“The Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship (SFINCS, pronounced “sphinx”) is a yearly competition to recognize, honor, and celebrate the talent and creativity present in the indie community. We are a sister competition to both SPFBO and SPSFC, and we highlight greatness in the novella format in all areas of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror, etc.).” – From the official SFINCS website.
It’s hard to believe we’ve already reached Round 3 of #SFINCS!
We had some excellent books assigned to us for Round 3 and once again scores were very tight. Two decimal points separate one of our finalists from the next highest scores. So, if any of our semi-finalists look like something you might enjoy, please consider picking them up and leaving a review. The level of craft and creativity on display really blew us all away. One of our finalists has four scores from all four judges, and the other has three.
Congrats to our two finalists and congrats as well to our semi-finalists as a group–it was a pleasure and an honour to be trusted with your words.
If you’ve enjoyed following along with our reviews, please say thanks to the wonderful Helyna L. Clove, Jamedi, and Angela Boord!
Any and all authors we’ve reviewed can feel free to use quotations from our reviews in their promotional material.
You can also find the full list of SFINCS3 entrants here. I’ve also included a link to our semi-finalist reviews below the finalist announcement.
TeamWIPs’ #SFINCS3 Finalists!
Sisters of Mercy
Hannah-9 is a a child of Heaven and Hell, bred in the bowels of the Last City. Implanted into an ancient, nuclear-powered war machine—a God-engine—she stalks the wastes with Rachel-3, her sister-in-arms.
Their mandate is to wage war against the Adversary, to purify the Earth, and to endure—until the radiation consumes them.
This is her story.
A bold new novella from the creator of Dark Legacies.
What the judges are saying:
“Sisters of Mercy is a really masterful book in my opinion. If you’re a fan of mech battles, post-apocalyptic science fiction, and you’d like all this wrapped up in a deeply emotional, character-driven narrative, I highly recommend Sisters of Mercy.” – Angela Boord
“Sisters of Mercy was an excellent dark sci-fi read, and felt like a perfect taster of the author’s wider world in the novels. It was honestly everything that I expected and more when I read the blurb and looked at the cover beforehand—a devastating, emotional, violent, complex experience.” – Helyna L. Clove
*Sisters of Mercy received scored from Jamedi, Helyna L. Clove, and Angela Boord (I abstained due to conflict of interest).
The Drowned Heir
When her uncle dies at sea, a third child with no place in society undergoes a ceremony to house his spirit and take his role, diminishing the family’s loss. But heruncle’s spirit hasn’t settled the way it’s supposed to, and will not content itself with shore-bound business. Her uncle’s spirit insists, angrily, that it was not just a storm that killed him and wrecked his ship, not a rogue wave; it was an unthinkably large monster.
Then his lover comes knocking with news of an adult son who has set sail along the same shipping lane, and dead uncle and living niece must work together to save a son neither of them knew existed.
What the judges are saying:
“The prose is full of atmospherical details, and also helps to capture this struggle between two people that actually appreciate and love each other, as they were family; the pacing works well, making this a great bite-sized piece to read.” – Jamedi
“The haunting, dark mood of the story immediately grabbed me as we start with the harrowing description of the protagonist’s suffocation by the holy/magical order of her people, so that she could become the vessel for her recently deceased uncle.” – Helyna L. Clove
“Heir has a lot to say about our obligations to family, and particularly how women are so often treated as resources to be consumed rather than singular subjects.” – Steve Hugh Westenra
“The prose is some of the best I’ve read in this competition, her character work is top-notch, and the world is weird, dark, and compelling. If you like dark fantasy and you read for gothic atmosphere vibes, definitely give this one a try.” – Angela Boord
The Drowned Heir received scores from Jamedi, Helyna L. Clove, Angela Boord, and Steve Hugh Westenra.
