Peter Tieryas | |
---|---|
Born | Berkeley, California, United States |
Pen name | Peter Tieryas Liu |
Occupation | writer, VFX artist |
Nationality | American |
Genre | literary fiction, science fiction |
Website | |
tieryas |
Peter Tieryas is an American writer. He is the author of Bald New World (2014) [1] and the Mecha Samurai Empire series which consists of United States of Japan (2016), [2] [3] Mecha Samurai Empire (2018), [4] and Cyber Shogun Revolution (2020). He attended the University of California Berkeley. Tieryas worked previously at studios like Sony Pictures Imageworks and Pixar Animation Studios. He has also worked at LucasArts as both a technical artist and technical writer. He is currently a Narrative Director for Nicalis. [5] [6] Many of his stories involve the American Dream, conflicted identity in dystopian futures, and strange romance amidst culture clash. [7]
Tieryas has most recently written or contributed to the game scenarios for Nicalis on Cramped Room of Death, IRA, and Dungreed. [8]
His literary work has appeared in literary journals including the Indiana Review , Evergreen Review , Existere , Gargoyle Magazine , Hobart (magazine) , Kotaku , [9] Kyoto Journal , New Letters, Subaru, Tor.com , [10] and ZYZZYVA . [11]
His filmography includes Luca,Toy Story 4, Lou, Bao, Incredibles 2, Alice in Wonderland , Men in Black 3 , Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 , I Am Legend , Hotel Transylvania , [12] and Guardians of the Galaxy .
He has worked on games including Star Wars: Bounty Hunter , Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast , Escape from Monkey Island , Gladius , and Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault . [13]
His work on Terry in Soul won the VES Award for Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature. [14]
Watering Heaven was longlisted for the Frank O'Connor Int'l Award. [15] [16] Bald New World was longlisted for the Folio Prize in 2015 [17] [18] and listed by BuzzFeed as one of 15 Highly Anticipated Books of 2014. Buzzfeed contributor Richard Thomas described it as: "If you took the world building of Philip K. Dick, and added in the gritty reality and humor of Haruki Murakami, with a touch of Aldous Huxley (of course), you would get Bald New World." [19] Publishers Weekly named Bald New World as one of the Best Science Fiction Books of Summer 2014 in a starred review: "Gorgeous language choices combine with Nick’s philosophical journey of personal discovery to create a deceptively deep story." [20] Yahoo, in describing Tieryas's work, stated: "Highlighted by Kollaboration in March as one of three Asian American authors on the rise, Tieryas's debut novel "Bald New World" deals with a global epidemic of follicular proportions... When Baldification hits the planet, the pair find themselves caught up in an sci-fi tinged international conspiracy, turning their penchant for adventure into a series of daring discoveries. [21] David S. Atkinson at HTMLGiant said: "Dystopia has been done a lot, but no one has done it quite like Peter Tieryas. I’d like to enthusiastically welcome Bald New World to the must-read dystopian canon. Old Aldous would be proud." [22] However, in a mixed review, Electric Literature pointed out: "As a first novel, there are some growing pains—particularly the shifts in the pacing, and a certain episodic feel to parts of the narrative. Around the middle there’s a shift that might alienate certain readers, where the book suddenly becomes a high-octane romp. The two halves do feel very separate from each other, but the transition is natural (or, to try to avoid spoilers, jarring in the best possible way)." [23]
Peter Tieryas is also the co-founder and co-editor of Entropy Magazine. [24] He frequently collaborates with his wife, artist Angela Xu. [25]
The Mecha Samurai Empire series is composed of three books, United States of Japan, Mecha Samurai Empire, and Cyber Shogun Revolution. [26]
United States of Japan (2016) began as "a story revolving around the tragic events on the Asian side of WWII." The book is inspired by The Man in the High Castle , his time at Electronic Arts, and his experiences traveling in Asia. [27]
Popular Mechanics included United States of Japan as one of 16 Sci-Fi Things To Look Forward to in 2016, stating: "It's more the cyberpunk dystopia William Gibson promised us than the actual 1980s we know, with giant mechs enforcing the law and police trying to squash an underground gaming success that lets players imagine what might've happened if the allied powers won World War II. It sounds like a perfect patchwork of multiple sci-fi and anime subgenres rolled into one novel." [28] Publishers Weekly named USJ as one of the top 10 anticipated Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror books. [29] Kirkus Reviews listed it as one of "The Speculative Fiction Books You Can't Miss in March." [30] The Verge named the novel as one of the Best Books Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels of 2016. [31]
Financial Times stated, "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." [32] Barnes & Noble Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog said, "United States of Japan mixes alt-history with pulp-history, the plausible with the fantastical, in a vision of the 1980s with the glossy sheen and rain-slick neon of vintage cyberpunk." [33] Anthony Jones of SF Book Reviews stated: "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 20th century but also continues one of his most celebrated and yet most difficult works — simply wonderful." [34] io9 reviewer Andrew Liptak wrote, "Tieryas has created a unique alternate world and populated it with fantastic characters and fixtures." [35] In a mixed review, N. Ho Sang of SF Signal writes: "United States of Japan is a smart, gut-wrenching alternative reality that blurs lines between hope with a focus on emotional truths of human nature," but "there are small moments where transitions in environment, scenes and character developments may present themselves as sudden shifts, and feel slightly jarring." [36]
United States of Japan has been translated and published in Japan, Spain, [37] Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, and Mexico. It became a Nikkei Best Seller [38] and the Japanese publication went to 7th printing in the first month, [39] receiving acclaim from Asahi Shimbun , [40] Yomiuri Shimbun , [41] and Gizmodo Japan . [42] S-F Magazine's Yearly Poll of Japan's Top Science Fiction selected United States of Japan as #2 of the best Best International Science Fiction. [43] It won the 2017 Seiun Award [44] and won 2nd Place For the Japan Booksellers' Award . [45]
Mecha Samurai Empire, published by Ace Roc Books in 2018, is a standalone book in the USJ universe focusing on the mecha wars between the Nazis and the United States of Japan. [46] Amazon Book Reviews listed Mecha as one of the top Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of September 2018, stating, "Readers of alternate history will enjoy the details of the Japanese culture enfolded into the US and the ongoing tensions with the Nazis, while the plot itself packs a punch." [47] Financial Times included Mecha Samurai Empire as one of the best science fiction books of 2018, describing it as "action-packed and rousing." [48] Syfy Wire said the book was "an adrenalized fusion of Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle and Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim as rampaging robots prowl a very different America." [49]
Hideo Kojima praised the book, stating it intermixes "the experience of cinema, literature, anime, comics, and gaming" and "is the new generation of Science Fiction we’ve been waiting for!” [50]
It won the 2019 Seiun Award . [51] [52]
The third book, Cyber Shogun Revolution, is also a standalone book featuring two new characters who fight against the mysterious terrorist, Bloody Mary. [53] Den of Geek described it as " jam packed with giant robot action, and while it’s the ethical questions that stick with me, there’s a tremendous amount of fun in reading about mecha going after each other with plasma swords and chain saws." [54] An art gallery featuring art from the entire series was showcased at the Story Cafe in the Yurindo Bookstore at Akihabara, Japan.
Tieryas has cited Cordwainer Smith, [55] Philip K. Dick, Pearl Buck, Franz Kafka, Herman Melville, Margaret Weis, Alan Moore, Kameron Hurley, Ken Liu, Maxine Hong Kingston, George Orwell, Sylvia Plath, John Steinbeck, Cao Xueqin, and the Biblical Book of Ecclesiastes as literary influences. [56] [57]
Alternate history is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alternate history stories propose What if? scenarios about crucial events in human history, and present outcomes very different from the historical record. Some alternate histories are considered a subgenre of literary fiction, science fiction, or historical fiction.
In science fiction, mecha or mechs are giant robots or machines typically depicted as piloted and as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese after shortening the English loanword 'mechanism' or 'mechanical', but the meaning in Japanese is more inclusive, and 'robot' or 'giant robot' is the narrower term.
A science fiction magazine is a publication that offers primarily science fiction, either in a hard-copy periodical format or on the Internet. Science fiction magazines traditionally featured speculative fiction in short story, novelette, novella or novel form, a format that continues into the present day. Many also contain editorials, book reviews or articles, and some also include stories in the fantasy and horror genres.
Martha Wells is an American writer of speculative fiction. She has published a number of fantasy novels, young adult novels, media tie-ins, short stories, and nonfiction essays on fantasy and science fiction subjects. Her novels have been translated into twelve languages. Wells has won four Hugo Awards, two Nebula Awards and three Locus Awards for her science fiction series The Murderbot Diaries. She is also known for her fantasy series Ile-Rien and The Books of the Raksura. Wells is praised for the complex, realistically detailed societies she creates; this is often credited to her academic background in anthropology.
The Seiun Award is a Japanese speculative fiction award given each year for the best science fiction works and achievements during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the Science Fiction Fan Groups’ Association of Nippon, the awards are given at the annual Japan Science Fiction Convention. It is the oldest SF award in Japan, being given since the 9th Japan Science Fiction Convention in 1970.
The Nihon SF Taikai is an annual science fiction convention held in Japan. Each of these conventions is officially the Nth Nihon SF Taikai (第N回日本SF大会), but they are more popularly known by the official nicknames given to them based on their locations, e.g. TOKON or DAICON.
Science fiction is an important genre of modern Japanese literature that has strongly influenced aspects of contemporary Japanese pop culture, including anime, manga, video games, tokusatsu, and cinema.
Lavie Tidhar is an Israeli-born writer, working across multiple genres. He has lived in the United Kingdom and South Africa for long periods of time, as well as Laos and Vanuatu. As of 2013, Tidhar has lived in London. His novel Osama won the 2012 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, beating Stephen King's 11/22/63 and George R. R. Martin's A Dance with Dragons. His novel A Man Lies Dreaming won the £5000 Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize, for Best British Fiction, in 2015. He won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 2017, for Central Station.
The Nihon SF Taishō Award is a Japanese science fiction award. It has been compared to the Nebula Award as it is given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan or SFWJ. The Grand Prize is selected from not only Science Fiction novels, but also various SF movies, animations, and manga.
Kōshū Tani is a Japanese science fiction writer. He graduated from the Osaka Institute of Technology, and worked as a volunteer in Nepal and the Philippines. He made his professional debut with the story 137th Mobile Brigade in 1979 while still in Nepal.
Yasumi Kobayashi (小林泰三) was a Japanese author of horror, science fiction and mystery.
Ken Liu is an American author of science fiction and fantasy. Liu has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards for his short fiction, which has appeared in F&SF, Asimov's, Analog, Lightspeed, Clarkesworld, and multiple "Year's Best" anthologies.
Tokyo Sogensha Co., Ltd. is a Japanese publisher of mystery fiction, science fiction, fantasy, literary fiction and social science, based in Tokyo.
Ann Leckie is an American author of science fiction and fantasy. Her 2013 debut novel Ancillary Justice, in part about artificial consciousness and gender-blindness, won the 2014 Hugo Award for "Best Novel", as well as the Nebula Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the BSFA Award. The sequels, Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy, each won the Locus Award and were nominated for the Nebula Award. Provenance, published in 2017, and Translation State, published in 2023, are also set in the Imperial Radch universe. Leckie's first fantasy novel, The Raven Tower, was published in February 2019.
Li Jun, known by the pen name Baoshu (宝树), is a Chinese science fiction and fantasy writer. One of his books, Three Body X, is a sequel to Death's End by Liu Cixin. Baoshu received his Master of Philosophy at Peking University, and a second master after studying at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. In 2012 he became a full-time science fiction writer.
Hayakawa Publishing, Inc. is a Japanese publishing company, founded in 1945 by Kiyoshi Hayakawa. It is the largest science fiction publisher in Japan; almost all winners of the Seiun Award for Best Foreign Novel are published by the company.
Yoshio Aramaki is a science fiction and mystery writer, critic and art collector. His original given name was Kunio Aramaki. He has changed his name to Yoshimasa Aramaki (荒巻義雅). Aramaki is well known by his so-called "Meta-SF" works which are characterized by their speculative and fantastic themes and depictions. He is also famous for his various series of "imaginary battle" novels and alternate history novels such as Konpeki no Kantai series. He is a member of the Japan Writers’ Association, and of the SFWJ, and of the Contemporary Haiku Association. He was also a professor in the Seishū Women's University from 1993 to 1997.
Rebecca F. Kuang is an American fantasy novelist. Her first novel, The Poppy War, was released in 2018, followed by the sequels The Dragon Republic in 2019 and The Burning God in 2020. Kuang released a stand-alone novel, Babel, or the Necessity of Violence, in 2022. Her newest book is Yellowface, a satirical novel which was published in 2023. Kuang holds graduate degrees in Sinology from Magdalene College, Cambridge and from University College, Oxford, and is currently studying at Yale University.
Wombs is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yumiko Shirai. It was serialized in Shogakukan's Monthly Ikki from April 2009 to October 2010, and later directly published via tankōbon volumes, with the fifth and last one released in January 2016.
The Mecha Samurai Empireseries is an alternate-history science fiction book series written by American author Peter Tieryas. The series centers around an alternate America, known as the United States of Japan, after the Nazis and Japanese Empire have emerged victorious in World War II. The stories focus primarily on Asian communities since the war, depicting the struggles of survivors in a new authoritarian regime. The novels explore themes such as government propaganda and the blurring of fact and fiction. Each book in the series is a standalone novel in the same shared universe, featuring different protagonists, antagonists, and conflicts. The series has been the recipient of several awards, twice receiving the Seiun Award for speculative fiction. The first title in the series was published by Ace Books in 2016, with the latest title being released in 2020.
{{cite web}}
: |last1=
has generic name (help){{cite web}}
: |last1=
has generic name (help){{cite web}}
: |last2=
has generic name (help)