What is the Mecha Monogatari?
The Mecha Monogatari is my series of science fiction novels and other short fiction, which center around a world where extraterrestrial invaders known as the Eschatos are attacking the free nations of Earth with mecha: fifteen- to twenty-five-meter tall bipedal war machines. Japan is one such free nation, and its Ground Self-Defense Force Titan Corps is one of the few militaries that can stand up to the Eschatos on their own terms, fielding their own mecha, known as titans, that have been reverse-engineered from Eschatos technology. These titans can only be piloted by the relatively young—the ability to synchronize one's mind with the control systems is extremely rare and usually lost by the age of twenty-five. Thus, children as young as thirteen are conscripted to serve in the Titan Corps, in the never-ending war to defend their homeland.
The most recent addition to the Mecha Monogatari series is To the Joys of Volunteering and the Beginning of the Future. Despite his every intention, Mizutani Haruto is a titan pilot and an officer in the GSDF Titan Corps. Conscripted to serve in the never-ending war against the Eschatos and their proxy nations, he has never been allowed any significant freedom to choose his own fate. He never wanted to be a titan pilot, never wanted to be commissioned as an officer, and never wanted to get involved with politicians, but he has. But at a turning point in his career, Mizutani learns an important lesson in how one’s outlook on life can change their future.
To the Joys of Volunteering and the Beginning of the Future on Amazon
My first novel in the Mecha Monogatari series, Stone King, tells the story of Saionji Kiyohiko, who is at the end of his career as a titan pilot. He has earned the title of ‘Ishiô, the Stone King of Ibaraki’ for his accomplishments, but as he looks back over all the things he has experienced and the friends he has made and lost, Saionji is left feeling he has unfinished business on the battlefield. Stone King is written in autobiographical style, as Saionji writes his memoir for the benefit of his daughter, as he contemplates his future.
War and Snowflakes is the story of Tsuruhara Iori, a civilian high school student living in the same world as Saionji, and experiencing the never-ending war from a different perspective. Unlike the soldiers who go off to fight, when there is an Eschatos attack, civilians evacuate to underground bunkers to ride out the battle in relative safety. In War and Snowflakes, Iori’s attempts to reach a shelter result in a little adventure, a random meeting with a couple of legends, and an unexpected friendship.
In the sequel to War and Snowflakes, titled War and Cherry Blossoms, Iori is staying overnight with some friends at a house out in the rural countryside, far from any bunkers, when there is another battle. An enemy mecha crashes near the house, and with no way to call for help, Iori and her friends find themselves holding an Eschatos pilot prisoner, and things get worse when one of the Eschatos’ terrifying elite pilots comes for the prisoner.
Other Works by S. Douglas Johnson
The Mecha Monogatari series is not my only writing project. I have also written The Impossible Stairwell, a science fiction story about a Etsugoya Jun’ichi, a student who finds a hidden stairwell tucked away inside his school. Going up one flight of stairs takes him right back to where he started, but one hour forward in time; going down one flight likewise takes him back to the same spot, only one hour backwards in time. With the help of one of his classmates, Tsubakihara Amaya, he explores some of the potential of this stairwell, only to find that he is not the first person to have discovered it.
About the Author
I am S. Douglas Johnson, and I have always enjoyed the “giant robot” genre of Japanese animation, from Gundam to Evangelion and everything in between. A few years ago, me and a friend of mine started playing a hodgepodge tabletop RPG of our own design (although to call what we came up with “designed” is to be extremely generous), and to fill out the world, we came up with a lot of interesting characters, each of whom had their own story that could be told.
I never got around to telling any of those stories, though, until, on a whim, I decided to take the National Novel Writing Month challenge: write a 50,000-word novel in thirty days. It was in 2011—my third NaNoWriMo—that I wrote Stone King.
Other than writing, I spend my time reading whatever I can get my hands on, teaching myself to play the violin, and paying the bills by working at a mundane day job. I also stare at a blank word processor document on my laptop screen way too much, and spend entirely too much time reading through the articles on the TV Tropes wiki.