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A review by aoc
Estados Unidos de Japón by Peter Tieryas
4.0
Many stories have been spun regarding that age old "What if Axis Powers won WW2?" premise and, as you can surmise from the title, United States of Japan makes for a Japan-centric take. Specifically one where Imperial Japan deviates from history when it decides to postpone the Pacific campaign to help Nazi Germany tackle Soviet Russia and take a major player off the board, which in turn enables Japan and Germany to eventually divvy up the rest of the world. If this sounds incredulous that's because it honestly is so let's not delve into historically viable or plausible because the novel certainly won't. I mean, there are war mechs the size of skyscrapers here patrolling the streets. In fact, bulk of the story happens during the fictional year of 1988 and sidesteps the integration process itself which takes the Internment of Japanese Americans as a starting point.
How does that affect the novel, though?
Having finished it and looking back I have to admit it's surprising just how well a part-detective, part-action setup works when it blatantly alternates between the two. Ben Ishimura - low ranking officer and by all accounts a tolerated failure in the Imperial military, goes on with his daily life as a game censor while constantly being skipped over for promotions. Akiko Tsukino - highly competent agent of the Imperial Secret Service who lives and dies for the Immortal Emperor, finds methods so she can make torture sessions more effective. What could these two possibly have in common? Well, I mentioned "games" above and I did mean video games. Technology is hell of a lot more advanced in this setting and everything is regulated by the State leaving Ben as one of the censors who goes through everything you do while gaming. You know, because it has to be reported so you can get disappeared in the middle of the night because you cursed the Emperor once. It just so happens that a radical and dangerous new game has been circulating illegally, something called USA or United States of America, one that perpetuates an utterly ridiculous narrative in which history is overturned. Due to necessity our two protagonists end up working together to get to the bottom of it and, needless to say, there's more to this than just gamers running wild.
One thing that immediately stood out for me was just how brutally inhuman this Japanese dominated world is. Life is cheap, honor is everything. Secret Police is a thing whispered about, Immortal Emperor's name is to be venerated and the military is caught up in perpetual conflict with remnants of native forces that still cling forty years later contained in their hidden holes. Yet at the same time a lot of the diseases have been eliminated and other technological advances have continued through the roof. I'm talking guns that can fire viruses at you or aforementioned building-sized mechs straight out of anime... which may or may not exist because games are so widespread. I'm talking VR with realistic graphics. Projects that spun off from military simulations and hold such a place in society that military specifically trains people to develop them. And yet... New Japan really doesn't like what Nazi Germany is doing which gets you thinking. They're merely a footnote in the novel, though. What DOES gain more prominence as you read are the remains of United States and those aren't exactly as pure-hearted as some wishful thinking people may imagine. Let's just say there's more than Father, Son and Holy Spirit in their Christian prayers now.
Apart from couple of flashbacks story itself unfolds in a matter of days meaning we actually get this interesting hour-by-hour breakdown. This gives United States of Japan a snappy pace further enforced by repartee between our two leads. They're on the same side, but it doesn't make them identical and gives differing insight into this world that rarely draws blatant comparisons to real world. This reality is simply accepted as is. What I mean is no punches are held back to protect anyone's fragile sensibilities. People dying may not be the worst thing that can happen to you.
Does it get a recommendation from me? You could say my expectations were surpassed due to execution more than premise. There's something special when a story can pull a gut punch in the very last chapter to bring a character arc together. What are happy endings, after all?
How does that affect the novel, though?
Having finished it and looking back I have to admit it's surprising just how well a part-detective, part-action setup works when it blatantly alternates between the two. Ben Ishimura - low ranking officer and by all accounts a tolerated failure in the Imperial military, goes on with his daily life as a game censor while constantly being skipped over for promotions. Akiko Tsukino - highly competent agent of the Imperial Secret Service who lives and dies for the Immortal Emperor, finds methods so she can make torture sessions more effective. What could these two possibly have in common? Well, I mentioned "games" above and I did mean video games. Technology is hell of a lot more advanced in this setting and everything is regulated by the State leaving Ben as one of the censors who goes through everything you do while gaming. You know, because it has to be reported so you can get disappeared in the middle of the night because you cursed the Emperor once. It just so happens that a radical and dangerous new game has been circulating illegally, something called USA or United States of America, one that perpetuates an utterly ridiculous narrative in which history is overturned. Due to necessity our two protagonists end up working together to get to the bottom of it and, needless to say, there's more to this than just gamers running wild.
One thing that immediately stood out for me was just how brutally inhuman this Japanese dominated world is. Life is cheap, honor is everything. Secret Police is a thing whispered about, Immortal Emperor's name is to be venerated and the military is caught up in perpetual conflict with remnants of native forces that still cling forty years later contained in their hidden holes. Yet at the same time a lot of the diseases have been eliminated and other technological advances have continued through the roof. I'm talking guns that can fire viruses at you or aforementioned building-sized mechs straight out of anime... which may or may not exist because games are so widespread. I'm talking VR with realistic graphics. Projects that spun off from military simulations and hold such a place in society that military specifically trains people to develop them. And yet... New Japan really doesn't like what Nazi Germany is doing which gets you thinking. They're merely a footnote in the novel, though. What DOES gain more prominence as you read are the remains of United States and those aren't exactly as pure-hearted as some wishful thinking people may imagine. Let's just say there's more than Father, Son and Holy Spirit in their Christian prayers now.
Apart from couple of flashbacks story itself unfolds in a matter of days meaning we actually get this interesting hour-by-hour breakdown. This gives United States of Japan a snappy pace further enforced by repartee between our two leads. They're on the same side, but it doesn't make them identical and gives differing insight into this world that rarely draws blatant comparisons to real world. This reality is simply accepted as is. What I mean is no punches are held back to protect anyone's fragile sensibilities. People dying may not be the worst thing that can happen to you.
Does it get a recommendation from me? You could say my expectations were surpassed due to execution more than premise. There's something special when a story can pull a gut punch in the very last chapter to bring a character arc together. What are happy endings, after all?