It is done. The seven finalists for the second annual Self Published Science Fiction Contest have been selected. We At Boundary’s Edge will be reading these over the next two months or so and getting back to you with our thoughts. In a small departure from previous rounds, we won’t be sharing individual scores until we as a team have assembled all of our thoughts. Fret not, however, for reviews will still be heading your way.

The observant among you will note that we have already seen two of our finalists in previous rounds. For those that we judged in the semifinals, those scores still stand as our final rating. the remaining five will be reviewed and rated fresh.

Aestus: Book 1: The City
S. Z. Atwell

Initial Impressions of The City: This is a massive book. There have been a few of those through the competition, and many haven’t fared all that well. However, last year’s eventual winner was a massive book, so perhaps the odds are in The City‘s favour

The Last Gifts of the Universe
Rory August

Initial Impressions of The Last Gifts of the Universe: This book came up through our semifinalist selection, and received a team rating of 8.5/10. You can find my review by clicking HERE.

Night Music
Tobias Cabral

Initial Impressions of Night Music: Hard SF and colonisation? Sign me up. I like a lot of the tropes mentioned in the blurb, but otherwise I’m going into this one totally blind.

Hammer and Crucible
Cameron Cooper

Initial Impressions on Hammer and Crucible: A space opera about a galactic empire is precisely my jam, so I have high hopes for this one. It’s good to see such a strong showing from the genre this year.

Melody
David Hoffer

Initial Impressions of Melody: This was in our slushpile last year, and was cut during the first phase. This doesn’t bode well, but to make it this far, I have to assume it improves greatly after the opening 20%, and I look forward to finding out.

Percival Gynt and the Conspiracy of Days
Drew Melbourne

Initial Impressions of Percival Gynt and the Conspiracy of Days: This book came up through our semifinalist selection, and received a team rating of 6.67/10. You can find my review HERE.

Those Left Behind
N. C. Scrimgeour

Scrimgeour was in our slushpile last year with Exodus. That book did not progress further, but as the lone YES vote at that early stage, I am thrilled to see the author back with another book this year.