* Disclaimer *

Everyone is different and likes and dislikes different things. Reading is no exception. One person’s all-time favorite might seem too bland or too high stakes for another. That being said, the opinions of our judges in this contest are just that: opinions. Just because we let a book go, doesn’t mean it isn’t good. It could be your next favorite, who knows?

However, since this is a contest, there can be only one winner. Hence it is necessary to work our way down to our favorite from our batch of thirty titles. We will be letting books go four or five at a time. These groups are being let go in no particular order. So, the books we say goodbye to today are not worse than books we let go in the next batch. They are just the first ones we read that didn’t quite click with us as a group.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you can learn more about the contest here.

We are also announcing, our first semi-finalists! We will continue to announce one semi-finalist with each Four or Five to Fall, and then our second and first place winners will get full reviews at the end of the month!

Today we say goodbye to our second group of books from Round One of SPFBO#9. In this group of four are some intriguing concepts, good writing, and interesting characters. Unfortunately, for different reasons, they didn’t stack up against the rest of the competition.

Here are our Second Four to Fall. Read to the end to meet our first semi-finalist!

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The Doctrines of Fire by C. L. Jarvis

Edinburgh, 1779. An academic rivalry turns deadly.

George Stephens is a lousy medical student. Lacking the social and financial resources to succeed in Edinburgh’s elite medical school, his dream of becoming a physician appears over before it began.

Then George comes to the attention of two famous professors, William Cullen and Joseph Black. Medical students are dying mysteriously—the professors suspect a disgraced former student is to blame—and they need George’s help uncovering the truth. Believing the partnership will bolster his academic standing, George agrees.

Their investigation pulls them into the murkiest, most dangerous corners of Enlightenment Edinburgh. The professors are secret wielders of fire magic, but their foes are courting even darker forces. With violence threatening to erupt, and George struggling to navigate this confusing city, getting justice for the dead will be harder than he imagined.

We were initially excited about something that felt a bit different, with murder and anatomy as a topic, set in the Victorian Era! The author has certainly done a wonderful job researching hospitals, surgeries, and the medical profession of Edinburgh at the time. The elderly doctors also were an interesting combo, so it all sounded very promising.

Unfortunately for us the prose and pacing didn’t hold up, and too much description made us lose our steam. So, while this has a lot going for it, we had to let it go.

The Hand of God by Yuval Kordov

The world ended—twice. Once at humanity’s hand and a second time at God’s, according to legend. Only Esther, the Eternal One, saw it all happen. Chosen by the Messiah to redeem humanity, she heads a holy sisterhood that rules Cathedral, the Last City. Except Cathedral isn’t the last city, and the source of the Revenant Sisterhood’s supernatural power is far from holy.

It’s the year 2500, give or take. The passage of time has become as blurry as the gray wastes that cover most of North America. No moon or stars light the night, and demonic hordes smash against the last outposts of civilization.

Two reborn nations vie for humanity’s future. In the west, Cathedral unleashes its God-engines—ancient walking war machines—in a final bid to cleanse the earth. In the east, the struggling city-state of Bastion turns to the last living AI for salvation. Between them, a tribe of technological scavengers known as the Union unwittingly holds the balance of power.

Hell is on the horizon. Who will survive?

The prose fits this story well, as it both feels wild and erratic, and not necessarily in a bad way! The start was interesting, as young Esther finds herself confused and alone in a suddenly horrific dystopian world.

Some of our judges read on quite a bit, however the different timelines and multiple point of views weren’t always easy to follow, so some of us felt just as confused as the main character. Also, while there are some fantasy aspects, it felt more like a sci-fi story with some fantasy, than an actual fantasy book to us.

If readers liked Iron Widow for the huge mech machines, this may be a book for them. 

We think this has also been entered in SPSFC, so we wish the author well in that competition!

The Sunset Sovereign by E. M. McConnell

There are seven Supplicants destined for the Capital, chosen as children by mysterious Voices, who are known as the Sovereigns.

Lynn and Willow go to Sunrise, who are devoted to beginnings and the morning. Fabio and Aidan go to Day, Isobel and Hollie go to Sunset, and Yvaine goes to Night.

Will the seven Supplicants pass the Trials and achieve their dreams? Or are they entering a nightmare?

The initial chapter was really intriguing and set up a nice mystery. The main character hears mysterious voices, which soon turn out to be dragons!

The book is definitely on the easier side, but there are some surprising twists and turns, and it does hold your hand and is easy to follow.

We very much appreciated the Ace (asexual) representation, though had a hard time gauging the characters age. By their actions and dialogue, it felt like we were reading about teens, but then there was talk about marriage and pregnancy, so the characters actually seemed to be more about mid-twenties. This felt a bit disjointed to us and made it harder to enjoy the story.

So, while it has a lot of promise, we sadly have to let it go.

The Tenets in the Tattoos by Becky James

Breaking the tenets of Special Forces means one thing. Death.

Thorrn has his life mapped out—be the best swordsman in the king’s army and become Captain one day. What doesn’t fit in with his plans is some short, unimpressive waif claiming to be his soul companion, the platonic other half of his spirit.

But when the king demands that he hands Evyn over, Thorrn is confronted with a choice: protect Evyn and keep her secret from the magical community who would drain her for the power resonating inside her, or turn her over to save his career, family name, and reputation.

When a powerful mage moves against the kingdom, Thorrn and Evyn will have to summon all their courage and find allies from unexpected corners—including different worlds and times. For alongside the realms of Oberrot and Earth are the multiverses, and one of them should surely be able to help.

The start to this portal fantasy was intriguing, and we especially enjoyed the concept of soul mates, but not the romantic kind!

The male main character was quite annoying, but as he got put in his place quickly by his soul companion, it fit the story well. Our judges enjoyed the bits taking place on Earth more than the bits in the secondary world.

We enjoyed the quite unique magic system and the dream world, but the action scenes felt overly familiar as well rushed and overdone.

This is a popular series for a number of indie readers especially for those who like a little spice with their fantasy; unfortunately it didn’t manage to grab us enough to proceed to the second round.

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Sixth Place Semi-Finalist

An Ocean of Others by Joshua Scott Edwards

Remember what’s real or your head will be theirs.

Survival is never easy, but it’s never been harder for Grim, the last bounty hunter in Liwokin. He survived the Great Riot that killed Liwo by the thousands, endured the bloody chaos that ruled the city in its aftermath, and avoided the crushing fist of the Agency created to quell the unrest. Rule of law returned, but following the rules doesn’t put food in your belly.

On a job gone wrong, Grim stumbles into a conspiracy that targets Ulken, the Head of the Agency, a man who has done more to ruin Grim’s life than any other. Struggling to earn honest coin, Grim plans to use this information to rise quickly through the ranks of the organization so an empty purse never worries him again. He becomes a Finger of the Agency, joining a sardonic ranger, two fugitive siblings, a stone-skinned Skardwarf, and a powerful dark mage—none of whom know any better than Grim what they’ve gotten themselves into.

Grim’s Hand soon discovers the Agency’s furtive work is far deadlier than hunting bounties. While fighting to save his home from monsters who once were men, Grim discovers the conspiracy runs deeper than just Ulken and the Agency—what was unleashed is spreading, and if Grim’s sanity doesn’t prevail, it will consume the minds of the Bright Empire and beyond.

This is a fast paced story full of adventure, banter, monsters, mysteries, and magic! It’s on the darker side, not a really grim read, but dark and entertaining.

Our judges were quickly hooked by the wild mix of characters, who had enough nuances and backstory to feel real. The snark and banter was especially entertaining to read and a strong suit of the story! The probable downside is this story began as a D&D game, so the races, and tropes are pretty easy to spot. This didn’t really bother us, but if you are looking for a very fresh take on the genre, this is not it.

This book has plenty of mysteries, layered on top of even more mysteries, as well as secret agencies and societies. This was very well done, so you’re wondering right along with the main character what the actual truth is. Are those goals of your employer actually for the good, and do they justify what you are doing?

Quote from Julia:

“I’m not sure I really caught all the little breadcrumbs and information along the way. Not because it was so overly complex, but because the flow of the story was so fast and smooth, my brain went into popcorn mode, and didn’t pay as much attention as it does with the slow and epic times. Too carried away with the next monster, fight or situation to really digest all the little things.”

All in all, while not perfect, this was a hell of a lot of fun, and most judges breezed through it!

7.69/10 stars

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We would like to thank all the authors for letting us read their work! We congratulate you on having the courage to enter the contest and wish you all much success in the future!

Our judges this year are Adawia Asad, Agatha Lopez, Blake Skelton, G. R. Matthews, Lana Taylor, Julia Kitvaria Sarene, Kerry Smith, Robert Max Freeman, Yaniv Rosenfeld Cohen, and Jennie Ivins (me). If you’d like to learn more about us, including our likes and dislikes, you can read about them here.

Any queries should be directed Jennie Ivins, via DM (Facebook/Twitter).

Title image by Amaan Ali.

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