I miss Jefferson Smith’s work, and hope he’s well. His “immerse or die” challenges were a major inspiration to me, as well as a prolific source of things to read (as well as things not to read) — I found his judgements tended to mirror my taste, and who doesn’t like a hefty dose of confirmation bias? I’m glad you agree that no one does. This review covers an eight-novel, 2814 page volume he compiled and released in early 2017.
Immerse or Die: Science Fiction Smackdown, Jefferson Smith, ed.
It’s hard to consistently find good self-/independently-published SFF, but Smith put his mind to it and arrived at a pretty good formula. It’s one that I find myself a little in envy of every time I’m in the middle of getting ready to abandon a 1,300 page epic which was taken out of the oven a bit — or a lot — too early by its author. Smith’s reviews are something I’m far from matching in terms of pith and incisiveness.
This volume bring together eight authors, each offering a delectable sample of their written wares. I liked Morin, Wright, Adams and Dickson the most; Levesque and Linton were in the middle; and Anderson and Hunt were my least favorites, relatively speaking. That’s all very relative — I was never tempted to not finish any of these, although I did find myself wondering if a couple could have been shorter or moved a bit quicker.
Commended for your reading pleasure, in the order they appear in the volume.
Strictly Analog, Richard Levesque. Ted Lomax is a private detective in a near-future grimly dystopian California. He’s barely scraping by, until a murder catapults him into a deadly world of hidden agendas and deceit. Cool concept, entertaining and decently-written, although I found the end flat.
(For younger readers, that’s an analog phone dial on the book cover. It was…it’s complicated. Your’re not missing much.)
Dark Matter, Brett Adams. One of the more challenging reads, with a sophisticated story line. Overall, a bit dark but leavened by plenty of existential notes and a happy-ish ending. Rasputin T. Lowdermilk’s date with suicide is rudely interrupted by a car thief, and he wakes up with new powers -- and a chilling new problem. He'll go head-to-head for survival with Gottfried Schuermann, more simply known as "Cain". A dark, twisty and sophisticated novel that requires patience but rewards perseverance. And an author with a nack for great names!
“[M]y first novel, Dark Matter, was a biology-based-paranormal-fantasy-with-a-twist-of-science-fiction-adventure-and-just-a-hint-of-thriller. It took five years to write and led to a lot of counseling.”
Crimson Son, Russ Linton. “His only superpower is that he has none.” What’s it like for the teen son of a fugitive super-hero who’s fighting a hopeless rearguard action against overwhelming forces of evil? Frustrating, to start. A neat premise, generally good writing, and a “colorful” cast of characters make this a fun read.
Colt Coltrane and the Lotus Killer, Allison M. Dickson. Dickson updates the crime noir genre: we get a beautiful heiress, gritty gumshoe, plots, hidden agendas and...an internal-combustion robot sidekick. Fun and entertaining read that jumps off the page in black and white: Humphrey Bogart in the Maltese Falcon updated for the 21st century.
Black Ocean Mission Pack 1, J.S. Morin. This series was the gateway to what turned into a significant J.S. Morin binge. Fun, light, but satisfying as well. Morin has sketched an unlikely but lovable crew of space-faring misfits. Their adventures are satisfying, characters develop, and it’s all underpinned by solid writing. The sheer breadth of plot devices and twists here is impressive, and it just gets better.
Pay Me, Bug!, C. B. Wright. On the lighter side, this doesn’t take itself too seriously -- but it delivers solid, entirely enjoyable galactic hijinks. As far as I could tell, this is not part of a series -- and for a change, I’m sorry about that. I’d love to read more about the further adventures of the captain and crew of the interstellar vessel “Fool’s Errand”...
The Improbable Rise of Singularity Girl, Bryce Anderson. The “singularity” -- uniting of human consciousness and advanced machinery -- has fascinated spec-fic writers for years. One question that’s never been answered, though: if you’re uploaded, do you still have a soul? It turns out that our heroine here very much does, and that’s a good thing for humanity. Entertaining and thoughtful, I thought the plot dragged a bit. Overall it was a solid read, if the weakest of the group Smith curated here. Still worth the time.
The Whirlwind in the Thorn Tree, S. A. Hunt: Ross Brigham returns from serving in Afghanistan to a collapsed marriage and his father’s death. Struggling with these changes leads him to the discovery that his father’s award-winning fantasy writing may not have been completely imaginary, and Ross may wind up becoming a protagonist in a very strange Steampunkish fantasy world. Not my usual fare (no space battles or asteroids) but well-crafted and interesting. Probably my second least-favorite of the bundle, but that doesn’t say much since it’s still very good.
Overall Rating For The Collection:
Smirk factor: Acceptable: 1 pt (66 smirks across 2800+ pages by eight authors = 8.25 per novel, not that I really noticed most of them.)
Immersion factor: Chest-high: 1.5pts (YMMV, but even the ones I liked least kept me turning pages.)
Writing quality: High: 2 pts
Character/plot development: Above-average: 1.5 pts
Innovative/interesting: Above-average: 1.5pts (There’s some very well-traveled ground being revisited.)
Total: 7.5/10
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