Chōhei Kambayashi

Chōhei Kambayashi
Native name 神林 長平
Born Kiyoshi Takayanagi (高柳 清 Takayanagi Kiyoshi)
July 10, 1953
Niigata, Japan
Occupation Novelist
Alma mater Nagaoka National College of Technology
Genre Science fiction
Notable awards
  • Short FormSeiun Award
    1983 Kotobazukaishi
    1984 Super Phoenix
    2013 Ima shūgōteki muishiki o,
  • Long FormSeiun Award
    1984 Teki wa kaizoku kaizokuban
    1985 Sentō Yōsei Yukikaze
    1987 Prism
    1998 Teki wa kaizoku A-kyū no teki
    2000 Good Luck Sentō Yōsei Yukikaze
  • Nihon SF Taisho Award
    1995 Kototsubo

Chōhei Kambayashi (神林長平 Kanbayashi Chōhei) (born July, 10 1953) is a Japanese science fiction writer.

Born in Niigata, Kambayashi graduated Nagaoka National College of Technology. He debuted in 1979 with the short story "Dance with a Fox",[1] which was an honorable mention of the 5th Hayakawa SF Contest. He quickly became fan favorite, and he won the Seiun Award eight times (five for novels, three for short stories) during his career.[2] In a 2006 SF Magazine poll he was ranked third best Japanese SF writer of all time;[3] and in 2014 poll, the second.[4]

Kambayashi received Nihon SF Taishō Award in 1995 for Kototsubo.[5] He was the chairman of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan in 2001-2003.[6]

His writing often blurs the reality and alternate reality. Early works, such as May Peace Be On Your Soul,[7] were often compared to Philip K. Dick,[8] as Kambayashi himself acknowledges that the Dick's works lead him to science fiction writing.

Probably his most popular work is Yukikaze.[9][10] It was made into an animated video series in 2002-2005.

Another popular work, Enemy Is Pirate,[11] which consists of nine books (as of 2013), is a more lighter tone space opera series. There was an animated video series released in 1989.

Bibliography

Titles with asterisk * are short story collection. Titles with dagger † are series story collection.

Notes

  1. "Dance with Fox" (狐と踊れ Kitsune to odore) (1979). In a collection of the same title (1981).
  2. 星雲賞リスト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2009-05-10.
  3. Locus Online
  4. S-F Magajin, July 2014, Hayakawa Shobō
  5. Word Pot (言壷 Kototsubo) (1994)
  6. "History of SFWJ" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2009-05-10.
  7. May Peace Be On Your Soul (あなたの魂に安らぎあれ Anata no tamashii ni yasuragi are) (1983)
  8. Ryohei Takahashi (1983). "Kaisetsu". In Chohei Kambayashi. Kotobazukaishi (in Japanese). Hayakawa Shobō. ISBN 4-15-030173-5.
  9. It was 9th in the domestic novel ranking of All-Time Best survey of S-F Magazine in 2006. ("Hayakawa's SF Magazine's All-Time Best SF". March 10, 2006. Retrieved June 8, 2009.)
  10. Battle Fairy Yukikaze (戦闘妖精・雪風 Sentō yōsei yukikaze) (1984). Revised slightly in 2002 as Battle Fairy Yukikaze <bis> (戦闘妖精・雪風<改> Sentō yōsei yukikaze <kai>). A sequel is Good Luck Battle Fairy Yukikaze (グッドラック 戦闘妖精・雪風 Guddo rakku sentō yōsei yukikaze) (1999). The third part was published in July 2009 as Unbroken Arrow (アンブロークン・アロー 戦闘妖精・雪風).
  11. Enemy Is Pirate (敵は海賊 Teki wa kaizoku)

References

External links