Science fiction for summer reading: translations and criticism

Two major science fiction series make their way to the mainland this year. Stephen King’s Dark Tower (黑暗塔) series is in the process of being translated; the first three volumes are already out, and futher volumes will be released every two months.

A translation of Isaac Asimov’s Empire series follows last year’s publication of the Foundation and Robots novels. The Stars Like Dust (繁星若尘), The Currents of Space (星空暗流), and Pebble in the Sky (苍穹微石) are translations credited to Taiwan’s Hansheng magazine press; they’re done by Leewah Yeh, a SF writer and translator who’s also responsible for the 1996/97 Taiwanese translation of the Foundation series that was also used in the mainland version.

Edge Review (边缘), a new online journal of science fiction criticism launched last year, released its third issue last month. The magazine seems to be attempting to bring to popular writing on domestic SF a bit of the academic discourse that’s taking place in university SF programs.

This issue features reviews of a few recent short stories, pieces by SF critic Zheng Jun on the War of the Worlds movie in a historical context and the relationship between science and religion, and a reflection on the meaning of the 1973 Japanese film Tidal Wave (日本沉没 in Chinese). Most of the authors write under the names they are known by on forums and blogs, so reading the journal presents interesting contrasts like a paper titled “Physics & Philosophy: A philosophical analysis of Yasumi Kobayashi’s Staggering Man” authored by Tintinnina (丁丁虫).