The Self-Published Science Fiction Contest groups its entries into several judging pools at the start of the contest, each of which is assigned to a different team, each of whom selects several quarterfinalists and, eventually, two semifinalists.
However, the contest also has what’s known as an “Escape Pod” option, where judges can look at books from other pools and recommend them as a semifinalist for their own group. I checked out several books from other groups that ended up not making it to the semifinals, but nonetheless had things to recommend them. While I do regard myself as a harsh critic, I’m only mentioning titles here that I had an overall positive impression of!
Here are the details:
Our Lady of the Artilects by Andrew Gillsmith
This was the one that I recommended my group pick up as an escape pod option. I found it unique and creative, with compelling characters and a plot that kept me guessing. Throughout the book, I went back and forth, unable to decide whether there was a divine/supernatural element at work or it was a clever hoax, until the very end. Regardless of the religious aspects, the science fiction aspects were clear and impactful on the plot, which revolved around a bunch of servant robots appearing to have religious experiences and cross the line from “programs” to possible “true AI” – both of which were alarming to the general public.
It was set in a sort of parallel future Earth, with the biggest viewpoint character a “Catholic” priest (there were several major differences between his religion and Catholicism as practiced today, but they likely wouldn’t be apparent to anyone not a practicing Catholic). There was some effort to involve other faiths in the story positively, but these efforts were a bit clumsy, and landed poorly with some of the judges in my pool with more familiarity with those faiths.
Still, if you like religious sci fi, this is a fairly good entry in a fairly sparse field!
Da Vinci on the Lam by B. D. Booker
Earth has been largely destroyed by mysterious duststorms, and the survivors struggle by, attempting earn the coveted and rare spots off-planet. A famous Da Vinci sketch offers such an opportunity to one woman and the mercenary she hires, who need to get the image across the country to a group of the woman’s allies, who will award the pair richly – if they can succeed.
The story was good, and the characters weren’t bad, although they weren’t standouts either. A little more attention to the setting would have been great – the premise was interesting and we didn’t look into it enough – and the ending of the book was somewhat abrupt. Still a fun sci-fi adventure story.
A Spectre in the Stream by Simon Tull
Do you wanna read cyberpunk vampire story? Because that’s what we’ve got here, and you know what? It basically works, despite a rocky start.
It took me a while to get a picture of what “the slip” was, as it seemed to be described sometimes as half-real and sometimes as purely digital, and I’m still not 100% clear – a bit of an issue when it’s so important to the book’s plot – but the story managed to be fairly gripping regardless. The work on the setting was particularly well-done, with minor details showing the depth of thought the author had put in to this strange society.
Enigma by Ryan Southwick
Refugees fleeing the destruction of Earth find an interesting planet that seems to hold a number of mysteries… but before they can investigate, disaster strikes.
This is an extremely readable adventure story. It’s marred a bit by some choices that struck me as out-of-character and some apparent plot holes… but at the same time, no one was forcing me to continue read it, and my irritation at each instance was easily overridden by my desire to find out what happened next.
Steamborn by Eric R. Asher
A young man with a near-supernatural talent for engineering tries to take care of his family as disaster strikes his city and monsters invade.
The characters were charming, and the mechanics of the writing were good, but the pacing could have been adjusted better and several important details don’t make sense. For example, the affluent half of the city supposedly puts the other half of the city up in “overcrowded inns” after a disaster strikes, but the math on that isn’t even close to working out. It’s fun enough that I think many readers will look past things like this, especially as the title seems targeted at YA readership.
Mercy Rising by Bowen Greenwood
This was a good book meant to be an alternate jumping-on point to an ongoing series. It was enjoyable enough that I’d recommend starting the series at the beginning (with Exile War: Onslaught), but unfortunately for its status as an entry in this contest, I don’t think it completely succeeds at being an alternate jumping-on point. I think the story likely benefits hugely if readers have greater familiarity with the universe it’s set in. The most confusing matters – the astropolitics of the situation and the mechanics of the supernatural abilities – aren’t well-understood by the viewpoint character either, which left me feeling like I was missing things… a sentiment I feel I would be unlikely to have if I was already familiar with the universe.
I’ll make another post soon about the semifinalist books I read!