November 2025 Choose Your Own SciFi Nomination (Closed)

[SFFBC, Ancillary Mod]

Rules for Nominations


1. All members can make one nomination and one second. Members can not second their own nomination.

2. Nominations must be in the format [book link] by [author link] and should include a brief reason why the book is nominated for the theme.

3. Nominations must be books that are either first in a series or standalone, over 160 pages and not already on the group shelf.

4. Nominated books cannot be by authors we've read in the past 24 months (listed below).

5. Nominations may not include children's books or short fiction anthologies by multiple authors.

6. Authors may not nominate their own work.


Please note that specific themes may change one or more of the rules listed above.

At the end of nominations the 5 books with most seconds that meet the requirements will go into the poll. The polls will open on the first of the next month.

After each nomination period this thread will be closed and all further discussion about the nominated books will be on the poll. Before the start of the next month's nominations this thread will be cleared. The list of nominated books will be copied to a recommendations thread.

***The moderators' decision is final***

[SFFBC, Ancillary Mod]

Ways to find out if an author is already on the group shelf:

Search the Mod account's shelves
Look at the Group Bookshelf (sorted by author)
Look at the AuthorStats sheet of the Spreadsheet of group books

[SFFBC, Ancillary Mod]

This months theme is Choose Your Own! Please nominate (and second) the works of a new-to-shelf author.

Simples!

--

Nominations open tomorrow! (Friend the mod account to get an update.)

Less than 24h left to vote on this month's polls!

[SFFBC, Ancillary Mod]

Nominations are open!


Please nominate/second on the first line of your post
If the nomination/second is buried in a wall of chatter, it's hard to spot when tallying. Chatter is otherwise encouraged! :)

Make sure to include the word 'nominate' or 'second'
That's how we double check, by searching for those words.

If you switch your second, please also tell what you're switching from
So that we don't have to search the whole thread to see what you originally seconded.

Wait until the first tally is posted before you start seconding!
To give everyone a chance to nominate something :)

[Sarah]

I’m going to nominate The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard.

It’s a novel about the a town that borders itself, just twenty years in the future, in an endless repeating sequence. In the book the counseil is deciding which residents may cross the heavily guarded borders.

[Netanella]

I'm nominating Tanith Lee's The Silver Metal Lover



It is an amazing novel that simply belongs on the SFFBC bookshelves!

[Meredith]

I'll nominate The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older.

[Banshee]

I'll nominate Goldilocks by L.R. Lam.

To re-iterate the book blurb: the setting is the alternative near future where the global warming is reaching a critical point and the rights of women are getting progressively restricted. An all-female crew sets out to steal a spaceship and lead a mission to a possible habitable planet. It's been on my TBR since it was published in 2020.

[Ryan, Your favourite moderators favourite moderator]

I'm going to bang the drum for The Postman by David Brin once again.

It's an interesting read that would inspire a good conversation on VBC. Topics that come to mind being (view spoiler)[ nature v nurture, the affect that being observed (and judged) can have on a persons behaviour, faith, and the role women play in creating monstrous men (the most lol-some aspect of the book that is still worth discussing). (hide spoiler)]

[SFFBC, Ancillary Mod]

---

[Anthony]

I’ll nominate the Booker Prize-listed Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy, which is apparently a well-written cli-fi novel.

[Anthony]

I’ll second The Postman. I read it when it came out and was moved by it at the time. I’m curious to see how I’d feel about it 40 or so years later.

[Melanie, the neutral party]

I nominate The Crypt: Shakedown by Scott Sigler. It's a space horror that I found quite interesting.

[Sarah]

I’ll give my second to Migrations.

[Ellen]

I second Migrations.

[CJ]

I second Goldilocks

[Monica]

I second Goldilocks

[Banshee]

I'll second Migrations.

[Nicole]

I nominate Counterweight by Djuna. Sci-Fi thriller with dash of AI/cyberpunk thrown in to the mix

I second The Postman

[DivaDiane]

I’ll second Silver Metal Lover. Tanith Lee should really be on our shelf!!

[SFFBC, Ancillary Mod]

---

[Michelle]

I'll second The Postman.

[Roger]

I'll second The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard

This story plays with time in an intriguing way and I found myself pulled into the character's journey. A clever concept and a book I'm glad I read.

[Cheryl L]

I nominate We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. Nominated because it is a classic of dystopian scifi and preceded and influenced other classics in the genre.

[Melanie, the neutral party]

Roger wrote: "I'll nominate Strata by Terry Pratchett

I'll admit the reason I've nominated this is that it's on my 'to read list'. I want to see what his sci-fi take on a flat world w..."

Terry Pratchett is already on our group shelf.

[CBRetriever]

I second The Postman

[Hank]

I second The Other Valley

[Roger]

Melanie wrote: "Roger wrote: "I'll nominate Strata by Terry Pratchett

I'll admit the reason I've nominated this is that it's on my 'to read list'. I want to see what his sci-fi take on ..."

Ah yes. I missed the author check, I've deleted my post, and will try again!

[Kaia]

I second The Silver Metal Lover. I’ve never read anything by Tanith Lee, so this would be a good nudge.

[Roger]

I nominate Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky

Aliens drop by and leave 'junk' in contaminated 'zones'. Stalkers risk their lives seeking this junk to trade. Dark, yes, but fascinating concept.

[Cheryl L]

I second Roadside Picnic!

[SFFBC, Ancillary Mod]

---

[Silvana]

I second Counterweight

[AML]

I second Counterweight

[Kaladin]

I second Counterweight

[Anna]

Second for The Mimicking of Known Successes

[Meredith]

I'll second Goldilocks.

[Kaa]

Second Mimicking of Known Successes

[SFFBC, Ancillary Mod]

Top 5 with seconds make it to the poll
Nominations close on the 23rd

Nominated with seconds:

The Postman +4
Migrations +3
Counterweight +3
Goldilocks +3
The Other Valley +2

___
The Silver Metal Lover +2
The Mimicking of Known Successes +2
Roadside Picnic +1

Nominated:

The Crypt: Shakedown
We

[Melanie, the neutral party]

I will second Silver metal Lover