So...yeah....I wanted to ask you fellow adventure gamers some questions related to this topic, and thought I'll make the topic more general.
Questions I wanted to ask:
Do you "fans of adventure games" read mystery/detective/locked room mystery novels?
I am more aiming at the novels from the Golden Age, so from writers such as Agatha Christie, John Dickson Carr, Ellery Queen or even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle(which was a bit before the Golden Age though..I think)
I started wondering after seeing all those Agatha Christie games released based on novels of the same name and the Phoenix Wright games that tells the same format of stories.
So would you also have interest in reading the books? Because if you're not, you're really missing out. These books really play out like awesome adventure games(or puzzles of it
). The author of these novels either indirectly or directly challenges the reader to solve the mystery before the final revelation. And let me tell you, that these books, locked room mysteries in particular, have one of the coolest and most geniuses solutions to the seemingly impossible problem that is layed out in the beginning.
You know that feeling when someone tells you a riddle that at first hand seems impossible, but you're baffled when the solution is so plain and simple?
That's the experience you get from reading these books =).
The authors always try to play "fair" by providing you with the same information as the detective, so for the better sleuths it's sometimes possible to solve it
. Sometimes you are even provided with illustrations like a layout of where the murder was committed.
Most of you are most familiar with the detective Sherlock Holmes. I'd like to point out that these are VERY fun stories(read them all, and you just gotta love the character) but these are not mystery novels per se. Well they might be...but they never played "fair", since Sherlock always knew more than the reader. I still recommend reading these as they are just plain fun and iconical in detective books history.
At the moment here are some recommendations, I am planning to keep this topic updated. I myself am fairly new to the genre too, but I will do my best to point out the gems in the genre(because there are tons of books, expect there to be some bad ones too),
-The Judas Window by John Dickson Carr/Carter Dickson
One of the first books I read and got me familiar with the genre.
I can only say that this book is awesome! Especially for Phoenix Wright fans this is a must-read! Since almost everything takes place and unfolds in a courtroom.
http://www.amazon.com/Judas-Window-C.../dp/0930330625
-The Three Coffins/The Hollow Man by John Dickson Carr
Some consider this to have the most genious no.1
modus operandi
One of the reasons of JDC being hailed as the king of impossible crimes.
A really, really, MUST-READ!
http://www.amazon.com/Judas-Window-C.../dp/0930330625
-The Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Soji Shimada
I decided to name this one, not only because it's awesome, but because the setting is very cool, namely Japan in th 80's. A detective and his comrade try to solve a 40 year old gruesome serial killing case that has been released in public for detectives to solve. I found the mystery a bit difficult to solve, although afterwards it was pretty simple and, again, genious. The book contains a lot of illustrations that might help you to see through the trick.
http://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-Zodiac-M.../dp/4925080814
This was it for now. I hope that I can have sparked some interest.
BTW: Is this the appropriate sub-forum for this topic, or is it more at place in another one?
Credit goes out to AshKetchum and Tomcat. Two people on a certain dutch forum who largely contributed to my interest in the genre.
