tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596203844533164378.post8859376117685231080..comments2023-04-23T13:10:44.188+09:00Comments on this is how she fight start: Usurper of the Sunkamohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10785763841038321633noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596203844533164378.post-78316348966000463942014-01-09T17:49:06.725+09:002014-01-09T17:49:06.725+09:00Louis - Yep, seems like a relatively sensible stra...Louis - Yep, seems like a relatively sensible strategy. I just bought their newest Miyuki Miyabe offering a few days back, so let's hope that that's a sign phase two is kicking into operation. Thanks for the comment, btw.<br /><br />A - Roguishness, eh? The most dissolute character in Japanese literature. That'd be challenge on a par with finding the most perverted nun. Statistically speaking you know there must be at least one, but...kamohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10785763841038321633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596203844533164378.post-30315850834543986822014-01-09T17:45:44.801+09:002014-01-09T17:45:44.801+09:00Yep, I do get the distinct impression that your to...Yep, I do get the distinct impression that your tolerance for this kind of stuff is significantly higher than mine. That said, this is far from the worst example of its kind I've come across.<br /><br />I had a squint at your review as well, and I think you might be onto something with those closed country parallels, fwiw.kamohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10785763841038321633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596203844533164378.post-12024826826632930242014-01-08T11:13:16.967+09:002014-01-08T11:13:16.967+09:00I gave up on modern Japanese literature for just t...I gave up on modern Japanese literature for just the reasons I adapted from your quotation, as well as the fact that the literature lacks characters with any recommendable qualities: not even roguishness.Arististheneshttp://hanlonsrzr.blogspot.jp/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596203844533164378.post-27542625279188322332014-01-08T04:53:03.351+09:002014-01-08T04:53:03.351+09:00I had to go check my review of the book, but I see...I had to go check my review of the book, but I see now that I enjoyed it more than you did. Of course, I have a higher tolerance for Hard SF in all of its clunky glory, so that's probably most of it. <br />Like you, I enjoyed Aki's complete failure to hook up with any of these manly Westerners. Unintentional hilarity. Americans come off pretty poorly throughout though, so I can see why Nojiri would keep his noble, awkward, world-saver away from our clutches.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596203844533164378.post-23116484521893255942014-01-07T07:24:43.618+09:002014-01-07T07:24:43.618+09:00Haika Soru also released "Rocket girls" ...Haika Soru also released "Rocket girls" -- by the same author, and with the same flaws -- which had an anime version that got released. I vaguely recall reading on their website that this was basically their plan: start with stuff with an anime connection to get a toe in, and build from that. <br /><br />Their more recent releases are supposed to be a bit less anime-tie-in, but I haven't been keeping up. Louis Pattersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596203844533164378.post-54482861213445619312014-01-06T20:07:25.149+09:002014-01-06T20:07:25.149+09:00Yeah, I'd be hard pressed to recommend it, and...Yeah, I'd be hard pressed to recommend it, and certainly not as a first attempt at Japanese SF. I was on the verge of putting it down on more than one occasion. I'm not entirely sure the fact it comes (kinda) good in the end is sufficient payoff for the work necessary to get there, but it's fairly short, so it's not like that's a huge amount of work.kamohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10785763841038321633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596203844533164378.post-32722381977813224532014-01-06T20:04:54.932+09:002014-01-06T20:04:54.932+09:00You'd know more about the 'literary' s...You'd know more about the 'literary' side of this, but I do think there's a fair bit of selection bias on the SF side. To most western SF fans (i.e. geeks and nerds) 'Japan' means mecha and anime, so what you get is publishers pushing stuff they think will appeal to teenage boys, so lots of military and 'hard' SF that tends towards exactly those characteristics in any language. Maybe.kamohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10785763841038321633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596203844533164378.post-49391852595786824322014-01-06T20:01:35.517+09:002014-01-06T20:01:35.517+09:00Those are the Speculative Japan anthologies? Like ...Those are the Speculative Japan anthologies? Like yourself, I've herd good things about them, but I've only recently got into shorter fiction, so something else to add to the list. Thanks for the comment!kamohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10785763841038321633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596203844533164378.post-12886504811649520752014-01-06T18:24:41.088+09:002014-01-06T18:24:41.088+09:00I have read some great Japanese literature in tran...I have read some great Japanese literature in translation, but never any science fiction. I have picked up this exact book on more than one occasion in the store only to put it back. Your review makes me feel that this was a wise decision, for all that you liked parts of it. I don't always mind minimal characterization, but there has to be a bit more than the examples you've given here. Yikes. Carl V. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15948764216438379394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596203844533164378.post-21517586889966949202014-01-06T16:10:59.719+09:002014-01-06T16:10:59.719+09:00A summary of modern Japanese literature in all gen...A summary of modern Japanese literature in all genres: "[all of it for all we know, or that] most easily available in translation... [exhibits consistent cultural] archetypal strengths and weaknesses... strong conceptual explorations, interesting ideas, minimal characterization, woeful prose."<br /><br />Thank you for that!Arististheneshttp://hanlonsrzr.blogspot.jp/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596203844533164378.post-55171786934112002112014-01-06T07:58:17.433+09:002014-01-06T07:58:17.433+09:00I'm not a big SF fan myself, but it's nice...I'm not a big SF fan myself, but it's nice to see that a variety of styles are being translated into English. Have you tried the Kurodahan Spec. Fic collections? Not for me, but I've heard good things about them.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07546287562521628467noreply@blogger.com