Well friends, we’ve done it. We’ve completed the semifinals of the SPSFC2. There’s a little more maths to do behind the scenes as we combine scores from across judging teams to discover which seven books will make it through to the finals. That announcement will come in due course, but for now let’s take one last look back at the nine books we At Boundary’s Edge have spent the past few months reading. This includes our original pick of three, and the six books passed to us by other teams.

Intelligence Block, by Kit Falbo
Final Score: 2.8/10 (Highest Solo Score: 5/10)
My Review
Final Verdict: With a tone that swung wildly between childish characters and adult content, this book was further sabotaged by poor editing, and failed to win favour with any of our judges.

Heritage, by S. M. Warlow
Final Score: 3.83/10 (Highest Solo Score: 5/10)
My Review/Athena’s Review
Final Verdict: Though this book had an interesting setup and a plot with a lot of potential, poor editing and a seeming lack of a proofread brought its score back down.

The Peacemaker’s Code, by Deepak Malhotra
Final Score: 6.17/10 (Highest Solo Score: 7/10)
My Review/Athena’s Review
Final Verdict: This book had a lot of intriguing ideas and an original concept, but the length of the novel and the sheer density of the prose left our judges bored rather than awed.

The Diamond Device, by M. H. Thaung
Final Score: 6.25/10 (Highest Solo Score:7.5/10)
My Review/Athena’s Review
Final Verdict: Despite some quibbles over the SFness of the setting, this book won our judges’ praise for its execution of familiar tropes and the readability of its prose.

Empire Reborn, by A.K. DuBoff
Final Score: 6.25/10 (Highest Solo Score: 8/10)
My Review/Athena’s Review
Final Verdict: A classic case of space opera done right, this book didn’t seek to reinvent the wheel, but did impress our judges with the professionalism of the final product, and the effectiveness of the storytelling.

Percival Gynt and the Conspiracy of Days, by Drew Melbourne
Final Score: 6.67/10 (Highest Solo Score: 8/10)
My Review/Athena’s Review
Final Verdict: This zany comedy wasn’t to everyone’s tastes, but our judges all agreed that it was among the more entertaining entries in this year’s contest, and even if we weren’t laughing all the time, there were chuckles to be had.

Earthship, by John Triptych with Michael Lamontagne
Final Score: 7/10 (Highest Solo Score: 8/10)
My Review/Athena’s Review
*Paul’s Pick #1*
Final Verdict: An end-of-the-world thriller wasn’t what any of us expected to find in this contest, but this book won us over with great action and intrigue, and an epic sense of scale.

Dim Stars, by Brian P. Rubin
Final Score: 7.17/10 (Highest Solo Score: 7.5/10)
My Review/Athena’s Review
Final Verdict: Realistically, our judges were too old to get the most out of this book, but we think it would be a great starting place for any new-to-SF readers, especially those of a younger persuasion.

The Last Gifts of the Universe, by Rory August
Final Score: 8.5/10 (Highest Solo Score: 10/10)
My Review/Athena’s Review
*My Pick* *Athena’s Pick**Paul’s Pick #2*
Final Verdict: With a combination of great SF questions, heartstring-tugging character beats, and a cat called Pumpkin, this was a hit with all of our judges, and takes the top spot in our semifinals by a sizable margin.

We’ll be back soon with an announcement regarding the Final Seven. Stay tuned, SF Fans.