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.
