United States of Japan

United States of Japan

Decades ago, Japan won the Second World War. Americans worship their infallible Emperor, and nobody believes that Japan's conduct in the war was anything but exemplary. Nobody, that is, except the George Washingtons - a shadowy group of rebels fighting for freedom. Their latest subversive tactic is to distribute an illegal video game that asks players to imagine what the world might be like if the United States had won the war instead.   Captain Beniko Ishimura's job is to censor video games, and he's working with Agent Akiko Tsukino of the secret police to get to the bottom of this disturbing new development. But Ishimura's hiding something... He's slowly been discovering that the case of the George Washingtons is more complicated than it seems, and the subversive videogame's origins are even more controversial and dangerous than either of them originally suspected. Part detective story, part brutal alternate history,  United States of Japan  is a stunning successor to Philip K Dick's  The Man in the High Castle . File under: Science Fiction [ Gamechanger | Area #11 | Robot Wars | Strike Back the Empire ] "40 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books That Will Rock Your World In 2016" -io9 "Spring 2016 Top 10 SF, Fantasy, & Horror" - Publisher's Weekly "16 Sci-Fi Things to Look Forward To In 2016" - Popular Mechanics "150 Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror Books to Look Forward To in 2016" - Kirkus Reviews "42 SF/F Books We Can't Wait to Read in 2016" - B&N Science Fiction Fantasy Blog "A searing vision of the persistence of hope in the face of brutality, United States of Japan is utterly brilliant." - Ken Liu , Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy winner and author of The Grace of Kings "A perfect patchwork of multiple sci-fi and anime subgenres rolled into one novel." - Esquire "This is a darkly fun, clever, and unrelentingly ambitious book." - Kameron Hurley, Hugo Award-winner and author of The Mirror Empire "The novel deftly portrays the horrors of oppression but also, with its giant military robots, sumo wrestlers and body-transforming technology, is a gleeful love letter to Japanese pop culture." - Financial Times "In USJ , Tieryas finds a way to incorporate gaming, history and an alternative 'what if' scenario into a creative sci-fi, action-packed, profound, and solemn narrative." - Kotaku TAY "A hell of a ride, with multiple POVs and plot twists as history is written and rewritten right in front of you. It's a challenging book with an ending as powerful as the iron grip of the godlike Emperor." - Lightspeed "A compelling read, thoroughly entertaining, and the ultimate "what if?" story." - Cemetery Dance " United States of Japan sees an author capable of beautiful, evocative prose writing a fast-paced Science Fiction novel of old. This results in a journey through an alternative version of our world that is as fascinating as it is disturbing and as full of emotion as it is full of adrenalin. This novel will stay with readers far beyond the final pages, forcing them to reassess the potential impact of who wins the world's wars." - Fantasy Faction "Mind-twisting and fiercely imaginative; Tieryas fuses classic sci-fi tradition with his own powerful vision." - Jay Posey , author of Legends of the Duskwalker series, writer at Ubisoft/Redstorm "It's a tense and intriguing read, a blend of alt history and cyber punk and thriller. 1988 California where San Diego is a razed landscape home to American rebels, and Japanese mechas patrol the coast? Heck yes!" - Beth Cato, author of The Clockwork Dagger "A really intriguing book, one that jumps nicely off of the coattails of Philip K. Dick and instead of simply copying what had come before, has ventured out and created something wholly new, interesting and exciting to read." - io9 Gizmodo "Fast paced, well researched, and with believably complex characters, this was quite difficult to put down. This should appeal to the general science fiction reader, the Japanophile, and the alternate history enthusiast alike." - Fanboy Comics "It grips its reader from the start in a believable alternate history and an intriguing mystery, the right blend of action and suspense melded with a cyberpunk vibe." -SFF Book Corner " The United States of Japan is a tremendous book, it's got a wonderfully dark and rich atmosphere, great action, intelligent and twisted story and above all not only does it pay homage to one of the finest authors of the 20thcentury but also continues one of his most celebrated and yet most difficult works -- simply wonderful." - SF Book Reviews "Its depiction of America in the latter 20th century under Japanese rule is great and very well thought out (look, anything that involves giant mecha is a winner in my book) and the alternate technologies that exist, some of them decades ahead of their time are quite cool." - Rick O'Shea, Broadcaster RTE2fm "Mecha, alternate history, video games? Yes, please!" - S