The Race (Allan novel)

The Race
First edition cover (NewCon Press, 2014)
AuthorNina Allan
Cover artistBen Baldwin
LanguageEnglish
Genres
Publisher
Publication date
  • August 2014 (1st ed.)
  • July 2016 (2nd ed.)
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typeHardback, paperback, ebook
Pages
  • 256 (1st ed.)
  • 444 (2nd ed.)
ISBN978-1-907069-69-7 (1st ed.)
978-1-78565-036-9 (2nd ed.)

The Race is a 2014 science fiction and literary fiction[1][2] novel by English writer Nina Allan. It is her debut novel and was first published in August 2014 in the United Kingdom by NewCon Press. A second edition of the book, in which an appendix was added, was published by Titan Books in July 2016. This new edition is the first book of a two-book deal Allan signed with Titan in 2015; the second book is The Rift, published in 2017.[3]

The novel consists of four loosely connected novellas. The second edition of the book includes a fifth novella, referred to as an appendix. Allan described The Race as "A Mobius strip of actual and imagined realities, featuring telepathic dogs, giant whales, and the search for alien life."[4] Two of the sections take place in "our world", whereas the other two, plus the second edition appendix, are set in an "alternate near-future".[5]

The Race was generally well received by critics. It was nominated for three awards, the 2015 British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel,[6] the 2015 Red Tentacle Award for Best Novel,[7] and the 2015 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.[8] The Race was translated into French by Bernard Sigaud as La Course and published by Tristram in 2017.[9] The book was also translated into Spanish by Carmen Torres and Laura Naranjo as La carrera and published by Nevsky in 2017.[10]

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