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SPSFC 4 Review: Mendelson's Return
The first novel I've finished reading for the fourth Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC) is Mendelson's Return by Cristóvão Correia. My team Ground Control to Major Tom is trying a different method this time around to determine which of our 32 allocated books should become our six quarterfinalists. Instead of having all seven judges sample 10-20 percent of each book, we've divided the novels so that two judges give each book a full read before deciding whether to recommend it ... (read more)The 32 Novels We're Reading for SPSFC 4
Judges have begun reading books for the fourth Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC). The team Ground Control to Major Tom has been assigned our allocation of books to review during the first phase of the contest. For the next three months our seven judges will be reading novels from a scout pile of 32 books to determine which six become our quarterfinalists. The entire team then will read those six books to pick the two that advance as our semifinalists in March 2025. Here are our ... (read more)Dave Dobson's Kenai, a Novel Worth the Trees
You can get away with a lot in a novel when the protagonist is funny. In Kenai, the winner of the third Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC), author Dave Dobson introduces us to Jess Amiko, a disgraced space marine working security on a backwater planet who has lost everything but her sense of humor. Amiko takes a job protecting an archeological dig on Kenai, a planet "at the ass-end of Council space" that hasn't been occupied by sentients for thousands of years. Sounds like ... (read more)Our Hidden Gem for SPSFC 3 is Woe to the Victor
One of the traditions of the SPSFC is for judging teams to pick their hidden gem, a book that deserved to go further in the contest than it did. For the third SPSFC, which just concluded, our team is choosing Nathan H. Green's Woe to the Victor as our gem. Woe to the Victor was one of the two semifinalists selected by our team, but it did not advance to the finals -- to our surprise. When we sampled all of the books in our initial allocation, we were high on this novel from the opening ... (read more)Our SPSFC 3 Semifinalists
The SPSFC Trophy After starting out with an initial allocation of 25-27 books and choosing our top six as quarterfinalists, each team in the SPSFC had the difficult task of picking just two books to advance to the next round. The voting was close, but two books were the consensus choice of Team ScienceFiction.news to be our semifinalists: Children of the Black by W. J. Long III Woe to the Victor by Nathan H. Green Here are comments made by our judges about Children of the Black: Richard: I was ... (read more)SPSFC 3 Quarterfinalist: Cydonia Rising by Dave Walsh
After three months of reading and two months of revealing our quarterfinalists, Team ScienceFiction.news is ready to close the book on the first stage of the third Self-Published Science Fiction Competition. Our sixth and final quarterfinalist is Cydonia Rising by Dave Walsh. Science fiction is a broad genre and this contest of self-published authors takes entries across every subgenre. But like the Muppet Sam the Eagle, who titled his most bombastic patriotic number "A Salute to All Countries ... (read more)SPSFC 3 Quarterfinalist: Drones by R.J. Haze
After some of our judges read the first 15-20 percent of our 25 books and others read each one in full, Team ScienceFiction.news chose our six quarterfinalists for the third Self-Published Science Fiction Competition. Four of those quarterfinalists have been announced on this blog in previous posts. The fifth can now be revealed as Drones by R. J. Haze. The author begins the novel by treating their protagonist like he was Hans Gruber at Nakatomi Plaza: The world rushes past in a blur. Glass and ... (read more)SPSFC 3 Quarterfinalist: Children of the Black by W. J. Long III
Writers are often told to begin in the middle of the action. The fourth quarterfinalist chosen by Team ScienceFiction.news for the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition begins after one thousand years of action. Children of the Black by W. J. Long III takes place at the end of an interstellar war fought longer than any current combatants have been alive. A special ops team is sent on one last mission. He'd seen the broadcast. The truce was signed. The war was over, and all ships had been ... (read more)SPSFC 3 Quarterfinalist: In the Slip by F. D. Lee
Part of the challenge of being a judge in the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition is to assess novels that aren't a good fit with your own personal taste. Some readers love time-travel stories. Others wish they could go back and undo the decision to read them. The third quarterfinalist selected by Team ScienceFiction.news in SPSFC 3 is the time-travel novel In the Slip by F. D. Lee, which was recommended even by judges who do not make time for the subgenre. One of those judges, David ... (read more)SPSFC 3 Quarterfinalist: The Widow's Tithe
Twenty five books enter. Six books leave. The next quarterfinalist selected by Team ScienceFiction.news for the third Self-Published Science Fiction Competition is The Widow's Tithe by T.R. Peers. In a future even more rotten with social media influencers than the present, Sasha Michaels has 100 million followers and is rocketing towards the top ranks of the entire OmniVerse. She has money, fame and telegenic good looks -- some of which she didn't even have to buy on the operating table. She ... (read more)Subscriptions
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