Speculative Japan: Outstanding Tales of Japanese Science Fiction and Fantasy

The first book in an ongoing series, Speculative Japan presents a selection of outstanding works of Japanese science fiction and fantasy in English translation... and a glimpse into new worlds of the imagination. It was first released at Nippon 2007, the 65th World Science Fiction Convention in Yokohama, Japan, and then made available worldwide.

Japanese fiction has assumed a position of significance in many genres of world literature as it continues to chart its own creative course. Whereas science fiction in the English-speaking world developed gradually over a period of evolutionary change in style and content, SF in Japan took off from a very different starting line. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, Japanese SF writers worked to combine their own thousand-year-old literary tradition with a flood of Western SF and other fiction. Contemporary Japanese SF thus began in a jumble of ideas and periods, and ultimately propelled Japanese authors into a quantum leap of development, rather than a steady process of evolution.

The result has been phenomenal. As new authors developed in this exotic environment, they invented new ways to view SF, and used the genre to form new images of themselves and their culture. The time is long overdue to present the work of Japanese science fiction and fantasy writers to the world in English. We hope this shared world of speculative fiction produces a creative feedback relationship, which can only encourage new and more stimulating visions of tomorrow.

1129971343
Speculative Japan: Outstanding Tales of Japanese Science Fiction and Fantasy

The first book in an ongoing series, Speculative Japan presents a selection of outstanding works of Japanese science fiction and fantasy in English translation... and a glimpse into new worlds of the imagination. It was first released at Nippon 2007, the 65th World Science Fiction Convention in Yokohama, Japan, and then made available worldwide.

Japanese fiction has assumed a position of significance in many genres of world literature as it continues to chart its own creative course. Whereas science fiction in the English-speaking world developed gradually over a period of evolutionary change in style and content, SF in Japan took off from a very different starting line. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, Japanese SF writers worked to combine their own thousand-year-old literary tradition with a flood of Western SF and other fiction. Contemporary Japanese SF thus began in a jumble of ideas and periods, and ultimately propelled Japanese authors into a quantum leap of development, rather than a steady process of evolution.

The result has been phenomenal. As new authors developed in this exotic environment, they invented new ways to view SF, and used the genre to form new images of themselves and their culture. The time is long overdue to present the work of Japanese science fiction and fantasy writers to the world in English. We hope this shared world of speculative fiction produces a creative feedback relationship, which can only encourage new and more stimulating visions of tomorrow.

22.0 In Stock
Speculative Japan: Outstanding Tales of Japanese Science Fiction and Fantasy

Speculative Japan: Outstanding Tales of Japanese Science Fiction and Fantasy

Speculative Japan: Outstanding Tales of Japanese Science Fiction and Fantasy

Speculative Japan: Outstanding Tales of Japanese Science Fiction and Fantasy

Paperback

$22.00 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Ships in 1-2 days
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Your local store may have stock of this item.

Related collections and offers


Overview

The first book in an ongoing series, Speculative Japan presents a selection of outstanding works of Japanese science fiction and fantasy in English translation... and a glimpse into new worlds of the imagination. It was first released at Nippon 2007, the 65th World Science Fiction Convention in Yokohama, Japan, and then made available worldwide.

Japanese fiction has assumed a position of significance in many genres of world literature as it continues to chart its own creative course. Whereas science fiction in the English-speaking world developed gradually over a period of evolutionary change in style and content, SF in Japan took off from a very different starting line. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, Japanese SF writers worked to combine their own thousand-year-old literary tradition with a flood of Western SF and other fiction. Contemporary Japanese SF thus began in a jumble of ideas and periods, and ultimately propelled Japanese authors into a quantum leap of development, rather than a steady process of evolution.

The result has been phenomenal. As new authors developed in this exotic environment, they invented new ways to view SF, and used the genre to form new images of themselves and their culture. The time is long overdue to present the work of Japanese science fiction and fantasy writers to the world in English. We hope this shared world of speculative fiction produces a creative feedback relationship, which can only encourage new and more stimulating visions of tomorrow.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9784902075267
Publisher: Kurodahan Press
Publication date: 08/28/2007
Pages: 300
Product dimensions: 5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.60(d)

Table of Contents

  • Grania DAVIS “Judy-san - Judith Merril, 1923-1997”
  • David BRIN “Preface”
  • Gene VAN TROYER “Introduction: Phase Shifting”
  • KOMATSU Sakyō “The Savage Mouth”
  • HIRAI Kazumasa “A Time for Revolution”
  • KŌNO Tensei “Hikari”
  • MAYUMURA Taku “I’ll Get Rid of Your Discontent”
  • ISHIKAWA Takashi “The Road to the Sea”
  • YAMANO Kōichi “Where Do the Birds Fly Now”
  • TOYOTA Aritsune “Another ‘Prince of Wales’”
  • FUKUSHIMA Masami “The Flower’s Life Is Short”
  • ŌHARA Mariko “Girl”
  • TSUTSUI Yasutaka “Standing Woman”
  • HANMURA Ryō “Cardboard Box”
  • YANO Tetsu “The Legend of the Paper Spaceship”
  • KAJIO Shinji “Reiko’s Universe Box”
  • KAWAKAMI Hiromi “Mogera Wogura”
  • YOSHIMASU Gōzō “Adrenalin”
  • SHIBANO Takumi “Collective Reason: A Proposal”
  • ASAKURA Hisashi “From Vertical to Horizontal”
  • Grania DAVIS “Translator as Hero”

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews