Orcadian tour de force
4 stars
The sci-fi draws you in, the prose keep you there
Paperback, 176 pages
English, Scots, Orcadian language
Published Jan. 10, 2021 by Pan Macmillan.
Deep Wheel Orcadia
5 stars
(2 reviews)
Astrid is returning home from art school on Mars, looking for inspiration. Darling is fleeing a life that never fit, searching for somewhere to hide. They meet on Deep Wheel Orcadia, a distant space station struggling for survival as the pace of change threatens to leave the community behind.
Review of 'Deep Wheel Orcadia' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This is a beautiful book, and as near to perfect as I can imagine a poem or a science fiction story could be. The English translation is a shimmering lens that draws you into the Orkney text but never overwrites it—a tremendous achievement—and the text of the poem itself is a sonic latticework that rolls and ravishes without demanding a close semantic reading. The story is told through many voices, and the focus on everyday interpersonal moments is a welcome change from the bombastic norm in science fiction. This is a work that feels whole, but not closed, and one that I anticipate returning to again and again.
Subjects
- English literature, Science Fiction