United States of Japan

"Right. I think Peter himself describes it as a kind of spiritual sequel to The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick. It’s an alternate history in which the Axis powers won World War II , and Japan has conquered parts of the United States. And it’s a book in which there are giant mechas, and there are references to gaming culture—a lot of nerdy, geeky references that we love to see in science fiction. But more than that, what really made me just sit up and take notice is the way Peter uses this novel to confront some of the darkest episodes of World War II in the Pacific theater. Here in the US especially, fictional explorations of World War II tend to be very focused on the European theater, and don’t pay enough attention to the horrors committed by Imperial Japan, the terrible suffering and the incredible bravery and sacrifices the Allies made in the Pacific theater. Peter’s book, using alternate history, explores these episodes of injustice and how do you seek freedom and liberty and remain human in the face of unspeakable atrocities and oppression? I found the lens through which he did this to be emotionally wrenching. Overall, the novel is a deeply moving, powerful cry for freedom in the face of darkness and atrocity. Yeah. It gives you a new lens to see the history we have in this timeline. No, no, absolutely not. I wouldn’t say that. I think Peter’s point was: The Man in the High Castle is an alternate history in which the Axis powers won, and so this is similar in that sense, but no, it’s not at all similar to Philip K Dick in other ways."