2001: AN ODYSSEY IN WORDS
Count: Arthur long
RELEASED 3 JULY 220 pages | Paperback/limited edition signed hardback Editor Ian Whates Publisher NewCon Press
We’re now 17 years past the date of 2001, and Arthur C Clarke still ranks as a legendary SF author, especially thanks to his establishment of the prestigious Clarke Award in 1987. Since then, 31 SF novels have won the annual prize. This new anthology acts as an award fundraiser, as well as a (slightly belated) celebration of the centenary of Clarke’s birth.
The only guiding theme for the 27 short stories within was that they should be science fiction and exactly 2,001 words long. The result is a brisk anthology that never outstays its welcome, even if it’s also a distinctly mixed bag.
The authors are an impressive collection of SF names from across the history of the Clarke Award, including both nominees and winners, and the stories range from traditional space operas to oddball humour and more experimental tales.
The most successful of these are “Entropy War” by Yoon Ha Lee and “Ten Landscapes of Nili Fossae” by Ian McDonald, with other highlights delivered by Claire North (“Child Of Ours”), Becky Chambers (“Last Contact”), Adrian Tchaikovsky (“The Collectors”) and Tom Hunter (“Waiting In The Sky”).
The level of imagination is admirable, but the downside of the story length is that a number of entries feel like underdeveloped mood pieces rather than fully satisfying tales. There are also direct links back to Clarke’s work in certain stories, and while some of these succeed (especially “Child” by Adam Roberts), others fall flat (most notably Gwyneth Jones’s bewildering “Distraction”).
2001: An Odyssey Of Words ends up as an anthology that’s occasionally a little unsure of its own identity, but there are still enough strengths here to showcase the kind of writing that’s won the Clarke Award across the last three decades. Saxon Bullock
The book also includes essays by Andrew M Butler, China Miéville and Neil Gaiman (who writes about judging the award).