I was one of the judges for the fourth Self-Published Science Fiction Contest. It’s a contest I believe in, because it helps bring attention to and elevate indie science fiction, and if there was ever a genre that was made for indie publishing, it’s this one. Traditional publishers need to be very risk-averse, and science fiction stories need to take risks. Having a healthy indie environment for this genre ensures that all stories have a chance to be told.
I was just one of many volunteer judges, and my while my vote influenced the winner, I was just one voice among many. So before I get on to the winners and the finalists, I want to call out two books I read for this contest that didn’t make it to finalist, but I rate higher than some books which did:
Non-Finalists – Finalists – The Winner of SPSFC4
Non-finalists worth watching:
Time of the Cat by Tansy Rayner Roberts
My score: 8
This is actually the first book I read in this SPSFC, and it was one of the best, as I’ve said in my other reviews.
I really liked that this book was so unusual. It tried something weird, daring, and different. In my eyes, it succeeded.
I think there is a bias among some readers against “silly” or lighthearted books, and I think that ended up weighing against Time of the Cat in making it to the finals.
Our Lady of the Artilects by Andrew Gillsmith
My score: 8
This book will likely appeal to fans of C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy. There’s a reason that a lot of authors don’t bring religion into sci-fi – it makes many readers uncomfortable, and it’s easy to step on people’s toes.
Gillsmith keeps the reader guessing for most of the storyline as to whether certain events are truly instigated by the divine, or merely technological hoaxes, always throwing doubt on any conclusion the reader comes to. Gillsmith also makes some stumbles when handling religion. While it’s clear that the author attempted to handle various faiths respectfully, it’s also clear that the story will work best for readers who have a Christian background.
This is a story that definitely isn’t for everyone, but it’s a well-written entry in a very niche genre, so if you like that niche, you should check it out.
Finalists
Whisky and Warfare by Em Hamill
Score: 7.5
The characters were very strong in this one. Their struggles felt authentic, the dialogue was great, and you could feel their shared history. Unfortunately, the worldbuilding was often scant on detail in ways that led to reader misconceptions, and the plot pacing felt uneven.
I may be giving this book bonus points unintentionally because I am so charmed that the main cast is a bunch of late-middle-aged women.
Bisection by Sheila Jenné
Score: 7.5
This book was weird in all the best ways. The main character, Resa/Tria, is from a race very similar to humans… except that the connections between both halves of her brain have been greatly reduced. She has two personalities but one body, one that’s much more emotional, and one that’s much more rational.
It’s a “first contact” story, as she steals aboard an alien ship, and also a murder mystery. There’s a romance subplot? We also get good sci-fi commentary on the shortfalls of almost every culture she comes into contact with, including her original culture.
Weird, makes you think, and a good story! The only reason I’m marking this lower than Time of the Cat is because things often seemed a bit too “convenient” in a book that was meant to be more serious (“Ah! Prisoners! We should let them do work detail in the kitchen that prepares our food on their first day in jail, despite the important things taking place in the next six hours.”). Also, the major alien species Resa/Tria dealt with didn’t have nearly the depth that she herselves did, and she was interesting enough that the contrast was noticable.
Yours Celestially by Al Hess
My score: 7
Sometimes people need to ask the hard questions, like “What would I do if I were forced to psychically echo a lovesick AI responsible for caring for the minds of the temporarily dead?”
The premise was great, and executed reasonably well, but the story would have been elevated if the MCs romance plot was a little more compelling, and if some of the details were justified slightly more convincingly.
On Impulse by Heather Texle
Score: 6.5
The main character panics in a bad situation, making it look like she committed a horrible crime. She compounds this error at every possible opportunity, actually committing major crimes and destroying her own future as she goes on the run across the galaxy. It got to the point where I was cheering for her to get arrested for her own good.
To be fair, the book is not titled “By Carefully Weighed Plan.”
Still, I enjoyed the whole ride, and the subterfuge/heist parts were well-written and surprisingly plausible. While the antagonists did make some conveniently stupid mistakes, and I didn’t quite buy the protagonist’s rationale for her string of terrible decisions, I still enjoyed the ride.
Proliferation by Erik A. Otto
Score: 6
This book centers around a collection of abandoned cities controlled by dormant artificial intelligences that are now waking up. Various factions have different goals for these cities.
Proliferation is written in two halves, but I struggled first half. The second half is much better, despite my discomfort with the character whose self-harm was not only “required” by a supernatural condition, but supported by the other characters (an authorial decision that made me uncomfortable).
The worldbuilding throughout both halves is excellent, and you get the sense of a rich world with many factions, differing locations, and history.
The trouble with the first half is that there are two viewpoint characters, and both have next-to-no-agency in anything that happens to them, for hundreds of pages. It made the first half quite a slog to read. In the second half, both of these characters start to attempt to take control of their destiny. I’d be curious how I would have rated the book had I started at the second half. Yes, I would have missed some important setup and worldbuilding, but I wonder if my overall impression might still have been more positive.
Accidental Intelligence by Bryan Chaffin
Score: 5
This book had trouble drawing me in. The main character didn’t have many strong connections to other people and had a sense – even when doing exciting things – of “I’m just doing my job.” His lack of emotional investment in anything made it hard for me to emotionally invest. Overall, I felt the book could have used less exposition and more character interactions. The parts of the books I enjoyed most were a few brief interactions, such as one time where the main character has a heated argument with an old friend.
While the worldbuilding was good, several plot events seemed unjustified to me, and the ending felt abrupt.
The Winner
Saith Elspeth by Wick Welker
My score: 9
This was my favorite of the books I read this SPSFC. It got genuine tears out of me on more than one occasion. I loved how imperfect-yet-real the humans felt, and how weird the aliens were. Though the plot stretched my suspension of disbelief at times, the author made me willing to stretch.
The main character never wanted to be a patient-facing doctor, but the apocalypse has been and gone and left few people with medical training behind. With dwindling supplies and untrained help, and possible threats both terrestrial and extra-terrestrial, Elspeth is forced to make one difficult choice after another, torn between practicality, ethics, and humanity.