The long list for the Man Booker Prize in fiction was released today, and includes a few speculative gems in the realms of historical fiction. Here is the run down on the contenders for this year's prize that toe or dive-in to our favorite genre:
Speculative & Speculativeish Man Booker Prize Finalists
In 1527, the conquistador Pánfilo de Narváez sailed to claim what is now the Gulf Coast of the United States for the Spanish crown and earn his fortune. But within a year of embarking there were only four survivors left to journey across America, and their story is told through the eyes of a Moroccan slave, Estebancio.
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
Hop back to in time to Jamaica, 1976 and travel through to the 1990's as James recounts the shooting of Bob Marley and the political fallout that ensued.
A family chronicle that spans from the 1920's forward, detailing the lives of Abby and Red and their four children.
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Four broke classmates move to New York to forge their paths, with only friendship and ambition to keep them going. As the decades pass, their relationships deepen and darken, with the shadow of trauma hanging over the futures they initially dreamed about.
Satin Island by Tom McCarthy
U., a “corporate anthropologist,” is tasked with writing the Great Report to sum up our era. Finding the task daunting and difficult, U. is startled awake by a dream of an apocalyptic cityscape.
In a parallel London of the past, the future, or a different world (one can't quite be sure or remember), life is orchestrated by a vast musical instrument that renders people unable to form new memories. Despite this, a young boy begins to remember that there is something he urgently has to do, but will need help to accomplish the task he can't remember.
Have you read any the nominees, and did we miss any that you would count as speculative fiction? Let us know, and happy reading! Cheers to all 13 authors who are nominated for 2015!
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