It is a Japanese science fiction mystery novel. The author, Seicho Matsumoto, is the first contemporary master of mystery novels in Japan.Japanese movies adapted from his mystery novels are familiar to Chinese audiences, and his mystery novels, etc. are also welcomed by Chinese audiences after being translated into Chinese. Matsumoto Seicho was born in Kokura City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan in 1909. After graduating from high school, he could not continue to go to school due to his poor family. He worked as a servant, an apprentice in an electric company, a printing factory, and a soldier. A low-level employee of the Kyushu branch of Japan's "Asahi Shimbun".This experience made him very familiar with life at the bottom of Japanese society.

In this way, when he entered the age of 40, the rich life has been stored in his heart for many years, and finally flows out from the pen into a work.He embarked on the road of literary creation. In the autumn of 1952, at the age of 43, he won the highest award in the Japanese literary world - the twenty-eighth Akutagawa Ryunosuke Award.His award-winning work is the literary novel Rumor.Since then, he has emerged in the Japanese literary world. From 1957, Seicho Matsumoto turned to writing mystery novels, and became a prolific writer of mystery novels, with many readers in Japan.Different from ordinary writers of mystery novels, his works focus on literary color and portrayal of characters, so his reputation is increasing day by day. In 1974, the "Complete Works of Matsumoto Seicho" published by Bunkeishunju Publishing House in Japan had as many as 38 volumes.By the end of 1979, the total number of his works in Japan reached more than 60 million copies.It is said that in 1980, Matsumoto Kiyosho ranked first in the personal income tax paid by Japanese nationals.

Seicho Matsumoto opposed those mystery novels that were only limited to how to solve mysterious cases, and advocated that works should deeply reflect social life, and advocated "socialist mystery novels". A mirror renews the face of mystery novels. "Socialist reasoning novels" deeply reflect the social reality.Because all kinds of cases are the concentrated and sharp breaking point of social contradictions.In this way, Seicho Matsumoto's works naturally arouse readers' attention and resonance. Among the many mystery novels written by Seicho Matsumoto, this book is a special one-science fiction mystery novel.He mixed science fiction into speculative fiction.This book was first published in 1973.By 1980, it had been reprinted eleven times.At the beginning of the work, there are strange peaks, and unexpected nuclear missiles are attacking Tokyo... Against such a tense background, the author unfolds the story, one link after another, which makes readers unable to stop and read it in one breath.The work revolves around the different reactions of all walks of life in this purely fictitious science fiction event, and writes about the various mentalities of Japanese society.

Seicho Matsumoto is the president of the Japan Mystery Fiction Association, and he has always had friendly feelings towards New China.He once received famous writers such as Lao She and Ba Jin in his home. In order to introduce it to Chinese readers, I specially invite Mr. Su Decheng and Gong Yunbiao to translate it.Mr. Su Decheng is the son of Professor Su Buqing, and his mother is Japanese.Influenced by his family, he has been proficient in Japanese since he was a child.Mr. Gong Yunbiao has a beautiful writing style, and has created the film script "Cao Xueqin" and other works.This time, they cooperated and translated it, and I believe it will be loved by readers.

Ye Yonglie in Shanghai on November 3, 1990