Deep Wheel Orcadia

Deep Wheel Orcadia is a science-fiction novel by Harry Josephine Giles. It is a verse novel written in the Orcadian dialect of the Scots language in parallel with an English translation. The book won the 2022 Arthur C. Clarke award. It was published by Picador Poetry in 2021.[1]

Deep Wheel Orcadia
AuthorHarry Josephine Giles
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageScots, English
GenreScience fiction, verse novel
Published2021
PublisherPicador Poetry
Media typePrint
ISBN978-1-5290-6660-9

Plot

The story is a romance set on a space station orbiting a gas giant.[2]

Style

The book is written in Orcadian verse, with an English translation provided in smaller text.[2] Translations for Orcadian words provide several possible English translations in a compound word.[3] The English translations were formatted to draw attention to the Orcadian, a technique also used by Gaelic poet Rody Gorman.[2]

Awards

The book was longlisted for the Highland Book Prize longlist, but was withdrawn by Giles over the lack of minority representation.[4] Deep Wheel Orcadia was the only work withdrawn.[5]

In 2022, Deep Wheel Orcadia won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, where it was praised for its writing and its use of language.[6]

Reception

The Guardian called the book "a book of astonishments".[7] The Orkney News made favourable comparisons between elements of the story and life on Orkney, such as bad internet speeds, but felt the ending was unsatisfying and the cast list excessive.[8]

The Scotsman said the book "lacked direction" and criticised the use of Orcadian, calling it unrealistic.[3]

The chair of the judges for the Arthur C. Clarke Award described the book as "the sort of book that makes you rethink what science fiction can do and makes the reading experience feel strange in a new and thrilling way. It's as if language itself becomes the book's hero and the genre is all the richer for it."[6]

References
  1. Fitzpatrick, Cat (15 November 2021). "Deep Wheel Orcadia by Harry Josephine Giles". Strange Horizons. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  2. Richardson, Michael Lee (11 October 2021). "Harry Josephine Giles on Orkney Sci-Fi Deep Wheel Orcadia". The Skinny. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  3. Kelly, Stuart (15 October 2021). "Book review: Deep Wheel Orcadia, by Harry Josephine Giles". The Scotsman. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  4. Merritt, Mike (10 January 2022). "Author Harry Josephine Giles pulls novel from Highland Book Prize in protest against all-white shortlists". The Times. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  5. Smith, Reiss (28 April 2022). "Author on 'horrible' reality of trans folk having to fund each other's healthcare". PinkNews. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  6. Shaffi, Sarah (26 October 2022). "Arthur C Clarke award goes to 'thrilling' verse novel by Harry Josephine Giles". the Guardian. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  7. Sampson, Fiona (1 October 2021). "The best recent poetry – review roundup". the Guardian. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  8. Armet, Monika (26 October 2022). "'Deep Wheel Orcadia' by Harry Josephine Giles Wins Top Science Fiction Award". The Orkney News. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
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