In 1992, his first novel Yume no Ki ga Tsugeta nara ("If Only the Dream Trees Could Touch") appeared in
Hayakawa Publishing's S-F Magazine. His short story "Spice" won the
Hayakawa Award[1] in 1993.
In 1996, he published his first long novel in three volumes, Seikai no Monshou (Seikai no Monshō/Crest of the Stars). In the next year 1997 Seikai no Monsho was awarded with
Seiun Award[2] at the
Japan SF Convention. He released its sequel Seikai no Senki (Banner of the Stars), where he said that Seikai no Monsho was actually an overture to Seikai no Senki. Morioka had already suggested in Seikai no Monshou 2 that the entire series should narrate the life of Princess Lamhirh (aka Lafiel), from her birth to her eventual ascension to the imperial throne. Six volumes of Seikai no Senki are now available, with Morioka naming the first three the "Diahoc Trilogy", but the series itself has not yet finished. An English translation of "Seikai no Monshō/Crest of the Stars" has been published by
Tokyopop, which came out from the fall of 2006 to May 2007.
Aside from the Seikai series, he published another Senki in 4 volumes, based on
Japanese mythology, as well as a two-volume series, Seikai no Danshō (Fragments of the Stars), a collection of stories set in the same universe as the other two series.
His characteristics as a writer include a deep interest for
linguistics (especially for
conlangs),
artificial intelligence, bitter humor, and well-designed world settings.
Bibliography
A Wilderness of Machinery: Metaldom (機械どもの荒野(メタルダム), Kikaidomo no Arano (Metarudamu)) (1997)
If Only the Dream Trees Could Touch (夢の樹が接げたなら, Yume no ki ga tsuge ta nara) (1999)
Dandellion Wind ~ Ring World Legends ~ (風とタンポポ~惑星環物語~, Kaze to Tanpopo ~wakusei kan monogatari~) (2009)[3]
A dream battle! Siege of Osaka (夢のまた夢 決戦!大坂の陣, Yume no mata yume kessen! ōsaka no jin) (2011)