Nov 2025 BOTM: Post your nominations

[Steve]

Post your nominees in this thread for the November 2025 Book of the Month.

We’ll do two polls, and have two selections for BOTM. I have two separate themes:
- Your TBR: A book from your techno-thriller To Be Read list.
- Something New: A techno-thriller that is not old, something within the last 10 years.

All nominees:
- must be a techno-thriller
- must not be your own book
- must have at least 1,000 ratings, or be by a well-known author defined as having prior techno-thriller books with 100,000+ ratings.

I don’t always impose a “theme” for BOTM. I’m in a bit of a phase here, wanting two selections a month, that are fairly distinct from each other, so there are alternatives to participate with the group. I almost always read both. I do always start both.

I’ll go to a poll as soon as one of the list has enough nominations. We’ll just do one poll on one category/theme at a time, not two at the same time. So you have some time to post your book nominees at least on one of the themes. First come first serve. If more than 5 people nominate, I take the first book (that fits the criteria) from the first five people. If less than 5 people nominate, I take the second nominee from the first person, and so on. Sometimes, no one else nominates a book, so all nominees ended up being mine. I prefer it to be a group effort. Please feel free to suggest books for the group. Please identify which theme or category you are nominating the book for, if it isn’t obvious from the title.

We’re not voting on our favorites and not what we’ve already read. Sometimes I’ll nominate books I’ve already read, but the vote is different. We always vote only for the book we actually want to read, or re-read, for the month. We want actually participation. If you just want to vote for favorites, vote on the Listopia book lists instead for that urge.

[Steve]

Something New:
The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield (2021)


A space thriller from an actual astronaut. A new member Jeff said this was a favorite last month.

[Steve]

From the TBR:
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (1992)

[Steve]

Something New:
Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks (2020)


He had me at Sasquatch. Sounds entertaining.

[Steve]

From the TBR:
Ubik by Philip K. Dick (1969)


One of the best from one of the best in sci-fi. Is this really a technothriller? Don’t know.

[Steve]

From the TBR:
Pines by Blake Crouch (2012)


Crouch has delivered some consistent thrillers in the last decade. About an FBI agent that finds himself seemingly trapped in a small town in the woods.

[Steve]

Something New;
The End of October by Lawrence Wright (2020)


Fitting BOTM for November? A pandemic thriller he published in April 2020 … which he must have finished and been in editing/publish phase right as a real pandemic began to emerge.

[Steve]

Something New:
Aggressor by F.X. Holden (2023)


I’m here to tell you this series is the best thing going in techno-thrillers right now. This is book is #1 in the series. I’ve read it. I won’t vote for it myself. I’m on #5 right now. But, the group may be interested. It’s up there with Tom Clancy. Many authors make claims they are that good. This guy did not. I am. It is the only one I’ve found to be as good or better than Clancy (what?! yup, that just happened). It’s about China trying to take Taiwan by interesting means, which triggers a massive war. On its own, it’s a good book. As a series, it’s great reading. Having read 66 books so far this year, this series easily all of the top 5 books.

[Steve]

Something New:
Crtitical Mass by Daniel Suarez (2023)


Sequel to Delta-V which was about a billionaire launching the first mission to go asteroid mining for profit.

[Steve]

I went to a poll on the "Something New" theme, so feel free to vote on that on the Polls page, or the bottom of the main page, but you can still nominate books for the "From Your TBR" theme. We'll do that poll next week.