HEAVY WEAPONS AND A DEADLY RACE AGAINST TIME BECKON READERS TO EXPLORE

METAL GEAR SOLID: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS,
NEW FROM VIZ MEDIA’S HAIKASORU IMPRINT

Action-Packed New Novel By Famed Japanese Author Explores Key Characters And The Plot’s Connection To Previous Metal Gear Solid Franchise Videogames

San Francisco, CA, June 6, 2012 – VIZ Media’s Haikasoru imprint brings the high octane futuristic military action of Metal Gear Solid to North American readers with the release of METAL GEAR SOLID: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS, a brand new fiction title by the late Japanese science fiction author, Keikaku (Project) Itoh. The forthcoming novel, which is inspired by the massively successful videogame franchise, hits retailers on June 19^th with an MSRP of $15.99 U.S. / $18.99 CAN. An eBook edition will also be available for the Amazon Kindle, Apple’s iBooks Store, the Barnes & Noble’s Nook Books Store, and the Sony Reader™ Store.

Haikasoru publishes some of the most compelling contemporary Japanese science fiction and fantasy stories for English-speaking audiences, and is the first imprint based in the U.S. dedicated to Japanese science fiction and fantasy in translation.

METAL GEAR SOLID: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS delivers the latest bullet-ridden adventures of Solid Snake, a crack soldier who is part of a worldwide nanotechnology network known as the Sons of the Patriots. Time is running out for Snake though, as he will soon succumb to the FOXDIE virus, but not before spreading the disease to nearly everyone he encounters, in essence becoming a walking biological weapon. Snake will need every advantage he can get, as the SOP network is about to be hacked by his old enemy Liquid Ocelot, and whoever controls SOP controls the world.

“2012 marks the 25^th Anniversary of the Metal Gear Solid videogame franchise and we’re very excited to mark the occasion with the release of this novel,” says Nick Mamatas, Editor, Haikasoru. “GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS is also far more than simply a prose version of the videogame; it goes into great detail in its explorations of the characters and of the plot’s connection to previous games, realistically filling out the ‘world’ of Metal Gear Solid. This book also features an essay by Metal Gear Solid game creator, Hideo Kojima, who was a personal friend of Itoh’s. Videogame and military fans, as well as sci-fi readers and action aficionados, will want to be sure to pick up this new release!”

Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots sold more than 5,000,000 copies in 2009 and garnered tremendous international acclaim. The game, which was developed by Konami for Sony’s Playstation platform, is part of a multi-million dollar global franchise that originated in Japan. In addition to the videogames, the Metal Gear Solid franchise has spawned a variety of related comics, American novelizations, collectable figures. The property’s latest videogame chapter, METAL GEAR SOLID: RISING, is scheduled for release in the Fall of 2012. 

Keikaku (Project) Itoh was born in Tokyo in 1974 and graduated from the Musashino Art University. In 2007, he debuted with Genocidal Organs, and took first prize of the “Best SF of 2007” in SF Magazine. He is also the author of HARMONY (published in North America by Haikasoru 2010), which won the Japan SF and Seiun Awards in Japan and was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award in the U.S. After a long battle with cancer, Itoh passed away in March 2009. The ending of the 2010 Sony PSP game, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, was dedicated to him.

To read an excerpt of METAL GEAR SOLID: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS, please visit: http://www.scribd.com/doc/94470789/Metal-Gear-Solid-Guns-of-the-Patriots-Excerpt.

For more information on METAL GEAR SOLID: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS and the Haikasoru imprint, please visit the dedicated website at www.haikasoru.com.

About VIZ Media, LLC

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan.  Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular monthly manga anthology SHONEN JUMP magazine and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages.  VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.  Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.