thể khẳng định Trần Hạo Cơ rất nhất quán trong quan điểm. Những thông điệp đã từng xuất hiện ở 13.67 lại xuất hiện trong cuốn này; ví dụ như Con người ta sống tốt hơn bởi những cắn rứt về sai lầm trong quá khứ nhắc nhở chúng ta ko được phạm sai lầm tương tự. Nhờ vậy, mình càng thêm yêu quý và nể phục tác giả. Ông cũng bỏ rất nhiều tâm huyết và nghiên cứu để viết nên cuốn sách này. Lấy bối cảnh thời hiện đại nên Trần Hạo Cơ đã bỏ công tìm hiểu để đưa vào truyện các trend giải trí (ban nhạc One Direction) hay ngôn ngữ "trẻ trâu" của người dùng trên mạng (à, phải khen cả phần dịch có tâm của IPM nữa, good job as always). Và thú vị hơn khi thấy tác giả nhắc đến các tác phẩm của đồng nghiệp như Minato Kanae hay Keigo Higashino. Đó không phải một sự điểm mặt gọi tên đơn thuần, mà mỗi tác phẩm được nhắc đến đều đóng vai trò như một chiếc răng cưa trong mắt xích câu chuyện Người Trong Lưới (dù rất nhỏ thôi).

Người Trong Lưới không có sức công phá kinh khủng như 13.67; nhưng cũng nhờ vậy mà dễ đọc hơn rất nhiều. Truyện thực ra hơi rườm rà, và mình cũng ko thích cách tác giả buff nhân vật chính quá vậy. Nó còn thiếu thực tế hơn sự tài ba, lỗi lạc của Quan Chấn Đạc, nếu ko muốn nói là hơi...soái ca ngôn tình.

Nhưng chẳng phải, giữa cuộc sống đầy rẫy bất công này, thi thoảng chúng ta cũng cần được ru ngủ bằng câu chuyện cổ tích về một thiên tài đứng về phía người dân thấp cổ bé họng? Người Trong Lưới đã làm được điều đấy.

[Katherine 黄爱芬 · Rating 5 out of 5]

✯✯✯✯✯ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 ✯✯✯✯✯

Sbg kakak yg sangat sayang pd adiknya dan kebetulan satu-satunya anggota keluarganya yg masih hidup, Nga-Yee sangat terpukul dgn kematian bunuh diri adiknya, Siu-Man yg masih remaja berusia nyaris 15 thn. Nga-Yee mencari detektif tapi malah mendapatkan peretas yg eksentrik, gak sopan dan tidak berperasaan yg mendapat julukan N, singkatan dari Nemesis. N ini laksana Zhuge Liang versi abad 21 dgn jurus man-in-the-middle attack yg mematikan.

Author sangat detil dlm pemaparan ttg internet dan kecanggihan alat-alat cyber yg dimiliki oleh N. Krn saya notabene gaptek, saya agak abaikan bagian-bagian penjelasan ttg internet ini. Tapi yg membuat saya tercengang dan kagum adalah kemampuan N dlm menilai seseorang hanya dlm sekali pertemuan (khas INTJ sih).

Isu-isu sosial dan psikologi terutama di kalangan remaja dibahas sangat ciamik dgn tanpa menggurui sama sekali. Di novel ini setiap orang punya karakternya sendiri yg unik bahkan tersangkanya juga gak dinyana. Tapi saya paling suka dgn jebakan yg dibuat N, lebih spt Hukum Hammurabi, mata dibalas mata, kejahatan dibalas dgn kejahatan. Begitu pula isu soal balas dendam, Nga-Yee terbukti heroine yg strong dan menderita tapi gak sampai punya luka batin yg membusuk. Setiap orang berhak move on dari masa lalunya dan memulai hidup baru yg baik.

Jangan sampai ada Siu-Man Siu-Man yg kesepian, berkutat sendiri pada masalahnya. Menjerit minta tolong hanya dlm hati dan sangat sukar mencurahkan perasaannya.

[Taufiq Yves · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me over a month to finish reading this book. Initially, I thought the first half was trash, so the second half should have some brilliant reasoning. However, I found the ending to be just as bad. I initially thought this might be Chan Ho-Kei’s debut novel (as it seemed like he was honing his writing skills in this book), so I could be forgiving. But after reading the afterword, I realized it wasn't his debut work.

The story begins with the suicide of a teenage girl named Siu-Man, and revolves around her and her family's lives. To uncover the truth behind Siu-Man's suicide, her sister Nga-Yee seeks help from "hacker detective" N. As the investigation progresses, more truths and the darkness behind them slowly emerge, far surpassing Nga-Yee's imagination. How should Nga-Yee face this reality?

The novel successfully depicts many common issues in contemporary society (both in Hong Kong and mainland China), such as inadequate legal systems, cyberbullying, school bullying, and child abuse. The most prominent issue highlighted is cyberbullying.

However, the character development in this book is extremely poor and flat, likely due to the male author's perspective. Nga-Yee lacks any charm. Even if she were just a tool to ask readers questions, it underestimates the readers' comprehension abilities. She doesn't come to life at all. She keeps saying "I love my sister very much" or "I'm very rational” but her actions contradict these statements. Additionally, N, who is deified by Chan, becomes more confusing as the story progresses. He is portrayed as the light of humanity, a muse, a masterpiece of creation, yet I still can't understand his actions.

Chan, with a computer science background, probably wanted to promote his field through this novel. But all the settings are dramatically exaggerated: Nga-Yee in her twenties is clueless about modern technology (even in 2014, alipay wasn't that unfamiliar). He over-glorifies the hacker profession (most are just regular programmers), and N loves to lecture too much. Chan forcefully conveys his thoughts through N.

If it weren't for the excessive lecturing, Chan’s writing style does resemble Keigo Higashino. Maybe because many similar stories have been written before, the plot and dialogues often felt like a patchwork. The beginning and ending were extremely painful to read (I don't fast-forward), and the middle had a few surprising moments when N was busy with work (though enduring the sweet but naive Nga-Yee’s endless chatter was tough). There are some creative points integrating network technology, but the story ultimately devolves into a cliché domineering CEO and loyal servant romance.

Overall, this book has been overrated as a representative of detective novels.

2.3 / 5 stars

[Trần Hoài · Rating 4 out of 5]

Đọc liền tù tì trong 2 ngày cuối tuần bỏ ăn bỏ ngủ vì quá quá BÁNH CUỐN!!!!
Đọc xong cảm thấy Internet vừa là thứ thân thuộc nhất vừa là thứ khiến mình sợ hãi nhất. Vì thực ra con người chúng ta đúng là đang In the net

[Jose Cortés · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se trata de un thriller en el que la trama te va atrapando conforme vas leyendo y no te das cuenta de lo inmerso que estás en la historia hasta que miras por la ventana y ves que acaba de amanecer. Hacía tiempo que no me pasaba eso con un libro y es una sensación que me encanta.

La historia va poco a poco desgranándose, agrandando esa bola contextualizadora que hace que el detonante inicial, lo que parece fundamental en la historia, sólo sea la punta del iceberg de lo que está por descubrirnos esta lectura apasionante, emocionante, llena de agilidad y tensión.

Al comienzo de la historia, una persona se suicida. La presentación de este hecho ocurre de una manera tan rápida, precipitada quizás, que no da tiempo a empatizar con la víctima, ni con su familia. El autor nos presenta un recurso que volverá a usar varias veces en la novela y que a mí me ha encantado. Partiendo de ese hecho tan impactante, pero que pasa sólo como anécdota, vuelve atrás en el tiempo y va desgranando poco a poco, contextualizando, hasta desembocar en el suicidio de tal manera, que aún sabiendo hacia dónde vamos, consigue impactar de una forma profunda y te desgarra, te emociona, hace que aflore en el lector todo lo que estaba latente, pero el primer contacto con la desgracia no había conseguido.

Con este tipo de recurso, consigue jugar con las sensaciones, los pensamientos y las emociones del lector. En primer lugar te presenta una escena, una acción o incluso un hilo de la trama, del que sin lugar a dudas sacas tus propias conclusiones. A continuación va desarrollando todo el contexto que lleva a la resolución de dicho hilo, de tal manera, que todo lo que has sentido o juzgado con anterioridad con respecto a ese suceso, cambia o se transforma, golpeándote y haciéndote pensar que has sacado unas conclusiones precipitadas.

Creo que uno de los objetivos de esta novela es ese mismo, reivindicar el hecho de que en la era de la información, realmente lo que nos llega como usuarios de las tecnologías es información sesgada y nos dejamos llevar para sacar unas conclusiones precipitadas, que si se hubieran formado contando con todos los puntos que conforman los hechos expuestos a la información, serían distintas totalmente.

También me ha gustado el recurso que utiliza para explicar el proceso detectivesco y no es otro que el mismo que ya usaba Sir Arthur Conan Doyle en sus novelas de Sherlock Holmes, tener a un personaje que acompaña al investigador que expone sus teorías y necesita ser instruído en el desarrollo de la investigación. Digamos que uno de los personajes actúa como lector, con sus dudas, sus preguntas, sus inocentes conclusiones y otro personaje actúa de escritor, desarrollando la trama, la investigación, explicando el proceso deductivo, de tal manera, que sin darnos cuenta nos encontramos totalmente inundados por la intriga y envueltos en las páginas del libro.

La única pega que le pongo a este libro es que la parte central de la historia, para mi gusto,  se extiende demasiado, pudiendo hacer que el lector pierda interés por la trama. Durante la lectura de esta parte ha habido momentos en los que he sentido que la historia era simple y que no me aportaba la intriga que le pido a este tipo de libros, porque el desenlace se sabe… o creemos que se sabe.

Una trama, teóricamente simple, de venganza, se convierte en toda una apología de la justicia, del derecho a la intimidad y la veracidad de la información.

Muy recomendable.

[Yeon · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Mạng Internet chưa bao giờ là vấn đề, con người chúng ta mới là vấn đề."

"Loại người tự cho mình là hiện thân chính nghĩa, bênh vực kẻ yếu, nhưng thực chất chỉ là đồ hoang tưởng, chuyên đạo đức mồm, đòi diệt trừ tất cả những ai không hợp ý mình."

"Các người đều là hung-thủ-giết-người."

"Mấy thằng lúc nào cũng to mồm lôi chính nghĩa ra khè nhau đều là mấy thằng hãm hèn nhát."

Tim mình quặn thắt khi đọc câu chuyện này. Mình biết bạo lực mạng rất kinh khủng, bản thân mình đọc những comment chửi idol mình thôi đã đủ khiến mình khó chịu rồi, nói gì tới chính chủ phải chịu đựng điều đó mỗi ngày. Khi đọc "Người trong lưới", mình chợt nghĩ đến anh Chiến hồi AO3 hay vụ Karina của Aespa, chợt nghĩ đến một sáng họ tỉnh dậy, đập vào mặt là tấn phỉ nhổ của thế gian, và nhận ra cơn ác mộng chỉ mới bắt đầu. Những kẻ xông vào mắng chửi họ không hề quan tâm tính xác thực của thông tin, chúng chỉ cần một tấm lưới để có thể thoả mãn tâm lý cắn xé của mình. Chúng mặc nhiên nghĩ đấy là quyền tự do ngôn luận, thậm chí còn trù ẻo người ta chết đi.

Cô bé trong truyện đã không vượt qua được, nhưng vẫn có người nguyện bán đi linh hồn để giúp em tìm lại chân tướng.

Còn những người từng bỏ mình vì bạo lực mạng ngoài đời, có ai thay họ tìm lại chân tướng không? Hay chỉ chậc một tiếng xót thương, rồi để thời gian phủ mờ tất cả?

Chúng ta đều là hung thủ giết người, chỉ là không cầm dao trực tiếp đâm chết mà thôi.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC

[H Linh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Đỉnh thiệt â.

[Mizuki]

Premise: Nga-Yee’s 15 years old younger sister Siu-Man, committed suicide after she was cyber-bullied on the internet and publicly framed as a lying slut. Nga-Yee could not believe the girl killed herself and she hired/enlisted the help of a mysterious hacker called 'N' to find out who was beyond the cyberbullying scheme.

Was the girl's death just a case of bullying among students going too far, or was it something buried deeper?

”Revenge isn’t a Pot Noodle.”

(1) Second Sister has a solidly written story, the author seemingly had done his homework and when he wrote the process of an investigation, internet chatrooms and how people behave in those chats, the characters behaved like they knew what they were doing.

(2) There are two plot lines in the story and following two sets of MCs, I wonder how they will come together in the end.

(3) Man, but this N guy is plain unlikable, but I admit the author had described him well when N was on the job.

(4) I found it hard to believe that Nga-Yee, a 20-something grown woman with a normal office job in the public library can be so uninformed about the basic internet technology.

(5) To be fair, N’s well designed plan for revenge makes sense.

(6) I think the translator did a very good job. He got the vibes of the different characters, the mood of the general public, and Hong Kong as a city perfectly,

(7) I really enjoyed reading about Nga- Yee family back story and the hardship her parents and the pair of sisters faced, it feels down to earth, upsetting and realistic, filled with the real life vibe.

(8) And I do like the ending!

[Helen Pakpahan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is SO slow - I cant understand how anyone has rated this higher. Characters are one-dimensional, there are pages and pages of 'explaining what an IP address is or what a smart phone is' (is he writing for people in another century?) And the translation is SO clunky, with weird use of vocabulary eg. Use of word 'ass' by older female character and teenager described as spiffingly dressed.

I read a lot of fiction including a lot of Asian contemporary writing and crime genre- but this is dire - its a shame as set up was good and it looked like it might have had potential but it needed significantly better editing (at least 50% cut in waffle)and re-profiling of main characters so they arent so flat.

[Marochka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Отличная книга, мне очень понравилось!
Обожаю читать про хакеров и умных людей, которые, в итоге, всех перехитрят. «Игры разума» - это прямо для меня. Все здесь так непросто и запутано. Даже китайские имена, которые, конечно, ну очень сложные, и огромный размер книги не отвлекали меня от сюжета.
Да, в том, что касается Чон-Нама… вот это поворот так поворот. У меня даже мысли не было, что все вот так окажется (про его личность). Поначалу я была в таком шоке, что сначала думала, что как-то не так все поняла (ну, еще бы: считать персонажа книги одним человеком, а он оказывается совершенно другим). Потом осознала, что поняла все так, просто меня откровенно обманули. Автор будто смеялся надо мной: «Ты сама так решила. Где я говорил, что Чон-Нам – брат Виолет? Я просто говорил, что его видели с какой-то девочкой, которую он назвал сестрой. Я просто говорил, что он кому-то звонил ночью, а Виолет тогда же звонил брат, пока она спала. Я просто говорил, что Чон-Нам и брат Виолет – компьютерщики и много работают».
Я прямо серьезно почувствовала себя обманутой и обиженной. Но потом я с этим смирилась и решила, что, раз автору удалось так меня удивить (меня, которой все детективы кажутся очень предсказуемыми), надо просто отдать ему должное. Это было круто!
Эн, конечно, сборная солянка всех грубых хакеров-одиночек. В нем есть и привкус Эла (ну, тут N, там L) из «Тетради смерти», и душок Ё-Уль из «Искаженного города», и даже нотки Кён-Су из «Хранителей» (видимо, из-за того, что автор – китаец, вспомнились мне только азиатские фильмы, аниме и сериалы).
Да, сначала Эн мне не особо нравился из-за его грубости, но потом я полюбила парня за ум и хитрость. Это мне в героях больше всего всегда нравится.
В общем, весьма необычная книга со смыслом. Много из-за чего мне пришлось задуматься, пока я ее читала. А пару раз даже всплакнуть (например, когда Нга-И попал в руки дневник Сяо-Ман, и она поняла, насколько ее сестра была одинокой, как на нее давил мир, и даже то, что она, оказывается, была лесбиянкой, влюбленной в подругу-гомофобку).

[Bella Azam · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK. This book sealed the deal for me 🤌. Second Sister is not just a crime book, its a commentary on cyberbullying, on the age of the internet, human's evillness behind their online persona, injustice faced by the weak, its everything and so much more. its infuriating, disturbing, maddening. It enraged & angered me so much by these predators took advantage of the weak. Despite the long chapters & overload of information, this book managed to deliver one of the greatest crime thriller book. Its revenge, vigilante justice
on the hands of an equally morally grey character N, an imposing man, genius, cunning, foulmouthed yet he has an empath side to him that he hides carefully. I appreciated the pace of the story with careful plot twist & reveals

[Tuan Pham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quyển này hay và ý nghĩa quá nên chưa thể viết review xứng đáng nên chưa viết.

[Sirene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bei Kriminalromanen haben ich einen sehr eigenwilligen Geschmack, würde ich sagen. Es ist selten klassisch oder Mainstream und so bin ich auf den Krimi von Chan Ho-Kei gestoßen.
Bei dem Buch handelt es sich um einen Mix aus Detektivstory, Cyberthriller und Gesellschaftsroman.

Der chinesische Autor erzählt zunächst die Geschichte einer Familie, die vom Unglück gezeichnet ist und deren Kinder, zwei Töchter, früh zu Vollwaisen werden. Dabei gibt es viele Andeutungen zu Problemen in der Gesellschaft und das behält der Autor auch im Laufe des Buches bei. Was bedeutet, dass man schnell einen Blick für das derzeitige Hong Kong bekommt, wo der Roman spielt.
An der Stelle haben wir den Gesellschaftsroman über China und weiter geht es mit dem detektivischen Teil: Siu-Man beginnt Selbstmord zu Beginn des Buches und ihre Schwester Nga-Yee ist sich sicher, dass mehr hinter der Sache steckt und möchte Ermittlungen in die Wege leiten.
Ohne Beweise natürlich schwer, daher engagiert sie den Hacker N. So kommen wir zum Cyberthriller und einem sehr eigenwilligen “Helden”. Ein exzentrischer Einsiedler, der nur einen Fall annimmt, wenn er interessant genug ist. Und siehe da, er nimmt ihn an… und es stellt sich die Frage, was ist an einem vermutlichen Selbstmord so interessant?

Der Roman ist mit seinen fast 600 Seiten wahrlich nicht schlank und als ich es in den Händen hielt, hatte mich die Wucht zunächst auf Abstand gehalten. Als ich jedoch die ersten paar Kapitel gelesen hatte, war ich so tief in der Geschichte drinnen, dass die Seiten sich von selbst haben blättern lassen. Und auch wenn ich es mal zur Seite gelegt hatte, so musste ich immer wieder an die Charaktere denken. Ich wollte wissen, was das Geheimnis ist.
Der Clou an der Sache ist, immer wenn ich dachte “Ich weiß es, es ist so offensichtlich was hier passiert.”, kam eine Wendung. Immer wieder. Und wieder.
Daher packt einen das Buch, trotz vielen Seiten, unaufhörlich und kaum hat man sich versehen, ist man am Ende und hofft, dass der Autor doch bitte ein weiteres Buch über dieses Traumpaar schreibt.

Sprachlich gesehen ist der Kriminalroman hier ein Volltreffer (Übersetzerin: Sabine Längsfeld), da es leicht zu lesen ist, trotz allem ein gewisses Niveau zeigt und die Exkurse in die Cyberkriminalität waren interessant. Wobei ich da nicht immer sehr aufmerksam mitgelesen hatte. An sich waren sie sehr zugänglich geschrieben, der Autor gab sich viel Mühe, bzw. Ermittler N gab sich viel Mühe der unbedarften Nga-Yee, die Dinge zu erklären, die er tut. Mich interessierte das jedoch nur bis zu einen gewissen Grad. Womöglich könnte ich den Buch einen Punkt abziehen, weil die Erklärungen teilweise tief, aber das kann jemand anderen erst recht gefallen.

Neben der wendungsreichen Geschichte, waren die Charaktere ebenso aufregend, besonders unser zynischer Ermittler N. Ich konnte ihn mir schon nach wenigen Beschreibungen und Dialogen ganz genau vorstellen.
Der Autor zeichnet seine Figuren nämlich sehr treffend, sodass sich bei mir schnell ein Kopfkino abspielte. Es tauchen noch zahlreiche weitere Personen im Laufe der Handlung auf, die ebenso gut dargestellt werden und mit jeder Seite fühlt sich die Tragweite von Siu-Mans Selbstmord oder Mord?

Der Kriminalroman von Ho-Kei kommt auf jeden Fall zu meinen TOP 10 Büchern aus dem Jahr 2021 und ich freue mich schon auf weitere Bücher von ihm. Seinen anderen Roman “Das Auge von Hong Kong” habe ich schon bestellt!

Eine aufregende Detektivgeschichte mit modernen Hacker-Szenario aus dem lebendigen und dich besiedelten Hongkong. Ein eigenbrötlerischer Ermittler mit unglaublichen Fähigkeiten und eine Frau, die mit Technik wenig am Hut, aber das Herz am rechten Fleck und ihn ergänzt!
Gemixt wird alles mit einer guten Portion kritischen Gesellschaftsblick auf Hongkong, modernen Themen, Problemen und Ironie! Ein richtiger Genuss!