Bi Ming

喬靖夫 · Hong Kong Wuxia Novelist

Whenever I meet Benny B.M., I call him my “junior”, because we attended the same institution and studied in the same department—although our paths never crossed as students. I am much older than he is, ha-ha.

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Benny has carved out a path in thriller fiction within Hong Kong publishing. His creative stamina is remarkable, and he has published a substantial body of work. There is a special warmth in having a fellow alumnus as a fellow writer, fighting alongside me in Hong Kong’s demanding market.

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Writing horror, suspense and ghost stories is much like writing wuxia or romance: these established popular genres have their own readerships, and writing within them is not necessarily the greatest challenge. Raising the work beyond mere visceral thrills, however, is far from easy.

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In wuxia, for example, spectacular fights and extraordinary martial arts techniques are not the hardest things to write. The real difficulty lies in convincing readers why the characters fight—in portraying the conflicts between human nature and personal convictions. Without that, the characters become little more than puppets passing through scenes, unable to move readers deeply.

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The same is true of horror and thrillers. Many people can describe brutality or parade strange and sinister happenings. Benny’s work, however, insists that suspense must remain closely bound to the beauty and ugliness of human nature, using human weakness to examine moral boundaries. That is what elevates a thriller.

After all, reality is much the same: the most terrifying things arise from the human heart, while the most beautiful may depend on a single thought. They are two sides of the same coin. With kindness in our hearts, we may find a glimmer of light even in hell.

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With this commitment to his craft, Benny is clearly following the right path in thriller fiction.

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柚臻 · Taiwanese Horror Novelist

Thank you, Benny, for publishing this book with 明日工作室. I had been waiting for it so eagerly.

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The first of Benny’s novels I read was 《畸羅之眼》. When I finished it, I still wanted more. So many unanswered questions kept nagging at me. I asked an editor about it and discovered that it was not the first instalment chronologically. Benny was already well known in Hong Kong, where the series had been available for some years. In Taiwan, 《畸羅之眼》 appeared first, followed later by its prequel, 《鬼界夢劫》.

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I had been waiting for this book ever since. At last, it arrived.

《鬼界夢劫》 can be described as a prequel, although that is not quite the right word. Put simply, the whole series revolves around a publishing house. 《鬼界夢劫》 tells the story of its former head, Wing Kong, while 《畸羅之眼》 concerns his successor. I will not spoil the highlights here. Curious readers can experience its terror and deeper meaning for themselves.

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One film that has attracted considerable attention in recent years is Twilight. Vampires are popular in the West, while in the East, jiangshi—the reanimated corpses of Chinese folklore—have a stronger following. As a child, I loved Hong Kong’s jiangshi films. With these creatures at the heart of 《鬼界夢劫》, the story struck a chord with me. I read the whole book in one sitting, without stopping.

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Benny is a superb storyteller. A novel that keeps you reading from beginning to end must surely be compelling, with every part tightly connected—wouldn’t you agree?

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When I finished, I felt deeply wistful. Partly it was because of what happened to the protagonist; partly it was the loneliness that settles after a gathering has ended. I did not know how long I would have to wait for another of Benny’s books.

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I am grateful that this novel has answered all the questions I carried with me. Yet the bittersweet feeling left by its ending refuses to fade.

Have you ever woken from a dream with an ache in your heart, unable to remember the dream in full? That is how I felt. It is how Wing Kong feels, too.

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You may have forgotten the dream, but someone within it may still be waiting longingly for you. It is like crossing into another reality: every dream holds a world of its own. When you return, should you keep that experience as a genuine memory, or erase every feeling and dismiss it as a dream? Perhaps we have all crossed over. Perhaps we have truly lived another life in our dreams.

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If remembering something precious brings only endless regret, would you choose to forget—or remember forever, without regretting that choice?

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There is no simple answer. I kept waiting for Wing Kong to decide. He found his courage; I could only sigh.

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After finishing the book, I spent half an hour letting my feelings settle before writing this recommendation. Yet however much I say, you must experience those feelings for yourselves. I believe that, like me, you will finish with a long sigh—and wish to dream once more.

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When I watched The Matrix, I could never understand why someone would insist on waking up if the dream world was beautiful. 振鑫 told me it was because the dream was false. Rather than live in an illusion, deceived by an unreal world, he would choose to wake up.

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But I still felt that dreams could be wonderful. If that world really was so beautiful, why wake up?

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Wing Kong, too, makes his choice. Dreams and reality—or is the world of dreams another kind of reality?

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A beautiful dream is a luxury.

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藍醉蝶 · Reader from Taiwan

From the moment Wing Kong saw 畸羅 with his own eyes, he became trapped between illusion and memory. I had thought that Kung Yan was the great love of his life. I never expected to discover such an extraordinary chapter of his past beyond her story.

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There was Chigusa Miki—the woman who helped and supported Wing Kong when he was at his lowest.

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Miki fell in love with him and broke a sacred taboo, defying the restrictions imposed by the divine realm upon her vampire maiden clan. Not only did she fail to fulfil her duty to exterminate the vampire demons, but she also broke the prohibition against love, marrying Wing Kong. To save him, she expended an immense amount of supernatural energy to create a dream realm.

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Even at the end, I was not entirely sure what had happened to Wing Kong. But looking back at their childhood encounter and everything that followed, I cannot help feeling that it was all destined from the beginning.

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積夫 · Reader from Hong Kong

I chose this book because it was the final instalment, and because the mysteries surrounding Wing Kong would finally be revealed. Yet even as the answers emerge, some uncertainty remains.

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One dream leads into another. This is the heart of the story, the bridge connecting its events, and the source of its tension. Each interlocking dream introduces characters whose roles come together in the final revelation. It is a story rooted firmly in human nature.

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The author’s idea of “equivalent exchange” seems to express the principle that you reap what you sow. Surely this should be something everyone understands—as natural as seeking food when you are hungry.

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In the story, an old man gives Wing Kong a book, 《世界妖怪圖鑑》, and warns him: “Everything has its ordained course. Never act against the will of Heaven.”

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Even Wing Kong’s elderly servant, Uncle Chung, cannot stop what follows. In the end, everything unfolds as though it were inevitable. Perhaps, link by link, he had long been moving unknowingly towards a place where reality and dreams could no longer be distinguished.

Much like society today, where, at some point, the idea that effort brings its rightful reward seems to have become a thing of the past—a historical relic.

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The author’s work reminds us of the importance of moral reflection. In this story, the werewolf values a promise more highly than his own life. Having promised to take Wing Kong to Miki, he risks everything to keep his word. Earlier, he also comes to the couple’s rescue. This is loyalty. This is compassion.

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By contrast, people today often honour promises only when there is something to gain. Risking your life to keep your word, as the werewolf does, seems like a dream—especially when there is not even the smallest benefit in return.

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A promise kept has become a true luxury.

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This instalment is outstanding. Its dramatic force and tension make it impossible to put down, and the ending is unexpected. I particularly loved the first encounter in the final chapter. I could not help imagining another story for Wing Kong and Miki—a chance to begin again.

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小鱼儿游啊游yt · Baidu Baike Contributor

A horror novel in its purest form. Its focus is on ghosts themselves, rather than supernatural powers or an assortment of elaborate abilities.

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Through every terrifying ordeal, survival depends on intelligence alone. The residents’ desperate struggle to stay alive feels remarkably real.