Rocket Girls: The Last Planet Now on Shelves

VIZ MEDIA’S HAIKASORU IMPRINT LAUNCHES A NEW OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD ADVENTURE WITH ROCKET GIRLS: THE LAST PLANET
 
Latest Paperback Novel Brings The Next Exciting Space Mission In The ROCKET GIRLS Series To North American Readers

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the release today of author Housuke Nojiri’s science fiction adventure, ROCKET GIRLS: THE LAST PLANET. The new paperback edition is the second in the ROCKET GIRLS series, is published under the company’s Haikasoru imprint, and carries an MSRP of $13.99 U.S. / $15.99 CAN.

Haikasoru publishes some of the most compelling contemporary Japanese science fiction and fantasy stories for English-speaking audiences. The imprint is the first to launch in North America with a dedicated focus on Japanese science fiction.

When the Rocket Girls accidentally splash down in the pond of Yukari Morita's old school, it looks as though their experiment is ruined. Luckily, the geeky Akane is there to save the day. Fitting the profile – she's intelligent, enthusiastic, and petite – Akane is soon recruited by the Solomon Space Association. Yukari and Akane are then given the biggest Rocket Girl mission yet: to do what NASA astronauts cannot and save a probe headed to the minor planet Pluto and the very edge of the solar system.

“We’re very excited to announce the release of the latest installment of the ROCKET GIRLS series from the award-winning author Housuke Nojiri,” says Nick Mamatas, Haikasoru editor. “It’s the perfect combination of hard science fiction and teenage hijinks—a novel that harkens back to the Golden Age of science fiction while being hip and fresh. We’ve heard from so many fans about the original ROCKET GIRLS, and look forward to readers jumping on board to find out what happens when the Girls help out, and butt heads with, no less than NASA itself.”

Author Housuke Nojiri was born in Mie, Japan, in 1961. After working in instrumentation control, CAD programming, and game design, he published his first work, The Blind Spot of Veis, based on the video game Creguian, in 1992. He gained further popularity with subsequent works the Creguian series and also for the ROCKET GIRLS series. In 2002, he published USURPER OF THE SUN (also available from Haikasoru), which ushered in a new era of space science fiction in Japan. After first appearing as a series of short stories, USURPER won the prestigious Seiun Award for the best Japanese science fiction novel of 2002. His other notable works include Pendulum of Pinieru and Fuwa-Fuwa no Izumi.

For more information on ROCKET GIRLS: THE LAST PLANET and the Haikasoru imprint, please visit the dedicated website at http://www.haikasoru.com/.