For more team updates, check out our team page here.

The process

The four of us on the team are making good progress on our initial allotment of 25 books, and unfortunately that means we’re ready to make our first cuts of this year’s competition. Because this is the scouting round of the competition, we did not read the full text of these books. Our goal was to have at least half of our team read the opening chapters of the book, usually reaching about 20-25% of the total length.

Obviously, the opinions of any four judges is highly subjective. If we cut your book, that in no way means that we didn’t like it or that it’s a bad book – it just means that there were other books that appealed to these four humans more. It’s the nature of these competitions to be subjective, and we know it’s stressful and difficult to endure cuts – our four judges have lots and lots of contest entries between them, most of which ended in being cut, so we’re sensitive to how much it hurts. Cutting books is the worst part of judging, just as being cut is the worst part of competing.

Our decision in reporting these cuts is to not list what we didn’t like about each book we cut, but instead to send them off with a plug for what we liked and for what kind of reader we think would enjoy the story. Our short summaries below were written by various judges. If you are an author of one of these books and want more feedback on your book, including some of the reasons we didn’t advance it, I’m happy to correspond by email and share more information. I’m at dave@davedobsonbooks.com.

The SPSFC is unusual in indie book competitions in that it allows re-entry of the same book in subsequent years, and we encourage any entrant that we don’t pick, including these ten, to enter again in a future year, where you may encounter judges who are a better match for what you’re writing.

The cuts

Note: There is no meaning to the order in which these books are listed.

Erased, by Sebastian Kilex

With a complex world and a YA, dystopian, action-movie feel, there is a ton going on in this book, including mysteries about a society that brainwashes and controls its members. A Maze-Runner feel, although set farther in the future.

Ret, by Dan Miwa

Dives deep into a faraway alien society operating under very different conditions from humans on Earth. The alien culture and government is interesting. At times felt almost like a parable. One judge wrote, “Great imagination for the alien world.”

Dragon City, by Iryna Karban

Cyberpunk awesomeness focusing on a young woman with inexplicable clairvoyance that starts off a compelling mystery. For fans of mystery and a murky technically advanced world.

 

Of Friction, by S.J. Lee

A dystopian military sci-fi tale of a world where regular humans exist in uneasy stalemate (and sometimes war) with genetically enhanced humans. A strong main character with a great voice. Two judges hailed the well-developed writing and interesting characters, including a non-speaking commando.

You Cannot Kill the Root, by Nathan Kuzack

If you’re fed up with corporate control of society and want the people to rise up, this could be the book for you. A near-future dystopia (minus most of the -topia), where a corrupt system funnels people into jobs they don’t want, leads to a secret rebellion.

Golem Master, by T.J. Lombardi

One judge writes, “I loved the enthusiasm and detail of the golem battles that really hit the ground running as soon as you opened the book. The main character and his family were easy to slip into and enjoy their dynamic. Overall great prose and perfect niche book for LitRPG fans.”

In Sekhmet’s Wake, by J.D. Rhodes

A complex dystopian story about the end of the world, with both superheroes and philosophy in abundance. Part of a series. Fans of Watchmen might enjoy this one.

 

How I Hacked the Moon, by R. A. Dines

A welcomed world on an established lunar colony with an inviting main character. There is a mystery going on in the background as you settle in with the characters. This would appeal to fans of YA science fiction. 

Ice Born, by Adam Fernandez

What an opener full of intrigue and very good prose. The plot then takes off like a rocket with an interesting world where the solar system has been colonized and has been fractured into interesting political factions. There is good plot and intrigue going on in this story. 

Renaissance Paradox History Prime, by K. A. Wood

This is a perfect book for fans of arcane academia. The author does something really interesting by creating a common thread of all the great thinkers and inventors throughout history and begins to weave a story connecting them together. 

Our condolences go out to these authors, along with our respect for your efforts and our sincere best wishes for your success.