16 Comments

Here's a recommendation for you, prompted by your mention that your book is partly about the techno-optimist belief in innovation at all costs. It's the text of a speech by Maciej Ceglowski and it is the best thing that I've ever read on the internet.

https://idlewords.com/talks/web_design_first_100_years.htm

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Have you read Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler?

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I recognize the author's name, but I haven't read the book. I'm assuming you'd recommend it?

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Yes, it’s a dystopian sci fi with religious elements. So good!

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Book: Elon by Walter Isaacson

I listened to the audio version on Libby.

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I cannot wait to read this Amelia ❤️ please keep us updated!

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I've heard great things from two different and thoughtful readers about "The Book of the New Sun," by Gene Wolfe. For now I still haven't read it. It's apparently a Christ-infused (or Christ-haunted?) science fiction-fantasy novel at a high level and with a great style.

Also, welcome to the novel-in-progress club! I'm glad you're reading around the text as you write it, since that makes the whole process much more fun in the longer term.

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Sounds fascinating! No recommendations, sorry.

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Sounds amazing! I recommend The Literary Life podcast. Angelina Stanford is a terrific source for how to read fairy tales. They have a series where they do a close reading of the Space Trilogy that might give you more insight.

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Sweet! This is new to me.

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Love this concept! Looking forward to reading it one day. I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but I'll let you know if any research materials come to mind.

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ohh this looks excellent! I am also working on a Little Mermaid retelling that is the second in a series of books, but it's very different from yours.

Since you asked for recs, I have a friend that wrote a short fun story that is a retelling of the Little Mermaid mixed with Moby Dick. This is her book:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34672816-the-last-will-and-testament-of-captain-nemo

Also this book -- a retelling of another myth -- is great. I like many of this author's other books, too.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/180558896-coiled

The only sci-fi fairy tales I can think of at the top of my head are the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyers -- fantastic YA novels if you haven't already read them!

One more suggestion! This writer's Facebook group started out as a Christian Speculative fiction group. They host yearly conferences and publish a lot of really cool Indie fiction. It's not exclusively Christian anymore, but a lot of good books still come from them. If you post about your novel on the FB group asking for comparable titles, you'll probably get a whole bunch of recommendations.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1028199013886617

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OH! Comps are so valuable. I don't have FB anymore, but I may try to create a new account for the purpose of joining this.

On the topic of fairytale retellings, have you read the middle grade books by Shannon Hale? The Goose Girl, Princess Academy, etc? I LOVED those as a kid.

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I haven't read those books, but I have them on my shelves and have been wanting to read them for years!!

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Oooooh this is going to be an epic book. I look forward to it, Amelia!

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Thank you, Nadia! I thought you would like the concept. Hope you are doing well 💕

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