Review: Science: Hopes & Fears (Volume 2) by Juza Unno

Science: Hopes & Fears [Volume 2: Eighteen O’Clock Music Bath] by Juza Unno (translated by J.D. Wisgo)

Published: Self-published (2018)

The Book:

“Juza Unno, the father of Japanese science fiction, wrote a great number of stories in the 1930s and 1940s which contained exceptional elements of science and technology. Eighteen O’Clock Music Bath, one of his most well-known works, is a dystopian novella set in a future where humanity has obtained eternal life and the freedom to do almost anything–except for a single hour a day, where citizens must perform the most important societal tasks with superhuman productivity.

This extreme productivity is made possible by the refreshing 30-minute “music bath”, where citizens listen to a specially-engineered melody that integrates a long list of factors chosen by the government. However, little do the people know that increased productivity is not the only side-effect…” ~Amazon.com

My Thoughts:

This is the second volume of the work of foundational Japanese science fiction author Juza Unno, translated by J.D. Wisgo.  I have reviewed the first volume here, and if you’re interested in this second novella you can find it on Amazon here. These works came to my attention because my brother was involved in the translation work for this book, and I think it’s an exciting opportunity to read some of the earliest Japanese science fiction.  Since this is an older work that I am reading far out of its time, I will discuss but not rate the novella.

These days, dystopian fiction has become pretty popular.  Juza Unno’s “Eighteen O’Clock Music Bath” may have been written over 80 years ago, but it presents some basic themes that have been presented time and again in stories since. The government is obsessed with controlling its citizens, mind and body, and they do so through new technology. The “music bath” is a method through which citizens can be both focused for an hour of superhuman productivity (for government-approved work, of course) and be forced to adhere to the ideals of the government for the rest of the day. The experience of the bath is actually deeply unpleasant to the citizens, and can even damage their brains from long exposure. To the president, this is a small price to pay for a docile, productive, crime-free populace. The president does not see humanity as a necessity in his subjects, only loyalty and obedience.

There is some conflict set up between the scientists and politicians, but Unno does not seek to portray either in a particularly positive light.  Initially, scientists are preventing the politicians from totally cooking the citizens brains, but the scientists are also the ones who made the music bath possible in the first place. The story was much more balanced in gender than I would’ve expected from such an old work. There are about the same amount of male and female characters, and two scientists are even a married couple.  In addition, there’s some surprisingly abrupt transgender content, which some of the characters approve of and others revile. In general, this novella was not exactly what I expected for the time period, given my experiences with contemporary English works. It was really interesting to read a vision of a future dystopia imagined from historical Japan, and I wonder if the struggles of the era influenced the ultimate bleakness of the ending.

Review: Provenance by Ann Leckie

Provenance by Ann Leckie

Published: Orbit (2017)

Awards Nominated: Hugo, Locus SF and British Science Fiction Association Awards

The Book:

”A power-driven young woman has just one chance to secure the status she craves and regain priceless lost artifacts prized by her people. She must free their thief from a prison planet from which no one has ever returned.

Ingray and her charge will return to her home world to find their planet in political turmoil, at the heart of an escalating intergalactic conflict. Together, they must make a new plan to salvage Ingray's future, her family, and her world, before they are lost to her for good.” ~WWEnd.com

My Thoughts:

Provenance is set in the same universe of the Ancillary trilogy, but otherwise has very little connection to it. It doesn’t share any characters with the previous books, and it also has a much lighter tone.  The plot is full of energy and forward momentum, bouncing between many different kinds of high stakes situations (heists, murders, hostages, etc.). Somehow, all this activity comes together into a coherent story, both in terms of the plot and in terms of the repeated themes. I had a lot of fun reading it.

Interesting world-building was a highlight of the Ancillary trilogy, and this book proves that there’s plenty of room for new cultures in the same universe.  Leckie here includes the societies of Tyr, Hwae, and Omkem, as well as the alien Geck. The story mostly takes place in Hwae system, so theirs is the culture we learn the most about.  A central concern in the novel is the Hwaean obsession with physical representations of their past. This includes not just important political documents, but even things as simple as old party invitations. The importance they place on these objects seems absurd to outsiders, but historical authenticity is an important way to establish status in Hwaean culture.  In the other cultures, human and alien, there are also things that make sense within, but seem odd to outsiders. I enjoyed seeing how the different societies functioned, and seeing how they managed (or not) to deal with one another.

For me, another strength of the story was the main character, Ingray. She was a child from a “public creche” who was adopted into a prestigious family (perhaps as an act of charity).  She’s in competition with her privileged brother Danach to prove herself worthy of the family inheritance, but she doesn’t really think she’s capable of beating him. The story kicks off with her taking a huge risk in an uncharacteristically bold attempt to win her mother’s favor, and the fallout from this gamble propels the rest of the story.  I found it very easy to sympathize with Ingray’s anxiety, her self-doubt, and her tendency to become overwhelmed and panicked when things go wrong (which happens a lot). She makes a lot of missteps, but she’s also far more intelligent and resourceful than she gives herself credit for. I am a huge fan of smart protagonists and of flawed protagonists, so Ingray was exactly the sort of person I prefer to read about.

On a last note, the word Provenance essentially indicates the basic theme of the novel.  Throughout all the action and Ingray’s misadventures, the novel is interested in exploring how the past forms a link to the present, and how it helps or hinders us as we move into the future.  This plays out on the societal level in several ways, one of which is the questioning of the benefit and legitimacy of the Hwaean historical artifact traditions. On the personal level, we see this reflected in the lives of Ingray as well as a cast of several memorable minor characters.  Ingray’s self-worth is influenced by the knowledge of her “lowly” birth status, and she is also molded by the enforced competition of her family environment. Her past shapes who she has become, but she must also find a way to not allow her origins to define her future. It may be a relatively simple theme, but I think it is still a good one.  The end of the story was not entirely a surprise, but it provided a satisfying resolution for each of the characters and subplots.

My Rating: 5/5

Provenance is a new story in the universe introduced by Ann Leckie’s Ancillary trilogy.  There’s no need to have read the other books to enjoy this one, since it is a completely separate story. Provenance is somewhat lighter in atmosphere and theme than the previous trilogy, and the plot is a fast-paced adventure that barrels from one disaster to the next.  I thought it was a lot of fun, and I especially enjoyed following the heroine, Ingray. I appreciated her intelligence, but also identified with her self-doubt and her difficulty staying calm in stressful situations.  I am looking forward to seeing what SF Ann Leckie will write next, and I think there are still plenty of stories that could be told in this universe. Also, it appears she has a fantasy book out as of February, which I should probably read soon...

Review: Science: Hopes & Fears (Volume 1) by Juza Unno

Science: Hopes & Fears [Volume 1: Selected Stories] by Juza Unno (translated by J.D. Wisgo)

Published: Self-published, 2018

The Book:

“Juza Unno, a fiction author active in the 1930s and 40s, is considered a founding figure of Japanese science fiction. A student of engineering himself, he had a great fondness for science and its possibilities while being aware of its dangers. In his lifetime he produced many works that leveraged his technical knowledge and creativity, touching on a variety of interesting topics such as space travel that were not yet popular in his time.

This first volume in a series about Juza Unno is a select collection of his short stories translated with annotations–the first publishing of his works in English.” ~Amazon.com

I’m going to review volumes 1 and 2 of this collection, because I think it’s really fascinating to get a glimpse into the early science fiction of Japan.  I also need to add the disclaimer that my brother was involved in the translation effort for these books, which is how it came to my attention. Since this is really a collection of foundational texts of the genre, which are naturally a little out of their time, I will discuss the stories but not provide a rating.  I thank J.D. Wisgo and others involved in the project for allowing those of us in the English-speaking world the opportunity to see this part of Japanese literary history! You can find the book on Amazon at the link posted here.

This collection includes five short stories, chosen by the translator to give a taste of the kinds of stories Juza Unno wrote.  The stories are strongly idea-based, as seems to be common for early 20th century science fiction, and the characters mostly exist to illustrate the ideas.  For instance, one of my favorite ones was “Four-Dimensional Man”, which involves a man describing how he is a three-dimensional cross-section of a four-dimensional being.  I also rather enjoyed the twisty little story called “Mysterious Spacial Rift”, in which the main character runs into problems due to his difficulty in distinguishing reality from vivid dreaming, with tragic results.  

There are also stories that feature some familiar tropes of classic science fiction, such as the idea of colonizing other planets (“The Theory of Planetary Colonization”) and using cryogenic sleep to travel to the future (“The World in One Thousand Years”). These were not the most memorable of the stories, but it was interesting to see a Japanese take on topics that I think were also in vogue in the US at the time.

“The Living Intestine” is the strangest of the bunch.  It featured a scientist caring for a seemingly sentient intestine.  I’m pretty sure the common understanding of human bodies was sufficient in the 1930s to know that this would not be possible, so I could only consider this one as being intentionally weird and surreal.  Also, it might squick out readers who are not interested in the idea of keeping an intestine as a pet. It’s a really bizarre story, though, and I don’t think I’ve ever read anything quite like it.

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