Last month our wonderful staff member Yukino reviewed two novels under the VIZ Media imprint HAIKASORU: “All You Need Is Kill” by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, and “Lord of the Sands of Time” by Issui Ogawa. We’ve received word that today (15th September, 2009) two new books are out, and have received some good reviews from fellow authors Brian Keene (author of The Rising) and Paul Levinson (author of The Plot To Save Socrates).

Brian Keene has described the first novel, ZOO written by Otsuichi, as “haunting, emotional, and thoroughly engrossing”. ZOO reveals the story of a man who receives a photo of his girlfriend everyday in the mail. Problem is it isn’t a happy snap, but rather a progress check of how her body is decomposing. It also reveals the deathtrap that takes a week to kill it’s victims, a child with the power to do whatever he likes, and the child’s parents. These are just some of the delights you can find in the novel that sold 740,000 copies in Japan, and was made into a movie that combined live-action with animation.

The second novel, USURPER OF THE SUN by Housuke Nojiri, has been described as “a compellingly poetic first contact story, gleaming with digital savvy, appealing human detail, and alien peril. Think Arthur C. Clarke meets Haruki Murakami, and gaze at Mercury in the sunset and sunrise with new awe.” by Paul Levinson, and has been the recipient of a Seiun Award in 2002 for Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year. The story tells how high school student Aki Shiraishi was witness to an amazing event while attending his astronomy club – a mysterious tower was being built on the planet Mercury! It’s not long before the “Builders” construct a ring around the Sun which threatens the “ecology” of Earth by the shadow the ring is casting! Inspiring Aki to pursue Science as a career, she must discover the truth behind this structure. She needs to figure out what the purpose for the ring is, and what the creators have planned – if she doesn’t, Earth and the mysterious alien “Builders” could be in grave danger.

ZOO by Otsuichi is available at the price of $13.99 U.S. or CAN $16.00, while USURPER OF THE SUN by Housuke Nojiri is available at the price of $15.99 U.S. or CAN $18.99. For more information on these title, you should visit http://www.haikasoru.com.

They can also be found at our Rightstuf store: ZOO by Otsuichi / USURPER OF THE SUN by Housuke Nojiri