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.
Daliis a thought provoking sci-fi thriller disguised as a fun romp. In the future, humanity now has a third gender, itself a product of genetic mutations possibly with a deeper meaning. A movement known as the New Puritans has arisen preaching the need for humanity to survive by eliminating or setting aside those with a third gender.
Enter Dali, a third gendered human who uncovers an insidious plot that somehow both threatens humanity and appeals to fans of the New Puritanism. A lot of hijinks–sexual or fighting-based–later and we’ve got Dali with a pirate lord and in a whole heaping load of trouble.
The book nails the tone needed for a novel like this. It doesn’t get preachy about the ideals it’s confronting, nor does it shy away from the awfulness of bigotry. Yet it also introduces enough action scenes to keep the plot moving and enough jokes–many of them based on The Princess Bride, a favorite of mine–to engage the reader and not drag the feelings down too greatly.
I was provided with an audiobook of this novel by the author and I thought it was very well narrated by Justin Gibson. There was life breathed into the characters and world.
Daliis a great read for fans of science fiction that pushes boundaries and introduces new ideas. Recommended.
Note: I received my audiobook copy courtesy of the author.
I am beyond excited to introduce you all to the finalists for this year’s Self-Published Science Fiction Contest, the SPSFC3 (or Spacefic 3)! Here, I’ll have covers, blurbs, and some initial thoughts on each.
On the fringe of a broken civilization, a robot awakens with no memories and only one directive: find his creator. But in the village of Korthe, Beetro finds only radioactive pestilence, famine, and Miree—a tormented thief with dreams of retiring after her final score. Meanwhile, the fiefdom is plunged further into chaos when a new warlord seizes control, recasting serfs as refugees and leaving derelict robot peasants in his wake. With a shared interest in survival, Beetro and Miree team up to pull off an impossible castle heist: steal a single flake of dark matter, the world’s most valuable and mysterious ore.
Initial Thoughts
I’ve been meaning to read this one for a long time. I am excited to see that clearly many other judges liked it enough to bump it to the finalists! I wonder how this duo will manage to get through what sounds like a world fraught with danger.
Fifty years ago, a new civil war fractured the United States into a mosaic of polarized nations. Ever since, Harmony “Bibi” Cain has isolated himself: from society, from technology, from family. A powerful empath weary from the constant intrusion of others’ emotions, he’s finally cloistered in his rural Wisconsin retirement community. He hopes to find, if not peace, then at least a little quiet.
Initial Thoughts
I’ve actually got a full review up of Three Grams already! Check it out here. (Spoilers: I loved it.)
Tour Guide. Emissary. Diplomat. Thief. On her 317th birthday, Brianna Rei hooks up with smuggler-thief Jerrold McKell to steal the legendary Voyager Gold Record. But their partnership doesn’t go exactly as planned. Pursued across the Hundred Worlds by bounty hunters, and hiding the secret of her true identity as a Synth, Brianna finds herself having to make a series of increasingly difficult choices – choices that could put both of their lives in jeopardy.
Initial Thoughts
I love seeing the SPSFC bringing light to books with few readers so far (apparently). This one only has 6 reviews on Amazon, but a sterling 4.8/5 score! I will have a full review of this space adventure coming soon.
Humanity has survived. On the far end of the universe, with Earth little more than a faded memory, they thrive on worlds where once they were enslaved. In the millennia since, these persistent beings built new societies, but when the two greatest nations among them met for the first time, there was war. The all-consuming conflict bent the wills and morals of both powers beyond recognition, leading to levels of experimentation and cruelty once thought impossible. Yet, in a universe drowned in blood, an opportunity for peace is seized.
Initial Thoughts
So many reviewers had amazing things to say about this novel, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the hype is about. It sounds like a potentially dark sci-fi adventure, and I’m on board.
Jess Amiko is long past her days as a space marine, with all the glory of that time tarnished beyond repair by what came after. Trying to rebuild from the ashes, she’s taken a job as a security guard on Kenai, a lonely world far from the Council systems. It’s supposed to be easy duty – quiet and peaceful, on a docile world with no real threats, watching over an archeological dig at a site built by a race long vanished.
Betrayed and attacked by forces unknown, and finding that nothing on Kenai makes sense, Jess is plunged into a desperate fight for survival that leads her deep into the mysteries of Kenai’s past, and deep into the hardship and paradox the planet imposes on all who call it home.
Initial Thoughts
Space archaeology is one of my favorite things. I am super hyped to see this book show up as a finalist and give me a reason to move it atop my TBR stack.
Detective Ada Byron is pumped to finally be assigned her first murder case… until she sees the crime scene. Someone has been killed exactly the same way as her father was seven years earlier.
To see if this is a copycat, or something more sinister, Ada must work with her personal nightmare Jazlin Switch – the programmer who murdered her dad. What follows is a mind-bending, heart-stopping ride through the dark side of reality and the virtual world.
Initial Thoughts
Another favorite subgenre of mine is the sci-fi/mystery mashup. Reviews of this one have said it’s super brutal. We’ll see what I think when I have my full review up!
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. For all my posts for the SPSFC3, follow here (scroll for more).
Fifty years ago (but in our future) civil war fractured the United States. When a seemingly impossible assassination takes place, there is possibly only one person in the U.S. who might be able to help solve the whodunnit, but Bibi doesn’t really want to do so. He’d prefer to live his life away from the rest of humankind, shielding himself from the strong empathic feedback he gets through his abilities.
There are elements of a kaleidoscopic novel here, though the central narrative is much stronger than in most novels I’d consider kaleidoscopic. The kaleidoscope here is basically a “now” thread in which we’re hearing the story of Bibi, the past in which Bibi is figuring more about his empathic abilities, a few other timelines, and some other threads here and there like excerpts from an invented textbook, Three Grams of Elsewhere. The latter is greatly important because it fills readers in with, yes, info-dump type textbook style, but it does so in a charming way. I don’t know, I guess I didn’t get enough schooling despite having a graduate degree, but I can’t get enough of a good textbook! Anyway, Elsewhere is the kind of extra dimension in which empathic abilities lie and empaths exist. Is it spiritual, is it scientific? It’s not clear. But it’s a fascinating and central aspect of the novel, in which empathic abilities were weaponized by factions in the civil war that has left a fractured States.
Bibi himself is a great character, a crotchety octogenarian–an age we rarely see represented in any speculative fiction–who has a superb narrative voice. There’s an extended scene at one point in which Bibi is on a bike trail and talks about the “petty cortex”–a name he’s made for the part of the brain that triggers dopamine highs for having bad things happen to people we think deserve it. As someone who loves biking and brain science I found this completely absorbing. Scenes like this happen frequently throughout the book–truly character developing sections that often take place just within one character’s head.
The story drives along pretty well, but the setup described above makes it sound more action packed than it is. This is much more a character drama than it is an action novel. I found myself occasionally feeling a tad lost in the kaleidoscopic nature of it, as well.
Three Grams of Elsewhere is a fantastic, cerebral read that fans of literary sci-fi should consider a must-read. I hugely enjoyed it, and suspect I’ll be re-reading it at some point in the near future.
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.
What if you’ve been wrong about everything? Keith Brennan is forced to question everything when the President is assassinated on Mars and his investigation turns up much more than he’d initially thought is going on.
The book builds fairly slowly as a broad look at the power of corporations with unchecked power and the way that control can be easily manipulated from behind the scenes and with big enough checkbooks. I enjoyed these aspects of the building revolution, and I thought that Fox did a good job introducing motivation to the central characters.
I struggled a bit with the way the military scenes were described. Often, the focus in the characters’ minds seemed to be on whether they touched a hot guy’s bicep or if she brushed against him and whether that was supposed to be alluring or not. It took me out of a story that is focusing on the military aspects in several respects.
James Fox provided me with a copy of the audiobook for review purposes. I recommend the audio format because it really helped with my immersion in the story.
Revolution is a book for fans of military sci-fi that features the dangers of unfettered corporations. It is a good first step on a series that promises bigger stories to come.
Note: I received my audiobook copy courtesy of the author.
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. For all my posts for the SPSFC3, follow here (scroll for more).
Richard is just a random human living a normal life… until his couch turns out to be a sentient starship that launches him into space on an adventure as the chosen son and ruler of a galactic empire. He meets an AI guide, AAL, who directs his path as he discovers that so many creatures thought of as mythological but are really denizens of that same kingdom. There are, of course, those who do not wish to have the return of the king (sorry, had to), so Richard must engage in some politicking and adventure to ascend to his rightful throne.
The book reads very quickly as a sci-fi adventure. It’s got a thorough, refreshing silliness to it that makes it easy to sit back and let the pages churn by. Richard isn’t the most engaging protagonist, but largely a stand-in for the events taking place. I wonder if he develops more as a character in the rest of the series.
The biggest problem with the book, in my opinion, is the question of who’s the audience. The overwhelming majority of the book reads like a YA novel. The young near-teens in love across species boundaries suddenly becomes a straight up explicit sex scene in a way that was quite jarring. It made me wonder if I’d been misreading the book the whole time. I’d been treating it like the happy-go-lucky YA adventure it felt like, and suddenly it changed tone almost entirely into adult fiction on a dime. Had I mistaken its tone? But then it just shifted back to the kind of tongue-in-cheek narrative the rest of the book had been. Maybe it’s just me, it just felt very off with the rest of the book and dragged me out of what I thought was the audience “feel” it was going for.
What I did enjoy was the integration of Earth mythology into a broader universe. I thought it was well done and it made the whole Kingdom seem like a real entity in a way that it might not otherwise have done.
Richard: Distant Sonis a good setup novel for more space adventure. Readers into some silliness in their adventure will likely have fun with this one.
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.
In a near future America, a series of cataclysmic events–apparently tied to nuclear warfare–have led to a radical reorientation of society. The PEACE Project exists to comprehensively run the lives of people across the country, using its various agencies to bring about order.
This order is through the PEACE project’s various branches: P- Protect, the people in this branch of the Project are there to keep people safe (like the military, I think); E-1 Enforce – they keep peace domestically (the police); A- Advance- scientists, seekers of truth and moving society forward; C- Control- they help make sure all resources are distributed to the right places, among other things; E-2 a secret side of the Project, they Eliminate threats to the Project. Even those internally do not really know what E-2 does, and each branch is somewhat separated from the others.
Our main character, Zira, is an assassin trained basically from birth in E-2. She is dedicated to the Project’s goals and sees it as the best way to keep order in the face of various threats. However, when she gets partnered up with Jared, an up-and-coming leader in the Project, things start to get complicated. Her discovery of some of the secrecy behind why E-2s do what they do only makes her life messier. As she struggles with her growing feelings for Jared, her curiosity about the righteousness of the Project, and her relationships with others, she gets sucked into bigger events than she would have expected.
The story remains hyper focused on Zira’s viewpoint (occasionally with glimpses at others), which also means readers have blinders on. We don’t get to see much of the world outside of Zira’s home at the Project and her excursions therefrom. It’s an authorial choice that makes it perhaps easier to keep readers in the dark, but occasionally felt frustrating as I wanted to know more about the society around America. There are some pretty big twists in the plot, but I think it was mostly predictable the directions the story would go. One big twist at the end didn’t go the direction I thought it would, but I did see the twist itself coming. The book is more of a comfort-type read in my opinion, as much as a dystopia can be a comfort read.
There is a certain amount of suspension of disbelief required to go along with the story as well. Training for a week or three seems sufficient to get characters into prime condition; various ways the PEACE Project is organized seem like holes would be poked into them pretty easily; the idea of a surveillance state with pretty limited surveillance of its own actors was one I struggled with. Nevertheless, I found myself fairly easily suspending disbelief in order to keep going with the page-turning plot. I think those interested in realism may be put off, but if you’re willing as a reader to accept the rules of the dystopic world, you’ll find a lot to love here.
Secrets of PEACE is a well-written, somewhat predictable dystopic thriller. It’s just the kind of comfort read that will appeal to fans of works like The Hunger Games or Divergent. I had a blast and plan to read more of the series.
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.
Matthew Cole is a loner with a starship trying to make it by in our future. The future has a mostly explored solar system that was helped along by an AI named Moses. That AI helped spur humanity into the stars until one day, it disappeared without a trace. Now, humanity has to find its own way in a solar system no longer united by tech.
I loved the setup for this novel, along with the deep world Kane creates. Cole is a bit of a cliché- the standard cowboy with a moral compass type character- but it works here due to the intricacies of the setting and plot. Truly, a lot of the book feels like you’re reading a western novel more than a sci-fi novel. If that has appeal, this should probably move up your TBR as soon as possible.
The world-building was intriguing to me all the way through. I loved that each chapter gave a tiny bit more insight into Moses, the AI. These were tantalizing glimpses into a wider world that I frankly wish the novel had explored. We don’t really get the payoff of any of the questions related to Moses, only shadows in a mirror. Of course, this is the first book in a series, so that’s likely part of it. The collapse of the whole society after Moses left is a good hook, and certainly introduces a number of possible conflicts. I appreciated the feel of “wild west” to a lot of the plot.
The main complaint I have about the book is that it takes maybe a bit too long to get where it’s going. I think it could use a good amount of chopping up to take out some of the extraneous plotlines and details. A more linear and less meandering plot would have served it up. That, or serving up a lot more about Moses in the main plot.
After Mosesis a thought-provoking sci-fi western. While I think it wanders about a bit too much, readers who enjoy the vagaries of westerns will find themselves right at home.
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.
Down Below Station by T.A. Bruno
Down Below Beyondby T.A. Bruno is a space opera that could serve as a great introduction to the genre. Readers follow Levort Aatra, whose discovery of a lost starship unlocks possibilities far beyond the universe-spanning series of portals that are already available.
The book reads at an impressive clip for its length. Bruno keeps the pacing swift, drawing readers along on the adventure with a keen eye for what will continue to draw them. Readers do quickly get introduced to stakes that continue to increase to galaxy-spanning problems. Aatra is a capable protagonist but gets into plenty of trouble. The character development is mostly done with a light hand; the focus here is much more on the world and the plethora of environs and characters Bruno introduces than it is on the individuals occupying those worlds. The story serves almost as a vehicle for introducing the universe instead of as one for making you love the characters.
I listened to the audiobook of this one and would say the reader did a fine job. I generally listen in the 2-3x speed range and was pleased with how easy it was to follow along.
Fans of space opera should check out Down Below Beyond. It’s got quite a bit to offer, while still feeling like a very accessible book.
All Links to Amazon are Affiliates. The author provided me with a copy of the audiobook for review.
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.
The core of the idea in On Lavender Tides is, I believe, Pokémon for adults. The plot is like that of a burgeoning talent in a monster summoning world traveling to seek out new monsters–Jekua–to capture and other trainers to defeat.
The setup sounds derivative, and I think complaints in that regard might be somewhat fair, though I think there’s enough to separate the story from its inspirations. The trappings of a Pokémon story are all there, but they’re taken to a different level. Our main character, Balt Vana, has a quintessential friends-to-rivals pal, and his best friend, a young woman who needs to go on a religious quest across the local islands, is the spur of the adventure. There’s a kind of comfort to be found in what feels like a well-trod setup for a monster collecting story.
The monsters themselves are fun, from shark-like to plant/flower based. The rock-paper-scissors typing is present, with a few twists. The collecting itself is more like taking scans of the creatures to then channel as mana to fight with other trainers. Honestly, I think I would have preferred a bit more in the way of action scenes in the book, which is a weird thing to say for a monster collector. There are various locales visited with lengthy descriptions of food and other characteristics of the different islands. All of this gives the world a very lived-in feel for the reader.
On Lavender Tidesis a good start to a series. While I wish there’d been even more action and stakes for the Jekua, I thought the story and world were quite interesting. I’ll be curious to dive into more of the world Riddle created. Readers who want to experience the joy of Pokémon as adults would do well picking this one up.
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.
The Beckoning Void combines a motley-crew story–an actress, escaped slave Captain, daughter of an Afghan brigand, and a mercenary with a conscience–with Lovecraftian threats of evil to make a rip-roaring adventure that’s hard not to like. Charles Dickens shows up! There are airships! Pirates! Lovecraftian evils! This is honestly a super fun book.
The main action follows the discovery of a book full of eldritch powers which a secret society in Victorian England is trying to get their hands on. Our motley crew is put on a collision course with said society, and must stop them from tapping into the power of the book before it’s too late for… the world?
The novel wears its inspirations on its sleeve. The characters are wonderful, if slightly trope-y. There are some truly epic character moments mixed in, though, such as when our formerly enslaved captain goes on a monologue about how slavery was also used in the United States as a way for white people to have a perspective of “at least they’re worse off than I am.” It’s a surprisingly deep point made eloquently in the middle of an adventure novel, and somehow it works. The historical references come in frequently (such as the reference to Dickens, above), and are always fun tidbits for the reader to pick up on.
The book nails the ending, too, in my opinion. It feels like it finishes as an excellent standalone, but could have some avenues for sequels, should LeClerc ever decide to write them.
I read this book via audiobook. The narrator did an excellent job. I thought she brought the story to life in many ways, including doing an assortment of voices for the characters, but also in the intensity brought to some scenes and the way she invested feeling into the narration.
The Beckoning Voidis a fun romp to prevent global, Lovecraftian apocalypse. Fans of steampunk will find so much to love here, and those who are looking for a history/sci-fi/fantasy mashup will also be pleased.
Note: I received my audiobook copy courtesy of the author.
Eclectic Theist 