United States of Japan by Peter Tieryas Liu
A censor named Ben Ishimura and a secret police officer named Akiko Tsukino are looking for the maker of a video game called USA that lets users play in a scenario where America never fell in which the Axis won World War II and Japan dominates the western United States.
United States of Japan is The Man in the High Castle’s spiritual heir, which I should really read soon. The USJ is a paranoid dystopia where speaking out against the Emperor would result in your death. Skyscraper-sized mecha patrol the cities, and each person is equipped with a portcal, a portable computer.
United States of Japan by Peter Tieryas Liu
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In this other universe, Japan has captured portions of the United States and the Axis powers won World War II. And it’s a book with a lot of nerdy, geeky references that we love to see in science fiction, like big mechas and gaming culture references. But more than that, what truly got my attention is how Peter utilizes this book to address some of the most horrific Pacific theatres of World War II events.
This book is excellent. It moves along at a breakneck pace and is brilliant, profound, and sadly beautiful. The world building in this instance is more in-depth and more integrated into the narrative. The story moves just as quickly but is more coherent. The characters are equally interesting and diverse, but they have a stronger sense of humanity to them.
Additionally, it is a really potent tale about imperialism, identity, free will, and history. Empire’s might is seen in both its capacity for destruction and its capacity for control. when people living in the empire started to follow the moral code of the empire rather than their own conscience. Because violence and disaster are waiting to sprout everywhere when that imperial morality prevails over your own. That is very perfectly captured by Tieryas.
