by Ian Whates

The shortlist for this year’s Arthur C. Clarke Awards was announced on 9th March. The judges have selected the following six novels:

The Red Men – Matthew de Abaitua (Snow Books)

The H-Bomb Girl – Stephen Baxter (Faber & Faber)

The Carhullan Army – Sarah Hall (Faber & Faber)

The Raw Shark Texts – Steven Hall (Canongate)

The Execution Channel – Ken MacLeod (Orbit)

Black Man – Richard Morgan (Gollancz)

As ever, the list is not without surprises. Stephen Baxter’s The H-Bomb Girl is the first Young Adult novel ever to appear on the shortlists, and two of the books here – those by Matthew de Abaitua and Steven Hall – are debut novels.

The selection has already stimulated considerable discussion on forums, with some remarking on the absence of Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, but, inevitably, it is the non-appearance of Ian McDonald’s highly regarded Brasyl which has drawn the most comment.

Any suggestion of controversy was refuted, however, by the Award’s administrator, Tom Hunter, when I caught up with him a week after the announcement.

“Are the Awards really as controversial as ever? It’s an interesting question. On the one hand it’s very encouraging to know that the Award continues to get people talking and thinking about science fiction, but on the other I think people understand there’s never been an inherent drive towards generating controversy in the selection of a Clarke’s shortlist.

“The Award was originally created to promote UK science fiction writing, and you only have to look at the books on this year’s list to see the continued range and strength of the genre. There are alternate histories and environmental dystopias, explorations of genetic engineering and meme theory, time-travel adventure and virtual realities; more than enough to keep people talking and guessing until we announce the winner at the end of April.”

Tom adds that this year’s longlist featured fifty-five individual novels, one of the biggest ever, submitted by twenty different publishers and imprints.

Perhaps he is right, perhaps it’s unfair to call the shortlist controversial, but one thing is certain: the Arthur C. Clarke Award remains the most difficult to predict and second-guess of any award in the genre. Long may that continue.