The Space Girls are excited to announce their quarter-finalists for the fifth Self-Published Sci-Fi Contest!
It has been a really tough decision, but we have chosen to progress these seven books as our quarter-finalists in SPSFC5.
Of our initial 25 books, we read up to 30% of each one and then decided whether or not we’d like to continue reading and progress the book in the contest. These seven books are the ones we’ve decided to continue with, and some of our initial thoughts.
Keep up to date on how we are doing through our Team Update page.
Please be aware that this is not an official competition category and not all teams will have quarter-finalists.
Artificial Selection, by Marianne Pickles
Nancy: Initially a simple cozy light read where the protagonist solves mundane problems for her country’s all-encompassing AI named Ben lies beneath a dystopic society. Despite guaranteed employment and housing, Charlotte starts seeing things amiss when the cause of Ben’s nonstop frustration has been employed in the same dead-end entry level job for ages. Will the story become darker as it advances? I’ll let the reader find out!
Kerry: This was a perfect mix of genres for me, a mystery set in an artificial, tech driven, supposedly utopian* city within a dystopian future. The city’s AI is aided by a young woman called Charlotte (who has the BEST job title) to learn about human nuances so he can assist the city’s populace. Charlotte is an intriguing character with an interesting back story, and I instantly liked her. While Charlotte and Ben (the AI) look into some slightly obscure happening in parts of the city, it turns out to be a bigger problem than they imagined. Charlotte’s past comes back to haunt her, and she finds out that the “perfect” city in which she lives may be all a lie.
* Whilst the city is supposedly a utopia, it kind of reads like a mix of communism & capitalism. Everyone starts at the bottom and works their way up in social tiers. Depending on what tier you’re on and the job you do determines where and how you live, eat, dress, etc.
Hel: Artificial Selection starts almost cozy, whimsical, and the setup is…well, a bit funny. We’re following someone who is solving little human mysteries for an all-knowing AI, after all. The world we’re dropped in is utopian and seemingly very nice, and the stakes seem pretty low – even though we’re told Ben could glitch out from not understanding humans well, I didn’t take this very seriously. However, as Charlotte follows her leads, there are indications that the utopia might not be that great in many of its aspects. Charlotte is a sort of unreliable narrator, too, with her absolute devotion to ArkTech and its leaders, giving a very interesting contrast. The writing is casual, quirky, and quite smart, giving us worldbuilding and character details bit by bit in a nearly perfect pace. Charlotte is relatable, her backstory is intriguing, and her investigation is so, so enjoyable that it was very easy to get immersed immediately.
Our Simulated Selves, by Nikki Null
Nancy: Mindbending, insane and bold as hell read. Our protagonist Ren is a ‘tech bro normie’ who questions why his life is unfulfilling despite having a stable job. Assuming a mystery woman he just met named Jeanne is the magical cure to his depression, he is going to commit a corporate crime and enter simulations assuming there is a secret formula to a romcom ‘win the girl’ plot.
Kerry: Ren(zero) is our main protagonist, who all his life has felt like a misfit in his own mind and body. He thinks if he can get hold of some of the latest technology in brainscanning, he might find the answers to all his problems. His contact for this technology is a woman called Jeanne whom he falls for but when she rejects him, he runs a simulation with himself and Jeanne in it and when his simulated version of himself acts differently from his “zero” self he traps them in the simulation and replays it trying to understand this other self of his.
Ren(zero) is a character who you dislike as well as feel sorry for. Bullied as a child for not being “manly” enough, which makes him loathe himself. As an adult male he tries to act, or simulate other men in the dating scene, all of which makes him come across as creepy and stalker-like. Simulated Ren is certainly a more likeable character, he does tend to put his foot in his mouth too often but his naivety can oftentimes be quite endearing.
As the book progresses, there are some excellent twists in regard to the simulations – is Ren (zero) truly the protagonist/antagonist we’ve come to accept?
This book certainly made me consider the ‘simulated selves’ many of us adopt to fit into society, knowing (and often unknowingly because that’s what we’ve been taught) that that that self is not who we really are; if we are lucky enough, we become who we are meant to be, but for some, sadly that day never comes.
Hel: It was really hard to stop reading this book when I got to the required percentage, and I really can’t wait to get back to it. Ren’s struggle with his self-image, his insecurities and “wrongness” was so well-represented and described. He is a very flawed human being, but I was endlessly sympathetic, too. His interactions and starting friendship with Jeanne were great, and parts of this book ended up almost cozy: the queer cafe, the tabletop RPG afternoon… all the while it was apparent (from the first scene) that things would go wrong, and what we’re seeing is Ren playing back the events and trying to make them better. It was so relatable, so sad, and just when things got even more interesting, I stopped reading. I also love love love the queer/trans theme, and I’m excited (and heartbroken) to see the journey.
Run Like Hell, by Eira Brand
Nancy: Stakes run high the entire 30% of this dystopian cyberpunk thriller starring an artificial lab grown human wearing swapped body parts of the opposite gender while dodging nonstop bullets, explosions, and relentless threats. All out of a sense of loyalty to a childhood friend. Readers that enjoy their thrillers to become particularly gruesome and gory will enjoy this read.
Hel: This was a strange one! I was instantly immersed in the story of the protagonist, the characterisation was really well done both for Raide and various side-characters, and I liked the cyberpunk-like setting as well. But although things were explained and I got the gist, a lot of the important aspects (the degree of body modifications present, the feel and look of the setting) remained quite vague for a long time or introduced a bit late. There was huge urgency to the initial escape sequence(s), which was great, but at the same time, I also wished for either even more urgency or a bit more space and exposition (weird, I know). But fundamentally, I enjoyed reading it, and I’m intrigued by where it’s going. I have hope that perhaps in the meat of the plot things will find their place better.
The Cataphract Oath, by Marc Edmond Best
Nancy: This novella is a quick read that is hard not to binge in one go. Readers that enjoy humanoid mecha fueled with alchemy starring an engineer instead of the pilot will find this book to be refreshing. Instead of a ‘save the day’ story of gigantic proportions, this book focuses solely on a smaller stakes conflict involving the petty squabbles of posh nobility families during times of peace. Comedy abounds in this book that can be read by teenagers and adults alike.
Hel: If you’re thinking mecha anime, you’re thinking the right thing. The book was immediately visual in that regard, conjuring up the best parts of a Big Robot Anime, especially in that introductory first chapter. Following that, the world-building is exciting and just enough, and the character work effortless. While we are at war, and this country is constantly under attack from some menacing, rival force (really hyped to hear more about them too), the book also felt whimsical in the first 30%, and although I expect the stakes will get higher, almost cozy at times. I loved Victor and I loved hearing about the Cataphract technology, and I’m very curious to see more of Lady Fenvale’s character and where the story will go.
The Girl in the Tomb, by Thomas Knapp
Nancy: Readers that enjoy slower paced stories that focus more on prose and worldbuilding over speed will feel quite at home with this book. William is an accomplished archeologist from the reviled liberal Pacific Coast territories. In exchange for accepting the unwanted company of a goon, William is allowed the rare opportunity to excavate a newly discovered site in rural Indiana, a territory of a theocratic society that shuns sinful things… such as the secrets hidden inside a tomb… While the first 30% of the book offers the setup of this society, we start getting tidbits of action and learn more about the lost Transcendent Civilization. Expect lots of action as the story advances.
Hel: My first impression of this book was that it’s really detailed, contemplative, and somewhat slow. But it was skillful in its presentation of this huge, deep history and completely changed situation on a familiar/unfamiliar Earth, mostly getting right the pace information was ideally supplied. And when Alyssia, the Girl in the Tomb, joins the fray, everything immediately becomes ten times more interesting. The goal of the characters in this first section is already so big that I’m honestly not sure where the story will go after that (or if it will go anywhere else). But the novel seems to be a long one, and I can see myself enjoying it further.
The Quantum Entanglement, by Aaron Benmark
Nancy: We have a road trip story starring a character who is teetering into the grey zone of breaking societal norms due to his interest in understanding lost (and sometimes forbidden) human technology. While the stakes are never high within the first 30%, there is a sense of ominous danger lurking in the background. Perhaps the true purpose of visiting neighboring cities is for clerics to execute the protagonist. Readers that enjoy stories that spend a long time setting up the world over advancing the plot quickly will enjoy this thriller.
Hel: I really loved how the book started, with the disentanglement and execution of a person who possessed forbidden technology (pennicilin, hah!), it really shows the lengths the Church is going to in its control of science. The entire setup is very well-thought out and interesting, with the fallen cities, changed area names, and clearly set-back society of what once was the USA, alongside the structure and doctrines of the Church. Cort is set up as a normal person but a slight outlier in this tale, a sympathetic presence. There were a couple of sections that perhaps repeated or over-explained the history and certain aspects of the world-building, but with those out of the way I’m looking forward to see what direction the mission will head into after the first couple of days of journeys that the first 30% covered. I really like the theme of technology and science being both necessary and dangerous, there’s a lot one can do with that, and bringing a religious tinge into the mix, it might get really intriguing.
The Seeds of Dissolution, by William C. Tracy
Nancy: Readers that enjoy portal Sci-Fi/Fantasy where the hero suffers from severe Agoraphobia alongside the Uncertain Hero trope will enjoy this series. The mental health representation is immensely realistic and constantly affects the protagonist named Sam every step of the way. He teleports by accident to an intermediary dimension called ‘The Nether’ and meets a grumpy older maji that looks like a humanoid bird named Origon. The 30% of the story focuses on Sam getting used to being trapped in this new place, commencing his magic training under Origon’s tutelage and befriending two twin human siblings that are also maji students. There is tons of political intrigue early in the book, but it becomes more action packed later on.
Hel: The Seeds of Dissolution starts in a really intense way, that immediately pulled me into the story. Arriving to the Nether, there’s a lot of things to learn and digest, but we get it through very interesting characters, while the presence of Sam grounded me into an emotional state that was quite relatable. The Nether itself is a fascinating setting, and the sort of music-based magic that is introduced as well. Events slow down a bit as Sam starts his apprenticeship with the somewhat outsider Kirian majus, Origon, who alone thinks the Drains might be more important than the jumping-at-shadows, slightly xenophobic mood that starts to overwhelm The Assembly of Species. There’s a lot to take in, and my feeling is that there’s also a lot in store as the different threads will start to converge. I was certainly very intrigued by the colorful, chaotic, somewhat apocalyptic nature of the story, and there’s a solid science fantasy feel to it: there’s magic, but there’s also different planets, aliens, and space travel.
Good luck to all of our quarter-finalists!
