By April MacIntyre Sep 15, 2009, 15:07 GMT
VIZ Media publishing, animation and licensing company has announced the forthcoming release on September 15th of Zoo and Usurper of The Sun, the latest two books to be published by its Haikasoru imprint.
Haikasoru is the first imprint based in the U.S. dedicated to Japanese science fiction and fantasy in translation.
Otsuichi's Zoo has been called, “haunting, emotional, and thoroughly engrossing” by Brian Keene, author of the best-selling horror novel, The Rising. Author Paul Levinson, author of The Plot to Save Socrates, described Usurper of The Sun as, “a compellingly poetic first contact story, gleaming with digital savvy, appealing human detail, and alien peril.
Think Arthur C. Clarke meets Haruki Murakami, and gaze at Mercury in the sunset and sunrise with new awe.” Haikasoru is the first imprint based in the U.S. dedicated to Japanese science fiction and fantasy in translation.
Zoo synopsis:
A man receives a photo of his girlfriend every day in the mail...so that he can keep track of her body's decomposition. A deathtrap that takes a week to kill its victims. Haunted parks and a child with the power to do anything at all, and his poor unfortunate parents. These are just a few of the stories by Otsuichi, Japan's master of dark fantasy. ZOO sold over 740,000 copies in Japan and was made into a successful film that combined live-action and animation.
Usurper of The Sun Synopsis:
Aki Shiraishi is a high school student working in the astronomy club and one of the few witnesses to an amazing event—a mysterious tower being built on the planet Mercury. Soon after, the enigmatic Builders construct a ring around the sun, and the ecology of Earth is threatened by its immense shadow. Aki is inspired to pursue a career in science, and the truth. She must determine the purpose of the ring and the plans of its creators, as the survival of both humanity and the alien Builders hang in the balance. A compelling new hard science fiction novel, USURPER OF THE SUN won a coveted Seiun Award in 2002 for Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year.
For more information on Haikasoru please visit www.haikasoru.com.
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