(Belated) Clarke Award Nominees

Hey, I never actually posted these, did I?

These are the books that gave Christopher Priest a severe case of the grumpy-old-fans, which must mean something:

• Greg Bear, Hull Zero Three (Gollancz)
• Drew Magary, The End Specialist (Harper Voyager)
• China Miéville, Embassytown (Macmillan)
• Jane Rogers, The Testament of Jessie Lamb (Sandstone Press)
• Charles Stross, Rule 34 (Orbit)
• Sheri S.Tepper, The Waters Rising (Gollancz)

As always, the Clarke shortlist is created by a panel of five people, representing different British SFnal institutions: Juliet E McKenna (BSFA), Martin Lewis (BSFA), Phil Nanson (SFF), Nikkianne Moody (SFF), and Rob Grant (SCI-FI-LONDON film festival). They're required to work from a specific list of titles submitted -- sixty of them this year -- and this is one of those awards that reads "science fiction" restrictively, rather than widely.

I have currently read about two-thirds of one book on that list, so I will leave off any commentary on my part, but congratulations to the nominees, particularly the Internet Puppies.