The 2022 Self-Published Science Fiction Competition kicked off recently, and I’ve been reading my way through some of the entrants that both A) appealed to me on some level and B) were available on Kindle Unlimited. I have fairly eclectic tastes, and for your perusal today I present the first five books I liked enough to read all the way through (I bailed on eight books before finishing them).
The books I present to you include one post-apocalyptic family drama, one dark story of a of a boy who is a cult’s central figure, a YA story about humanity’s return to Earth, a story following a scientist investigating extraterrestrial microbes, and a dystopian story set in a future where cosmetic STDs are a status symbol
All work for the “self-published” square on the 2022 Fantasy bingo sheet, but I’ve noted the other squares I believe each could be used to fulfill as well.
EMP Strike by Bo Thunboe
An EMP pulse takes out the electronics across a huge area, leaving a father stranded far from home as his car – and almost all cars – break down.
What’s fun about this book is that it doesn’t focus just on the father, but gives scenes from the perspective of the college-aged son, the high-school daughter, and the mother of the family, each of whom has distinct differences in priorities and concerns, even as they work toward a common goal.
Read it if: You like post-apocalyptic literature. You like reading about familial relationships. You don’t mind a book mixing grim and hopeful tones.
Fulfills Fantasy Bingo Squares: Self-Published, Mental Health, No Ifs, Ands, or Buts, Family Matters
Of All Possibilities by Joe Butler
The protagonist is raised in a cult compound, complete with their own religion and rituals. The cult reveres the special abilities passed down through the protagonist’s family line, which include the protagonist’s own ability. He can take people through doors into other realities. When he does so, he erases them and their influence from our world’s history entirely.
This book was fairly dark, with strong horror influences. I’m typically not a fan of horror, but I read this book all the way to the end. I take that as evidence that the author did a nice job piquing my curiosity. I definitely enjoyed the weird interaction between the protagonist’s abilities and the timeline.
Read this if: You enjoy dark speculative fiction and weird time shenanigans
Fulfills Fantasy Bingo Squares: Self-Published, Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey, Family Matters
Earth Concurrence by Julia Huni (Book #1 of the Colonial Explorer Corps)
Long ago, Earth’s ecosphere collapsed and became uninhabitable. All of humanity evacuated the planet. Now, one civilization believes the planet has recovered and is sending explorers back. An expedition is sent, led by a celebrated commander. Since the flight back to Earth will take twenty years, he’s been permitted to bring his teenage daughter along. It should be a simple mission, but when they arrive on Earth, they find other humans already there. Did another star civilization beat them to the punch, or did people somehow survive what ought to have been unsurvivable?
Earth Concurrence is intended as a YA novel. I did raise an eyebrow sometimes at the lax military discipline and occasional ineptitude of side characters, but I enjoyed the book in spite of this.
Read it if: You enjoy YA or are looking for a light, fun SF read.
Fulfills Fantasy Bingo Squares: Self-Published, No Ifs, Ands, or Buts, Family Matters
Riebeckite by O.R. Lea
The moon has a ring now, courtesy of an asteroid crash. Unfortunately, Earth’s gravity is constantly pulling dust out of that ring onto the planet, and it’s not just dust… Alien microorganisms are mixed in among the dust. The book follows a young scientist from Azerbaijan as she investigates the organisms’ impact on the environment and (maybe) maintains her childhood friendship with an Iranian woman who now lives with other “ranis” as second-class citizens on the other side of a barricade.
I really enjoyed that this was a very sciency science fiction book. While I had a few questions and quibbles, the science aspects of the book were both important and largely believable. I enjoyed the plausible rationale for different skyscape on Earth and a look at what might happen if humanity’s “first contact” wasn’t with a sentient species, but something less directed but not necessarily less dangerous. I also enjoyed the setting, in a sort of near-future Middle East. It’s not something I see often, and I enjoyed the change of pace.
Read if: You like something closer to hard SF, you’re interested in a book that deals with themes of ecology, xenobiology, and cultural conflict, set in the Middle East.
Fulfills Fantasy Bingo Squares: Rebellions and Revolutions, Author Uses Initials, Self-Published, No Ifs, Ands, or Buts
Sequela by Cleland Smith
Do you like dystopias? Welcome to the future of London, where shagging the wealthy and powerful can get you a status symbol: exclusive, lab-made, cosmetic STDs. The story opens when our protagonist is, with mixed feelings, leaving his work in academia to apply for a job designing these cosmetic STDs.
I feel like Smith started with one question: how would the world change if sex could be made absolutely, 100% risk-free? She built out a whole setting and society from there, and the society isn’t a monolith. There are absolutely still plenty of people – including the protagonists old colleagues – who treat the whole virus-seeking subculture as incomprehensible. The clash between old ideals and new ones drives a lot of the conflict.
In some ways, I didn’t enjoy this book. If any of the movers and shakers of the story were to make a post about their situations on r/AmItheAsshole, there would be a whole lot of “Everybody Sucks Here” replies. Still, there were several wholly positive minor characters, and some surprisingly wholesome moments. While the story itself has little in common with 1984, I still got some Orwellian vibes from the way that societal and social pressures have a big effect on the protagonists, and also how the cultural values felt believable while being completely alien to me. I feel Sequela might appeal to people in a similar way. It’s definitely well-written.
Fulfills Fantasy Bingo Squares: Anti-Hero, Self-Published, No Ifs, Ands, or Buts
