* 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 five at a time, until we reach our semi-final list for Round One. These groups of five 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.
Today we say goodbye to our third group of books from Round One of SPFBO#8. In this group of five 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 Third Five to Fall.
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Afterworld by James G. Robertson
Death comes, and misery follows. As a man in his early twenties, Leon never genuinely contemplated what would happen after his death. Like those before him, he never understood the truth of our universe. After his sudden demise, the terrorizing reality of a mysterious dystopian afterlife begins crushing him as it has those prior. Men have started enslaving and killing each other to sate their greed while enigmatic creatures oppress the masses. Only a select few have shown the courage needed to challenge their supremacy.
Through this eclipsing darkness, there is hope. But will that hope prove to be enough to save this turbulent cosmos? The revelations of advanced science, magic, human savagery, and even our gods will be showcased. Both in a new light and disturbing darkness, will the verities of Earth and Afterworld give Leon a greater understanding of our universe; or in turn, break him as they have done to so many before?
Afterworld had some of our judges intrigued with its opening, but found it didn’t not keep our attention with further reading. While the concept of someone falling from the sky into a new world, and all the gods gearing up for war against a great evil, started things off well, this was a another instance of a book using too much telling and not enough showing, and we had to let this one go.
Darkhaven by Kel E. Fox
What would you sacrifice for magic?
Gabby is in her final year of high school and facing The Question: What does she want to do with her life? A shame ‘wizarding’ isn’t on the list of university courses.
Just as Gabby despairs that she’ll never find the answer, lightning strikes. She uncovers a conspiracy, meets a mysterious boy, and finds out that maybe, magic might just be real. But it comes at a cost, and now Gabby’s faced with a decision that makes choosing a university as easy as choosing a favourite kind of cake… How is anyone meant to do that?
Darkhaven was an interesting read. And while it started out as a great YA urban fantasy, it leaned heavily on the science fiction side of SFF rather than the fantasy end, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but something we take into consideration in this particular contest. Some of our judges also felt it was rather tropey and had some outdated and stereotypical ways of describing some of the female characters. Overall, it just didn’t stack up next to the other entries.
Dust Bound by Clementine Fraser
Seventeen years after the Fae destroyed the world, Adelia Lark must face them again. A boy has disappeared, stolen by Fae.
Accompanied by the ruggedly handsome Ryder Hendrix, the man she’s secretly loved for years, she ventures through a broken landscape to rescue the child whose fate echoes her own.
But the Fae are hunting them, and the only chance of survival lies with Adelia accepting her past and embracing the mysterious powers she never wanted—and in doing so she may lose Ryder forever.
Dust Bound, aside from having an amazing cover, surprised us with it’s unique setting and an interesting setup to the story. One of our judges in particular loved that it was set in New Zealand (as she is herself a Kiwi). The overall writing style was well done, but our judges felt the characters lacked the depth the worldbuilding deserved. There were also some who thought the romance element was a bit too heavy handed. So while we loved this story for its unique voice, we had to let this one go as well. But, if you enjoy romance and fae in a unique setting this might be your next favorite read!
Rise of Tears by Brand J. Alexander
The world was dying, and Asahn was the only one who could save it. At least that’s the tale Old Durn the tribe storyteller was weaving this time. It seemed absurd at first, but then everything spun out of control.
A strange new religion is hunting the Kahn Shogal, and the secret to why may reside in the clouded history of Asahn’s people. The mighty Highlands warriors are left with no choice but to flee into the wilderness of their homeland, but it has become a harsh and unforgiving place as the world withers.
While the Kahn Shogal face danger on every side, their great chieftain is too consumed by pride and tradition to lead them. Only Asahn, heir to the Kah Hrah, has the authority to confront his father in his missteps. But for a son who always looked up to his father, such betrayal will not come easily.
With every step, Asahn will confront new dangers to his people and his world. And with every step, he will drive himself against all odds to become the person Old Durn swears he can be, their only salvation.
Rise of Tears suffered two of our judges’ least favorite issues wrapped up in one: a prologue (#1) that’s an info-dump (#2). Now granted prologues can be used to great effect in some books. And even though we are not fans, there is even a place for the occasional info-dump. Unfortunately, this was not either of those things. And while the story smooths out after the prologue, and had some interesting concepts, the rest of the story did not grip us enough to keep this book in the running, and we had to let it go.
Troupe of Shadows by Jennings Zabrinsky
Throne stolen by her traitorous brother. Chased to the edge of the world. Sellane has only a blade, a talent for slaughter, and four elite ‘blade dancer’ bodyguards to her name. Where once she lived a life full of courtly duels, decadence, and intrigue, she now finds herself trudging through a wild and desolate frontier populated by pioneers and warlords.
One day Sellane will reclaim her birthright, but she has more immediate problems. The food has run out, shelter is scarce, and her followers are on the verge of mutiny. She can’t even communicate with the strange inhabitants of this alien land: the so-called ‘humans’ who wield guns, wear shoes, and seem completely incapable of shifting the color of their skin to disappear into their surroundings.
It seems certain an obscure and meaningless death lies in her near future. But when she captures Copper, a down-on-his-luck human mercenary who happens to speak her language, she seizes a razor-thin opportunity to reverse her fortunes. She has the bladecraft, he claims to have the connections, and the frontier will never have enough mercenaries.
Sellane and her band will kill for gold, gather soldiers and power, and begin to build a new empire amongst the wastes. But can her new ally be trusted? Can her old allies? Will her dysfunctional troupe tear itself apart before they’ve earned a single coin?
Our judges really liked Troupe of Shadows. The unique magic system, especially the characters’ abilities to blend in with their surrounding and how they used color to express themselves emotionally and even to signal the characters’ statuses. The setting was fun too and had the feeling of a Western in some ways. Our judges liked the characters, but found at the beginning that some of the bickering and interactions between Sellane and her bodyguards didn’t make a lot of sense. It felt like they had just started their journey, but if they’d been travelling for a long time, the issues that were coming up would have been worked out a lot earlier.
The story evens out eventually and has plenty of action, villains, and adventure to keep the reader interested till the end. However, since the beginning was a bit bumpy, it could not stand up to the other books in our group and we had to let it go.
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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 Julia Kitvaria Sarene, Kartik Narayanan, Kerry Smith, Max Freeman, 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 at me, Jennie Ivins, via DM (Facebook/Twitter).
Title image by Debby Hudson.
Julia Kitvaria Sarene