It's Tuesday and we have two of everything!

TWO hits in the world of science fiction. The first is this neat-o interview with yours truly over at the World SF blog: An Interview With Nick Mamatas, in which I am so clever I say things like:


And the translator, unlike the author, cannot simply do wholesale rewrites to make something work. We’re playing a hand that has already been dealt. Then there’s the issue of translator skill; few have the ear of a novelist. That’s when I come in. I’ve managed to find some excellent creative translators, but can also nudge and pull and yank and tug at the work. So far I haven’t had to put in any footnotes to explain this or that untranslatable term or cultural reference, though part of my luck there has been the immense cultural exchange between Japan and the English-speaking world over the past two decades thanks to video games, manga, and anime.

a href="http://worldsf.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/monday-original-content-an-interview-with-nick-mamatas/">Click here to read more.

We're also thrilled that the January issue of Locus Magazine has reviewed Usurper of the Sun. The review isn't online and I'm not about to key in the whole thing, but here are some highlights:

...based on John Wunderley's translation of Housuke Nojiri's Usurper of the Sun, [Haikasoru] promises to be a fascinating program...The main provocative idea that Nojiri introduces here has to do with the nature of mind and perception, and what he calls the difference between adaptive and non-adaptive intelligence, but to say more would be to reveal the story's most intriguing surprise. With that in his basket, a tightly focused narrative line that marches us relentlessly through 35 years of future history, and a genuinely engaging heroine, he's acquitted himself well.



Not only do we have two publicity coups, we have two new books out today! Here's my shakeycam pic of The Book of Heroes out in the wild.


Yes, sadly it is in the manga section and not either Science Fiction/Fantasy or Young Adult, so keep an eye out!

And we also have Yukikaze hitting shelves today. Don't have a snap of that book yet, but people are reporting buying it. This guy seemed to like it. I mean, he SHAT BRICKS. That's positive, right?