After much deliberation, the Fantasy-Faction reviewing team has narrowed down the entries in our group to seven. Our task now is to read and discuss these books more closely, with a view to picking a winner.

I love books by Elisabetta SerraI’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the standard across all the books we’ve looked at was high. So what was it about these seven that made them stand out? They’re polished, yes. The writing is smooth. They are clearly written by authors who care about their craft and have done everything they can to ensure the reader doesn’t get thrown out by inconsistency, irritated by typos, or turned off by clunky exposition. But to be honest, that should go without saying. And there are other books in this group alone that achieved all those things and yet didn’t quite make the cut. So what was it that made these seven stand out?

In general, the answer seems to be that each of them has something different about it. Something that made the book memorable enough that it stuck in the reviewer’s mind, even after they had read other samples. Sometimes that was a unique voice. Sometimes it was an unusual structure. Sometimes it was the sheer quality of the prose. None of these things alone would win a contest, but when you add them to an already polished book, that’s the little bit of something extra that makes it memorable.

So here are our final seven (in alphabetical order by author surname), each with thoughts from one of the reviewing team.

Paternus by Dyrk Ashton

Paternus (cover)

GR says: Paternus is told in the present tense with multiple character perspectives and that, alongside the worldbuilding, is interesting. We humans are not the first, nor the strongest, or brightest. We are children, babies learning to crawl, compared to the Firstborn and they seem about to go to war with each other. I’m intrigued!

Ravenmarked by Amy Rose Davis

Ravenmarked (cover)

AFE says: This entry stood out first of all by virtue of having a really strong and engaging prologue. We were happy to find that the quality of the writing was maintained into the body of the book, with convincing dialogue and descriptions bringing everything to life. And the plot held enough interest for us as reviewers that we were unanimously happy to read on.

Terminus by Ryan Howse

Terminus (cover 2)

Laura says: This is certainly one of the most intriguing entries we’ve encountered. Mostly well written, and structured in a way that’s deliberately disjointed, the opening chapters of Terminus introduced us to the disorienting semi-conscious predicament of a mysterious not-quite-human protagonist. We think we like it. And we’re hooked enough that we want to read on and find out for sure.

Yseult by Ruth Nestvold

Yseult (cover)

Laura says: This historical fantasy was a nice change of pace that most of us found rather captivating. A retelling of the classic ‘Tristan and Isolde’, Yseult successfully draws its readers into the time and place in which it is rooted. In addition to one or two really pretty and evocative turns of phrase, we all agreed that there is a certain charm and quality to Nestvold’s writing that had most of us engaged enough to want to read more.

Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope

Song of Blood & Stone (cover)

AFE says: This entry impressed all of us with the quality of the writing, the excellent worldbuilding, and the intriguing magic system. Add some really well-drawn characters that shine off the page, and a plot that touches skilfully on themes of racism and prejudice, and you have yourself a page-turner. Although the romantic element to the plot doesn’t fully appeal to all our reviewers, there’s no doubt that Song of Blood & Stone is a strong entry to the contest.

Off Leash by Daniel Potter

Off Leash (cover)

Laura says: This … is a strange one. It’s well written. It’s light-hearted. It’s quite unlike any of the other entries so far. And admittedly we weren’t sure what to make of it. But it made us laugh. It stuck with us after reading the sample. Written in the first person, the narrative voice is engaging and entertaining. It’s … different. And we’re not sure how it will hold up against the other six when read in its entirety. But it certainly promises to be a fun experience.

The Raven by Aderyn Wood

The Raven (cover)

AFE says: While we weren’t fully convinced by the prologue (a common theme!), we all agreed that this entry offered something in the way of setting and magic system that’s a little different from many fantasies we’ve read. The characters held our interest and we all found ourselves invested enough in the tension of the initial conflict that we wanted to keep reading.

Congrats to all the authors that made the cut and good luck in the final rounds!

Title image by Elisabetta Serra.

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By A.F.E. Smith

loves Hobb, Abercrombie and Lawrence as much as the next fantasy fan, but is on a mission to look past the big-name giants of the genre and discover the equally brilliant books that far fewer people have heard of. (This mission may have been influenced by the fact that she’s an insignificant digital-first author in her own right, but if so, she’ll never admit it.) She has two young children, a full-time job as an editor, and runs on a combination of chocolate and wishful thinking. Her first book, DARKHAVEN, was released in 2015 by Harper Voyager. You can find her on Twitter as @afesmith.

10 thoughts on “Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off #2: Our Final Seven”
  1. I’m so pleased to be listed among these final entries, especially since they look so compelling and engaging! Thank you! I look forward to seeing the final decision.

    Best wishes to all those on the list!

  2. Like Amy and Daniel I am thrilled to be included among such outstanding writers! Congrats to everyone and I look forward to adding six more titles to my tbr list 🙂

  3. Congrats to those who’ve reached this point!

    Regardless of the actual book quality, can I please ask you guys to be careful about covers? I wouldn’t go near the majority of these if I saw them in a bookshop, unfortunately (as much as I say to myself that shouldn’t matter…)

    1. You echo my original thoughts on some of the entries. No matter how often we tell ourselves not to judge, it seems we simply can’t help ourselves!

      However, I would point out that the above entries belong to vastly different sub-genres – romance, urban, historical, humour – each of which do tend to appeal to a particular readership. The same cover that prompts one person to fall in love and purchase right away might be the same one that others wouldn’t touch with a bargepole!

      Reading for the SPFBO has certainly made me more open-minded, though. We’ve discovered some real gems lurking behind unlikely cover art!

  4. Said it before but I’ll say it again here, still amazed anyone is reading my book, let alone liking it. A whole new world for me. Honored to be in this group – I must read them ALL 🙂 Uber-thanks to the FF bunch for doing this with the SPFBO!

  5. […] A few weeks ago, the SPFBO team decided on our seven semi-finalists. In some cases, the decision was easy. But when it came to Daniel Potter’s entry, Off Leash, we were uncertain as to whether or not it could hold its own in the next stage of the competition. […]

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