Lenni Reviews: "The Future is Japanese"
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“The Future is Japanese,” edited
by Nick Mamatas, Masumi Washington, and Haikasoru, features stories about and
by Japan and Japanese people. It’s a solid collection of short science fiction
stories featuring multiple subgenres. The collection features space travel,
cyperpunk, dystopian landscapes, and fantastical time travel adventures.
This collection spares no
punches, thrusting you completely into each world. Like many stories, they are
a contemplation on what it means to be human or what we are doing to the planet
and ourselves through ruthless pursuit of high technology or illogically
clinging to the past. Over all I would have to say in this book the future is
absolutely Japanese; and also incredibly depressing. The darkest of subjects
are handled with candid and vivid clarity producing genuine fear, horror, and
sometimes even shame. One of the stories was so dark, I honestly felt as if I
needed a shower when I was done.
Not every story is connected to
Japan or Japanese culture but they still fit in with the scifi nature of the
collection. As a geek, I was enthralled by the different takes on what the
future would be like. And for you mech fans? Yes, one story does feature giant
battle suits. Some of the tech talk may lose some of the less die hard
cyberpunk fans and authors just drop Japanese words as if we’re already
supposed to know what they mean, but the action makes up for it. Not being familiar
with some of these more famous authors, I don’t have their body of work to
compare these stories to. The works in this book stand alone as some pretty
darn good stories. The ones originally in Japanese are solidly translated so I
wasn’t left confused.
Not all the stories are winners.
There were times I felt preached to or as if I was sitting in a class on
cybernetics or virtual reality. But hardcore Japanophiles and science fiction
fans will not be completely disappointed by this collection. There is plenty
here to enjoy and at 360 pages, there is a lot of meat in the book. I’m not
sure I would buy it but it’s worth picking up from your local library or
borrowing from a friend.
