Smooth World and Its Enemies 7
Zero Solidarity's Critical Point 63
Pistol 95 given to Miaha
Holy Iron Maiden 193
Singularity Soviet 233
Faster than light, slower than 301
Acknowledgments 430
Translator's Note 434

Ranked #1 in '2019 Best SF' (selected by 'I Want to Read SF!')
The most talked about Japanese SF work.

Reprinting decided before the official release! Fifth printing in just two weeks!
The most popular science fiction writer in Japan right now!

“I can’t believe that it was written by one writer.
“These six works, woven together with exceptional writing and imagination, are amazing masterpieces based on miraculous talent and thorough preparation born from an endless yearning for science fiction.” ―Lee Young-mi (translator)

“Hannah Wren is a writer that everyone knows.
Since his debut, his work has been limited to short and medium-length stories, primarily published through doujinshi. However, his work has consistently been included in the "Annual Selection of Japanese SF Masterpieces," demonstrating his high regard for his writing. Overflowing with homage to science fiction, his writings nevertheless transcend genre boundaries, achieving a universal appeal that resonates with many.
I hope the latest work, "Faster Than Light, Slower Than Light," will be made into a theatrical animation." ―[Asahi Shimbun]

A special solidarity between ordinary girls!
Another me, another us
Science fiction that depicts a world of all possibilities

The title piece, "The Smooth World and Its Enemies," begins with the strange sentence, "I woke up to the sweltering heat, opened the curtains, and looked out the window at the snowy landscape." It is a work that depicts the friendship and solidarity of ordinary but special girls, set in a world where one can choose and move between the realities they like in the "infinite reality."
In a world where heavy snow falls on hot summer mornings, in a world where you can cover yourself with a blanket and play a game when a sermon seems about to begin, in a world where you can seamlessly move between infinite parallel worlds, conflicts in human relationships would be reduced to near zero, and there would be no need to hurt anyone or be hurt by anyone.
It is truly a peaceful and 'smooth world'.


High school girl Hazuki decides to become the enemy of the world she was living in, for the sake of her friend Makoto, who becomes the 'enemy' of this world due to an unexpected accident.
The 'smooth world' is a gentle world where no one can be hurt, but at the same time, it is a cruel world that can drive those who do not belong to that world into absolute loneliness. Therefore, Hazuki's hand extended to Makoto signifies voluntary solidarity with that lonely world.
One girl reaches out to another girl, even as she instinctively knows that she will have to live with the fear that the person she is talking to will be replaced by someone from another world, that they will abandon her and go to a world where another version of herself exists.
With the warmth of their clasped hands, may they live steadfastly in this world where they are stuck with no other options.

A science fiction coming-of-age novel themed around time!
Only those who have the courage to confront ‘this world’ and the imagination to dream of ‘another world’
You have a real opportunity to change the world!

'Time' is one of the most important subjects of science fiction.
Hannah Ren's latest work, "Faster Than Light, Slower Than Light," depicts a time-delayed Shinkansen train, or in other words, a slowed-down train, and explores two questions surrounding it.
The first question is 'why' Hayaki did not board the slow-speed Shinkansen.
The second question is 'how' to rescue the people trapped on the slowed-down Shinkansen.
In the process of resolving the first question, elements of a coming-of-age novel stand out, and in the process of resolving the second question, elements of science fiction stand out.
The story depicts the state of mind of the protagonist Hayaki, who did not go on a school trip and was unable to board the Shinkansen, and the state of society after the disaster. It repeatedly mentions competition in reporting, public interest and climate change, and social changes, which will likely remind many readers of the actual disaster that occurred in our country.


The subject who solves problems and reforms the world is neither a simple realist like Nagihara nor a simple romantic like his uncle.
Only Hayaki, the person who succeeds in fusing two conflicting attitudes—the courage to confront “this world” and the imagination to dream of “another world”—has a true opportunity to change the world.
Therefore, this work can also be interpreted as Hayaki's existential adventure of returning to 'this world' after an imaginary escape from longing for 'another world'.
Understanding that his uncle was not simply a materialist but was trying his best to solve the problem within his worldview, and encountering Nagihara's genuine, realistic attitude, Hayaki, who was at the root of the incident, clearly recognizes what he must do and transforms into a "man of action."


The characters in Hannah Ren's works sometimes seem to be tempted to jump into the possibility of another self, another world, but ultimately, they resolutely decide to accept who they are and this world.
This conclusion does not deny the significance of science fiction imagination, which presents infinite possibilities to humanity.
Rather, by confronting the possibility of another self and another world through science fiction imagination, they realize the preciousness of themselves and this world, and gain the strength to love it.


A SF that depicts the [SF literary history of three women]!
Fuji has the qualifications to become a time traveler, which he so desperately desired.
Will we ever meet Domi and Otora again?

The second short story, "The Critical Point of the Zero Era," is a critical novel that organizes the origins of "Japanese SF literature."
As the fictional history of Japanese science fiction is written, the ancestors are set as women.
In 1879, Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days was translated and published in Japan by H.
It was in 1913 that H.G. Wells's The Time Machine and The Invisible Man were introduced.
Meanwhile, inspired by overseas science fiction, Shunro Oshikawa began publishing adventure novels such as “Battleship Underwater” (1900).
In other words, it can be said that the SF literary world was formed in Japan in the 1900s, with novels classified as SF being created and even specialized magazines being produced.
So, it would be safe to say that this 20th century 'Zero Generation' is the first generation of Japanese science fiction.
However, there are too many difficulties in re-examining the history of science fiction literature and clarifying the influence of authors and their works.
How interesting it would be if such non-fiction existed.
The work that satisfies that intellectual curiosity by borrowing the power of imagination is “The Critical Point of Zero Years.”

However, the central figures of this work are not Oshikawa Shunro, but his classmates at a girls' school named Tomie, Fuji, and Otora.
In 1902, Nakazaike Tomie submitted the story "The Suibashi Double Suicide Incident" to the magazine "Yogaku Doubou," marking the beginning of Japanese science fiction. The setting is that Tomie, Fuji, and Otora exchanged stimulation through novel creation and criticism, leading to the sprouting of the Japanese science fiction literary world.
However, with the exception of Western novels that are said to have been influenced (e.g., Irving's "Rip Van Winkle," Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The House of the Seven Gables," and Dumas's "The Count of Monte Cristo"), not only the characters, but also the titles, plots, and even the footnotes are all fictional.
This world, armed with extremely realistic writing, is a complete fiction.

This perfect 'virtual literary history' does not stop at being a fictional 'literary history'.
Leaving behind the book "The Secret of the Fujiwara Family" which tells the story of time travelers, Tomie and Otora disappear from the Suibashi Bridge.
The true ending of this story, which ends with no body found, is not in the main text, but in the final note.
Fuji, who was left alone and wrote over 70 science fiction pieces in his lifetime, says, “I had to bring the world forward to meet the two friends/SF writers who disappeared again,” and there is a clue to interpreting the entire work.
By depicting the history of fictional science fiction literature in a concise and analytical style and hinting at certain events that actually occurred within that literary history, the entire work becomes science fiction.
Will Fuji be able to attain the qualifications of a time traveler he so desperately longed for, and meet Domi and Otora again?