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Izanami's Choice
Samurai vs. robots! In 1901, the Meiji Restoration has abolished the old ways and ushered in a cybernetic revolution. Androids integrate into society at all levels, following their programming for the betterment of every citizen, as servants, bodyguards, and bureaucrats. Jinzou are the future. Japan is at the threshold of a new tomorrow! As a ronin steeped in the old ways, Itaru wants nothing more to do with the artificial creations posing as human. But when a jinzou is suspected of murder, he and his machine-savvy daughter are pulled into a mystery that could tear the nation apart. Malfunction or free will? When is a machine more than just a machine? IZANAMI'S CHOICE is an alternate history sci-fi novella set in Meiji Era Japan. It's samurai vs. robots as the author explores how Japan might grapple with the rise of artificial intelligence. "Reads like watching an anime..." —Publisher's Weekly
100 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 1, 2016
8 people are currently reading
264 people want to read
About the author
Adam Heine
5 books24 followersAmerican living in Thailand. Foster dad of many. Author (Izanami's Choice). Game dev (Torment: Tides of Numenera, Remnant: From the Ashes, Remnant II). Professional editor for hire.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 26, 2016
Izanami’s Choice is a clever book about an alternate 19th Century where robots and computers are already established. Izanami is a ronin (a samurai without a lord to serve) who has had to make some tough choices in his life. He knows that his way of life is on the wane, even though Japan still pays lip service to its traditions (including having an Emperor) and culture.
“It bowed and gestured again: Then it straightened, speaking only after it had returned its hand carefully to its side: ‘The door, sir.’ Itaru sighed. This jinzou had been cautiously trained. An invitation would make Itaru a legal guest, protected by Tokyo law. It was a common trick in bakuto houses and other illegal establishments. The door would be left wide open in welcome, but with no official invitation, anyone who walked through was technically a trespasser. Privately owned droids could do anything to a trespasser in their master’s home.”
Come for the assassin bots; stay for the mysteries with exotic atmosphere. Heine shares a great deal of his knowledge of Japan in constructing a believable world with many cultural touches. This is all done in a non-stop action story where we strain with Itaru to find out whether a plot (by the central computer?) to take over Japan can be stopped by a samurai and his daughter.
Itaru confronts a number of moral choices that parallel ones that our Age of Impeding AI is also considering. Heine does more than sprinkle these on top of the plot. In many instances they are given some careful consideration. Our ronin has several investigations going. Each puts him in danger until it seems that he cannot succeed or even survive.
“Itaru drew his tamiken from his sleeve. It was a black grip about the size and shape of a sword hilt. The oritatamiken was a rare tool, a gift from the Tokyo Police Department for his part in taking down the Akayoroshi clan of Yurakucho. He pressed a button on its side, and steel segments unfolded from the grip, each locking itself into place to form a full-length blade….The jinzou weakness--- the one reason Itaru could fight successfully against them at all---was their predictability. He had fought hundreds of jinzou in his lifetime, and although their skills evolved in clever ways, the basics never changed.”
If you made it through that paragraph and are interested in more, then I think you will enjoy this book.
“It bowed and gestured again: Then it straightened, speaking only after it had returned its hand carefully to its side: ‘The door, sir.’ Itaru sighed. This jinzou had been cautiously trained. An invitation would make Itaru a legal guest, protected by Tokyo law. It was a common trick in bakuto houses and other illegal establishments. The door would be left wide open in welcome, but with no official invitation, anyone who walked through was technically a trespasser. Privately owned droids could do anything to a trespasser in their master’s home.”
Come for the assassin bots; stay for the mysteries with exotic atmosphere. Heine shares a great deal of his knowledge of Japan in constructing a believable world with many cultural touches. This is all done in a non-stop action story where we strain with Itaru to find out whether a plot (by the central computer?) to take over Japan can be stopped by a samurai and his daughter.
Itaru confronts a number of moral choices that parallel ones that our Age of Impeding AI is also considering. Heine does more than sprinkle these on top of the plot. In many instances they are given some careful consideration. Our ronin has several investigations going. Each puts him in danger until it seems that he cannot succeed or even survive.
“Itaru drew his tamiken from his sleeve. It was a black grip about the size and shape of a sword hilt. The oritatamiken was a rare tool, a gift from the Tokyo Police Department for his part in taking down the Akayoroshi clan of Yurakucho. He pressed a button on its side, and steel segments unfolded from the grip, each locking itself into place to form a full-length blade….The jinzou weakness--- the one reason Itaru could fight successfully against them at all---was their predictability. He had fought hundreds of jinzou in his lifetime, and although their skills evolved in clever ways, the basics never changed.”
If you made it through that paragraph and are interested in more, then I think you will enjoy this book.
May 25, 2016
Full disclosure: I wrote this book. My rating might be biased.
I first pitched this book to Scott Gable in January 2015. I love mixing genres, and I wanted to create a world kind of like Penny Arcade's Automata series, which blends sentient androids with 20's noir. Once I started thinking about how Meiji Era Japan might have created an artificial intelligence (with only a few "minor" changes to history), I couldn't stop, and Izanami's Choice was born.
The book contains approximately 32,000 words and a pretty, pretty picture on the front made by Jeremy Zerfoss.
I first pitched this book to Scott Gable in January 2015. I love mixing genres, and I wanted to create a world kind of like Penny Arcade's Automata series, which blends sentient androids with 20's noir. Once I started thinking about how Meiji Era Japan might have created an artificial intelligence (with only a few "minor" changes to history), I couldn't stop, and Izanami's Choice was born.
The book contains approximately 32,000 words and a pretty, pretty picture on the front made by Jeremy Zerfoss.
June 3, 2016
So much to love about this story. Lush future-noir Japanese setting. Mystery, murder, and intrigue. Assassin bots. A-S-S-A-S-S-I-N bots, people! The writing is spectacular, there's fantastic use of period-fantasy-language, and the story is tight, enthralling, and leaves you wondering what's *really* going on right up until the end.
I had the good fortune to read an early copy of this. Add it to your TBR pile! You'll want to snap this up as soon as it's out. Adam Heine is an author to watch.
I had the good fortune to read an early copy of this. Add it to your TBR pile! You'll want to snap this up as soon as it's out. Adam Heine is an author to watch.
February 26, 2020
A solid short read.
September 3, 2016
Fantastic. Immediately, the world surrounded me and I readily immersed myself and gave myself up to Meiji era Japan and robots.
Intriguing mystery and relationships, it was fun to sift through all the information and guess who was good and who was bad.
Plus, all the philosophy and moral ethic quandaries sentience in robots brings up was done so well.
YOU WILL NOT REGRET! Buy this book!
Intriguing mystery and relationships, it was fun to sift through all the information and guess who was good and who was bad.
Plus, all the philosophy and moral ethic quandaries sentience in robots brings up was done so well.
YOU WILL NOT REGRET! Buy this book!
September 8, 2016
Noir Japanese samurai mystery AI robots. Some of my favorite things and this wonderful novella by Adam Heine has all of them and more. This is a very atmospheric and action-filled story that is also thought-provoking and character driven - not an easy balancing act for a writer to attain. The language is also beautiful and really builds this alternate world robot-integrated society - gives it grit and texture. This is a world and a cast of characters I'd enjoy returning to again. I highly recommend it.
October 25, 2020
Mislio sam da ce mi ovo bolje bit...
June 28, 2018
Izami's Choice is a beautiful, slightly surreal exploration of the themes of Asimov's I, Robot - set in Meiji-era Japan. The samurai class is fading from power, and androids are integrated at every level of society, taking on the duties of everyone from courtesans to bodyguards to bureaucrats.
I admire writers who can drop readers into a story head-first, maintaining that delicate balance between information overload and complete cluelessness - not easy to do when the culture you write is is something so fundamentally different to what most of the West are used to. But Heine does it with masterful skill. The Japanese terms, societies and class structures are faithfully preserved, never overexplained. Technical exposition is handled through characters. The principle of bushido runs throughout without ever being dumped upon the reader's head by butler-and-maid exposition. Had James Clavell ventured into cyberpunk, he may have produced something similar.
I admire writers who can drop readers into a story head-first, maintaining that delicate balance between information overload and complete cluelessness - not easy to do when the culture you write is is something so fundamentally different to what most of the West are used to. But Heine does it with masterful skill. The Japanese terms, societies and class structures are faithfully preserved, never overexplained. Technical exposition is handled through characters. The principle of bushido runs throughout without ever being dumped upon the reader's head by butler-and-maid exposition. Had James Clavell ventured into cyberpunk, he may have produced something similar.
abandoned
October 5, 2020This is so very far from what I’m in the mood for (think movie I Am Robot, only in an alt historical Japanese setting that somehow has robots and AI at the turn of the nineteenth century); others may find more to like (it’s a cool pitch! But I’m not finding it engaging). I tapped out at the over-engineered Star Wars joke.
May 5, 2024
That was actually pretty good. I’m usually not into Science Fiction novels, but I quite enjoyed the fast-paced dire situation the protagonist had to face.
Notable quote of the book:
“Life was a series of variables and calculations, risks and mistakes. No one could control every factor. Everyone, droid and human, was just playing the odds.” Pg 70
Notable quote of the book:
“Life was a series of variables and calculations, risks and mistakes. No one could control every factor. Everyone, droid and human, was just playing the odds.” Pg 70
September 11, 2016
If Isaac Asimov wrote Shogun
This is a cool little package of robotics and samurai in an alternate history of 1900 Japan. The story centers around a ronin detective who finds himself at the center of a plot that will effect the whole country.
There’s plenty of action and swordplay, but what stays with you is Itaru’s relationship with his distant daughter (a robotics engineer), the question around what powers robots should be given in a rapidly advancing technology, and the choices we all make when faced with danger.
The author never takes the easy path for his characters, but just when you think things can’t get worse, they do. And with the choices, too, there’s no clear-cut answers, so there's this great tension where we aren’t sure what the hero should do until it’s too late.
Add in a conspiracy and state secrets and assassin droids, and you got a novella that’s part noir, part sci-fi, and full of suspense.
This is a cool little package of robotics and samurai in an alternate history of 1900 Japan. The story centers around a ronin detective who finds himself at the center of a plot that will effect the whole country.
There’s plenty of action and swordplay, but what stays with you is Itaru’s relationship with his distant daughter (a robotics engineer), the question around what powers robots should be given in a rapidly advancing technology, and the choices we all make when faced with danger.
The author never takes the easy path for his characters, but just when you think things can’t get worse, they do. And with the choices, too, there’s no clear-cut answers, so there's this great tension where we aren’t sure what the hero should do until it’s too late.
Add in a conspiracy and state secrets and assassin droids, and you got a novella that’s part noir, part sci-fi, and full of suspense.
September 25, 2018
Adam Heine is a terrific writer. In his steampunk tale, Izanami's choice, he imagines feudal Japan with robots, and does a stellar job at it. His prose is joyously readable and smart. I look forward to his future projects.
January 13, 2019
A bit meh, but short and easy. It is an ok in-between-read.
October 9, 2016
Ok I lost track of this book for awhile but I knocked it out today and loved it.
September 16, 2016
Brilliant
A great story with interesting questions about machine sentience and human intelligente. A fast and actionfilled tale with deep issues at the core.
A great story with interesting questions about machine sentience and human intelligente. A fast and actionfilled tale with deep issues at the core.
September 15, 2016
A delightful romp through an alternate history, with fun philosophical jaunts and characters that make me want to have tea with them.
November 21, 2016
Anyone who doesn't speak Japanese will have a hard time reading this book. It sounds as if was written by a weeaboo. Various places are filled in with Japanese words for no reason and are not explained. The author doesn't seem to know too much about Japan either. Calling everything a 'kimono' when it's usually referred to by a more specific name, such as a yukata. He also uses X-sama which is fine, however it becomes sensei X which... It should be X-sensei. There's also Itaru calling Kano "daughter" all the time. Which, as a father he's call her Kano-chan or something, not 'musume' over and over. There's also one 'to-san' that slipped by as those were all translated as 'father' which makes it sound clunky.
The story over all is really nothing special. Evil female AI that may or may not have in in for the humans. Itaru has to save the day. Lots of word "shame' and "honor" being dropped all over the place.
The story over all is really nothing special. Evil female AI that may or may not have in in for the humans. Itaru has to save the day. Lots of word "shame' and "honor" being dropped all over the place.
January 2, 2017
I won this book in a goodreads giveaway. Now, this book plays heavily on a fear some may have today of technology and how rapidly it is advancing. However, in the book, it was not always bad to have the advanced technology but the moral was technology becomes dangerous in the wrong hands. I did enjoy the story, despite how short it was. Sometimes a quick read is nice. Also, the Japanese culture in the book was really cool. Samurai vs. robots is such a unique concept, that is what originally drew me to the book.
October 1, 2016
A fun short story with a nice twist. I loved the setting and the concept (automa robots developed in the 1880s or thereabouts). The intermittent use of Japanese toed the line between adding flavor and feeling forced, and I'm not certain whether it ultimately helped or hurt the story for me. I enjoyed the action scenes and the story beats. I will definitely be looking for other work by this author.
November 25, 2016
Caves of Steel meets 47 Ronin with a dash of Chandler in a short sharp introduction to an alternate 19th century that works because the author makes the concepts mesh rather than clash. It deserves a sequel and perhaps adaptation... perhaps as a manga.
November 26, 2016
This is a great genre mashup about a samurai lost in his past who must protect an android who is suspected of murder. Fast paced and full of action, this novella was lots of fun.
January 7, 2025
Its samurais vs robots.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews