amaotonovel Chapter 4532 The Darkest Night (6)
Chapter 4532 The Darkest Night (6)
Chapter 4532 The Darkest Night (Sixty)
"Good evening, everyone. Of course, it's been good evening lately. Our sun has been out for a long time. For many, this has been a disaster, but there's no doubt that suffering forges literature. Recently, many horror, suspense, and mystery folklore novelists have released new books, providing our book review program with a wide variety of material. We've invited renowned folklore horror novelist John Constantine to talk about his thoughts on his new book, *The Mystery of Ra*, surpassing one million copies sold on its first day of release. Please welcome Mr. Constantine."
The dark-haired Latino host stood up, shook hands with Constantine as he walked onto the stage, and said, "Have you gotten used to finding joy in hardship, sir?"
“It’s not so much about finding joy in hardship,” Constantine said with a smile. “The darkness gives me a wealth of inspiration. Brainiac wouldn’t let me say that. But if I could, I wouldn’t mind a few more days of darkness.”
"Then we must accept your kind words. Please have a seat."
Both sides took their places. The female host smiled and said, "With two consecutive successful works, Mr. Constantine, some have described you as a rising star in the genre of folk horror and suspense novels in recent years. What do you think of this?"
“Well, this rising star is a bit old,” Constantine said, crossing one leg over the other and looking at the host. “It’s not my wish to start writing so late. Although I don’t think I’ve gone astray before, perhaps I would have had many more exciting stories to write when I was younger.”
“That’s exactly what I was going to bring up,” the host said, looking at him with some curiosity. “You’ve always been reluctant to disclose your past profession. May I assume it was investigative or law enforcement, where confidentiality was required?”
Constantine shook his head and said, "Keeping secrets isn't for my own good. Let's not talk about that anymore, let's talk about the new book."
The host seemed a little disappointed, but she quickly changed the subject, saying, "The Mystery of Ra begins with Egyptian mythology. As we all know, Ra is the sun god in Egyptian mythology. Did the sudden darkness inspire your research on the sun?"
“I guess so,” Constantine said. “Actually, I’ve always been interested in Egyptian mythology. Combining it with the Great Old Ones is a new approach. So far, it seems to be working quite well.”
Do you think the book's explosive popularity is related to the current situation?
"Of course it's related, but I don't think there's anything wrong with riding the wave of popularity. Scientists can try to explain why the sun went out from a scientific perspective, and mystics naturally have something to say as well."
Do you really believe that the sun went out because of the arrival of the Great Old Ones?
“There must be some mysterious force at play here, right?” Constantine said, spreading his hands. “Brainiac can’t deny that either. But since we can’t figure out what that force is, don’t blame me for creating literature.”
The two men chatted back and forth on stage about their new books, with Constantine speaking eloquently. They soon got to the topic of the new book trend.
"As you mentioned before, the darkness inspires you. Honestly, I think that's a major reason why so many good books have been published recently. Have you read any of the related literary works published recently?"
“Of course, I’ve read quite a lot,” Constantine nodded.
Which one is your favorite?
"Of course, it's 'The Diary of a Librarian at Gotham University'."
“Oh my god, I love this book too!” the female host exclaimed excitedly. “Compared to traditional literary writers who like to nitpick over words, this young writer named Jason Todd uses more concise and clear language. Many of the plots are also quite humorous. It’s much more enjoyable to read than those melodramatic horror novels.”
“He’ll definitely be popular with young people,” Constantine said. “This way of recording one’s adventures in the Gotham University library in a diary is both interesting and easy to read, so it will become even more popular.”
“I really can’t wait to read the prequel, Mr. Constantine. If you know Mr. Todd, you must ask him to write in detail about his experiences when he first became a librarian. It would be very interesting to think about.”
“I will pass it on to him.” Constantine nodded.
"But we still have to bring it up..."
"The Rodriguez Mysteries, yes. I knew you'd want to talk about that."
“We can’t be blamed for this,” the host said, clasping his hands together. “This book is just as popular as your new book. And Dr. Fries is even writing his first book, yet he managed to break a million sales on the first day without any prior fan base. That’s quite an achievement. What are your thoughts on this?”
“Ha.” Constantine chuckled coldly, then waved his hand and said, “Don’t misunderstand, I know Dr. Frith too. I’m not mocking his writing. It’s just…”
"Just what?"
“Rodriguez.” Constantine touched his eyes.
The host became even more interested. She leaned forward, placed her hands on the table, and stared intently at Constantine, saying, "You know this Detective Rodriguez quite well, don't you? Hmm? You can't fool me."
“I’m very familiar with the real-life Rodriguez who is based on him, but I don’t know the one in the book,” Constantine said, shaking his head. “It’s entirely Dr. Frith’s imagination, at least 80% of it.”
“I’m quite interested in this,” the female host said, rubbing her hands together. “Do you know how popular this great detective is? Although we all know that the Rodriguez stories are modeled after the Sherlock Holmes stories, they are completely different.”
"Detective Rodriguez has absolutely no interest in solving cases. He's not particularly passionate; instead, he appears aloof and distant. If it weren't for his exceptional talent, he probably wouldn't have even entered the detective world. Such detectives are rare. And his popularity is naturally inseparable from Dr. Frith's description of him."
The female host picked up the book beside her, flipped through it, and then said, "In Dr. Frith's writing, Mr. Rodriguez is an atypical detective with a mystical air, a bit arrogant but also humorous, and occasionally insightful and surprising. I prefer watching the banter between the detective and his assistant to the detective story itself. I must say, the relationship between the detective and his assistant in this book is much more complex than that of Sherlock Holmes and Watson."
"They seem to be friends, but they are quite different. Mr. Fries is a PhD in physics and a scientist. He usually approaches problems with rigorous scientific thinking and always pursues logical rigor, a bit like Sherlock Holmes, right?"
"But Mr. Rodriguez is different. To be honest, he's practically a psychic. That's also the most controversial part of this book. Rodriguez's psychoanalysis is just too mystical. Although his psychic abilities that directly point to the answer seem very appealing, it also feels a bit lazy..."
“I must say this,” Constantine said, extending his hand. “Psychoanalysis is real, and it can even achieve the effects described in the book. But the real-life inspiration for Detective Rodriguez, as well as Brainiac, asked me to ask everyone to treat it as the author’s fiction. Don’t be too curious about psychoanalysis.”
"Why is that?" the host asked, somewhat puzzled.
“It’s more like a unique talent than a subject,” Constantine said, looking at her. “Those who can do it will do it, and those who can’t won’t. Forcing someone to learn it will only create more trouble.”
The host understood and said, "So it really is that professor?"
"what?"
"Stop pretending. We all guessed it. That psychoanalytic master, the professor at Gotham University..."
“I don’t know what you’re talking about?” Constantine shrugged.
"What kind of person is he, really?" The host didn't seem to be asking a real question, but rather muttering to himself, "Whether he's exactly like the person in the book or completely the opposite, he's very charismatic."
“Brainiac doesn’t allow you to pay too much attention to the real life of the person he was based on in the book, and he’s even deleted all the information about him online. Isn’t that a shame?” Constantine asked, then immediately answered his own question, “Believe me, Brainiac is protecting you. Any attempt to probe into the professor’s inner world is extremely dangerous.”
"Of course, you can tell from the content of the book as well." The host said thoughtfully, resting his chin on his hand. "I have no doubt that Dr. Frith must have met such a person in real life in order to be able to describe such a dangerous yet charismatic character. And in reality, he must have had even stronger personal qualities that make him so captivating after being recounted in writing."
“I don’t deny he’s a very charismatic person. But it’s enough to appreciate him through his writing,” Constantine said. “Considering the sheer volume of applications to Gotham University, even Brainiac is struggling to keep up. I suggest you all take it easy.”
"Okay, let's talk about the Christmas autograph session then..."
"Professor! Professor!!!" Jenna shouted as she caught up with Schiller, panting, "Christmas... Christmas performance..."
Schiller turned around, stared at Jenna for a moment, and then said, "Miss, although I am your professor, I think that at your age you shouldn't be too focused on your studies. Why don't you spend more time dating, okay?"
“No!” Jenna refused immediately, then said, “Barry and I aren’t dating. He’s just my dance partner. I was talking about the Christmas play rehearsals…”
Schiller walked away without looking back. Jenna quickly followed him, jogging as she said, "We're planning to rehearse the 'Cliff Duel' episode. The actors are all cast. We just need you to come and give us some guidance. It really won't take much time..."
"I'm not going," Schiller replied outright.
"Why!" Jenna wailed. "It's not the first time! We've had this role every year!"
"It's precisely because I participate every year that I don't go."
"But this time is different. We're rehearsing the most exciting part of the novel based on your life. We're sure we can do a great job!"
"Then why are you looking for me?"
"Of course it's because the actor playing you just can't seem to pull it off no matter what..."
"You want me to instruct him on how to play myself?" Schiller said, turning back to Jenna without stopping. "Don't you think that's absurd?"
Jenna was quite exasperated. Her eyes darted around, and then she said, "That's true, you didn't write the novel. Then I'll go find Professor Fries. He definitely knows how to play you well..."
Schiller stopped in his tracks. He could roughly imagine how Victor would portray him. The descriptions in the book were already absurd enough. If it were adapted into a stage play, who knew how exaggerated it would become.
If he were to be noticed by Broadway producers again and asked to be adapted into a film, he would have to single-handedly carry the box office of Hollywood horror and suspense films in the millennium. The thought of Constantine and Victor making a fortune by fabricating stories about him made Schiller feel that he couldn't let things continue like this.