Chapter 3 Translator's Preface: Another World

About seventeen years ago, I came into contact with a computer game "Ultima", which is known as the ancestor of role-playing games, and started my enlightenment to the fantasy world (this series of stand-alone games has come to an end after the development of the Internet, and now The rest of the online version is still in operation).The basic story of the Genesis series is that a normal person is summoned to Britannia, a world full of swords and magic, one day without knowing why, and finally becomes the savior of the world. story.Of course, there is no need to mention the difference in the picture of the game in that era, but the imagination space it left in the hearts of players is endless.Leaving aside the super-thick manuals, monster illustrations, cloth maps and other standard accessories that are never seen in today's games, the subtitle of this series of games alone is enough to draw people's imagination: "The Quest of the Avatar), Warriors of Destiny, False Prophet, Ascension.I couldn't read English at all back then, but seeing the names of these games, I couldn't help but bought them all back.There was a time when I lived in the world of Britannia, and that was before Ultima Online.

I'm a RPG fan.My imagination of fantasy worlds comes from computer games.Readers who know my name must know that I have a close friendship with the game "Everquest".Strictly speaking, I don’t have much contact with fantasy novels. Except for a few sets of must-read classics translated by Mr. Zhu Xueheng in the early days, the rest is probably Harry Potter.Even so, I have come into contact with many different fantasy worlds through computer games, and I am also deeply moved by many twists and turns.I'll always remember the intrigues of Baldur's Gate, the weird philosophy of Torment, the climax of Knights of the old Republic and even Space Warrior Ten ( The sad sadness of Final Fantasy X).After more than ten years, I think I have seen enough world settings and enough strong characters.However, after coming into contact with Simon R. Green's "City of Eternal Night" novel at the beginning of this year, I really felt the less and less shocking again, and I couldn't help but give a thumbs up and say hello!

Although I haven't translated many works so far, "City of Eternal Night" is the first story that I can't help but start to translate immediately after reading the original text.My shock comes not only from the setting of Nightside (Nightside), which is different from the normal world, but also from the background of every amazing character in it.Night City is the dark heart of London, basically a fantasy world structured under the normal world.According to what is said in the book: Night City is actually not much different from ordinary metropolises, but it just magnifies human desires and exaggerates all kinds of material things, just like the urban streets we walk in dreams.Here, all legends in human history can be true, gods in all religions can come into reality, all recorded magic tools actually exist, and all special abilities are profitable.In short, this is a world with infinite possibilities, unlike ordinary fantasy world settings that are limited.It is precisely because of this infinite possibility that each character will shock people's hearts again when they appear on the stage, because you really can't imagine what is in the author's mind, why his imagination is so rich and deformed...

Every character in this city has a gruesome background.These backgrounds run through the past and the present, and lead directly to the future, shining on heaven and burning hell.Apart from unexpected, there is nothing else to say.There are righteous thugs who make a contract with God, and true lovers who make a contract with the devil; there are the greatest wizards in the world, and there are engineers with superior technological knowledge.Since life, death, and reality are only vague concepts here, the truly strong will never cease to exist because of death (but that doesn't mean they won't die).And because time and space are not absolutely linear here, future cars equipped with warp drive and photon torpedoes also have the opportunity to appear.Here, the anti-theft system of the building is not just an alarm bell, it must also be equipped with magic defense.The ancient gods may fall into the mortal world because they are forgotten; the new and powerful ones may also be promoted to godhood because they seize the opportunity.This is an extremely dangerous place, and you will lose your life if you don't pay attention, but at the same time, there is an extreme temptation proportional to the degree of danger, making it impossible to resist the desire to visit here.Everything here is stronger, more raw.Here, everything matters.Belief, behavior, life...here has more meaning and deeper feeling.

The most important thing is that the world where everything is possible looks messy, but in the author's pen it appears to be orderly and seamless.Readers won't feel that this is a grandstanding story, they will just fall into it involuntarily.The story that happened in Night City is very fast-paced, just like the feeling of riding a roller coaster, and it is even less hesitant than the derailed roller coaster. It is easy to pick up, but it is not easy to put it down.This world may not be the same as the fantasy world common to readers, but it has a sense of familiarity and a sense of surprise.It brought me a throbbing that I haven't had for a long time, and made me read one after another, and then turn over one after another.Now, for a very basic reason, the protagonist John Taylor must return to Night City, where he has fled for a long time, and this time, he will return with the hearts of many readers...

"Although I may not like myself in Night City, at least I am no longer an ordinary person here. And then again, one cannot let other people dictate where one goes, otherwise one will miss a lot of business." Welcome to the world of "City of Eternal Night", I believe you will like it.