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The Lord of the Sands of Time
ONLY THE PAST CAN SAVE THE FUTURE
Sixty-two years after human life on Earth was annihilated by rampaging alien invaders, the enigmatic Messenger O is sent back in time with a mission to unite humanity of past eras--during the Second World War and ancient Japan, and even back to the dawn of the species itself--to defeat the invasion before it begins. However, in a future shredded by love and genocide, love waits for O. Will O save humanity only to doom himself?
“fabulous, borderline batty concept, with some wonderful wrinkles along the way” [including references to the poet Robert Burns]... “Now that’s something we never expected to see in a Japanese SF novel.”—SFX
“After seeing humanity effectively wiped out in stream after stream, O is full of despair, but continues to try to save mankind. This determination, this self-sacrifice is one of the best part of the book. Despite O being a kind of cyborg, he is fully human in his emotions. And he’s willing to do just about anything to save even one timeline for humanity. He’s a terrific character to hang the story on and is the driving force behind the main story line in feudal Japan.”—SFSignal.com
“...there’s a stirring speech to the troops in the penultimate act that has the same punch as Shakespeare’s St. Crispin’s Day Speech. Yeah that’s right, I just referenced The Forever War and Henry V …” —io9.com
About the author:
Issui Ogawa is known as one of Japan's premier SF writers. His 1996 debut, First a Letter from Popular Palace, won the Shueisha JUMP Novel Grand Prix. The Next Continent (2003, Haikasoru 2010, also available on iPad) garnered the 35th Seiun Prize. A collection of his short stories won the 2005 Best SF Poll, and "The Drifting Man," included in that collection, was awarded the 37th Seiun Prize for domestic short stories. Other works include Land of Resurrection, Free Lunch Era, and The Lord of the Sands of Time (Haikasoru 2009). Ogawa is a principal member of the Space Authors Club.
Sixty-two years after human life on Earth was annihilated by rampaging alien invaders, the enigmatic Messenger O is sent back in time with a mission to unite humanity of past eras--during the Second World War and ancient Japan, and even back to the dawn of the species itself--to defeat the invasion before it begins. However, in a future shredded by love and genocide, love waits for O. Will O save humanity only to doom himself?
“fabulous, borderline batty concept, with some wonderful wrinkles along the way” [including references to the poet Robert Burns]... “Now that’s something we never expected to see in a Japanese SF novel.”—SFX
“After seeing humanity effectively wiped out in stream after stream, O is full of despair, but continues to try to save mankind. This determination, this self-sacrifice is one of the best part of the book. Despite O being a kind of cyborg, he is fully human in his emotions. And he’s willing to do just about anything to save even one timeline for humanity. He’s a terrific character to hang the story on and is the driving force behind the main story line in feudal Japan.”—SFSignal.com
“...there’s a stirring speech to the troops in the penultimate act that has the same punch as Shakespeare’s St. Crispin’s Day Speech. Yeah that’s right, I just referenced The Forever War and Henry V …” —io9.com
About the author:
Issui Ogawa is known as one of Japan's premier SF writers. His 1996 debut, First a Letter from Popular Palace, won the Shueisha JUMP Novel Grand Prix. The Next Continent (2003, Haikasoru 2010, also available on iPad) garnered the 35th Seiun Prize. A collection of his short stories won the 2005 Best SF Poll, and "The Drifting Man," included in that collection, was awarded the 37th Seiun Prize for domestic short stories. Other works include Land of Resurrection, Free Lunch Era, and The Lord of the Sands of Time (Haikasoru 2009). Ogawa is a principal member of the Space Authors Club.
260 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 24, 2007
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About the author
Issui Ogawa
75 books13 followersIssui Ogawa (小川 一水) is a Japanese writer of Science Fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
December 4, 2013
Good sci-fi story about a human-like AI that travels to medieval Japan (and other time periods) to defend humans from a vicious alien species.
The concept sounded trite at first, but the implementation is awesome.
The main character aka O - the Messenger comes from the future, where humans retreated on different planets throughout the galaxy.
He's able of upstreaming, aka time traveling, and goes back to past centuries to earth where he almost singlehandedly fights the alien aggressors that can time travel too.
Most of the time is spent on feudal Japan, where the AI messenger falls in love with the shaman princess Miyo that tries understand his world and the alien threat.
Although the novels spans millions of years (literally), it's a short read with a fast plot and interesting ideas.
I especially like the ending of the story.
The only thing I didn't like was the parallel time explanation - a bit wonky, but hey, still a good read.
Read this little gem.
The concept sounded trite at first, but the implementation is awesome.
The main character aka O - the Messenger comes from the future, where humans retreated on different planets throughout the galaxy.
He's able of upstreaming, aka time traveling, and goes back to past centuries to earth where he almost singlehandedly fights the alien aggressors that can time travel too.
Most of the time is spent on feudal Japan, where the AI messenger falls in love with the shaman princess Miyo that tries understand his world and the alien threat.
Although the novels spans millions of years (literally), it's a short read with a fast plot and interesting ideas.
I especially like the ending of the story.
The only thing I didn't like was the parallel time explanation - a bit wonky, but hey, still a good read.
Read this little gem.
May 20, 2015
I think that the Japanese have a penchant for open-ended stories and for scary villains that are either faceless or else inscrutable and abhorrent in their moralities. This book was no exception.
In The Lord of the Sands of Time, humanity in the future has been decimated by a faceless enemy alien menace. Whoever the adversary is, they have unleashed monstrous creations that are designed for one purpose: to kill humanity. Humanity has tried everything it can think of, from talking, to even surrendering, and the enemy will not respond.
Eventually, the earth is lost and humanity is driven to the stars where they previously had some exploration. At this point, mankind begins breakthroughs to defeat the enemy and begins to gain hope. But there is a catch. Both humanity and the aliens have utilized breakthroughs in time travel. Now humanity attempts to destroy the aliens in the past and the aliens send their weapons (called ET's, though a different abbreviation) to stop humanity from progressing enough to oppose them.
In the midst of this, breakthrough technologies allow the creation of very human-like Artificial Intelligences (AI's) called "Messengers". Their task, to develop a connection to humanity before being sent backwards in time on their mission.
We meet several of these messengers and their leader of sorts, another AI called "Cutty Sark", through the point of view of our main protagonist, Messenger "O" - short for "Orville". Orvill, like his brethren, must suffer much heartbreak, some of it seen and much unseen but alluded to, in their mission. It leaves a really sad taste when considered. The only good part is that this is a happy ending, and with a definitive victory, unlike All You Need Is Kill which is another Japanese work of a similar premise.
Despite my reference to an open ending, it was a happy one, but it was rather abrupt and there wasn't enough of a celebration given for my taste. Also, there was a hint of more than memories (and that's all I'll say on that to avoid major spoilers). But in the end, though bittersweet, it was a happy ending.
As for the deaths, well, Tolkien in fantasy or David Weber in sci-fi would be reminiscent of the death toll. That added both to the sadness when reading the story as well as the happiness and joy at the good ending. At the same time, there was a sort of combination bitter and triumphant taste in my mouth. The forces of humanity are victors and will extract a price from the enemy, but given what you learn of the motives of enemy, revenge seems like a pointless and sad effort that increases the overall evil.
This really was something to think about in terms of heroes, villains, victory, ethics in war, so on. I will also say that the way the action and narrative was split between the main story in early common era Japan, and other timelines, was actually quite effective. There was none of the disjointedness that such plot devices sometimes can fall victim to.
A really enjoyable and thought-provoking read.
In The Lord of the Sands of Time, humanity in the future has been decimated by a faceless enemy alien menace. Whoever the adversary is, they have unleashed monstrous creations that are designed for one purpose: to kill humanity. Humanity has tried everything it can think of, from talking, to even surrendering, and the enemy will not respond.
Eventually, the earth is lost and humanity is driven to the stars where they previously had some exploration. At this point, mankind begins breakthroughs to defeat the enemy and begins to gain hope. But there is a catch. Both humanity and the aliens have utilized breakthroughs in time travel. Now humanity attempts to destroy the aliens in the past and the aliens send their weapons (called ET's, though a different abbreviation) to stop humanity from progressing enough to oppose them.
In the midst of this, breakthrough technologies allow the creation of very human-like Artificial Intelligences (AI's) called "Messengers". Their task, to develop a connection to humanity before being sent backwards in time on their mission.
We meet several of these messengers and their leader of sorts, another AI called "Cutty Sark", through the point of view of our main protagonist, Messenger "O" - short for "Orville". Orvill, like his brethren, must suffer much heartbreak, some of it seen and much unseen but alluded to, in their mission. It leaves a really sad taste when considered. The only good part is that this is a happy ending, and with a definitive victory, unlike All You Need Is Kill which is another Japanese work of a similar premise.
Despite my reference to an open ending, it was a happy one, but it was rather abrupt and there wasn't enough of a celebration given for my taste. Also, there was a hint of more than memories (and that's all I'll say on that to avoid major spoilers). But in the end, though bittersweet, it was a happy ending.
As for the deaths, well, Tolkien in fantasy or David Weber in sci-fi would be reminiscent of the death toll. That added both to the sadness when reading the story as well as the happiness and joy at the good ending. At the same time, there was a sort of combination bitter and triumphant taste in my mouth. The forces of humanity are victors and will extract a price from the enemy, but given what you learn of the motives of enemy, revenge seems like a pointless and sad effort that increases the overall evil.
This really was something to think about in terms of heroes, villains, victory, ethics in war, so on. I will also say that the way the action and narrative was split between the main story in early common era Japan, and other timelines, was actually quite effective. There was none of the disjointedness that such plot devices sometimes can fall victim to.
A really enjoyable and thought-provoking read.
November 30, 2018
I suspect that if you like alternate history and military science fiction, you'll really like this book. The worldbuilding is cool, and the writing itself is strong. However, the copy on the back cover makes it look like it's going to be a sweeping, actiony, time travel romance, and that is not what it is. I don't particularly like military SF or alternate history, so the book was a disappointment for me, but it may not be for you!
December 15, 2019
Enjoyable alternate history military Sci fi. The book jacket is a bit misleading, in that it seems like this going to be more action and more romance in some ways, so if you're looking for a moving love story you're going to have a bad time. The battles are interesting, but nothing groundbreaking, and it's really more about time travel and logistics and the people and cyborgs and how they go about fighting a mysterious foe.
I found it enjoyable, and certainly thought provoking. I thought the time travel rules were breaking themselves a few times, but on reflection as I read I realized that it was all consistent but just something a bit new. That was a nice surprise.
Queen Miyo and Messenger O are both interesting characters, even if they are somewhat numb from lifetimes of rough circumstances. The ending was not what I expected but was satisfying, which is always a pleasure to have happen.
There's a certain clinical detachment I feel from all of this, which happens in more Sci fi than I'd like. And there's a lot of very old school thinking on gender at times, but this is just a reflection of 400 AD a the time period, I think. The far future period has a very different display of gender roles and such, so I take this as being simply a relatively faithful representation of a very ancient time period. Even so, this wound up serving to make more of a disconnect between myself and the characters, since we are separated by time and attitudes.
In some ways that made me feel like I was reading a historical account from long ago, which is fitting for this story and worked well enough for me.
Like most LNs, this was a quick read.
I found it enjoyable, and certainly thought provoking. I thought the time travel rules were breaking themselves a few times, but on reflection as I read I realized that it was all consistent but just something a bit new. That was a nice surprise.
Queen Miyo and Messenger O are both interesting characters, even if they are somewhat numb from lifetimes of rough circumstances. The ending was not what I expected but was satisfying, which is always a pleasure to have happen.
There's a certain clinical detachment I feel from all of this, which happens in more Sci fi than I'd like. And there's a lot of very old school thinking on gender at times, but this is just a reflection of 400 AD a the time period, I think. The far future period has a very different display of gender roles and such, so I take this as being simply a relatively faithful representation of a very ancient time period. Even so, this wound up serving to make more of a disconnect between myself and the characters, since we are separated by time and attitudes.
In some ways that made me feel like I was reading a historical account from long ago, which is fitting for this story and worked well enough for me.
Like most LNs, this was a quick read.
October 5, 2010
Japan, AD 248
(A story set in Japan before the emergence of samurai? Oh, Issui Ogawa. That explains it.)
Miyo, the oracular Princess Himiko, has left the palace to walk through the countryside with her bodyguard Kan. They climb Mount Shiki and spy the distant harbor of Suminoe. Kan wonders if any of the ships they see might be from Wei, or Kentak, or Roma.
(Roma? Did the 3rd Century Japanese know about Rome?)
Miyo answers that the distance makes it unlikely -- the embassy she sent to Roma had lost half its ships on the roundtrip voyage.
(Diplomatic contact between Japan and Rome? That doesn't sound right at all.)
But sea trade has been improving, and it's only a matter of decades before permanent trade routes can be established. Already Japan has had contact with the red-skinned men of Kentak beyond the Eastern Ocean.
(Wait what?)
The men of Kentak and Roma had been eager to exchange laws and discover that Japan, like all lands they know, follow the Law of the Messenger, an ancient commandment for all people to cooperate with their neighbors to ward of the Disaster that must eventually come.
Suddenly a mononoke, a giant insect-like monster appears and tries to kill Miyo. Kan defends her, but he's no match for the beast. Then a mysterious figure appears and slays the mononoke. The man introduces himself as O, a messenger from the future, and warns Miyo that this mononoke was just the vanguard of an army that's gathering beyond her borders.
O, we soon learn, is an android from the year 2598. The mononoke, or ETs, have wiped out all life in the inner-solar system, and humanity has retreated to the outer system and extra-solar colonies. The war had stalemated, with what little momentum remained on the side of humanity, so the ETs constructed time machines to take the war into the past. Humans respond by dispatching an army of androids to the past to defend the timeline.
All fairly standard stuff. But the book is much better thought-out than most time-war stories I've read. For one thing, neither side mucks about with subtelty -- no one bothers with covert-ops to kill great leaders before they're born, or to wreck some important historical event. In fact, the Messengers have totally written off their original timeline and only wish to establish a victorious future. When they emerge in a past era, they immediately contact the powers that be, tell them the situation, and ask for help. Unfortunately this doesn't always help, and many of the new timelines fall to the ETs. And even if the Messengers do emerge victorious in one era, the ETs can just travel downwhen a few more centuries and start over.
As both sides move further into the past, they deplete their supplies. The ETs have to rely upon what they can build in each time, while the Messengers bootstrap local cultures to a level that can stand against the enemy. By the time both sides reach the 3rd Century ... well, things are pretty grim for both sides.
However, no matter how bad the situation gets, the book itself remains optimistic. Our Heroes may be fighting against a massive zerg rush with their backs literally to the sea, but the tone never flips to "Doomed, doomed, doomidy-doomed" mode. Just as in Tolkien, you know there's a eucatastrophe waiting to happen. When it finally comes, it borders on a deus ex machina, even though it follows logically from the rules laid out for time travel.
One thing I dislike about much SF is the way protagonists always have a post-Enlightenment mindset no matter what sort of culture they're from. Ogawa avoids this nicely, having Miyo be more alien than O. At one point, O describes the American Civil War to her and Kan, and they both respond in horror at the cruelty of the North for wanting to free slaves (they believe slaves would die without masters). Although Miyo's a strong female character, she is in no way a feminist in the way Robert Jordan's or George R. R. Martin's women are. She dislikes her position of mystic royalty, for which she was selected Lama-like, but she doesn't whine about it the way most Western heroes in the Campbellian style do. Instead of avoiding the Call to Adventure, she shoulders the responsibility because it's her responsibility.
O, for his part, is more than human without any of the pinnochioisms usually found in such characters in Western science fiction. He's not the sort to ask, "What is this love which you speak of?" He does have a quest for meaning in his life, but it's an entirely human one, not much different from what Mandella goes through in The Forever War.
The ETs, however, get no development whatsoever. They're nothing more than your typical bug horde, with no signs of reasoning despite their obvious technological prowess. We eventually discover that they were created by an alien race to wipe out humanity for reasons that would make the Minbari say, "Dude, that's screwed up."
The book is a mere 200 pages but packs more in than a thousand page doorstopper. One subplot of the book involves a Messenger who's composing a novel about caterpillars defending a tree from crabs that want to prune it. This allegory of the war, even half finished, is said to be longer than the Mahabhrata. We're given ten pages about timelines that Harry Turtledove could turn into a ten book series, and glimpses of dozen more equally epic. But Ogawa restrains himself to keep the story on track.
(A story set in Japan before the emergence of samurai? Oh, Issui Ogawa. That explains it.)
Miyo, the oracular Princess Himiko, has left the palace to walk through the countryside with her bodyguard Kan. They climb Mount Shiki and spy the distant harbor of Suminoe. Kan wonders if any of the ships they see might be from Wei, or Kentak, or Roma.
(Roma? Did the 3rd Century Japanese know about Rome?)
Miyo answers that the distance makes it unlikely -- the embassy she sent to Roma had lost half its ships on the roundtrip voyage.
(Diplomatic contact between Japan and Rome? That doesn't sound right at all.)
But sea trade has been improving, and it's only a matter of decades before permanent trade routes can be established. Already Japan has had contact with the red-skinned men of Kentak beyond the Eastern Ocean.
(Wait what?)
The men of Kentak and Roma had been eager to exchange laws and discover that Japan, like all lands they know, follow the Law of the Messenger, an ancient commandment for all people to cooperate with their neighbors to ward of the Disaster that must eventually come.
Suddenly a mononoke, a giant insect-like monster appears and tries to kill Miyo. Kan defends her, but he's no match for the beast. Then a mysterious figure appears and slays the mononoke. The man introduces himself as O, a messenger from the future, and warns Miyo that this mononoke was just the vanguard of an army that's gathering beyond her borders.
O, we soon learn, is an android from the year 2598. The mononoke, or ETs, have wiped out all life in the inner-solar system, and humanity has retreated to the outer system and extra-solar colonies. The war had stalemated, with what little momentum remained on the side of humanity, so the ETs constructed time machines to take the war into the past. Humans respond by dispatching an army of androids to the past to defend the timeline.
All fairly standard stuff. But the book is much better thought-out than most time-war stories I've read. For one thing, neither side mucks about with subtelty -- no one bothers with covert-ops to kill great leaders before they're born, or to wreck some important historical event. In fact, the Messengers have totally written off their original timeline and only wish to establish a victorious future. When they emerge in a past era, they immediately contact the powers that be, tell them the situation, and ask for help. Unfortunately this doesn't always help, and many of the new timelines fall to the ETs. And even if the Messengers do emerge victorious in one era, the ETs can just travel downwhen a few more centuries and start over.
As both sides move further into the past, they deplete their supplies. The ETs have to rely upon what they can build in each time, while the Messengers bootstrap local cultures to a level that can stand against the enemy. By the time both sides reach the 3rd Century ... well, things are pretty grim for both sides.
However, no matter how bad the situation gets, the book itself remains optimistic. Our Heroes may be fighting against a massive zerg rush with their backs literally to the sea, but the tone never flips to "Doomed, doomed, doomidy-doomed" mode. Just as in Tolkien, you know there's a eucatastrophe waiting to happen. When it finally comes, it borders on a deus ex machina, even though it follows logically from the rules laid out for time travel.
One thing I dislike about much SF is the way protagonists always have a post-Enlightenment mindset no matter what sort of culture they're from. Ogawa avoids this nicely, having Miyo be more alien than O. At one point, O describes the American Civil War to her and Kan, and they both respond in horror at the cruelty of the North for wanting to free slaves (they believe slaves would die without masters). Although Miyo's a strong female character, she is in no way a feminist in the way Robert Jordan's or George R. R. Martin's women are. She dislikes her position of mystic royalty, for which she was selected Lama-like, but she doesn't whine about it the way most Western heroes in the Campbellian style do. Instead of avoiding the Call to Adventure, she shoulders the responsibility because it's her responsibility.
O, for his part, is more than human without any of the pinnochioisms usually found in such characters in Western science fiction. He's not the sort to ask, "What is this love which you speak of?" He does have a quest for meaning in his life, but it's an entirely human one, not much different from what Mandella goes through in The Forever War.
The ETs, however, get no development whatsoever. They're nothing more than your typical bug horde, with no signs of reasoning despite their obvious technological prowess. We eventually discover that they were created by an alien race to wipe out humanity for reasons that would make the Minbari say, "Dude, that's screwed up."
The book is a mere 200 pages but packs more in than a thousand page doorstopper. One subplot of the book involves a Messenger who's composing a novel about caterpillars defending a tree from crabs that want to prune it. This allegory of the war, even half finished, is said to be longer than the Mahabhrata. We're given ten pages about timelines that Harry Turtledove could turn into a ten book series, and glimpses of dozen more equally epic. But Ogawa restrains himself to keep the story on track.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2014
I've heard it said that readers will accept one blatantly ludicrous or impossible thing in a story without much complaint, but add in another one and eyebrows start going up, to say nothing of every additional one past that. The problem with including time travel in a story is that it's almost always more than one blatantly ludicrous thing at the same time, and if not done well, it's really easy to get the reader lost in trying to figure out how the time travel works instead of engaging with the story.
Or at least that's what usually happens to me, and that's part of the problem I had with The Lord of the Sands of Time (時砂の王). It's the story of a future humanity beset by an implacable alien army that has already wiped human life out from most of the inner solar system until in desperation, humanity sends AI soldiers called "Messengers" back in time to try to nurture humanity to a point where they'll be in a better strategic position to fight the ETs when they arrive. Of course, the ETs send themselves back in time to prevent this from happening, and the book jumps back and forth between times where the Messengers try to stem the robotic alien tide.
Much of the book takes place in early Japan--or, technically, Yamatai--and followsHimikoMiyo and O, a Messenger. Miyo, the Shaman-Queen of Yamatai, is probably the best part of the book. None of the characters are drawn in much more than broad strokes except for her and O, but she's the most common viewpoint character and half of O's personality is being a stoic AI Messenger who must defend humanity. Miyo stands out partially because she's one of two characters with more than one aspect to their personality, but she's legitimately interesting. Taken from her parents at a young age to become the Shaman-Queen, disliking her status and her isolation and rebelling in ways that maintain her power while showing that she's not just an empty symbol, she adapts quickly to the arrival of the mononoke and leads her people into battle under horrific circumstances and becoming their leader in fact as well as in name. There's no hesitation and no complaining, she does it because it's her duty to her people. I think a book just about Miyo, without all the time travel and the Messengers and the ETs, would be a great read.
Unfortunately, the rest of the book wasn't really up to that same nuance. It reminded me a lot of light novels like Scrapped Princess: A Tale of Destiny--I described it as "bubblegum sci fi" to my book group when we started reading this, and I stand by that assertion. Ogawa doesn't spend a lot of time on any of the secondary characters, being content to define them by a single strong character trait--Takahikone is the Scheming Vizier, Alexandr is the Warrior Poet, Sayaka is the Mysterious Woman, nearly everyone on Earth in the 21st century chapter or the World War II chapter is a member of Fractious Humanity who Cannot Unite Even in the Face of a Threat--and the time travel doesn't even make a bit of sense.
So going back in time means they're in a separate timeline and have wiped out the future due to the butterfly effect, right? Okay, that's fine. But then, random Messengers start disappearing because the ancestors of the people who designed or built them are killed or never born. If that's possible, wouldn't the entire Messenger army just vanish as soon as the timeline that created them became non-viable? But that means that they would have never gone back in time to make changes, which means they would exist, which means they would have gone back in time, which means-
That said, I did like the reveal on the ETs:
The Lord of the Sands of Time has some interesting thoughts about the inability of humanity to cooperate since we're always squabbling among ourselves, but I think that Missile Gap did that much better while avoiding the problems that time travel bring to basically any plot that uses it. What's left without that is a quick read about time travel shenanigans, alien bugbear robots, a legendary queen, and a talking sword. It's not a great read, but it's a fun one.
Or at least that's what usually happens to me, and that's part of the problem I had with The Lord of the Sands of Time (時砂の王). It's the story of a future humanity beset by an implacable alien army that has already wiped human life out from most of the inner solar system until in desperation, humanity sends AI soldiers called "Messengers" back in time to try to nurture humanity to a point where they'll be in a better strategic position to fight the ETs when they arrive. Of course, the ETs send themselves back in time to prevent this from happening, and the book jumps back and forth between times where the Messengers try to stem the robotic alien tide.
Much of the book takes place in early Japan--or, technically, Yamatai--and follows
Unfortunately, the rest of the book wasn't really up to that same nuance. It reminded me a lot of light novels like Scrapped Princess: A Tale of Destiny--I described it as "bubblegum sci fi" to my book group when we started reading this, and I stand by that assertion. Ogawa doesn't spend a lot of time on any of the secondary characters, being content to define them by a single strong character trait--Takahikone is the Scheming Vizier, Alexandr is the Warrior Poet, Sayaka is the Mysterious Woman, nearly everyone on Earth in the 21st century chapter or the World War II chapter is a member of Fractious Humanity who Cannot Unite Even in the Face of a Threat--and the time travel doesn't even make a bit of sense.
So going back in time means they're in a separate timeline and have wiped out the future due to the butterfly effect, right? Okay, that's fine. But then, random Messengers start disappearing because the ancestors of the people who designed or built them are killed or never born. If that's possible, wouldn't the entire Messenger army just vanish as soon as the timeline that created them became non-viable? But that means that they would have never gone back in time to make changes, which means they would exist, which means they would have gone back in time, which means-
That said, I did like the reveal on the ETs:
The Lord of the Sands of Time has some interesting thoughts about the inability of humanity to cooperate since we're always squabbling among ourselves, but I think that Missile Gap did that much better while avoiding the problems that time travel bring to basically any plot that uses it. What's left without that is a quick read about time travel shenanigans, alien bugbear robots, a legendary queen, and a talking sword. It's not a great read, but it's a fun one.
February 13, 2018
A surprisingly deep read with a moving ending. Enjoyable and innovative. Not quite immersive enough to get five stars but nearly there. This is the kind of book I want to read sci-fi for.
July 8, 2014
Interesting read. Humanity seeks to save itself by sending artificial soldiers, and a supporting AI called Cutty Sark, into the past to defeat the insidious ET. Split across two interweaving stories - one deals with Messenger O in ancient Japan, while the other looks back (and yet forward) at Messenger O's experiences prior to his arrival in Japan, starting in the 26th century.
Shocked some Hollywood studio hasn't done an Edge of Forever with this one already (the Tom Cruise film being based on a Japanese book called All You Need Is Kill). Maybe I haven't looked far enough ahead into the development timeline to spot it.
Short read, well worth it.
Shocked some Hollywood studio hasn't done an Edge of Forever with this one already (the Tom Cruise film being based on a Japanese book called All You Need Is Kill). Maybe I haven't looked far enough ahead into the development timeline to spot it.
Short read, well worth it.
March 21, 2021
This book was highly technical, heavily sci-fi with ample doses of time travel and war... And despite only being with the characters for a few short moments every chapter, this book still managed to make be cry at the very end. Ah, Japan got me again...
January 12, 2012
This was my first sci-fi book.
It made me cry, laugh and blush.
Words cannot describe this book except for...
I loved it.
It made me cry, laugh and blush.
Words cannot describe this book except for...
I loved it.
August 27, 2024
Set in the distant future of 2598, this epic science fiction film depicts humanity battling machine life. Humans have been robbed of Earth and retreated to Triton, the moon of Neptune, and in order to overcome their hopeless situation, they carry out a bold strategy of going back in time and altering history.
The appeal of this film is its epic scale and detailed worldview. The story moves back and forth in time from the future to the past, taking place in various eras. The Battle of Yamatai is of particular interest to history buffs as it is set in ancient Japan. The scenes in which the enhanced human beings called messengers meet and interact with ancient people give us a sense of cross-cultural communication and the importance of history.
One of the highlights of the game is the concept of time branches. Every time you alter the past, a new time branch is created in the future. This setting adds depth to the story. It suggests that a single choice can create countless futures, and it excites the imagination.
King of Time Sand is not only a science fiction work, but also a work that asks philosophical questions. What is history, what is time, and what is the meaning of human existence? It offers its own answers to these fundamental questions.
The appeal of this film is its epic scale and detailed worldview. The story moves back and forth in time from the future to the past, taking place in various eras. The Battle of Yamatai is of particular interest to history buffs as it is set in ancient Japan. The scenes in which the enhanced human beings called messengers meet and interact with ancient people give us a sense of cross-cultural communication and the importance of history.
One of the highlights of the game is the concept of time branches. Every time you alter the past, a new time branch is created in the future. This setting adds depth to the story. It suggests that a single choice can create countless futures, and it excites the imagination.
King of Time Sand is not only a science fiction work, but also a work that asks philosophical questions. What is history, what is time, and what is the meaning of human existence? It offers its own answers to these fundamental questions.
December 9, 2024
Bellissimo. Un poema epico che si srotola su diverse linee temporali: antico Egitto, antico Giappone, seconda guerra mondiale e altri tempi mai esistiti, creati dall'interferenza dei Messaggeri nel flusso della storia. File rouge della storia è il Messaggero O, l'eroe per eccellenza. Colui che ha accolto su di sé il peso della salvezza dell'umanità, lasciando dietro di sé l'amore più puro, che forse non vedrà mai più, ma che allo stesso tempo sarà ciò che gli darà la forza di non arrendersi mai... Anche dopo 400 flussi temporali perduti.
September 4, 2023
This book was my first foray into modern Japanese fantasy outside of games and manga, and it was a blessedly good one. Had I started with one of the more run-of-the-mill light novels, I may have retreated. This one was just good enough to make me curious about what Japanese fantasy authors were doing. It helped that the plot and characters are very very Japanese in philosophy.
July 17, 2018
When I started digging into Japanese SF, I came across Viz's Haikasoru line which ultimately introduced me to this book. The ending resonated with me very deeply and reminded me of Kimi no Na Wa in a way.
September 6, 2018
这个小说俨然连一个字的印象都回想不起来了也是尴尬。。
不过想到一点，碳基生物之所以发展重大，就跟碳原子的稳定性和可复杂性就相当大的关系，而硅元素和碳元素同属一系，硅基生命存在应该也不是不可能吧。而且现在的人工智能，和硅基生命似乎已经只有一层窗户纸了？
不过想到一点，碳基生物之所以发展重大，就跟碳原子的稳定性和可复杂性就相当大的关系，而硅元素和碳元素同属一系，硅基生命存在应该也不是不可能吧。而且现在的人工智能，和硅基生命似乎已经只有一层窗户纸了？
December 31, 2018
YA science fiction. A humanoid AI travels to the past to save the humankind from time traveling ETs.
Read
March 28, 2022I want more of this author!
August 21, 2022
This was interesting yet I do think as a stand alone it did not have time to explore the world and the characters but I think that it would have done better as a duology or trilogy.
May 9, 2023
A fast paced military sci fi adventure that should have been fleshed out into a series or a longer novel. Likes le characters and fun premise that unfortunately gets cut short at the end.
August 29, 2013
Num futuro não muito distante a humanidade foi escorraçada para os limites do sistema solar pelos ataques insistentes de alienígenas desconhecidos que se manifestam como cyborgs destrutivos. O planeta Terra já foi aniquilado várias vezes pelos ataques da força alienígena mas a humanidade tem um plano para ripostar e reconquistar o seu berço: estender a luta pelo espaço-tempo, enviando forças a momentos chave do passado que permitam à humanidade lutar contra a invasão. Só que ao fazê-lo vão começar a criar linhas temporais divergentes, ampliando o campo de batalha a cada nova acção. E fazem-no com andróides portadores de inteligências artificiais programadas para sentir empatia pela humanidade. Chamados mensageiros, têm a tarefa de derrotar de vez a ameaça extraterrestre. É esta a premissa deste intrigante romance de Issui Ogawa traduzido pela Haikasoru.
É numa destas linhas divergentes que num Japão medieval que mantém contactos com o império romano, a china e os poderosos reinos americanos aterra um destes andróides. Este reúne as forças de alguns reinos tribais para lutar contra uma infestação de alienígenas, acelerando o desenvolvimento tecnológico e liderando as tribos em combate. Apesar dos seus esforços é derrotado e aniquilado, mas é essa derrota que permite à humanidade bater os extraterrestres. A derrota obriga a indomitável Mayo, uma das líderes tribais que se apaixonou pelo andróide, a iniciar uma luta que se irá traduzir num novo império. Este derrotará inexoravelmente os extraterrestres na sua linha de tempo, e no futuro enviará ao passado os seus próprios mensageiros.
Nem tudo é lutas medievais neste intrigante romance. Somos levados ao futuro original da série, para compreender a génese do andróide e conhecer a humanidade que no distante ano de 2600 DC se espalhou pelo sistema solar, pressionada pela ameaça alienígena. Também somos levados a alguns dos passados divergentes, dos quais o mais intrigante é uma variação da II Guerra onde os mensageiros consegue unir nazis, soviéticos e aliados para combater extraterrestres. Um pormenor curioso da série é que os emissários do futuro não são poderosos. Quer mensageiros quer os seus inimigos dependem do nível de tecnologia da época para prosseguir a sua luta, se bem que esse nível pode ser acelerado. Para lá das batalhas o verdadeiro combate é perceber quem numa determinada linha de tempo desenvolve mais depressa a sua tecnologia e assim garantir hegemonia.
Nesta narrativa empolgante o tempo vai-se fragmentando na luta pela sobrevivência da humanidade. Ogawa nunca nos revela a origem dos alienígenas, e o leitor mais atento poderá intuir que talvez não sejam de todo alienígenas, talvez sejam outros mensageiros de outros futuros que à sua maneira lutam para salvar a humanidade.
Esta é talvez a constante dos títulos de ficção científica publicados pela Haikasoru. Nenhum deles se dá o trabalho de ser conclusivo. A explicação final, a última peça do puzzle que irá dar sentido e explicar toda a narrativa, é algo que estes autores não estão interessados em fornecer. É algo que parece impensável numa obra ocidental, com o nosso gosto pelo arrumar de todas as pontas soltas. É também curioso notar que estes finais abertos não surgem intencionalmente como parte de narrativas episódicas que se estendem por vários livros, se bem que haja espaço para que isso aconteça. Estas obras são ao mesmo tempo estanques e abertas, auto-contidas mas com espaço suficiente para despertar novas histórias no universo ficcional. Talvez, e aqui estou obviamente a especular, esta inconclusividade seja algo que faz parte do carácter da cultura a que pertencem estes autores. Esta ficção científica comporta-se como os fantasmas japoneses, que não podem ser exorcizados e arrumados a um canto como no gosto ocidental e estão condenados a repetirem eternamente as suas acções.
É numa destas linhas divergentes que num Japão medieval que mantém contactos com o império romano, a china e os poderosos reinos americanos aterra um destes andróides. Este reúne as forças de alguns reinos tribais para lutar contra uma infestação de alienígenas, acelerando o desenvolvimento tecnológico e liderando as tribos em combate. Apesar dos seus esforços é derrotado e aniquilado, mas é essa derrota que permite à humanidade bater os extraterrestres. A derrota obriga a indomitável Mayo, uma das líderes tribais que se apaixonou pelo andróide, a iniciar uma luta que se irá traduzir num novo império. Este derrotará inexoravelmente os extraterrestres na sua linha de tempo, e no futuro enviará ao passado os seus próprios mensageiros.
Nem tudo é lutas medievais neste intrigante romance. Somos levados ao futuro original da série, para compreender a génese do andróide e conhecer a humanidade que no distante ano de 2600 DC se espalhou pelo sistema solar, pressionada pela ameaça alienígena. Também somos levados a alguns dos passados divergentes, dos quais o mais intrigante é uma variação da II Guerra onde os mensageiros consegue unir nazis, soviéticos e aliados para combater extraterrestres. Um pormenor curioso da série é que os emissários do futuro não são poderosos. Quer mensageiros quer os seus inimigos dependem do nível de tecnologia da época para prosseguir a sua luta, se bem que esse nível pode ser acelerado. Para lá das batalhas o verdadeiro combate é perceber quem numa determinada linha de tempo desenvolve mais depressa a sua tecnologia e assim garantir hegemonia.
Nesta narrativa empolgante o tempo vai-se fragmentando na luta pela sobrevivência da humanidade. Ogawa nunca nos revela a origem dos alienígenas, e o leitor mais atento poderá intuir que talvez não sejam de todo alienígenas, talvez sejam outros mensageiros de outros futuros que à sua maneira lutam para salvar a humanidade.
Esta é talvez a constante dos títulos de ficção científica publicados pela Haikasoru. Nenhum deles se dá o trabalho de ser conclusivo. A explicação final, a última peça do puzzle que irá dar sentido e explicar toda a narrativa, é algo que estes autores não estão interessados em fornecer. É algo que parece impensável numa obra ocidental, com o nosso gosto pelo arrumar de todas as pontas soltas. É também curioso notar que estes finais abertos não surgem intencionalmente como parte de narrativas episódicas que se estendem por vários livros, se bem que haja espaço para que isso aconteça. Estas obras são ao mesmo tempo estanques e abertas, auto-contidas mas com espaço suficiente para despertar novas histórias no universo ficcional. Talvez, e aqui estou obviamente a especular, esta inconclusividade seja algo que faz parte do carácter da cultura a que pertencem estes autores. Esta ficção científica comporta-se como os fantasmas japoneses, que não podem ser exorcizados e arrumados a um canto como no gosto ocidental e estão condenados a repetirem eternamente as suas acções.
August 5, 2020
In most of the science fiction I read growing up, changing the time line is generally a Bad Thing. Killing Hitler in the cradle will simply result in a more horrible dictator arising. (Actually, I don’t think this was in an actual story, this was a Theory advocated by an acquaintance of mine who believed that this would be a logical consequence, though I’m not sure why or how). If you squish a butterfly while hunting a dinosaur, it can result in long lasting and unexpected repercussions and also incorrect spelling. (Or it results in getting sat on by a brontosaurus.) And of course, killing your own grandpa may result in finding out that your grandmother was unfaithful.
Playing with time is more often than not a monkey’s paw situation. You might get what you want, but it might actually be a very bad thing to get what you have, and the parable was that time travel was a thing to be avoided.
The meme of changing history as a possibly good thing (or something to be averted by a third change in the time line) is a newer concept. In some cases, the reason change history is to prevent an even more terrible alternate history from taking place. (David Drake and Eric Flints Belisarius novels for instance.) Sometimes it’s an accidental and inevitable result of being transported (along with your fellow cast members) to another timeframe. Sometimes, it’s Alien Space Bats.
In The Lord of the Sands of Time, the reason to tinker with history is to keep humanity from being wiped out by time travelling aliens who are bent destroying the human race for unknown reasons. In order to do this, AIs known as “Messengers” are created. Their mission is to create as many viable timelines as possible where humanity survives in the hope that people from up-time will be willing and able to help folks “downstream.”
Messenger O (known as “Orville”) is one such AI. The story of his activation, education, and early missions are interspersed with the story of Miyo, a Shaman-Queen of an alternate Japan created in part by the efforts of Orville and his fellow Messengers. Miyo’s own story intersects with O’s when the aliens begin to invade her country and her timeline. (The format is somewhat “braided,” and the O who interacts with Miyo in her chapters is much older, more worn, and much more mature than the younger O of the alternate chapters. We see the younger O’s first missions and attempts to alter history just as the action in Miyo’s timeline begins to heat up.)
This is a very short, fast paced book with a slightly retro feel to it. (It also in some respects makes me think of it as a “prose manga.” There are a few scenes which have sight gags and prat falls in the manga style.) O and Miyo are both very interesting characters and I like the more or less subtle world building moments where we discover exactly how much history has been changed. As well drawn as O and Miyo are, it’s a little disappointing that many of the other characters seem to fade out, even O’s love interest Sayaka in his home timeline.
There’s a lot of “assumed knowledge” (sort of the opposite of “As You Know Bob,” trope-wise) which may make the book difficult to get into or confusing. How and at what point Miyo’s timeline is altered is toward the end of the book. Despite the initial confusion of the early chapters and a few points where I couldn’t figure out how the writer got from point A to point B, I really liked this novel, though I wish it had been longer, and a little more detailed.
Playing with time is more often than not a monkey’s paw situation. You might get what you want, but it might actually be a very bad thing to get what you have, and the parable was that time travel was a thing to be avoided.
The meme of changing history as a possibly good thing (or something to be averted by a third change in the time line) is a newer concept. In some cases, the reason change history is to prevent an even more terrible alternate history from taking place. (David Drake and Eric Flints Belisarius novels for instance.) Sometimes it’s an accidental and inevitable result of being transported (along with your fellow cast members) to another timeframe. Sometimes, it’s Alien Space Bats.
In The Lord of the Sands of Time, the reason to tinker with history is to keep humanity from being wiped out by time travelling aliens who are bent destroying the human race for unknown reasons. In order to do this, AIs known as “Messengers” are created. Their mission is to create as many viable timelines as possible where humanity survives in the hope that people from up-time will be willing and able to help folks “downstream.”
Messenger O (known as “Orville”) is one such AI. The story of his activation, education, and early missions are interspersed with the story of Miyo, a Shaman-Queen of an alternate Japan created in part by the efforts of Orville and his fellow Messengers. Miyo’s own story intersects with O’s when the aliens begin to invade her country and her timeline. (The format is somewhat “braided,” and the O who interacts with Miyo in her chapters is much older, more worn, and much more mature than the younger O of the alternate chapters. We see the younger O’s first missions and attempts to alter history just as the action in Miyo’s timeline begins to heat up.)
This is a very short, fast paced book with a slightly retro feel to it. (It also in some respects makes me think of it as a “prose manga.” There are a few scenes which have sight gags and prat falls in the manga style.) O and Miyo are both very interesting characters and I like the more or less subtle world building moments where we discover exactly how much history has been changed. As well drawn as O and Miyo are, it’s a little disappointing that many of the other characters seem to fade out, even O’s love interest Sayaka in his home timeline.
There’s a lot of “assumed knowledge” (sort of the opposite of “As You Know Bob,” trope-wise) which may make the book difficult to get into or confusing. How and at what point Miyo’s timeline is altered is toward the end of the book. Despite the initial confusion of the early chapters and a few points where I couldn’t figure out how the writer got from point A to point B, I really liked this novel, though I wish it had been longer, and a little more detailed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2012
I bought Lord of the Sands of Time because of its super pretty cover. Knowing nothing about the actual content or the author, I didn't have any high expectations, but this novel turned out to be a wonderful surprise. It is well written and the translator did an excellent job.
LotSoT is basically a “historical science-fiction”, slightly different from steampunk, since time travel is involved. Some parts are set in the future but the majority of the plot actually takes place in our past, going back as far as 3rd century Japan, where legendary shaman queen Himiko takes the part of the main female character.
Speaking of which, I loved the characters. It takes the author a few pages only to make them come alive. Orville and Himiko are both super cool. And while he has the advantage of being an omniscient AI fighting machine, Himiko manages quite well to keep up with him. Both of their stories are intriguing and touching. The supporting characters while not getting a lot of screentime are nice as well.
The setting is of course very refreshing. The idea of reverse time travel to fight aliens is simple yet innovative and the historical parts are well-researched and skillfully presented to the reader. LotSoT is also rather “soft” SciFi. That is to say, it does have time travel and AI android-like characters, but no info-dumping about how made-up technologies would work. If you're skeptical about the SciFi genre because of this, in the case of this book there is no need to worry.
There is quite a bit of political intrigue, though. It's one of the main aspects of the story, depicting how humanity fails to cooperate for a greater good because they cannot abandon national borders and their personal greed, leading the androids to despair over the species they're supposed to protect. This part really got me thinking, because it seems sadly realistic. Right now, we're not facing an alien invasion, but are doing a pretty good job destroying our planet on our own. Environmental disasters don't care for our artificial borders, yet we still don't manage to work together and keep pushing responsibilities on other countries, failing to see the bigger picture. In the novel, humanity fails several times to save its planet and consequently itself. How will it play out for us in real life?
That being said, the story can simply be enjoyed as the suspenseful action-packed ride it is, without concerning oneself too much with the deeper meanings and possible messages, because the book never gets preachy.
Lord of the Sands of Time is a short and fast read, very original and creative and totally worth reading.
LotSoT is basically a “historical science-fiction”, slightly different from steampunk, since time travel is involved. Some parts are set in the future but the majority of the plot actually takes place in our past, going back as far as 3rd century Japan, where legendary shaman queen Himiko takes the part of the main female character.
Speaking of which, I loved the characters. It takes the author a few pages only to make them come alive. Orville and Himiko are both super cool. And while he has the advantage of being an omniscient AI fighting machine, Himiko manages quite well to keep up with him. Both of their stories are intriguing and touching. The supporting characters while not getting a lot of screentime are nice as well.
The setting is of course very refreshing. The idea of reverse time travel to fight aliens is simple yet innovative and the historical parts are well-researched and skillfully presented to the reader. LotSoT is also rather “soft” SciFi. That is to say, it does have time travel and AI android-like characters, but no info-dumping about how made-up technologies would work. If you're skeptical about the SciFi genre because of this, in the case of this book there is no need to worry.
There is quite a bit of political intrigue, though. It's one of the main aspects of the story, depicting how humanity fails to cooperate for a greater good because they cannot abandon national borders and their personal greed, leading the androids to despair over the species they're supposed to protect. This part really got me thinking, because it seems sadly realistic. Right now, we're not facing an alien invasion, but are doing a pretty good job destroying our planet on our own. Environmental disasters don't care for our artificial borders, yet we still don't manage to work together and keep pushing responsibilities on other countries, failing to see the bigger picture. In the novel, humanity fails several times to save its planet and consequently itself. How will it play out for us in real life?
That being said, the story can simply be enjoyed as the suspenseful action-packed ride it is, without concerning oneself too much with the deeper meanings and possible messages, because the book never gets preachy.
Lord of the Sands of Time is a short and fast read, very original and creative and totally worth reading.
July 22, 2012
Japanese SF usually is hit or miss with me, but this was a okay tale.
In the 26th century, aliens called ETs invade the earth, forcing humanity back to the moons of Jupiter. Humanity builds Messenger AI's, overwatched by the computer Cutty Sark, and sends them back in time to try and stop the ETs from exterminating humanity when it is least able to fight back: in the past.
One such messenger, Orville, is sent back in time to pre-feudal Japan, where he meets and falls in love with the Shaman Queen Himiko. can their love survive against a foe that has to be fought across multiple timestreams?
It's a good book, if a little too dry and confusing at times. The whole timestream thing makes the idea of any kind of war fought in the past pointless: if you fight a battle, you alter the course of history and create yet another parallel timestream, but enough tinkering starts to have feedback effects. It gets to feel like war for the sake of war, and the ending doesn't really resolve it much.
Characters are okay. Orville is an AI but I'm not sure that translated correctly: he has a human body and seems to be sexually compatible with humans, so he's more of an android at best. Himiko isn't bad either, but the romance really just seems to happen rather than develop naturally. The war is fought on multiple fronts in the past, but it's not used as well as it could be: if they had tied each front to a descendant of Himiko it might have made for a more unified experience. The ending is a paradox, though and not satisfying. The enemy is also just there-an abstract thing till the reveal near the end, and the reveal is pretty bloodless.
It's not bad, but Japanese science fiction novels seem not to reach me that well. Your mileage may vary.
In the 26th century, aliens called ETs invade the earth, forcing humanity back to the moons of Jupiter. Humanity builds Messenger AI's, overwatched by the computer Cutty Sark, and sends them back in time to try and stop the ETs from exterminating humanity when it is least able to fight back: in the past.
One such messenger, Orville, is sent back in time to pre-feudal Japan, where he meets and falls in love with the Shaman Queen Himiko. can their love survive against a foe that has to be fought across multiple timestreams?
It's a good book, if a little too dry and confusing at times. The whole timestream thing makes the idea of any kind of war fought in the past pointless: if you fight a battle, you alter the course of history and create yet another parallel timestream, but enough tinkering starts to have feedback effects. It gets to feel like war for the sake of war, and the ending doesn't really resolve it much.
Characters are okay. Orville is an AI but I'm not sure that translated correctly: he has a human body and seems to be sexually compatible with humans, so he's more of an android at best. Himiko isn't bad either, but the romance really just seems to happen rather than develop naturally. The war is fought on multiple fronts in the past, but it's not used as well as it could be: if they had tied each front to a descendant of Himiko it might have made for a more unified experience. The ending is a paradox, though and not satisfying. The enemy is also just there-an abstract thing till the reveal near the end, and the reveal is pretty bloodless.
It's not bad, but Japanese science fiction novels seem not to reach me that well. Your mileage may vary.
August 2, 2009
When I first heard that Viz Media would be creating a new imprint called Haikasoru which would publish an array of contemporary Japanese science fiction and fantasy stories for English-speaking audiences, an imprint helmed and edited by famed sci-fi writer Nick Mamatas (great Lovecraftian work from him), I got really excited. I've always bemoaned the glut of international speculative fiction here in North America so it was nice to see an imprint dedicated to remedying that fact.
The Lord of the Sands of Time is the first book released under the Haikasoru imprint, and anyone who follows international spec fiction has heard the name of it's author, Issui Ogawa, winner of numerous awards, if not having read any of his work.
This is light reading at it's finest. There's no underlying layers, no deeper meaning, but rather a story that is just plain fun- great action, intelligent writing, and a fantastic look on humanities future and the machines we create to save it. What I found so fascinating about this book is behind it's epic and sprawling action, of aliens versus machines at the beginning of time, hides a longing, a deep seeded truth that love is the one thing, perhaps the only thing, worth fighting for. Cliched perhaps, but Ogawa really allows his characters to grow, to feel, that you begin to really understand their motives and fight along with them.
So yeah, if you're looking for a quick read, a read that'll take you to countless worlds all throughout time, then definitely check out this book. It's a great breather before or between the more heady works you'll be reading.
The Lord of the Sands of Time is the first book released under the Haikasoru imprint, and anyone who follows international spec fiction has heard the name of it's author, Issui Ogawa, winner of numerous awards, if not having read any of his work.
This is light reading at it's finest. There's no underlying layers, no deeper meaning, but rather a story that is just plain fun- great action, intelligent writing, and a fantastic look on humanities future and the machines we create to save it. What I found so fascinating about this book is behind it's epic and sprawling action, of aliens versus machines at the beginning of time, hides a longing, a deep seeded truth that love is the one thing, perhaps the only thing, worth fighting for. Cliched perhaps, but Ogawa really allows his characters to grow, to feel, that you begin to really understand their motives and fight along with them.
So yeah, if you're looking for a quick read, a read that'll take you to countless worlds all throughout time, then definitely check out this book. It's a great breather before or between the more heady works you'll be reading.
Read
June 25, 2009Time travel sci-fi, translated from the Japanese. Chapters alternate back and forth between 248AD Japan and various alternate universes along an ever-splitting time line, some far in the future, some deep in the past, some recent yet fundamentally changed. Ogawa manages to handle both the universe's quantum weirdness and the characters' emotional intensity, a combination of skills something not every sci-fi author can muster. The telling is blessedly taut, and the translation seems strong -- a few phrases ably distinguish colloquialisms during different eras, and considering how complicated it can be to unravel time-travel confusion, kudos to Jim Hubbert for having made sense of it in the adapted English.
(Full disclosure, I worked for five years for the company that later published this book.)
(Full disclosure, I worked for five years for the company that later published this book.)
November 15, 2014
I just finished reading The Lord of the Sands of Time, and though I enjoyed reading it, I can't at all decide how I feel about it. The story was involving, with some clever time travel plot structuring, and Lady Miyo was an excellent character, as was the fantastic Alexandre. Orville felt like more of an abstraction than a main character, though, making this book slightly difficult to connect with, and the ending felt like a cop out. As a good sci-fi adventure, I'd recommend this book, but as a whole, something about it felt a bit off to me.
Additionally, the print copy of this that I have has a few pages in the middle where missing letters are scattered all across the pages. It's still readable, but as nice as the rest of the book's presentation and translation is, it's jarring.
Additionally, the print copy of this that I have has a few pages in the middle where missing letters are scattered all across the pages. It's still readable, but as nice as the rest of the book's presentation and translation is, it's jarring.
April 30, 2015
In my search for a hard scifi book, I somehow ended up on Haikasoru; one of the few companies who tries to bring Japanese sci-fi and fantasy novels to America and beyond!
I really like the concept of the story: time-traveling soldiers who have to change the future from getting invaded by extraterrestrials, while also trying to unite mankind. A lot of science fiction and a bit of romance here and there. I really like how Ogawa showed us the struggles and intense emotions of Messenger who tries so hard to change the past for a better future, while destroying different timelines and even losing the ones he loves on the way. While good, some questions are not answered even nearing the ending of the book, but perhaps that is left to the imagination of the reader.
But this is a book I would recommend to read; especially from a non-English author.
I really like the concept of the story: time-traveling soldiers who have to change the future from getting invaded by extraterrestrials, while also trying to unite mankind. A lot of science fiction and a bit of romance here and there. I really like how Ogawa showed us the struggles and intense emotions of Messenger who tries so hard to change the past for a better future, while destroying different timelines and even losing the ones he loves on the way. While good, some questions are not answered even nearing the ending of the book, but perhaps that is left to the imagination of the reader.
But this is a book I would recommend to read; especially from a non-English author.
March 29, 2012
La idea central del libro me gustó bastante, el viaje en el tiempo y las distintas ramas temporales creadas por los viajes de los mensajeros. En particular el giro que da hacia el final del libro cuando descubren la verdad de su propia línea del tiempo fue algo que no me esperaba.
Sin embargo, siento que le faltaron cosas, la explicación de los ET que atacan a la humanidad me pareció simple, en un par de páginas cierra el tema cuando creo que pudiera ser de mucho más provecho y peso en el libro.
Me parece que los japoneses están decididos a crear una nueva mística al rededor de los robots, tratando de eliminar las imágenes creadas por Hollywood con Terminator y Matrix, presentando entes por encima de la moral humana. Eso me gusta también.
October 24, 2011
I'm not usually a fan of SF (totally Team Fantasy) and I got the impression (from the blurb) that this would be pretty heavy on romance (and would potentially be unbearably saccharine) but I decided to read it anyway since it was short and the non-romance-related premise sounded interesting. Boy, was I glad I did. The (translated) writing was easy to follow, the action engaging (and this coming from someone with an almost non-existent attention span) and the romance kept to a bare minimum. While some parts took slower reads to understand (especially all the time-hopping, alternate-timestream madness), it was a pretty exciting read overall.
September 23, 2013
Was this book written specifically for me. Time travel, alien race, robotic super creatures, artificial intelligence with sentience, feudal Japan, and the far future. Yeah, this was my kind of book. It also had a pretty good story of love and sacrifice. The only negative marks I could give it are due to some translation issues. I would say 99% of it is translated perfectly but that makes that 1% that isn't stick out like a sore thumb.
It felt a lot like All You Need Is Kill. If you like one of thes books, I think you will like them both.
It felt a lot like All You Need Is Kill. If you like one of thes books, I think you will like them both.
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