The first round of the Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship (SFINCS) is drawing to a close, and it’s time to present our semi-finalist. Over the last few months, our team has read and considered nineteen different books, and we’ve whittled them down to five that we want to forward to round two.
In this case, “we” refers to Team TBR, and you can find out more about us and the books we read in the first round here.
Starting today, we’ll share one of our semi-finalists each day, in no particular order, until all five have been revealed. Reviews are not required in this round, but each book needs to be read and rated by at least two team members. Our semi finalists were all read by at least three team members:
Now, without further ado, here we go!
Semi-Finalist: Monday
The Drowned Heir, by Jennifer R. Donohue
From our reviews:
Lilly
I ended up finishing the second half in one sitting and probably could have read the whole thing in one go if it weren’t for the horrors of my daily responsibilities.
Sue
I found the struggle between two family members who loved one another in life compelling; their acceptance of their inevitable situation and their determination not to let go of their control was fantastically brought to life by Donohue’s fabulous writing.
Nils
The Drowned Heir is an exceptionally well told story, about unusual circumstances and strange occurrences that feel rather normal unless you stop to think about it.
Book Description
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 her uncle’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.
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