Hopeland by Ian McDonald (Gollancz, £25)
This tale of star-crossed lovers, together and apart from 2011 to 2033, moving from London and Ireland to Iceland, Greenland and Polynesian islands, marries magic realism to solid, near-future speculative fiction. Hopeland, which heroine Raisa belongs to, is the name of an “open family community” of more than 220,000 individuals. It’s neither a nation nor a cult: anyone can join or leave, and call for help from their “kynn” anywhere in the world. The title hints at hopes for a more promising future for those worst affected by the climate crisis. One strand, set in the imaginary South Pacific kingdom of Ava’utapu, feels eerily prescient. A few months ago, Tuvalu, population 12,000, became the first country to announce it’s creating a virtual replica of itself in the cloud, so it will still be recognised as a nation when its land is beneath the sea. An essential work of climate fiction.
Ten Planets by Yuri Herrera, translated by Lisa Dillman (And Other Stories, £11.99)
A collection of 20 short, experimental, playful and philosophical stories from the highly praised Mexican author of Signs Preceding the End of the World. Zorg, Author of the Quixote is Borges through a pulp sci-fi lens; House Taken Over chillingly recasts Julio Cortázar’s classic horror in modern terms; stories about maps and travel pay homage to Calvino, and there are alien’s-eye views of sex, gender, politics and art, some humorous, others nightmarish. Startling concepts another writer might take hundreds of pages to explore are distilled into perfect miniatures. It’s tempting to gulp them down at once, but such rich fare is best taken slowly, allowed to digest.
Observer by Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress (The Story Plant, £21.99)
Robert Lanza is an American scientist known for his pioneering work in stem cell biology and for the theory of biocentrism. That the presence of an observer has a profound effect on events at the quantum level is well known. Biocentrism postulates this is also true on the macro level, and the existence of the universe requires conscious life. Here he co-authors a novel based on his theory, aiming to introduce the idea to a wider audience. The viewpoint character is a brilliant neurosurgeon unwillingly drawn into a secret scientific project designed to prove that the generally accepted view of reality is completely wrong. The fictional experiments, involving brain surgery and a form of lucid dreaming, do not convince as proof of anything except that it is possible to change people’s minds, but it’s still a compelling story filled with believable characters and interesting ideas.
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett (Orbit, £14.99)
Emily Wilde, an expert in the study and classification of faeries, is looking forward to months of solitary fieldwork in the far north, hoping to discover more facts about the secretive Hidden Ones. She aims to have as little to do with humans as possible, but her plans are upset by the arrival of a distractingly handsome fellow academic and events conspire to bring them together. When a young woman from a nearby village is spirited away, her only hope of rescue from another realm lies with the two experts in faery lore. A thoroughly charming academic fairytale, complete with footnotes and a low-key grumpy romance.
