The Mountain in the Sea

“The point of The Mountain in the Sea is that someone discovers a fully sapient octopus civilization. That aspect is not in any way dystopian. And there is also AI, which is a proper AI…The reason I’m bringing The Mountain and the Sea in as a dystopian novel is the B-plot, which is not the octopuses. It is set on an automated fishing vessel with a crew that are essentially slaves, who have been taken on board this ship and made to do the various menial tasks that it is not worth getting machines to do. The point is what this says about global capitalism in the world that Naylor is writing about… They have an uprising, and they kill the exceedingly oppressive crew of the ship. But they can’t overthrow the ship itself, because the ship itself also has a kind of artificial intelligence.” Read more...

Dystopian Sci Fi Books

Adrian Tchaikovsky, Novelist

“It’s got octopus, so what more does anyone need to know? There’s a hint of the film Arrival in the depiction of the attempts to make first contact with a very alien species – octopus anatomy and psychology is so alien to ours and there’s been some speculation that they come from a very different origin to us. They are incredibly talented at escaping from captivity and seeking revenge on their human keepers. The book encourages us to see humanity through their eyes and this isn’t always pretty. Meanwhile, we’ve got side-plots with robotic monks and assassination attempts, and it all comes together in a satisfying way.” Read more...

The Best Science Fiction: The 2024 Arthur C. Clarke Award Shortlist

Andrew M. Butler, Film Critics & Scholar