''Deep Wheel Orcadia'' is a science-fiction novel by Harry Josephine Giles. It is a

verse novel A verse novel is a type of narrative poetry in which a novel-length narrative is told through the medium of poetry rather than prose. Either simple or complex stanzaic verse-forms may be used, but there will usually be a large cast, multiple voi ...

written in the

Orcadian dialect Orcadian dialect or Orcadian Scots is a dialect of Insular Scots, itself a dialect of the Scots language. It is derived from Lowland Scots, with a degree of Norwegian influence from the Norn language. Due to the influence of Orkney fur traders ...

of the

Scots language Scots ( endonym: ''Scots''; gd, Albais, ) is an Anglic language variety in the West Germanic language family, spoken in Scotland and parts of Ulster in the north of Ireland (where the local dialect is known as Ulster Scots). Most commonly ...

in parallel with an English translation. The book won the 2022

Arthur C. Clarke award The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. It is named after British author Arthur C. Clarke, who gave a grant to establish the award i ...

. It was published by Picador Poetry in 2021.

Plot

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

Style

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

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Awards

The book was longlisted for the Highland Book Prize longlist, but was withdrawn by Giles over the lack of minority representation. ''Deep Wheel Orcadia'' was the only work withdrawn. In 2022, ''Deep Wheel Orcadia'' won the

Arthur C. Clarke Award The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. It is named after British author Arthur C. Clarke, who gave a grant to establish the award i ...

, where it was praised for its writing and its use of language.

Reception

''The Guardian'' called the book "a book of astonishments". The ''

Orkney News Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

'' made favourable comparisons between elements of the story and life on

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

, such as bad internet speeds, but felt the ending was unsatisfying and the cast list excessive. ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

'' said the book "lacked direction" and criticised the use of Orcadian, calling it unrealistic. 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."

References

{{Reflist 2021 science fiction novels 2021 British novels British science fiction novels Verse novels Novels set in outer space Fictional space stations Scots-language literature Orcadian culture Picador (imprint) books