SPSFC 4 Quarterfinalist: Yours Celestially

Naming quarterfinalists wasn't planned to be part of the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC) when it launched. Judges just decided for themselves to bestow that honor on the novels that made the strongest impressions during the first stage -- and were going to be read in full by the whole team-- rather than waiting until two books advanced to the semifinals.

The fourth book to receive the grass roots designation of quarterfinalist from Ground Control to Major Tom in SPSFC 4 is Yours Celestially by Al Hess.

Yours Celestially takes place in a future where the dead can get a new lease on life, as long as they purchased their own resurrection. Sasha thought this would be the answer to his prayers, but he came back to a new life with old problems: He regrets the end of his marriage and the limited time he gets to spend with his daughter. He also has come down with a bug. The AI guardian angel Metatron, who uploaded Sasha to a new body in Limbo, isn't supposed to be connected to him after the hereafter.

"It's not my love. It's Metatron's. Our guardian angel is in love with one of the dead still in Limbo, and for some reason I can feel it." When the nausea first started up, I thought I had an ulcer. Or maybe the stasis pod that grew my body forgot some of my intestines or something. Who knew? But the longer it went on, the more the feeling resolved into a flavor, a desire that was distinctly Metatron's accompanied by snippets of their thoughts for a soul named Rodrigo. Thinking about my own lack of a love life is bad enough, but intrusive thoughts about someone else's is making me lose my mind.

Sasha becomes so desperate to rid himself of "secondhand love sickness" that he takes a job with the resurrection company to surreptitiously obtain Metatron's email address in Limbo. Sasha wants Metatron to move things past the crush stage even more than the AI does.

Metatron's aspirations are so disgustingly cute and wholesome. I can't sit by and let my guardian angel squirm in their inability to do something as simple as hold someone's hand.

I didn't have "wingman to an actual winged being" on my bingo card, but here we are.

Judges were charmed by the characters and the relationships. One who thought it had the right balance of science fiction and romance also made this observation: "I like that this is a neurodiverse book, not just highlighting ADHD and autism, though they are there."

InkFinger (Goodreads):

This is a story that goes down like pudding, but there's substance to it too. Underlying the whole story is a discussion of what the world could be if we chose it. Limbo is a place where souls render themselves and choose their next life. ... Sasha bemoans a messed up life. When you see it though, he has a tribe that cares deeply what happens to him. I like his people. And I can't overstate the care with which Hess handled everyone's mess. You can never get away from yourself, even in death, and learning to be okay with that is a central message.

SPSFC · SPSFC 4 · Al Hess ·

2025/03/03 · Link

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