Alright, so we’ve got two books left in my batch that haven’t been eliminated. Well, I have two books left at least. Maybe you do too? Honestly, at this point in this post, all of this text is just stalling.
The books are:
Death of the Tree Path by Timothy S. Currey
My review can be found here. But I’ll briefly explain why I liked it enough to 1) finish it and 2) consider it for a semi-finalist. I’ll also give a brief account on potential issues readers might have.
So why did I like this book? To me it was a slow buildup that paid off in the end. I loved how atmospheric the novel was and thought the different character arcs helped to show the vastness of the world. The fantasy element is largely in the setting with hints of it in flashbacks here and there. It plays a more prominent role later, but it’s never forgotten. The book is mainly centered around the difficult choices the three main characters must face, including ones that seemingly go against their original values. However, it shows that the right decision isn’t necessarily the easiest.
And that’s a large part of why I considered it for a semi-finalist. It’s a heavily atmospheric book in the vein of some other rural fantasy novels. It’s something I could see people enjoying.
But it does still have things some readers might not enjoy. This book can get pretty descriptive and is relatively light on the dialogue. While this personally didn’t bother me, it might be a turn-off for others. As I mentioned earlier, the pacing of this book is pretty slow. It’s steady and, in my opinion, doesn’t drag. But it’s still slow nonetheless. All in all, it depends on what you’re looking for.
Nether Light by Shaun Paul Stevens
My review can be found here. Again, I’ll briefly explain why I liked it enough to 1) finish it and 2) consider it for a semi-finalist. I’ll also briefly point out some issues others might have.
Why did I like this one? It’s funny. To me, the pacing of this book was relatively quick, given how big it is! (It’s the longest book in the Inn’s SPFBO batch.) But I’ve seen a couple of other people talk about how they feel the book is a slow-burn. And honestly, I can definitely see both sides. Something I really liked about this book was the characters. No one felt like a dud. I also loved how the plot would slowly branch out to different paths but still be driving forward toward an ultimate goal.
I considered this book as a semi-finalist for SPFBO because I think people might really enjoy the ideas and concepts laid out in it. It isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, but it still feels new and fun.
That being said, it does have some issues others might not enjoy. The first part, maybe about 20% is largely character setup for the protagonist, worldbuilding, and plot setup. I personally still really enjoyed it, but others might find the book doesn’t pick up until after that. Another minor thing is that those aforementioned branching plots might seem to some like the novel is meandering a bit. There is also talk of rape, which could draw some readers away. Overall though, despite its issues, I thought the execution was well done and the subject matter was handled with respect.
Okay okay. So um. For those who skipped to this section to see who my semi-finalist pick is, I’d like to say hello. And here’s a haiku
Books books books books books
novels novels novels books
read read read read read
That took a lot of time to write, thanks. And I’m totally not stalling. Cause I know some of y’all just skipped straight to this part. So without further ado, my semi-finalist pick for SPFBO 6 is:
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