In reality, the possibility that the series wouldn’t clear the commercial hurdle (which is to say, selling decently), and that it’d be forced to end at a mere three volumes, loomed large. And at that time, I resigned myself to be content with what I had accomplished should that come to pass. But to my delight, CREST received a warmer reception than I’d anticipated. It was far from a bestseller in the eyes of the wider public, but as a set of books pushed out by a relative unknown, it attracted a surprising amount of attention.
To me, the series was the product of various aims, both as SF and as novels in themselves, but it also derived from a business aim — the desire to step into the ring and punch out the “Winter of SF.” As such, I was able to taste a real sense of victory (an idea I find as comical as you do).
I am grateful to all of you readers, to everyone involved in the making of these books, and to the characters. Now that it’s come to this, I hunger to depict more. While I was writing CREST, various different scenarios popped into my head. That story was complete after endeavoring to tie those scenarios together.
But at the same time, the episodes that ought to follow CREST also floated in my mind. Not just episodes, though — characters, fragments of lines and conversations, all sorts of things. And now I think I’d like to show you all of them. Thanks to you, the work of connecting all of these scenes has begun anew.
I do have my concerns as to whether they’ll all fit together sufficiently neatly, but there’s no doubt the work of getting there will be fun. I even have a last scene in mind.
Actually, I have two last scenes in mind. Which last scene you get, the plot will decide. Now, I have something to ask of you: Please, if the characters come to disaster or misfortune, don’t blame the author!
With that, I have nothing else to say in this space about the beginnings of the series. I’ll use the remaining space to explain just one thing about the volume you’re reading. Some of you may be wondering why the word sarérh meant “ship commander” in CREST, but now also means “unit commander.” This was not a mistake. They’re the same word in Baronh. And yes, the Japanese word (“warship captain”) that was rendered as sarérh in CREST is rendered in this book as manoüass. That’s because in Baronh, the captain of a small warship is a manoüass, while the captain of a large warship is a sarérh. The commander of a corps of assembled small-size warships is also a sarérh.
Why did I make the terminology there that headache-inducing? Good question: your humble author doesn’t remember. I will engage in self-reflection regarding this matter. (Likely nothing will come of this self-reflection, as I often just leave it at that. That the lessons I learn gazing inward don’t affect my future actions is my biggest problem).
Speaking of the Baronh, a significant number of readers of CREST pointed out to me that its inclusion made the text hard to read. All of the Baronh has made editing, proofreading, producing, and printing the books a bigger ask than normal (and it has probably made reading the books a mite harder too, but that’s just readers reaping what they’ve paid for), which I do feel bad about, but if it’s making it a slog to read for you personally, I don’t mind at all if you just ignore the Baronh altogether. It’s not as though it’s there to help you understand goings-on. It’s purely ancillary. I see Baronh as a work of fiction in itself, and take pride in my ability to give rise to such a conlang.
That being said, whether or not you enjoy fictional languages is a matter of personal preference, and nothing more. In fact, I feel as though precious few readers find any enjoyment in it. That’s why it’s no mystery to me that there are those among you who think of it as “hard to read.”
Lastly, I have received many opinions and questions revolving around CREST. At first, I fully intended to reply to every letter, but the lazy and sloppy personality that’s been my curse since I was born got in the way of that, and I’ve failed to pay due courtesy to the fans as a result. I apologize. I assure you, however, that I am storing your letters with the utmost care, as I treasure them, and re-read them when the occasion arises. If you can stand a schmo like me who might not write back, then by all means, send me your thoughts.
If possible, I’d like to deliver BANNER OF THE STARS II to you around spring. Don’t take that as a promise. This is just me thinking it’d be swell if I could get it out by springtime, with no real reason to think I will be able to (why am I doing this to myself?). I don’t think it’ll take too long to get to you either way, but I can’t say I’m faster than average at pounding out the script, either.
In any case, I’ll be hoping that you enjoy this tale that’s really only just begun.
November 10, 1996
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Copyright
Banner of the Stars: Volume 1
by Hiroyuki Morioka
Translated by Giuseppe di Martino
Edited by Brandon Koepp
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 1996 Hiroyuki Morioka
Cover illustration by Toshihiro Ono
First published in Japan in 1996 by Hayakawa Publishing Corporation
The book is published by arrangement with Hayakawa Publishing Corporation
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.
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The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
Ebook edition 1.0: December 2019
The Ties that Bind Page 22
