Review:

As has been announced already, the SFF Insiders team has decided to exit the SPSFC.

But we did not want to leave everyone hanging in finding out whether or not they will be moving on in this competition. Therefore, we present to you all our final cuts, as well as our semifinalists that will be moving on to the next round.

Please note that many of these books are being cut not because they’re bad, and some very narrowly missed the bar for a quarterfinalist or semifinalist placement. Many of these books are still decidedly enjoyable reads that we would absolutely recommend adding to your TBR.

The cuts will be listed in alphabetical order.

A Country of Eternal Light by Darby Harn

Jon’s Thoughts

On one hand, I have a review for this book out (link here), and I could add a snippet to it, like with “Blood Sacrifice”. On the other hand, unlike “Blood Sacrifice”, I didn’t say much negative about it in my review, because, well, it was well written… and I liked the doomsday scenario and how Darby Harn expressed it. But then there’s the prose, and I got through the prose quite easily because I was in the inbetweens of two classes with a at least 135 minute break period (Monday, October 7th, got to school, found out chem was cancelled and was sitting around for 4 school hours doing nada but reading) and was already in the field of hallucinogenic imagination, yay past me not drinking water until later in the day. But if not already in a fever dream, the prose of this novel is something to get used to. It’s a nice way to stream conscious thought on a page, a nice way to present the end of the world and the new start of hope, and the search for longing, just difficult to get past the prose. I know there will be people out there that will also absolutely consume it, like I have, but it’s not for everyone, and like Manda says past me, it does throw people for a loop when reading.

Manda’s Thoughts

Facing the end of the world is a terrifying reality. I think that Harn handled this concept really well, as Mairead processed the impending doom, and what to do about it. As we slowly watch her succumb to insanity and pull herself back out again, we’re faced with our own interesting questions. In this way, Darby really did convey a beautiful story. Unfortunately, I struggled with some aspects. The voice was hard for me to get through, especially the first person present point of view which pulled me out of the narrative a lot, and felt really clunky to read. With the constant stream of consciousness, I found myself putting this book down more often than not. In the end I think this would be a great slow, moody, read if you can get past the voice. For me, that was hard to do, but I chalk that up to a personal preference. Though I do think there's a lot of beauty in this book, it unfolded slowly and in a way that felt a bit off, which I'm sad about. The romance, if that's what we're calling it, was more a distraction as most come to be, and the relatability of her trying to pull herself up by her bootstraps, distractions and all, and get on with life when there seemed to be very little reason to was certainly worth exploring if this sounds like your type of book. If you're here for an apocalyptic scifi, you're going to be left wanting. If you're here for a mental health commentary with a very human take on how one might handle true impending dooms, you'll love it!

Ancient as the Stars by Maya Darjani

Ariana’s Thoughts

Ren is arguably one of the most realistic feeling characters I’ve come across in a while. She’s definitely not what you’d describe as having a good personality. She is exceptionally competent at her job, despite what her ex-husband and supervisor claim. She grows in the sense that she stops doing drugs on the actual military ship that definitely frowns on that sort of thing, but everything else that she achieves is because she is smart, crafty and maliciously compliant, which is the best kind of compliant. Her growth in the story is literally to get herself away from the rock and the hard place she’s been jammed into by those around her, including her future self that she calls her ‘sister.’ And she doesn’t do it all in a brilliant blaze of glory but in a very administratively satisfying way. 

Onto her ‘sister’, Karenna. Karenna seems really perfect but she is worryingly indecisive in some respects because of trauma (who isn’t, am I right?). She works so hard to look like this impartial and all held together leader that as a result she is almost wilfully ignorant of things until she has to address them. This again felt really realistic because I’m sure we all know someone with slightly more authority on things that ‘can’t be seen playing favourites’. I liked her whole bit about being an ‘ageless immortal’, known as an Ancient. It’s fairly crucial to how it get to where she’s faced with her past but really just a cellular level thing that is eventually discovered by someone medically and boom, now you’re an Ancient and here’s your ring. (Genuinely Karenna gets a ring for it.) But still, there is some mystery because what causes it and why isn’t it more common if it’s as straightforward as it’s later depicted to be?

There is a side plot where everyone is navigating the intergalactic politics of a terrorist passing out some untraceable bombs, which relates to several planets and their governments having to cooperate. If this sounds vague to you, it’s a little bit because I struggled to follow it all. Like I get that three military ships where they shouldn’t be is a problem (oh, btw there is a third ship besides Ren and Karenna’s respective ships. It’s headed by Maxime Dupont who is kinda fun but if you were stuck working with him you’d be super annoyed), but I don’t feel like I fully understand the wider politics to really nail down the impacts of this. Other than the other planet leaders being big mad. I’m not really clear on how the head of this group was working with this mysterious other person to supply a wider group with explosives. It’s a relatively large part of the book and a fairly grey area of ambiguity in my understanding of it..

Some of this was likely down to the named cast being huge when not everyone is important or relevant and not everyone in a scene needed to speak in it. Between a lot going on and a lot of named people involved in it going on, I was left feeling like I generally got the key bits: whole ship jumped through time, terrorists with undetectable bombs, Ren’s ship is made up of asshats. But the finer details and wider context were generally lost to me.

Read Ariana’s full review here.

Joe’s Thoughts

I found Ancient as the Stars to be a fun time travel story with a unique twist, where one main character Karenna encounters her younger self from 60 years prior, her “sister” Ren. Timeline shenanigans abound and they must get Karenna back to her original time or else they may be stuck together forever.

I really enjoyed some of the implications about this time convergence, especially the experience of events that are either misremembered or may not have yet happened for that particular person. Karenna made for a fascinating character with her traumatic experiences and her status as an immortal, but I found I could not get on quite as well with Ren from a character perspective - at times she just came off as overly edgy which didn’t work well for me. I also found myself a little confused by some of the plot surrounding the two “sisters,” which felt a bit vague overall.

That said, there’s a good amount to enjoy here and some solid character work overall that sets up future entries in the series. It didn’t land for me as well as I’d have liked, but if you’re down for a space opera with timeline shenanigans, then this might be a good one for you.

Crystal and Flint by Holly Ash

Manda’s Thoughts

I came into this book really excited for the premise. The world was set up to be multisensory, and full of opposing tensions, unique challenges and political intrigue. Unfortunately the worldbuilding fell a little short of that for me at the start, I found myself wanting much more of the outside world. Instead we focused more on inner conflicts and pretty tropey character development instead. I did like Crystal, she was like the classic kid that’s been told how much potential she could have her whole life. Flint came in like a bull in a china shop, all bravado, and I honestly didn’t mind her energy. But instead of reading like a tactical mission with personnel problems and a petition to maturity, the first half of the book read much more like a YA, getting tripped over trivial things and a handful of boys while they weren’t really facing their much bigger issues. The second half of the book was a much more entertaining endeavor, and I wished that we could have navigated the first half while on the adventure of the second instead of delaying the action. The sub was really cool, the water combat was engaging and I really liked the way we concluded the story. The writing was also good, the banter was top notch at times and the casual feel of the prose winked at the military life setting. But for me we missed a big part of what drew me to it to begin with. I think a lot of people would enjoy this story casually, and it’s a good quick read.

Jon’s Thoughts:

Unlike Manda, I went into this book with the knowledge that it was… it was going to be an interesting read. And it was. I enjoyed the final half of the book, but the first half, the first half was dragging on without much end in sight, only really picking up after things got spicy. Manda does point out the cliche parts, and I’d like to add on to that.

Flint, the military macho character, has one consistent vibe, with it mellowing a bit towards the end, but still… one consistent vibe, even if it hinders the movement forward. And it only really disappears towards the end. A side character commented in a part of the book about him not liking Flint's new behaviour, and my mind immediately said: “Well, she’s only had one behaviour mode so where’s the new part and may I see it too?”

From there, the potential kid Crystal… everyone is sad for her because she doesn’t have enough potential. Which she gradually grows into. And we see a bit more of her character by the end of the final part.

Now, the first half did read like a YA novel and it also felt like it was winking a lot at the military life (as a military brat, yay but also, if doing so, maybe a bit less in the less is more, and not have it take over the whole first half of the book), like my fellow reviewer has said, and the second half also works out in the end, and it did have lots of worldbuilding put in there in some parts.

I think I summed up the book, with lots of comparisons to other works (subjective, go read to see if it fits or not):
“What if Katniss Everdeen and Peeta as a girl butt heads in a hunger games style event, but with tones of Avatar and no sadistic crowd watching the death of people and with a submarine being the McGuffin of the book.”

In the end, fast, easy to read, and something new to enjoy on an afternoon.
It may not be for everyone, but if you want a quick and light hearted read with lots of tech terms.

Failsafe by Jeff Sylvester

Anie’s Thoughts

A futuristic novel with a homeworld feel, rife with political conspiracy and government overreach, and a strong female protagonist hellbent on justice. Full review here.

Joe’s Thoughts

With a futuristic dystopian feel, Failsafe pulled me quite quickly with a failed assassination plot and kept me gripped with its political thriller plotline.

The Matter Manipulation Devices, or MMDs, made for an interesting twist on a cyberpunk/body modification formula, and the conspiracies that arose from the technology constantly left me wanting to know who to trust.

Failsafe is a strong book, and anyone who’s big on political thrillers will find a lot to like here.

Forward and Back by Michael Pickard

Joe’s Thoughts

Forward and Back presents an interesting take on the time travel formula. Rather than the cop-out “press this button and you’re done,” Pickard spends time establishing the “science” of time travel. Randy is a genius, but he doesn’t immediately just figure it out. A large portion of the story is dedicated to Randy figuring out what went wrong on the day of his experiment, who was responsible, why it happened, and essentially reverse-engineering the whole thing to send him back to before his experiment took place.

The consequences of the forward time travel are really well-explored, too. A jump of eight years may not sound substantial, when many time travel stories explore jumping forward or backward decades or centuries, but the relatively small jump from 2011 to 2019 was a fascinating lens to peer through. We see a culture shock through Randy’s eyes, with technological advancements that would seem mundane to our eyes having lived through those intervening eight years, but to Randy are entirely foreign: things like smartphones to Uber to the wider viability of electric cars. It’s a clever approach that works really well.

The time travel plotline of Forward and Back offers a lot to think about that you might not immediately pick up on after a first read, and it’s probably a book that would benefit a lot from a reread. Randy is told that this was not the first time he time traveled—though he’s not aware of this fact—and there are little hints throughout the book that aren’t explicitly stated, but still feel a bit of a Chekhov’s Gun situation. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve wondered if this is not just a time travel story, but also a time loop story, or a multiple converging timelines story. 

I’ve gone back and forth (or forward and back?) about the benefit of how much I’ve continued to think about the plot, and how much that recontextualizing of the narrative can allow you to overlook some parts of the plot. The ending is extremely abrupt, with this big buildup to saying “Hah, gotcha!” to the central antagonists, only for the story to take a sharp left turn and grind to a halt. Other parts, such as stopping the unseen antagonists (Russian oligarchs, naturally) from obtaining the secret to reverse time travel, feel unresolved, which again is owed to the abrupt ending which is essentially, “Well, I got this other important thing to focus on now, I’ll revisit this later.” It’s honestly difficult to decide if it all constitutes a deliberate open ending or if it’s a major plot hole.

Read Joe’s full review here.

Jon’s Thoughts

I have words that I will express here for this book. Compared to everything else in what I have read for SPSFC, this one was… somehow more anticlimactic and more standard cup o’ tea than some of the books I read. And yes, I do agree that Forward and Back benefits from multiple reads, because of the things hidden. And I also agree with Joe about Chekovs gun. We have time travel, we have a magazine, and we have people claiming the dude did hope through time multiple times. But we never get to see the latter, because the ending is quite literally: “So yeah, I might go fix this, but also YOLO”. Do I enjoy the slightly lower stakes than the other novels? Yes… however, one big however, it runs afoul of the main character spending much of his time pondering what to do, and what not to do, and there’s some action, but it also just spins in a circle at the same time, never really changing much. The main character, Randy,  is in a way, not growing at all except for his understanding of the consequences of time travel. His arrogance and hubris remains. Up until the end. As with all books, this one will have an audience, and I suggest you give it a read as well. It just didn’t resonate with me well when I finished, and I think I have to move forward and go back to it at a later point for a longer review.

Nothing Larger than These Stars by E. Marie Robertson

Anie’s Thoughts: 

‘Nothing Larger Than These Stars” is a page-turner with twists and turns that left me guessing until the cliff-hangar at the end. It’s well-paced and full of mystery! See full review here.

Jon’s Thoughts: 

What does Star Wars and this book have in common? Hunger Games and this book? Or even 1984 and this book? A rebellion. One thing that this book has that the others don’t, is a chemical wunderwaffe that basically “blue screen of deaths” people into a coma. The rest, the intrigue, the blame, the mysterious attempts to kill members on the station… that’s it’s own thing.

I enjoyed the character development a bit, but the love triangle set-up was a bit too leaned into. As for the pacing for this book, it was good, for the most part. The only thing that offset that was the long dialogues of explanation at parts adding even more intrigue and more more into things. If it was mostly focused on finding out what was happening on the planet, and didn’t go for adding in a new factor within the same book (that by itself could’ve been its own novel), it would’ve done superbly. However with the constant adage of more and more grandiose ideas for the next book to follow up on, it drew me out of the overall story a bit.

Still, even then, it held its own against a lot of other books that’ve been submitted, and I highly suggest you go check it out. It might be something for you.

Orion by Aaron Frale

Ariana’s Thoughts

Sometimes I finish a book and I know there are thoughts in my head but I need to excavate them to find a coherent review, and unfortunately for my partner, this oftentimes requires him to listen to me talking about the book. So in describing Orion by Aaron Frale, my partner responded with ‘It sounds like Edge of Tomorrow.’ Having not seen Edge of Tomorrow, I’ll take his word for it and consequently you’ll have to too. Orion by Aaron Frale is allegedly like Edge of Tomorrow.

We follow Orion through three lives, though there have been countless more and we get snippets of some happening off screen. A world of mushrooms, or ‘Drive a car that has trouble staying on the road to get [the princess’] trophy, or feudal Japan’, for example. But mainly we follow Orion as a Roman soldier, a peasant and soldier fighting in the Vietnam War.

Now I have to say, where it lost me was around the 80% mark. I spent over ⅔ of the book wondering ‘How is Frale going to explain this one?’ so it’s safe to say I didn’t see the ending coming. But that said, it kind of felt like ‘And he woke up and it was all a dream. Ooooooo.’ That’s not what happens for the record. But it felt like that. Still, I enjoyed the bulk of the book and the reveal as to what’s going on wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t quite for me. I also don’t know how else it could have been explained so maybe I should stop raising problems if I have no solutions. 

Read Ariana’s full review here 

Manda’s Thoughts
I thought this was a great story. Though the pace we started with took me a bit to get used to, the story quickly unraveled into a clever web of mysteries that all came together to a twisty finale. In the end I had a pretty good idea of the outcome but I still had a lot of fun with the way Aaron worked it all out and brought us full circle. The world building was bonkers in the best way, though I did struggle with a few things. The range of locations, time periods, and struggles were pretty cool, and the added mentions of other lives and scenarios made the plot feel well rounded and deepened the interest. I loved that we got to have a wide range of combat scenarios, action and peril as Orion explored his recurring worlds, with the constant nagging of something being very very off. Unfortunately that feeling was compounded by some of the believability of the settings. I felt like everything was a bit too cliche and not in an outright intentional way. Though I suppose it does fit the overall conclusions of the story, instead of making me question the character’s experience it pulled me out of the book a bit at times. It didn’t hurt too badly though, and I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that though we were repeating things time and time again, the story didn’t drag at all. We kept a nice brisk stroll through Orion’s thought process as he’s faced with his circumstances. And I think that was one of the strongest parts about this book… The characters were pretty fantastic. Though the princess feels as flat as a pancake at times, that’s kind of the point. But Orion, and oftentimes Stabby, are interesting and relatable. With a casualness only immortality can bring, his calm that juxtaposes the extreme scenarios he faces was really well done. And that’s a testament to Frale’s writing. This story was entertaining and the prose kept us moving through. I would absolutely recommend this book if you’re looking for a nice confusing stroll to a fun twist with great characters, this is your book.

Slipspace: Terra Nullius by Zachary Forbes

Vivian’s Thoughts: 

The tension throughout never lets up. The engine was started, and the gas pedal was smashed to the floor. Or launched through space, and hitting some far flung civilizations along the way. I liked the pacing of this book, and the roles of each of the main characters were well crafted, and the arcs were believable. The tension between Slipp and his brother Breth felt typical of the relationship brothers seem to have with each other. Vying for praise from their mother, careerwise, they butted heads regularly, but eventually Breth realized his brother wasn’t quite the dregs of society he thought. And Slipp sees that his brother does possess the ability to change course, although it takes a close brush with death to change Breth’s assumptions. 

This story will keep you guessing who the real bad guys are. For anyone who is a fan of space travel, political intrigue, a gruff and misunderstood MC, and an interesting undercurrent of mythology, this book is for you. I will unreservedly recommend this to anyone looking for a fast paced sci fi novel with many twists and turns.

Read Vivian’s full review here.

Manda’s Thoughts: 

Slipspace is a really cool book in a lot of ways. It feels more like a serial as we go through the story of a veteran down on his luck with a pretty irresistible opportunity placed in front of him. I thought the characters were the highlight of this book, and really felt very human (or non-human), with a lot of gray mixed into their opposing sides. Pinning brothers against each other was brilliant and brought some great tension to the plot. The world is giant and I loved travelling through it, though I wish I had more information and background to feel super immersed, which is a pretty funny problem to have with a book this long. But what it lacked was made up for by the brisk pacing and well done action. And that’s a testament to Forbes. The writing was really well done. I did however feel at the end of the day we travelled to the point more akin to wandering in the woods than going on a journey, taking turns I thought were maybe a bit unnecessary while missing a few signs I thought we could follow. At the end of the day I enjoyed myself and this was my highest ranking read in this batch of cuts. It's definitely worth exploring if you have the time for an entertaining space opera with great family drama that takes the long way home.

The Afterlife Experiment by Sam Weiss

Ariana’s thoughts:

It focuses on three main people: Atra, Tom and Ophelia. How they connect you don’t really know until further in the story. But Atra is in an asylum with a shadow that may or may not be real and doing things. This is kind of less of a major than the blurb would have you believe, and I think part of that is because Atra doesn’t know what it is herself other than she hates it and make it stop. So in a way it’s interesting that we’re finding out everything happening to the MC at the same time she is. Except in one note where I was like ‘This is definitely what’s going to happen.’ and it did. I’m usually wrong about these things so it was an achievement for me. The connection thereafter I didn’t see coming but I think my note on that was ‘Oh…oh dip.’

Honestly, I am still wrapping my head around everything that happened in the pages. I think I’ll be untangling these threads for quite a while. This is certainly a book that sticks with you.

If you like your sci-fi with threads of horror, thriller and suspense, you will almost definitely enjoy this book overall. If you enjoy your sci-fi without things happening to people’s eyes, I am apparently also in this camp with you.

Read Ariana’s full review here.

Vivian’s thoughts

This book had the feel of an episode of ‘American Horror Story’, with its dark setting initially in a mental hospital. The FMC, Atra Hart, has been committed against her will by her mother, who also happens to be the evil puppet of an entity from another dimension. Atra is also the key.

An experiment gone wrong had caused a rift in the universe, allowing for two realities to exist simultaneously.

Her father, a total deadbeat cowardly slug of a waste, believes she died in an experiment he was part of. He’s wracked by paranoia and guilt, and his mental state becomes more unbalanced. An experiment to find out what exists after death. 

Atra is the only reason I stayed with the story. Her quick thinking, and strong sense of self preservation were admirable. But in the end, she wasn’t enough for me to feel this was something that resonated with me. I’m sure there are others who will find this to be just their jam, and find it worthwhile. Unfortunately, it’s not mine.

The City that Disappeared by Cheryl Peña

Jon’s thoughts:

The City That Disappeared hit all the sci-fi spots, but Peña created something slightly more interesting than that, meshing multiple genres together. Tt sounds like Dead Space 2, with our protagonists wandering through an abandoned area, with some verrryyy suspicious wildlife and flora hanging out in the said area, but then the blob gets involved. Don’t know what else I should call it, it’s a literal blob. With some fungal and bacterial properties that kill people. Or brainwashes them. Vance and Wu, after seeing what’s happening, bugger off the planet, head back home, and some shenanigans involving space cannons happen, some action and some resolution, and the book ends. Fun plot, was not expecting the second half of the book, some solid science-fiction. 

The world building is… well, we have earth, with a lot more technology, and they’re all united. Amongst other things, Earth has found alien life, and the planet has some interesting properties. Spaceships are a thing in this book, as well as massive communication lines, and scientists toying with an organism that is quite literally the pied piper of bacteria. Overall, good worldbuilding. A very optimistic one, at least in terms of our planet, but still, good setting for the rest of the novel.

Now, the only thing I’d probably have to say that negatively impacted my read through is the pacing… and the genre hopping from scientific research to space invaders. If the novel continued with the same pace as it did in the first half, and had the mystery play out, it would’ve felt less rushed to a conclusion. As for the genre hopping, that kinda happened midway through the book, and it was a somewhat sudden switch. It would’ve been nice if it stayed with one of the two genres throughout the book. But, that’s my view on it. It might be different for you, which is why I recommend you read it for yourself.

Read Jon’s full review here

Anie’s Thoughts:

Researchers are left to figure out what’s happening when transmissions stop, coming together to solve the mystery in a plot both eerie and thrilling. Full review here.

The Elements of Time: The Winds of Change by Sam Paisley

Joe’s thoughts:

While The Winds of Change begins as a simple high school story, it evolves into something much more than that in the typical isekai vein. The world Sam Paisley has created is inventive and unique, with a rich tapestry of lore drawn from franchises like The Last Airbender and Stargate SG-1 that help it stand out amongst its peers. In depicting this world through the eyes of two regular teenagers from Earth, it really helps amplify the universe-wide scale of Paisley’s world, that the odds are stacked against them when they are mere humans to be challenging all-powerful entities.

This is all helped by a solid cast of characters from a wide array of universal backgrounds, all of which does a tremendous amount of legwork in establishing the worldbuilding of the series. As the world unfolds around the warrior order of Prolia, the mysterious and watchful Guise, and the immortal Keepers, Paisley slowly pulls back the curtain on a living, breathing universe that promises even more intrigue as the series progresses.

It works just as well due to the dynamics Cooper and Reid have both with each other and with the characters around them. The two are polar opposites of one another—Cooper being reckless and impulsive, and Reid being bookish and withdrawn—but they balance each other extremely well, and Paisley’s character work with them particularly shines when the two leads are thrust into the universe-wide conflict and forced to adapt to the biggest culture shock of their lives. Seeing their interactions with the powerful beings from beyond Earth—and having to be the smallest fish in the largest pond—was certainly a highlight of the book.

In terms of the overall plot, though, that’s where things get tricky with The Winds of Change. Paisley does a great job of planting seeds for later twists, and the subplots directly pertaining to the characters other than Cooper and Reid are done quite well. However, the pacing for the main plot of the book felt very off to me, in that the first 85% of the book or so is largely a training montage for Cooper and Reid. I don’t mind a slow burn plot—Brandon Sanderson is one of my favorite authors, after all—and there is good payoff in the back end of the book. But while you know that there is an ever-looming threat, rarely does the first 85% of the book feel like there are high stakes because there are only a few moments along that way where Cooper and Reid actually feel like they’re in danger. It functions well as character building, but after a certain point in this 700-page book, it felt like too much, and I felt I was waiting too long for the payoff.

See Joe’s full review here.

Vivian’s thoughts

This book really surprised me when I began reading it. First, the setting is 90’s somewhere in the US, and the MC’s are two best friends in High School. One, Cooper is a jock, star player on the school’s baseball team, champion of his slightly nerdy best friend, Reid. They seem like an odd pair, but the friendship is genuine, and Cooper always has Reid’s back.  

First, there are strong undercurrents of Greek mythology throughout. Heroic deeds, champions, gods manipulating the worlds they are playing with, and the “lowers” who believe they are worshipping benevolent deities. They are anything but! 

The means of going from place to place is through portals, but there are only so many means and entities who can do so. And not everybody is who they seem to be. 

One of the things I found that hit me as I was reading, was that this could be a script for a John Hughes movie. The kids are just trying to live their lives, they’re misunderstood or marginalized, and the adults are messing with everybody. And the gods, the Keepers, are are immortal and have been playing games with every lesser being they’ve encountered, are quite vain, bored, and don’t want to share the universe with such lowly beings. 

See Vivian’s full review here

The Parallels by Keyla Damaer

Anie’s Thoughts

A fast-paced and engaging sci-fi thriller that explores the dark realities of a future society. This book is full of action and multiple POVs that will keep you reading. As with any multiple POV story, there are some perspectives I liked more than others, but the world-building is unique, as well as the characters within it. It’s ambitious and is the start of a series that has a lot of potential. 

Manda’s Thoughts

The Parallels for me was both fantastic and really difficult. I’m not big on super dark stories and at times the vitriol was too consuming, which speaks more to my taste than the book itself. But the brilliance of the storylines weaving together brought the end to a really cool finish that will be fun to watch in books to come. The characters felt developed and their gray morals contrasted with the world dynamics surrounding them keep us on our toes as we turn the pages. The worldbuilding was formidable, with different factions, species and lots of fun in world science. There was a good learning curve around this, but I could keep in enough stride not to pull me out of the story too much. That said, I wasn’t entirely enthralled with the pacing and at times felt jerked around a bit. Though it’s quick, it wasn’t always consistent, and that was where my biggest issues with the book fell… The writing wasn’t my favorite. It wasn’t bad by any stretch, but at times dialogue felt a bit stilted, and pair with the pace and large world it was something I put down a little more than some of the other books I read. I think in the end this was a book that is absolutely worth the read, but sort of suffered middle child syndrome in my particular stack. If you’re looking for a dark sci-fi with a thrilling pace full of conflicting ambitions, try this one on for size!

The Scorching: Just Press Play by Nick Snape

Vivian’s thoughts:

We are brought into an Earth that has been ravaged by skyrocketing temperatures, an overburdened ecosystem, and wars. A peaceful alien race, the Drathken, have settled in to help humans turn things around. 

Enter Joshua Nkosi, an Underwater Ranger Force (URF) Sea-cop. A bit of a swaggering guy, who likes to make asides for us, his watchers in his “live streaming” kind of dialogue. His partner on the “beat” is a teched out octopus named Marc. She is basically his conscience, and tries her best to keep him grounded.  

The action begins when they are tasked with guarding an undersea harvester from marauding pirate rebels. Things quickly escalate, and take our two heroes topside to terra firma, to help the military branch track down rebels.  

The story lets loose with intense skirmishes and firefights, loyalties and lies are hopelessly tangled, and the Drathken are at the heart of it. Funny, tense, surprising, and a bit heartbreaking, we get a real understanding of Nkosi and his motivations. They aren’t simple.  

All in at the end, and I highly recommend giving this a read!

Joe’s Thoughts:

Just Press Play was ultimately something that I wished I liked more than I did. It has a strong premise, with the Earth long since being devastated by a climate disaster known as the Scorching, and an organization landing enormous ships to rejuvenate the planet. It has a wholly unique buddy cop dynamic between the wisecracking vlogger Joshua Nkosi and his modded octopus partner Marc. There are conspiracies, pirates, tense action, and all of it should have made for a riveting read.

Unfortunately, for me, the stream-of-consciousness vlog style of narration simply did not work. I found myself getting pulled out of the story by it more than pulled into it, which certainly disappointed me, as the bones are here for a strong tale. It just wasn’t one for me.

However, if you’re looking for a conspiracy-laden post-apocalyptic story with a unique buddy cop dynamic, I’d recommend giving this a whirl.

The Wrong Stop by Rex Burke

Jon’s Thoughts

While simplistic and somewhat easy to guess where things are going if all the puzzle pieces are put together midway through the novel, it still works in terms of being a fun read. There’s some twists and turns, but aside from them, it’s rather straightforward and to the point. Except for one part of the whole thing. There’s chapters that are just redacted dialogue and ramblings of a secret service entity. It does follow the main plot line, but I still am not sure what the end result of that was supposed to be, besides the usage of letting us know what the intelligence service knew. Maybe it’ll be a bit more clear as to its purpose in the next book. Fun spin on the chase though.

The next part concerns world building. A few things are made up, but the majority of the world is just Europe, its various train station hubs, and Britain. The things that are made up is the secret service dedicated for searching for aliens, a thingamabob that is critical to the story, and the alien itself. Now, I could go the Jed route and say that it’s all true, and claim that aliens do exist somewhere (probably, who knows what’s on some moons in this solar system), but I doubt such things do exist. Is it done well? Yes. And the alien tech that is used? Far superior to what we humans use.

And that brings me to the surreal experience of reading the novel in the middle of Europe. Each location in this book exists, and I’ve been to most of them. I’ve also gotten to experience the train service of a few nations (subway systems count too). Reading this, I couldn’t help but chuckle whenever the DB showed up, due to their reputation of being late, and often unreliable to get somewhere punctually. Personally, they’re reasonably on time, but it does depend on where you are in Germany. It could be amazing in one state, complete chaos in the next.  Besides that, each location felt like it was brought to life accordingly, and I could perfectly visualise a few of these places due to having been in the main train station for more than 10 minutes, so it was a nice blend of reality with fiction. 

There is one gripe I have about the novel - that government secret service dialogue. It’s nice to have it in the novel, but for the first half of the book, I had no clue what was going on with that. However, it did clear up and make a bit more sense later on and I kinda got where it was going. Now, that is my own opinion, and you’d have to read the novel yourself to get a sense of what you think about it.

If you like train shenanigans, aliens, secret services chasing said aliens, and lots of misunderstandings, “The Wrong Stop” is for you.

Read Jon’s full review here.

Joe’s Thoughts

The Wrong Stop is a fun heist story where three friends off on holiday encounter an alien by sheer happenstance on a transcontinental train. It’s got plenty of humor and charm against a fast-paced narrative that remains a page-turner throughout.

At times the pace moves about too quickly without giving time for the reader to fully read and digest it, but it makes the story no less enjoyable. 

If you’re down for a “wrong place, wrong time” story with an intergalactic twist, then The Wrong Stop is well worth a read.

Quarterfinalists

The following books were determined to be our quarterfinalists, books that we highly recommend giving a go, even if they just barely were beat out by a couple other books for semifinalists.

All Hope of Becoming Human by Lonnie Busch

Vivian’s Thoughts

From the first page, I became invested in this story. The characters are well written, and believable, and the plot continues to build throughout. The premise of the story was solid, resting in the consequences of violence, and the unexpected outcome when violence is used against another person.  

One of the things I enjoyed, is the science that was used for either DNA markers, or a very complex method that created pictures from memories of recent and even not too distant events. And it never became ponderous or slowed down the story in any way. The application was believable, and gave a fascinating spin on the complexity of memory. 

Bear in mind that there are some graphic scenes of violence, so if that isn’t your thing, you might not enjoy this as much. It doesn’t detract from the events in which it takes place, just be prepared. The end did feel a little bit rushed, but I guess there was no other way to bring things to a close.  

Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a lot and would recommend it unreservedly.  

Joe’s Thoughts

All Hope of Becoming Human is a thrilling and captivating horror-tinged thriller that had me on the edge of my seat throughout. It’s tense and heavy with some expertly placed social commentary along the way.

Busch does a tremendous job of eliciting strong emotional responses to all characters in this book, no matter how great and small they are. Many moments had my pulse pounding, and by the time the dust settled, I simply wanted more.

I am by no means a horror reader but this one kept a strong hold on me and I’d definitely recommend giving it a go.

Ceres Station Calling by R.M. Bradley

Manda’s Thoughts

This story was my kind of weird, and though there were some issues I’ll take up with the Republic, all in all I was really smitten with the whole experience and am dying for a second book. What starts as a story with a very slice of life feel, through the hardships and dangers of her daily life within the prison, we come to find out there's a lot more going on under the surface of the world she’s been forced into and the politics that uphold it. With themes of mental health, autonomy, loss, grief, and overcoming fear, Bradley encapsulates depth and purpose into this entertaining story. Within a multi-species universe we’ve only scratched the surface of, and hints to other extraterrestrial life we’ve yet to see, Remi has great built-in room for expanding this story. With all of that going on, the book still feels very intimate. The struggles of a prisoner taken without warning are punctuated by the day to day rhythm of life in prison. I felt immersed in their daily systems, it all felt fleshed out and immersive. The dynamic of overarching overlords paired with feisty enemies at close proximity and past nemeses created so much believable calamity. The balance of mundane heart-sinking despair and heart pumping fear with hints of the sweetest hope was yummy. The moderate pace with lulls of day to day added into the action was moody and strong. Maeve coming off emotion suppressant implants brought an added element of connection as we dove into her anxiety and mental health living as a captive. So if you’re looking for a cool prison break sci-fi with an anxiety ridden inmate totally and completely out of her element, working through her humanness in the most unlikely circumstances with some hunky and protective aliens making things ever so complicated… this is your book.

Jon’s Thoughts

“Despite the fact that it was the tropiest thing ever, it was fun” - Amanda’s interpretation for Jon. Jons response to Amanda: “It was fun, the tropiest book is elsewhere. This one was Shawshank redemption mixed with alien kidnapping mixed with rebellion against the overlords.”

So Ceres Station Calling is a book, with a prison break and rebellion in it. There’s intrigue, romance and an ore that violently assaults whoever can sense it mentally being near it. Aside from that, there’s some mood altering drugs, some shenanigans of chapters having different perspectives, and lots of conflict. Remi also makes it quite easy to see where this book keeps going on once it’s done, what with this one being just the tip of the iceberg of what he’s concocted based on the ending of the book.  And yes, it was a somewhat novel experience because so far, I’ve maybe read one or two books in a prison in space somewhere. Last year it was “Dierock 88”. As for the other one… I need to go consult my list to find that book. 

Lastly, even though it was a great book, I still have some nitpicks over how the plot plotted itself along in some parts, with exposition given at length where it could’ve been told a bit more… organically and not just: “oh yeah, also this this and this”. 

All in all, if you want to read a good book with very minimal flaws, this one is for you.

Chloe’s Kingdom by Gregory Michael

Manda’s Thoughts

From the Honeycomb to the Kion Vault, this epic galactic space heist was so entertaining and a great read for the whole family. I loved these lovable characters with their ambition and gusto. With big hearts and burritos on their mind, this scrappy crew faces their greatest adventure yet. I really loved how this fun story unfolds as we follow the crew on their next job. The kids face some pretty tough choices and learn some good lessons along the way, while still being thoroughly entertaining. The world building was fun and interesting without being overwhelming. I loved the design of the space city and the easy navigability so that no matter the age of the reader, which I think can be anywhere from middle grade and up, there wasn't a struggle to follow the structure of the world. That said, there are some moments to suspend your disbelief for, which I think really works for a YA but may leave the adults looking for a little more depth. The scale of the space station is a bit confusing at times, everyone knows everyone and their world runs entirely on burritos, protein bars and drink pouches. In fairness, haven't we all sometimes? Those things didn't take me out of the book though and that was probably because I was so in love with the characters. Chloe and Penny are really great friends. They aren't perfect and that's what I love about them. Despite their struggles at times, they are always looking out for each other and trying to make the right call. And that’s all you can ask for from a lower YA. I loved it so much my son is now reading it (and bugging me for a pet racoon, thanks a lot Gregory…) which is really nice to have books in this arena I can share with them. If you’re looking for a fun space heist with a group of scrappy kids, this is your sign. 

Joe’s Thoughts

The setup for Chloe’s Kingdom is simple enough: rob the vault, walk away rich. But for such a simple and well-worn concept, Michael pulls it off extremely well. It starts with the cast of characters, all of whom have well-realized motivations to see this heist work out. The stars of the show are our two leads, Chloe and Penny. Where Chloe wants to return to her life in the Gardens and own a lavish apartment with a freezer filled with burritos (which seems to be one of the only two sources of food in the Kingdom, along with protein bars), Penny is on the brink of financial ruin when her mother is victim to a devastating workplace accident. The crew they assemble along the way is motivated by debts to pay or vengeful desires, and they all balance each other out well with multi-dimensional relationships and fun banter. It’s a good crew.

The buildup to the heist, and the heist itself, are all set up and put down perfectly. The stakes are laid out, the consequences of success or failure are clear, and there is a tension that grips you and pulls you forward, eager to see how it all shakes out. Everyone has well-realized specialties, from Chloe’s preparedness to Penny’s mathematical genius to Dutch’s triumph over his PTSD. And when the heist kicks off in earnest, it’s a blast to read through, a white-knuckled pulse-pounding read that has you cheering and bracing all at once.

Which is why the third act’s faltering is all the rougher to read through. There are some shocking and well-executed twists, but so much of where Chloe’s Kingdom falls for me is in the reveal of the main antagonist, who, in a story with multi-dimensional characters and plotting, comes off as woefully cartoonish to the point that a dastardly twirling mustache wouldn’t have been out of place. And in a book that’s fast-paced enough already, the pace kicks into overdrive over the last 20% until it’s brought to a screeching halt with barely the time to breathe. It’s a shame, because the first 70 to 80% of Chloe’s Kingdom is brilliant, but I thought it just couldn’t stick the landing.

Read Joe’s full review here.

…and now, for our semifinalists.

But wait! There’s more!

While this next book did not make it as one of our semifinalists, we are putting it forward as our Escape Pod book for another team to carry as one of their semifinalists if they so choose.

Mercy Rising by Bowen Greenwood

Vivian’s Thoughts: 

First, it was very engaging, the characters well written and following believable arcs. The premise of the story itself is one we can all cheer for; FREEDOM. From tyranny, in all its forms, such as surveillance in every aspect of life by AI embedded in the very materials used in buildings, the constant fear of being labeled a traitor by some arbitrary rule, the outcome being death by being eaten alive by giant pig-humans. 

The story has many surprise twists, and one is never quite sure who is really on Mercy’s side. There are some deeply buried agendas from those who seem to want to help Mercy develop her “rogue” Telepathic abilities. Both sides want to use her. It’s one of those story lines that makes the reader want to yell, “Don’t trust ANY of them! They’re all lying!”   

One of the threads running throughout the story is how the past keeps affecting the present, especially concerning Mercy. I rather enjoyed the backstory, and it made so many things that were now happening relevant. It wasn’t just thrown into the story but was an integral part of what was happening. It deepened the characters, and made motivations believable.  

I enjoyed this book as the writing was crisp, it was fast paced, and pulled me right into the story, and was fraught with tension throughout.  

Read Vivian’s full review here.

Anie’s Thoughts: 

This read is action-packed and stands on its own right even as a novella in an ongoing series, featuring a strong FMC and a twist on classic sci-fi rebellion. From the very first chapter, a weak and failing rebellion is holding onto the last threads it can when an attack ensues. The action did not stop from then on, and I ended up turning page after page.

Which leaves…our two semifinalists. Congratulations to the following authors, and best of luck in the rest of the competition!

The Murder Algorithm by Wilson Kincaid

Jon’s Thoughts: 

A murder-mystery set in the near future with implications for the whole world, with technology being at the forefront. Money is moot, social cred is the new cash. Really enjoyed the flow of the story, and I want to see some more of the world. My full review is over here → full review

Anie’s Thoughts: 

An enticing and compelling murder-mystery set in a tech-central future where constant social media presence is paramount. I really enjoyed it, and was taken on the ride. Full review here. 

EAT by Jesse Brown

Joe’s Thoughts: 

The title of this book is very apt: I absolutely devoured EAT. With tense horror, electric action, and an immensely gripping cast, EAT is a fantastic read for those craving a great monster horror. Jesse Brown absolutely nailed this one.

This is a credit to Brown’s mastery of atmosphere and prose. The hallmark of a good horror story is that feeling of tension, that no character feels safe, or that anything that can happen will happen, and Brown nails all of that. Intense moments fly off the page, transporting you into these claustrophobic situations that, at times, had my heart pounding and had me reading between my fingers. 

There’s very little I can raise as issues with EAT. At times, the pacing felt a little off—a moment or two where some minor conflict is resolved too quickly, such as when one character “quits” in one chapter, only to immediately change his mind in the next chapter for plot convenience—but these moments are few and far between. I could also raise issue with a moment involving the central antagonist where they have a few of the characters cornered, and then does the ol’ villain trope send-off of “This isn’t over, we’ll meet again.” But honestly, any issues I could raise are just nit-picks that do very little to diminish how much I enjoyed this book.

Read Joe’s full review here.

Jon’s Thoughts: 

I devoured this book yesterday, and oh god, this was a wild ride of a story. Much like the other Quarter Finalist pick, “The Murder Algorithm”, this novel has implications for the whole of the world, not just a single character. And like Joe has said in his part, Brown loves to just keep things random, almost like a horror game has gone horribly, horribly wrong at all the right moments to keep the reader, the engager, hooked like a fish to the bitter end. Each character has their flaws, but they matured from where they were when they started, the new consuming the old and all that. It was a nice journey ending was nice, and the cliffhanger set up for book two has me excited to see where it goes from there.

Aside from that, the virus… I will not be able to look at animorphs the same way again. And that is all I will say to that part of the book.

There are a few issues, but it’s very minor, mostly just the pacing at parts was jumpy, and the dialogue was very horror-movie like in parts.

All in all, if you want a well-rounded novel, with horror, action, and lots of adrenaline, “EAT” is for you.