 |
Dark imagination: Di Li is among the few Vietnamese to write horror stories. — File Photo |
HCM CITY — Science fiction and horror stories written by Vietnamese authors have captured the imagination of young readers though they are not exactly dominating bookstore shelves. HCM City-based Tre (Youth) Publishing Co was inundated by readers' letters hailing Nhung Hiep Si Zmen (Zmen Knights) after it released the first book in the science fiction series last month.
Written by well-known writer Bui Chi Vinh, it is about five teenagers who accidentally get superhuman powers from a strange "virus" and join hands to fight evil and protect humanity.
Nguyen Minh Nhut, director of the publisher, said a new instalment will be published every month.
Vinh is well-known for his fantasy stories: His 40-episode book Ngu Quai Sai Gon (Five Troublemakers in Sai Gon) was turned into a TV series by HCM City Television Studio three years ago.
Di Li who wrote Tang Thu Nhat (The First Floor) and Dieu Valse Dia Nguc (Waltzing in Hell) is among very few Vietnamese to write horror stories.
Her recent work, Trai Hoa Do (A Farm of Red Flowers), a big hit, tells the tale of a young woman who gets a farm in a mountainous area as a gift from her husband. The area seems to be full of oddballs and the woman is frightened every time she hears a loud noise or about strange happenings there. She lives in constant dread, haunted by the spirits of victims of mysterious killings.
Huynh Ngoc Chenh's stories like Ho Ly Tien and Sao Chi, which feature romance between ghosts and human beings have also become popular.
While works by Vietnamese may be rare, many translated foreign science fiction and horror novels are found in bookstores around the country.
Besides the usual suspects like Harry Potter and Twilight, Marked-House of Night by PC Cast and Kristin Cast and The Pendragon Adventure by DJ MacHale are among the popular translated works.
The latter tells the story of a teenager who discovers that he and his two best friends have to save the universe. — VNS