血腥謀殺：朱利安．西蒙斯寫給新手與鐵粉的推理文學聖經

by Julian Symons, 劉韋廷 (Translator), 朱利安‧西蒙斯

　　◎賦予偵探小說新的時空定位：
　　西蒙斯的導航橫跨三個世紀，從古代典籍開始爬梳偵探小說源頭，清楚勾勒重點創作者的寫作背景，以及作品與讀者之間的關係，為偵探小說找到嶄新文學定位。

　　◎彙集上百位偵探小說名家：
　　愛倫．坡、狄更斯、柯林斯、柯南．道爾、克莉斯蒂、榭爾絲、范達因、卡爾、昆恩、錢德勒、西默農、鐵伊、P. D. 詹姆絲⋯⋯等接連出場，陣容堅強。

　　◎雙重視野，讀出大師名作不同樂趣：
　　從評論者角度，剖析情節構思、角色刻畫及創作手法，也從單純粉絲角度，分享解謎與閱讀心得，兼顧客觀評價與主觀感受。

　　◎最受推崇的推理文學聖經：
　　1972年出版後，作者親自修訂三次，是推理文學愛好者及研究者的必備聖經。跟著書中介紹的作品，即可輕鬆拓展閱讀領域，迅速累積推理小說重點知識。

Genres: Nonfiction, Mystery, History, Literary Criticism, Books About Books, Crime, Reference

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Julian Gustave Symons is primarily remembered as a master of the art of crime writing. However, in his eighty-two years he produced an enormously varied body of work. Social and military history, biography and criticism were all subjects he touched upon with remarkable success, and he held a distinguished reputation in each field.

His novels were consistently highly individual and expertly crafted, raising him above other crime writers of his day. It is for this that he was awarded various prizes, and, in 1982, named as Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America - an honour accorded to only three other English writers before him: Graham Greene, Eric Ambler and Daphne Du Maurier. He succeeded Agatha Christie as the president of Britain's Detection Club, a position he held from 1976 to 1985, and in 1990 he was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the British Crime Writer.

Symons held a number of positions prior to becoming a full-time writer including secretary to an engineering company and advertising copywriter and executive. It was after the end of World War II that he became a free-lance writer and book reviewer and from 1946 to 1956 he wrote a weekly column entitled "Life, People - and Books" for the Manchester Evening News. During the 1950s he was also a regular contributor to Tribune, a left-wing weekly, serving as its literary editor.

He founded and edited 'Twentieth Century Verse', an important little magazine that flourished from 1937 to 1939 and he introduced many young English poets to the public. He has also published two volumes of his own poetry entitled 'Confusions about X', 1939, and 'The Second Man', 1944.

He wrote hie first detective novel, 'The Immaterial Murder Case', long before it was first published in 1945 and this was followed in 1947 by a rare volume entitled 'A Man Called Jones' that features for the first time Inspector Bland, who also appeared in Bland Beginning.

These novles were followed by a whole host of detective novels and he has also written many short stories that were regularly published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. In additin there are two British paperback collections of his short stories, Murder! Murder! and Francis Quarles Investigates, which were published in 1961 and 1965 resepctively.

Reviews

[Christmas Carol ꧁꧂ · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know you are not enjoying a book when...

☛ You have been reading it for over two months & you still haven't reached the halfway mark.

☛ You go to update your reading progress on Goodreads & it shows you are already up to Page 166. That's right - so uninterested that I have read several pages twice with no memory of it.

Very opinionated and books mentioned in the first few chapters were liberally sprayed with spoilers.

This book is not for me.

[二六 侯 · Rating 3 out of 5]

鉅細靡遺，但主觀意識太強。還是喜歡PD詹姆斯來談這個文類。

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finding anyone who has taken the time to write about the literary quality of crime fiction is so difficult that Symons gets four stars just for being willing to share his thoughts.

He performs great service first by sorting out the great stylists from the Humdrums and second by admiring crime fiction without getting it confused with Tolstoy.

Criticism has the opportunity to do much more than just provide a TBR list. It can help clarify the way we understand a book and guide us toward where the riches are. Symons appreciation of The Maltese Falcon focuses on the character descriptions with a wonderful excerpt about Casper Gutman. He differentiates between the way Sherlock Holmes eccentricities grow out of his character and the way that subsequent generations of detectives have had eccentricities instead of character. If you have read what passes for criticism in most detective books, Symons is a refreshing change.

Unfortunately, he somehow felt a need to review every major writer through the 1980s, and this results in a lot of minor figures -- minor at least to me -- like Shelly Smith who wrote The Lord Have Mercy fifty years ago, using "the conventional background of English Village life, the Conservative dance, Dr. Bernardo's fete, little dinner parties to show the worms of hatred and frustration working away under the surface." On the plus side, it allows him to announce that he will not comment on Robert Ludlum since he never managed to finish one of Ludlum's books.

From a broader perspective, I wish he had talked in more detail about a few of the major styles like the puzzle mystery. It is easy to dismiss this approach as nothing more than a glorified crossword puzzle with stick figures as he does some times. Still the unraveling of the puzzle itself can imply much more about how people interact than just a surprise to entertain.

The book also has a lot of odds and ends like descriptions of mysteries by Gypsy Rose Lee and CP Snow. Does any of that really matter? I want to know more about the structure of mysteries and how they develop. Unfortunately Symons is gone, and we need to look elsewhere for answers.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

An idiosyncratic, opinionated, and gloriously readable survey of crime fiction from its beginnings up to the present day ( which apparently is 1993). Seriously, though somewhat out of date, Symons' book is erudite, critical, and consistent in its application of literary standards to a genre that often lacked them. Mr Symons is particularly insightful in his commentary on both Arthur Conan Doyle and Dashiell Hammett, and gives as good an analysis of Simeon as I have ever read. The chapter on the spy story is also quite good.

[Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A literary guide and critique of Detective fiction writing

If you are seeking a well written and comprehensive guide to mystery writing this may be the best in a limited field.

The books strengths lie in it's comprehensive treatment of the mystery genre. In particular it is a gold mine of mystery writers for you to consider from Poe to Rendell. Be warned however if your interest is strictly with current mystery writers, this book was last published in the 90's.

Personally, I found the book a great aide for filling out a mystery wish-list. And for me, I now consider my wish-list to be adequately stocked at least a decade or more. Be warned however, the author is opinionated, but then the point of the book is to offer opinions, good and bad, so, if some of your favourite authors are slighted, take it with a grain of salt. Symons states from the beginning that the opinions he expresses are strictly his own and he does not pretend to be the final word on the literary merits of the mystery/crime genre.

If I had a complaint, which I do of course, it would be the organization of the book. He starts with a pretty straight forward chronological approach starting with Poe and Collins and working his way through the early classic period, Holmes and Co., Golden Age, Pulp etc., but then he throws in chapters like "Big producers and big sellers, curiosities and singletons" or "A short history of the spy novel". While these chapters are enjoyable they seemed to take the book from a linear disciplined historical approach to more of a hodgepodge of opinions and curiosities. I thought the content valid but would have been better suited within the chronological framework rather than having discussions of people like Edgar Wallace, Mickey Spillane and Martin Cruz Smith's "Gorky Park" lumped together in a single chapter.

Despite some short comings with the construction, I found it overall a very interesting and worthwhile book for anybody with a deep interest in the mystery/crime genre.

[Nathanael Booth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the big histories of the genre, right? Big, not in the sense of size but in that Symons was a long-active critic who hands down judgments on the various books and authors covered. It’s also relentlessly idiosyncratic, with Symons delivering a teleological/evolutionary reading [implicit in the subtitle itself]. He is not unsympathetic to much of the early stuff in the genre, but it’s clear he thinks of it as lesser.

Which brings us to the real problem with this book—its reflexive devotion to unexamined and undefined standards of what constitutes “good” literature versus what constitutes “not-literature.” Crime stories, says Symons, are capable of being good literature, but they can never become great—why? Because Symons says so!

All the same—and for all that Symons’ discussion is woefully limited—Bloody Murder is an adequate survey of the development of crime fiction, and a worthwhile companion to Haycraft’s more comprehensive history.

[Olavo Soares · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a remarkable book. By far the best and most comprehensive story of the genre of mystery novels that I have ever seen. This book is also a unique source of further readings on the subject, as Mr Symons provides us with great reviews about the most significant books and authors. It is not a cold treatise, because the author's opinions are given in a rather personal and informal way. "Bloody Murder" will provide material for my reading projects on mystery for many years.

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

唐诺那本《那时没有王》有点这本的影子，不过《那时》是按作者和作品逐篇讲过去的，朱利安·西蒙斯的这本更系统也更学术风。

不过，坦白说，这本书的译文风格和排版，都很累心……校对也不是很仔细的样子，有好几处的注释序号都标错了（这本书里有非常，非常多的注释）。把脚注移到页边栏这种排版，乍一看还挺新鲜的，看久了（这本书还比较厚）会眼花，再加上译文的风格有点干巴巴的（不知道是原文就这风格还是怎样），到了中后部分真的很容易走神。

这本书从侦探小说的概念讲起，从最早的雏形作品讲到爱伦坡、福尔摩斯，又到黄金时代，再讲到非英语国家的作家和作品，和后来出现的警察、犯罪、间谍小说等等，梳理得很细致，个人感觉也反映了不少作者的主观爱好。作为咦个半吊子的侦探小说爱好者，用这本书来了解一下侦探小说发展史还挺好的。但是，这个译本真的不太读者友好（哦，很多书名翻译得还不太对，只有新星自己出版过的书名没出问题——是的这本是新星出的）。如果有空还是找原文看看吧（咦这句话我好像经常说）……

[Luis Minski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julian Symons, destacado novelista policial inglés, hace en este libro una reseña histórica y un análisis de lo que fue la literatura policial y sus autores desde sus orígenes hasta fines del siglo XX ( el autor murió en 1994). Imprescindible lectura para quienes quieran conocer algo más sobre este género tan apasionante.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

glad I read it. Symons gave me some suggestions for my to read list.

[Šári · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author never promised to be objective or academic, so his personal opinions don't bother me all that much. They're often pretty funy. What does bother me though is his refusal to even NAME some article or essay he's quoting from. Telling me I should go find out for myself is rather absurd, considering I don't even know what I'm looking for. This is a messed up attitude - mentioning the titles certainly wouldn't hurt.

He totally lost me in the last chapter where he basically says that writing academically about crime fiction is a stupid task. I wonder what it feels like, knowing that so many academics quote him in their papers. Also, why on earth do they even do that when he ridicules their jobs? The most hilarious thing about his criticism of academic research is that it's pointless to look for "archetypal qualities" in Phil Marlowe. Does he even know what "archetypal" means?

[G Hodges · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a critical analysis of the mystery and crime genre from its beginning in the late 1800's with the detective short story through the 1980's and the psychological thriller. It predicts the complex emotional novels of the 21st century. Mr. Symons is both sarcastic and unrelenting in his analysis and has made me want to read authors I have not yet read, and has unfortunately made me rethink my devotion to certain authors from the golden age. It was not necessarily entertaining, but it was informative.

[Mbuye · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing for sure: to appreciate this book, you have to be as dedicated and as devoted, and have as deep a knowledge of the genre as the author. He sets the ball rolling with William Godwin (1756-1836), whose ‘Caleb Williams’ may be reckoned the first real crime novel, comprising elements of sensation, detective and horror novels, and goes on to examine Wilkie Collins and Émile Gaboriau.

From these he traces the evolution of the genre from sensation novel to actual detection, from crime novel to thriller, and finally the spy thriller to serious espionage. Along the way, he examines the role of education for the working class, of free and ‘tuppeny’ libraries, and of the proliferation of magazines and ‘penny dreadfuls’ in the development of the crime novel compared to any other literary genre, whether by sales or subject. The rise of the short story as a unique medium for detective stories, the idea of a “series” detective, the clever sleuth and his bumbling foil, his Dr Watson or an incompetent police officer, all pass under Symons’s magnifying glass.

The mass of books Symons examines with care and fairness are, with a few exceptions published before the war years, almost all readily available, from ‘Caleb Williams’ down to his recommendations of forgotten, out-of-print treasures, and include past and present classics by American, German, French and the first of the Scandinavians. First published as ‘Bloody Murder’ in 1972 in the UK, it remains the definitive authority on crime fiction, from the ‘what’ of the sensation novel to the ‘who’ of the pure detective novel, to the ‘why’ of crime, and the ‘how’ of a thriller or the ‘where’ of espionage.

[Ime CG · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

"i like praise for my crime stories as much as the next man or woman, but how can one take seriously warm words written about one's own new book, when the same crime column contains equally warm words about a half dozen books, some of which are revelead at a cursory glance as being inferior to the standard article? (...)
Bloody Murder it was designed as a history but also as an expression of personal opinion..."

Si se quiere empezar con un ensayo sobre la literatura ficcional de crimen, creo que es un libro que debe leerse sabiendo que se encontrará como dice su autor con su pura opinión y gusto personal.

Bastante interesante la opinión del autor debo decirlo, sin embargo, la búsqueda de la obra clásica del golden age dentro de las demás ramas de la escritura policial está un poco de más debido a que aun cuando busca que las obras que salieron más tarde tengan innovación y escritura de calidad no deja de arrastrarlas buscando ya sea la superación a autores clásicos y sobresalientas del hard boiled o de la goden age o comparando directamente los temas, la escritura y sobretodo los rompecabezas o juegos de ingenio que también tanto critica de lo mismo que usa como base a comparar.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive, authoritative and opinionated analysis of the evolution of these genres. Symons was a British author and literary critic. This 50 year old work is an invaluable resource for any librarian or bookseller who does readers' advisory on a regular basis. From Le Fanu to Wilkie Collins, ending with his personal thoughts on Le Carre and Deighton, Symons' analyses hold up very well, and so many of the authors in his focus abide today. Two complete indices of book titles and authors add value, both historical and analytical. This is going on my reference shelf next to the P.D. James work Talking About Detective Fiction.

[Gary Genard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Symons (a mystery writer himself) takes us on a comprehensive yet quirky personal tour of mystery fiction. Highly recommended for its insights into how the detective novel became the crime novel. If you want to know how we went from stick-figure puzzlers (a la locked room mysteries), to penetrating psychological takes on crime fiction, get this title!

[Emg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parts were surprisingly dry. At this point in time, very out of date.

[Erin Becker · Rating 3 out of 5]

First several chapters were very good but later chapters were dry and preachy.

[José Van Rosmalen]

In het Nederlands: Moord en doodslag, een geschiedenis van het misdaadverhaal.

[Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sort of mystery and crime novel version of Harold Bloom’s Western Canon. Equally opinionated and reliable. A good reference I’ve used of the years but getting a bit outdated now.

[Kestrell · Rating 2 out of 5]

As the author of this book might phrase it, he and I are not in sympathy with one another. A number of times he singles out Dorothy Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey books for scathing criticism regarding Sayers's class snobbery and her anti-Jewish attitude, but then he goes on to extol the qualities of a number of books which feature Oxford dons, as if, before World War II, an Oxford education wasn't a privilege of class. The anti-Jewish attitudes are also a manifestation of that period, and show up in many of the golden age detective novels. The author also specifically links women writers of this period with conservative attitudes, but again, this characteristic was shared by male authors also.

Further on, Symons dismisses Borges and Eco as too "jokey," and then goes on to dismiss modern literary theory as just silly, but doesn't really provide any argument other than to say that detective fiction, like other forms of pop culture, is not an art and thus does not deserve serious literary consideration. Finally, although I read the third revised edition, which is copyrighted in the '90s, the author barely covers any novels dated after the early 1980s, and he gives the impression that this is because nothing of any merit has developed since then.

Ultimately, this book is worth skimming if you are interested in golden age detective fiction and if you purchase a cheap used edition.

[W.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

其實看了超久，大概去年就開始陸陸續續亂看了吧，總之就看完了XD
其實是一個非常（作者）個人喜好的犯罪小說點評，他真的是嘴很壞我好喜歡（咳）不過也因為有久了，所以看到他談到的很多作品其實自己沒看過，有看過的作者……好你真的嘴超壞www 因為是很綜觀的文集，所以也是跟著走了一次這個文類的發展歷史，這個部份就真的很有趣，也是種選讀古典作品的參考吧。
然後因為這是2000左右的增修版，我也很喜歡書後在附錄部份另請台灣的書評們寫了年代更新的補遺，以及針對日系推理的介紹，讓介紹的面向更完整，只是書評們當然就沒有原作者這麼嘴壞了（咳）
－
2023.01.25
這是一本推理迷寫給推理迷的西方犯罪小說史……當然是可以這樣定義，但我更喜歡把它視為一本以主觀和個人喜好做為核心，的推理小說閱讀史。
只是西蒙斯先生的閱讀既博且廣，而且長期、持續，於是這讓這本閱讀史有了爬梳西方犯罪小說歷史的深度。
講是這樣講，但因為作者實在是相當毒舌看起來非常爽快（喂），要把這一本當成看一位老先生對自己喜愛的文類認真碎念的專欄也完全是可以的。

我應該不是第一次讀這本，可以說做為一個以前沒怎麼看推理小說，年紀大了之後慢慢有了這個興趣的讀者，這本書為我補充了非常多推理這個文類的基礎（經典）知識。時隔一陣子在我自己多看了一些早期推理小說之後再回頭看《血腥謀殺》，又是另一種樂趣。
雖然我相信資深推理迷可能早就都讀過這本了（畢竟台灣第一次出版它是在2011年？），而英文原版更早（1972年已經發行初版，台灣的譯本則是1985年的最終版），不過還是推薦給對西方犯罪文學有興趣的讀者XD

另外，台版另外收錄了黃羅的〈西方偵探小說近代發展史：1990至2017年〉，以及陳國偉、曲辰合寫的〈神話的系譜：亂步以降的日本推理小說〉，各自補上了在原書之後西方犯罪小說的延伸發展，以及原書未曾提及的日本推理小說發展（這篇也非常精彩），雖然這幾位作者的共通點就是不像西蒙斯先生那麼嘴壞（咳），但這兩篇真的是值得一讀XDDD

西蒙斯的嘴壞程度，舉個例子大概是這樣子的：
「惠特利的犯罪與冒險小說十分暢銷，但文學水準低落的程度，與這些書受歡迎的程度一樣。惠特利的典型作品中擁有大量簡要的歷史內容，其呈現方式可能只對心智年齡十二歲的讀者有吸引力。」
就是這麼明快喔（嗯XD）

[David Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an indispensable reference work for those of us pathologically fascinated by the history of crime, detective and thriller fiction. Julian Symons has introduced me to so many pioneering authors that I would never have heard of, let alone sought out and read with immense pleasure (including a certain Julian Symons!); the excitement, in some dusty second hand bookshop, of coming across a battered Emma Lathen, George Sims or Margaret Millar paperback would have been denied me but for Julian’s hard work and championing of authors, many out of print. I may not entirely agree with all his opinions (Dennis Wheatley’s Gregory Sallust is one of my favourites - obviously not his), but he put in the research that helps to sort out the golden wheat from not inconsiderable chaff - especially from those authors whose output was so prolific and variable that one wouldn’t otherwise know where to find their best stuff - Creasey, Dickson Carr, Rendell/Vine spring to mind. But now I do.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had hunted this old gem down for years before managing to get a copy. Symons is widely read in the mystery genre, and has excellent insight and a good bit of humor as well. I dno't always agree with his assessments, but his arguments are clear and precise. Recommended to anyone interested in the history of fictional detection.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive and always engaging study of the history of the development of crime fiction, with a knowledgeable and friendly guide who makes the journey as much fun as the education. Also makes good recommendations.

[Robert Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm surprised this book isn't more highly rated. I might not agree with all his assessments, but it's very comprehensive and Symons gives you a good idea of what to expect from authors you haven't read before.

Is there anyone who's done it better?

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very valuable -- was the impetus for me reading a vast variety of mystery and detective and hard-boiled books. I'm sure I read the first edition -- might be worth taking a look at later updated editions. Later title was "Bloody Murder" with same subtitle

[Jaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truthfully, I read snippets. I love Mr. Symons' writing and enjoyed what I read. The print was so small I couldn't spend much time at one sitting reading it. I will look for an edition that these ol' eyes can handle.

[Steve Gross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fourth revision of a study of mystery books. Somewhat dated (which is why they keep revising it). Some interesting points.

[Pietro De Palma · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the critical police essays written ever.