I’m a judge of the Self-Published Science Fiction Contest. This is the third year for the contest, and I’ll be sharing many full reviews of books as I get to them. Check out my group’s slush pile (the books we were assigned) here. Also note that I’ll be reviewing whatever books strike my fancy from other group’s slush piles.
Sunset by Arshad Ahsanuddin
We’ll start this one off with the blurb: “When the terrorist known as Medusa threatens to kill millions with a stolen nuclear bomb, Nick Jameson makes a fateful decision. He reveals himself on global television as a Daywalker – a vampire with a soul. To save Los Angeles, Nick exposes not only his own gifts but three separate cultures based on millennia-old magic… The three metahuman races exist in careful balance, working to maintain a fragile peace. Nick and his fellow Daywalkers successfully master their natural bloodlust. The Sentinels, armed with both magic and steel, repress their warlike instincts. And even some Nightwalkers, normally their natural enemies, have deserted the Court of Shadows to join the triple alliance.”
The worldbuilding behind the scenes is deep here. The main story mostly follows Nick Jameson, who’s set in a love triangle with two other men as they navigate the challenges of the newly exposed triple alliance of metahumans interacting with humanity. There is no small amount of political backlash, military sword-waving, and amorous encounters. The latter are basically entirely fade-to-black sequences, with everything implied rather than described.
The plot itself moves all over, jumping from one revelation to another, even as additional threats are revealed. You can’t have an alliance of a bunch of ancient societies without some intense drama, and that’s all here. You definitely can’t have immortal good and bad guys without even more intense drama, and that’s delivered in spades.
Sunset is a great use of vampire lore to make a near-future science fiction novel that is full of compelling twists and turns. Highly recommended.
The author provided me with an audiobook of this novel, and I thought the narration by Greg Tremblay was well done. He delivered multiple voices and moved the story along at a good pace. I recommend the audiobook.
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Links
The Third Annual Self-Published Science Fiction Contest Begins– Team Red Stars Slush Pile- I write blurbs, show covers, give links, and share initial thoughts on all the books from our slush pile.
SPSFC– All my posts about the SPSFC can be found here. Just scroll down for more.
SDG.
Eclectic Theist 