Welcome to my third reading post installment and my second-to-last in this series! This year, I had a goal of reading more Indie fiction—which was a low bar, as I had read almost none! I picked up four books this year, all were science fiction. Are you shocked at this point?(1) I also read one litrpg novel, gave up on another and read three anthologies, but those are covered at the end. That's a total of eight novels read; not a bad start from having read an average of about one a year in recent history.

As many will note, there is a large variance with indie works, both on the quality of the presentation (cover design, interior layout, grammatical issues, writing style, POV choice, etc.) and the strength of the story. I’ve put down a few books that didn’t meet the bar, but I happily hung on to a few that met the expectation in presentation and story. Let’s get started!

I enjoyed Richard Fox’s Ember War novel (books 1 and 2). It has some minor issues, but these were couched more in how the story was framed to drive the illusion of conflict and development. All-in-all an enjoyable and gripping read and an impressive indie series. Well recommended if you want to jump into something less traditional yet sets the bar high in quality.

I also read Ralph Kern’s Endeavour (Sleeping Gods #1) novel. One minor thing stuck out for me—the narrative time travel device felt unnecessary and disruptive to the overall narrative. That said, I reveled in the exploratory wonder of the novel and time hops of the explorers (because of realistic physics effects). Worth a read if you want to imaginatively explore nearby star systems. Also, with the race of quadrupi, he would love Tchaikovsky’s Children of Ruin.

Another novel I really enjoyed was Josh Hayes’ Edge of Valor. This one has an excellent mix of mystery thriller and military science fiction. It’s often said that science fiction is a setting rather than a genre. There are a lot of cases for and against this notion, though having read widely and written in this genre, it depends on the story. If the science fiction elements could be stripped out and the plot would still hold up, it’s a setting. If we strip out the elements and the story falls apart, it’s genre. This novel is an example of science fiction as setting to a military mystery thriller and it’s done well. Its sequel is out (Echoes of Valor) and I’m looking forward to the read.

[Quick note: this novel is at the top of the Audible charts; grab a copy at a good price if you’re interested!]

I read two more novels that were presented well, but the story wasn’t compelling or gripping. Dipping into the litrpg/gamelit genre (as I am working on something that touches in that realm for a future series), I researched the genre and settled on Dakota Krout’s Ritualist (The Completionist Chronicles #1). One thing it has taught me is that I’m not interested in the crunchy quest-driven story—I’ve always been interested in the story and system, not the numerics, leveling up, or a character’s THAC0 (2). The presentation was fine, but the story meandered and the characterization wasn’t what I was looking for. I also gave Travis Bagwell’s Catharsis (Awaken Online #1) in audio form. I didn’t enjoy the narration, but I’ll give the ebook a swing. Readers have recommended giving it a go again, and I will—I’ve heard good things from this author.

I’d also recommend a few anthologies by Keystroke Medium (Kingdoms of Iron and Stone and Horizons Beyond). Full disclosure, though: I’m involved in their latest anthology (Farthest Reach) with my own short story. My absolute favorite story out of all these anthologies is Blake Peel’s The Wrath of Khazafel in Kingdoms of Iron and Stone fantasy anthology. It’s just a top-notch short story that had me smiling as I read. These are all in Kindle Unlimited—worth a read if you like short stories and are looking for some new authors and want to ‘kick the tires’ without going all in on a new book or series without feeling out their writing style.

That’s it for my indie fiction reads. The final installment of my reading series is a wrap-up and my goals for 2020. Have you read any of these books? Do you have an indie author you’d recommend? Leave a comment!

1. All of these links are Amazon Affiliate links. You can, for the most part, find most of these works on all platforms or search them for yourself.

2. To Hit Armor Class 0 — Old school D&D players will know this term.