Nina Allan (born 27 May 1966) is a British writer of speculative fiction. She has published five collections of short stories, multiple novella-sized works, and five novels. Her stories have appeared in the magazines Interzone, Black Static and Crimewave and have been nominated for or won a number of awards, including the Grand prix de l'Imaginaire and the BSFA Award.
After leaving Oxford she worked as a buyer for an independent chain of record stores based in Exeter, and then as a bookseller in London.[1] Her first published story appeared in the British Fantasy Society journal Dark Horizons in 2002. She lived in the Taw Valley area of North Devon but now lives on Isle of Bute.
Her column "Nina Allan's Time Pieces" appears in Interzone.
Critical reception
Allan's story Darkroom appeared in Subtle Edens: An Anthology of Slipstream Fiction edited by Allen Ashley Elastic Press in 2008.[2] In a review of the collection Andy Hedgecock wrote that Nina Allan is developing into "one of the finest stylists of modern genre fiction." He went on to say that very few writers had her talent to uncover, "the strange within the ordinary with such clarity and precision."[3]
Paul Kincaid in reviewing The Silver Wind asks when a series of stories can turn into a novel. He wrote that this was when, "the congeries of stories tell us more than any individual stories can." He suggests that this has been achieved and outlines the links between the stories before concluding that the sum of the parts is greater than the individual stories.[4] One of the links is the viewpoint character Martin who appears in different parallel realities. Sofia Samatar however in her review questioned whether or not there is a danger in Allan's experiment of the emotional force being, "more likely to be lost than gained in the leaps between parallel realities."[5]
In Peter Tennant's 2014 review of The Race he wrote that this was "one of the finest books" he had read that year, but also wrote that he did not know what it was about and could "only hazard guesses." Although a novel, it is, "four self-contained sections that form a greater whole."[6]Sofia Samatar agrees that "The Race guards its secrets." She writes that, this is "a distancing novel about drawing in, a science fiction novel aware of its own artifice, a literary fiction impatient with mimesis."[7]
In Stuart Conover's 2017 review of The Rift he stated "There are a lot of fun concepts here and a fully crafted alien world which could easily have a completely separate tale told in. Actually, I'd love to Nina revisit this world without even mentioning Selena, Julie, or the events from this book and just have it as connective tissue."[8]
In Ian Sansom's review of Conquest he wrote "Nina Allan belongs to that small set of writers whom you probably haven’t heard of, but who is really famous among certain readers and also really good."[9]
Nominations and awards
Allan's story Angelus won the Aeon Award in 2007. It was announced at the European Science Fiction Convention in Copenhagen, Denmark in September 2007. The Grand Judge Ian Watson commented that it was “beautifully written and paced and enigmatic yet in an entirely lucid way."[10]
The story "The Silver Wind" originally appeared in issue 233 of Interzone in 2011. It was reprinted in The Silver Wind and The Year’s Best Fantasy and Science Fiction 2012 edited by Rich Horton Prime Books.[23] It was also short-listed for BSFA Awards for (short fiction) 2012.Hastings
Her story Wilkolak appeared in issue 11 of Crimewave edited by Andy Cox in 2011. It was selected by Maxim Jakubowski for The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 10. Constable & Robinson 2013.[24]
"Sunshine" appeared in issue 29 of Black Static edited by Andy Cox in 2012. It was selected by Rich Horton for The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2013Prime Books.[25]
Allan has said that all her short fiction to date has been, "a kind of apprenticeship in novel-writing". Her first novel is The Race, which uses the town of Hastings for its landscape, where she was living for most of the time she was writing it.[27]
Notes
A Thread of Truth: "Amethyst", "Ryman's Suitcase", "Bird Songs at Eventide", "Queen South", "The Vicar with Seven Rigs", "Heroes", "Terminus", and "A Thread of Truth."
The Silver Wind: "Time's Chariot", "My Brother's Keeper", "The Silver Wind", "Rewind", and "Timelines: An Afterword."
In the French edition, titled Complications, "Darkroom" added as the opening story, "Chambre noire".
The Spanish edition, Máquinas del Tiempo, keeps the original contents.
Microcosmos: "Microcosmos", "The Phoney War", "Chaconne", "A. H.", "Orinoco", "Flying in the Face of God" and "Higher Up."
Stardust: Linked stories "B-Side", "The Lammas Worm", "The Gateway", "Laburnums", "Stardust", "Wreck of the Julia" and the poem "Red Queen". "Angelus", "Flying in the Face of God" and "Stardust" all involve Russian astrophysicist called Valery Kushnev. The collection was reissued in a slightly different form as Ruby, Titan Books (2020).
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