The shortlist for the 2018 Arthur C. Clarke Award was announced by Tom Hunter at Sci-Fi London at midday today, and what an interesting and delightfully surprising shortlist it is!
The only one of the six I actively predicted might be on there is Omar El Akkad’s alternate-world civil war novel American War. Though the novel didn’t entirely work for me personally, there’s never been any doubt in my mind that this is exactly the kind of book the Clarke should be noticing. Well crafted and passionately told, you could discuss American War all day and still not get to the end of it. I’m keen to see what other people think.
Gather the Daughters slipped under my radar rather, as it was published after the Sharke had run its course last year and perhaps because the central conceit – which reminds me a little of Naomi Wood’s The Godless Boys – seemed over-familiar. But a highly positive review from the brilliant Sarah Moss (others have compared it with Emma Cline’s The Girls, which is also a plus factor) leaves me insatiably curious about it and happy to see this somewhat under-exposed book brought to wider notice.
I’ve heard nothing but positive things about Jaroslav Kalfar’s Spaceman of Bohemia and it’s fantastic to see some Eastern European SF on the Clarke Award shortlist. I haven’t read Borne yet, but conversely that’s probably because I know in advance I’ll always find something to fascinate and inspire me in anything Jeff VanderMeer writes. C. Robert Cargill’s Sea of Rust would appear to be more towards the centre of SF than would normally attract me, but its premise sounds meaty and original and it’s an interesting addition to the shortlist.
Anne Charnock’s Dreams Before the Start of Time is without a doubt the book I am personally most thrilled to see on the shortlist. I’ve long been saying that Anne’s particular brand of science fiction – thoughtful and thought–provoking, human, strongly contemporary and beautifully crafted – is exactly the kind of writing we need to be seeing more of in British SF, and to have the jury pick out Dreams is something of a milestone. Congratulations, Anne!
The most surprising omission, for me, would have to be Nick Harkaway’s Gnomon, possibly the most ambitious science fiction novel of 2017 and it’s a shame that we won’t be seeing it discussed within the context of the Clarke. However, with this year’s submissions list containing so many high-quality novels, it’s inevitable that some would have to fall by the wayside. This is the best Clarke Award shortlist in years: diverse, engaging, surprising, packed with literary excellence. Most importantly of all, it showcases a wide variety of science fiction through differing interpretations of what SF is and what SF is capable of doing, providing a well focused snapshot of where science fiction was at in 2017.
Congratulations to all the shortlisted writers, and to this year’s jury for making such intelligent and unpredictable choices. At last – something for the Sharkes to well and truly get their teeth into!