Apologies to the authors in this list. I was severely running out of time, so rushed through the last of our allotment. I was lucky to read up to 10% on many of these.
I’d also like to apologise to the author of “the Slip.” I completely forgot to write any notes on your story but It was pretty much my top “Yes” vote. I look forward to reading the rest – To the other authors I haven’t reached yet. I have roughly written all your mini-reviews. I’ve just been too lazy to post them in a timely fashion. They’ll come.
Note on Votes: A Yes/No vote is just my own. The other judges in the team might vote differently.
***
SPSFC3 First Phase Mini Reviews
/GRACE
by Creighton Hoke
My Vote:
No.
Summary:
At ~11% read.
/GRACE is the first true AI. We are given a snippet (prologue) some 100 years in the future where /GRACE’s mind is finally ready to come out from hiding. Chapter 1 and subsequent chapters are set in more current times where we are taken to days before the AI’s launch (when its creators are still unaware of its true AI state).
Overall impression & Criticisms:
I’m definitely not a fan of this one, but this is a reflection on me as a reader rather than the writer. The writing was quite nice, and perhaps if I read it all the way through I might love it. But I struggled with the overly wordy prose. Scenes dragged way too long for this short attention span to keep focused and as such I had to keep going back and re-reading passages. I spent an awful long time trying to get through my 20% and still didn’t get there in the end.
Some people love books on this level of detail. Sometimes I love them. But I find them so exhausting that I avoid reading them. There is a very strong Neal Stephensons vibe going on. So if you like Neal you might dig /GRACE.
I also found the characters rather off-putting. Particularly the guy who created the AI. I know he was meant to be a bit unlikeable, but it felt like it was taken to an extreme.
***
SPSFC3 First Phase Mini Reviews
Holtondome
by Ryan Southwick
My Vote:
Yes
Summary:
At ~10% read. The planet is messed up. And I mean messed up. So messed up people (or most life) can’t survive outside domes constructed hundreds of years earlier. Its to do with the acid rain. Anyways. The struggling aggriculture community aren’t doing well and the stifling rules that lock them to their dome don’t help. Seg, our protagonist is a poor farmer living in a rural dome, Holtondome. He finds himself broken down outside the dome with a storm fast approaching. He is saved only by the unusual event of a big city vehicle going by. Seg brings the strangers to his home and thus starts the story.
Overall impression & Criticisms:
Mate, I was captivated from the start. And I definitely didn’t want to stop reading. Everything is so beautifully balanced and the world is fascinating. Certainly wouldn’t want to live there, on a “The world is F’ed” level, or the “Everything is controlled by the government and we’re not even allowed to read in this dome.” level. It’s crazy stuff and I love it.
On that note. I read a passage where Seg is fascinated with how the city girl (Fi) eats with a knife and fork. Seg goes into great detail explaining how Fi holds her fork (non-dominant hand with index finger pressed on the back of the fork) and here I’m thinking, WTF? There’s another way? Now I’m left wondering how Seg holds his fork? Like a sword? … please, I need to know!
***
SPSFC3 First Phase Mini Reviews
The Gottingen Accident
by James Mordechai
My Vote:
No.
Summary:
At ~7% read. In an alternate reality where scientists and mathematicians are superheroes (of a sort). We follow the lives of famous scientists from the past and they’re vastly different from the ones we know. Riemann has turned a bit mad with his mastery over non-euclidean geometry. With the power to warp space itself. It’s up to the Euclidean purest to stop him and his cultist.
Overall impression & Criticisms:
The idea is fun. I’ve toyed with the same idea. But in current times and comic book format, where the legends of science and maths have long passed on. I was initially excited that someone else had the same similar-ish idea but it quickly faded. Between the terrible formatting (might just be my copy of the story), the constant spelling mistakes and the flat characters and dialogue the only thing I found interesting was the technical side of it. I do wish I had time to read more. I can’t help but be left wondering if it does improve. Beginnings can be rocky after all. But the amount of mistakes coupled with the character interactions left me thinking that perhaps it doesn’t get better.
***
SPSFC3 First Phase Mini Reviews
The Hostile Contact
by Nick Snape
My Vote:
No.
Summary:
At ~19% read. Pretty much as the title says. But instead of a massive army raining (reigning?) down on humanity, we have what feels like a minimal soldier invasion. Not sure how many there are, feels like a dozen alien supersoldiers at the most (and many of which seem to die travelling to Earth) [My mind slips to Preditor here by default, I think it’s the low number of aliens present].
Overall impression & Criticisms:
It’s certainly a strange premise. I loath hostile alien take-over movies, because well, the idea of Earth (or more precisely America) winning against a species that transversed the whole gorram galaxy is absurd. But this was different. At least it was to the point I read. Who knows, is it just the scouts? I don’t know. But the concept of just a few slien soldiers easily taking out military targets on Earth is intriguing. There seems to be a balance, the aliens are advanced and overpowering. But they are also few. It does feel like there’s a realistic chance for Earth and that saves the concept for me.
Though I voted no, it wasn’t a bad novel. And though I’m falling behind my reads I ended up reading around 20% for this because I couldn’t decide. It was entertaining to read but it didn’t quite capture me. The writing is mostly solid. The characters are well-rounded and realistic. It is good, I just think there are other books in our allotment that captured me more.
***
SPSFC3 First Phase Mini Reviews
On Lavenda Tides
by Travis M. Riddle
My Vote:
No.
Summary:
At ~5% read. Bascially Pokemon in a beautiful landscape. Alani has just turned 18 and with all his saved money he has brought a device that allows him to capture certain beasts and sets about to capture his first “starter” creature.
Overall impression & Criticisms:
I cut this book short … not because of what the book is, I was actually enjoying it. But because it isn’t science fiction and therefore breaks the rules for the competition. I feel sorry for you guys. I believe this is the third book in our team alone that we decided doesn’t fit the criteria. I don’t know how these stories pass the vetting, it feels like a cruel kick in the guts to the writers who were initially allowed in only to be denied the first step in.
I have to add. I love Pokemon. I’m currently looking around my nerd room which is at least a quarter taken up with Pokemon stuff (and a lot of that is Dragonite stuff). I even once tried to make my own ripoff Pokemon game once, but failed when it came to the programming side of things – I have contemplated taking it to a story format so it’s awesome to see others have actually gone out and done it – Anyways, just wanted to say. I would’ve loved for this to be a thing that went on. I reckon I’d get along great with the author. I’m certainly going to read it in the near future. And I’m going to share it with a collector card group I’m in that’s 90% poke-mad.
I’m sorry it came to this. It’s unfair I know. But hope you all the success.
***
SPSFC3 First Phase Mini Reviews
Cydonia Rising
by Dave Walsh
My Vote:
Yes
Summary:
At ~6% read. A multi-character tale about empires and people forced to the edges – I think. Bit hard to say for certain at this stage and being introduced to multiple characters I’m still in the setup phase of the story.
Overall impression & Criticisms:
I found the writing in this one a lot rougher than many of the other books in our list. Both ones I voted yes and no to. I feel the writer could get a bit more experience under his belt. But having said that I was enjoying the characters and world they inhabit. It felt a bit Fireflish in places and I’m biased to Firefly. There is also a bit of old school scifi feeling in it of galactic empires and rulers, part of me wants to say Star Wars but that doesn’t feel quite right. I suspect it might be a bit like Game of Thrones in space (the intrigue side that is). So I’m keen to read more.
***
SPSFC3 First Phase Mini Reviews
The Other
by Marilyn Peake
My Vote:
No.
Summary:
At ~8% read. Basically just read the first chapter where Cora is off to investigate a cult that’s talking about UFO sitings.
Overall impression & Criticisms:
I know 8% isn’t much, and I feel bad. The writing style is fantastic. The words flow freely and though I was engaged and enjoyed what I read this is the last book I’ve sampled and just felt there are several others I was engaged in more. So this isn’t anything negative.
***
SPSFC3 First Phase Mini Reviews
The Widows Tithe
by T R Peers
My Vote:
Yes.
Summary:
At ~8% read. Sasha a privileged soul. On the rise in society as an “influencer” of sorts. Her entire life is geared towards gaining popularity and therefore status and wealth. But it all comes crashing down with the death of her husband in a livestream military ops and now she owes the corporate overlords a lot of money and is expected to pay it off in a lowly grunt military-type role.
Overall impression & Criticisms:
This is as depressing as it sounds. A high-tech dystopian future where corporations have all the power. Part of me wasn’t sure whether to vote yes or no, because to be honest, I felt zero hope in this world and though I’ve never considered myself one of those “won’t read if it’s too dark a world”. I really felt that heaviness here. But what brought me to a yes vote is also a desire to know what happens next. And perhaps a hope for breaking this miserable world.
***
SPSFC3 First Phase Mini Reviews
The Star Keepers
by Paul Adams
My Vote:
No.
Summary:
At ~8% read. In a galaxy filled with all kinds of aliens. We have a brand new captain taking his ship out for the first time. A call to a planet brings them face to face with a potentially hostile alien ship.
Overall impression & Criticisms:
Basically felt like Star Trek but with more flare. I liked some of the alien descriptions (including a small lizard-like thing that gets around by using its tail like a helicopter blade.
This space fantasy looks like it could be interesting, but it just felt a little too much like Trek to me. Existence of many alien species, a federated alien space corporation, following the crew of a militarised ship. Eta. I feel I need more than that, I need a book to be its own thing, have its own life and vibe. I wanted to read more to see if it gained that vibe but I’m afraid I didn’t get that far. I get the feeling Trekies and Star Wars-like fans might really dig it though.
