Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Dystopian

The 2025 Cygnus Semi-Finalists for Science Fiction
The Cygnus Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternative History, and Speculative Fiction. The Cygnus Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Science fiction is having a moment, and these incredible books prove it. From climate catastrophes to galactic adventures, from AI consciousness to time-bending mysteries, this year’s Cygnus List showcases the full spectrum of speculative imagination that authors are bringing to life.

Each of these authors is already winning with their books are now featured on our high-traffic website, shared across our social media, and promoted to our newsletter subscribers. But this is just the beginning of their CIBA journey.

These titles have moved forward from the 2025 CYGNUS Science Fiction Short List to the 2025 Cygnus Book Awards Semi-Finalists List. Finalists will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday April 18th, 2026 in beautiful Bellingham, WA at the Holiday Inn on Mitchell Way.

These titles are in the running for the Finalists of the 2025 Cygnus Book Awards novel competition for Science Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- A.T. Balsara – The Great and the Small
- AA Dasilva – The Bleed-Through Effect
- Aspry Jones – Protectors of the Light Crown
- B. Lynn Carter – The Eyes Have It
- Carrie Kwiatkowski – The Bindery Guild
- Celia Seupel – Girl with the Silver Hair
- Charles Weindorf – Comets of Omen the Presser Arc
- Claudia Leboeuf – Fields of Prosperis
- Corey Frazier – Orion Heavenfall
- James Azinheira – Alphamind the Collective Consciousness
- James R Wells – The Eternal Moment
- Kevin D. Miller – Taquoma
- Lawrence Brown – Black Phantom Dogs Book 1 Unrestricted Climb
- Lloyd Jeffries – Embers of Shadow Ages of Malice Book III
- Lou Dischler – In the Time of False Gods
- M. E. Schuman – The Catalyst
- Maxime Trencavel – The Matriarch Messiah
- Mickey Dubrow – Always Agnes
- Noah Kaplan – The Last Book. the Diary of the Last Earthling
- Pa Vasey – Homo Machina
- Philip Carlisle – Mellisya
- Q Turner – Blood Sacrifice
- Robert C Littlewood – Equilibrium (The Balance Wars Book 3)
- Russ Colson – The Vast Empty
- S.G. Blaise – Eldryan Elders
- Sarena Straus – DeInception
- Sean Kennedy – The Fire Within
- Spaulding Taylor – Last Star Standing
- Stephen Eric Johnson – The Man From Rock Bottom
- Tak Salmastyan – The Accelerates Forty Days To Dust
- Tim Rees – Tim Rees Original Earth
- Wilson Kincaid – The Murder Algorithm
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook, LinkedIn, and Bluesky pages. We try to tag all authors listed here on Facebook. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed @ChantiReviews.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE! We are @ChantiReviews everywhere!

We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

Congratulations once more to the 2024 Cygnus Grand Prize Winner

Ares

By Jayson Adams

Click here to see the full list of 2024 CYGNUS Book Award Winners for Science Fiction.

Ready to Submit?

Submissions for the 2026 Cygnus Awards and other Speculative Fiction Divisions are open now! For other genres, we still have 25 divisions open for the 2025 CIBAs! Whether you write mystery, romance, historical fiction, or something entirely different, there’s likely a perfect fit for your work.

Winners will be announced at the 2025 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2026 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 16-19, 2026! Save the Date for Registration!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our annual conference and discover why!
December 19, 2025
DARK SITE by Stephen Baker – Sci-fi, Dystopian, Conspiracy Thriller

In Dark Site by Stephen Baker, one of the most powerful computer chips ever created isn’t in the hands of a government agency or tech corporation—it’s embedded in the brain of 15-year-old Alissa Terwilliger.

The year is 2043, and the world is on the brink of making brain implants available to everyone. China has already launched the first, their Boost chip, and the US is testing its own Victory chip in Mexico.

Alissa’s grandfather, Win Cooper, uses his vast riches to make it possible for her to get the Chinese Boost chip implanted in her head. Why? Because she’s his granddaughter, and he claims he wants her among the privileged first to “make magic” with the chip. She’s dubious at first, but once the chip is there she explores all the different services and apps available to her.

Far from a trained operative, Alissa is a typical teenager navigating the everyday chaos of adolescence, such as school, her dog, and her shifting emotions. Yet she’s also fluent in the language of technology, capable of using her chip to access the minds of the most powerful people in the country.

Soon Alissa discovers that her downstairs neighbor, Nicole, also has a Boost chip in her head, placed there by the government to spy on the Chinese chip technology.

Nicole is the ex-girlfriend of Alissa’s father. Alissa makes contact with Nicole through their chips, but takes the connection a step further, secretly utilizing the “Shotgun” app to hear and see everything that Nicole does.

Nate, Alissa’s boyfriend, is sympathetic to the “Renegades,” a movement opposed to the chip implant. His Renegade cousin, Javier, was recently abducted by a drone and carried off to a “Dark Site” owned and operated by corporate powers.

The Boost chip in her head becomes the center of her life, as well as a tool for others to use her by accessing it.

Her romantic life with Nate and Nate’s cousin, Javier, prove far deadlier than she could have imagined—and not only to herself.

Win Cooper’s motives for getting Alissa the chip come into question when she wonders whether his intention was truly benign or if he had plans to make her a “mule” for gathering secrets.

Stephen Baker’s Dark Site is a gripping exploration of what happens when cutting-edge technology falls into the hands of someone too young to fully grasp its consequences.

It’s a fast-paced, thought-provoking thriller that blends the tension of a spy novel with the raw unpredictability of teenage rebellion, raising timely questions about privacy, responsibility, and the price of unchecked innovation. Through the lens of a teenage girl caught between adolescence and overwhelming power, Baker delivers a cautionary tale about surveillance and the dangers of technology evolving faster than our ability to manage it.

November 26, 2025
The 2025 Cygnus Short List for Science Fiction
The Cygnus Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternative History, and Speculative Fiction. The Cygnus Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Science fiction is having a moment, and these incredible books prove it. From climate catastrophes to galactic adventures, from AI consciousness to time-bending mysteries, this year’s Cygnus Long List showcases the full spectrum of speculative imagination that authors are bringing to life.

Each of these authors is already winning with their books are now featured on our high-traffic website, shared across our social media, and promoted to our newsletter subscribers. But this is just the beginning of their CIBA journey.

These titles have moved forward from the 2025 CYGNUS Science Fiction Long List to the 2025 Cygnus Book Awards Short List. These entries are now in competition for the 2025 Cygnus Semi-Finalists. Finalists will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday April 18th, 2026 in beautiful Bellingham, WA.

These titles are in the running for the Semi-Finalists of the 2025 Cygnus Book Awards novel competition for Science Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- A.T. Balsara – The Great and the Small
- AA Dasilva – The Bleed-Through Effect
- Aspry Jones – Protectors of the Light Crown
- Augustus Cileone – Galloper’s Quests
- B. Lynn Carter – The Eyes Have It
- Carrie Kwiatkowski – The Bindery Guild
- Celia Seupel – Girl with the Silver Hair
- Charles Weindorf – Comets of Omen the Presser Arc
- Chris Coward – Perpendicular Women: Adventures in the Multiverse
- Claudia Leboeuf – Fields of Prosperis
- Corey Frazier – Orion Heavenfall
- David M. Pearce – The Holovid Hero
- Deborah Mistina – Imber
- James Azinheira – Alphamind the Collective Consciousness
- James R Wells – The Eternal Moment
- Joanne Hatfield – Ghost of Nostalgia
- Joshua A.H. Harris – Eyes of Iris
- Joshua Dyer – Avitron Ephemeris
- Kevin D. Miller – Taquoma
- L. Galuppo – Eco Reign Warning the Barriers Burn
- L.R. O’Brien – Tomorrow Is the Day
- Lawrence Brown – Black Phantom Dogs Book 1 Unrestricted Climb
- Lloyd Jeffries – Embers of Shadow Ages of Malice Book III
- Lou Dischler – In the Time of False Gods
- Lynn Yvonne Moon – Journey’s Travels – Mirrors
- M. E. Schuman – The Catalyst
- Maxime Trencavel – The Matriarch Messiah
- Michael Gorton – Tachyon Tunnel 2: The Daklin Empire
- Michael W Hickman – Richard War Erupts
- Mickey Dubrow – Always Agnes
- Noah Kaplan – The Last Book. the Diary of the Last Earthling
- Pa Vasey – Homo Machina
- Philip Carlisle – Mellisya
- Q Turner – Blood Sacrifice
- Robert C Littlewood – Equilibrium (The Balance Wars Book 3)
- Russ Colson – A People Joined Asunder
- Russ Colson – Future’s Soul
- Russ Colson – The Vast Empty
- S. W. Lawrence Md – Cloud Dragon
- S.G. Blaise – Eldryan Elders
- Sarena Straus – DeInception
- Sean Kennedy – The Fire Within
- Spaulding Taylor – Last Star Standing
- Stephen A Salaka – Elysium Rising
- Stephen Eric Johnson – The Man From Rock Bottom
- Tak Salmastyan – The Accelerates Forty Days To Dust
- Thomas Lapham – Beyond the Signal
- Thomas Sundberg – Bending Light
- Tim Rees – Tim Rees Original Earth
- Wilson Kincaid – The Murder Algorithm
- Y S Pascal – The Zygan Emprise
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook, LinkedIn, and Bluesky pages. We try to tag all authors listed here on Facebook. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed @ChantiReviews.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE! We are @ChantiReviews everywhere!

We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

Congratulations once more to the 2024 Cygnus Grand Prize Winner

Ares

By Jayson Adams

Click here to see the full list of 2024 CYGNUS Book Award Winners for Science Fiction.

Ready to Submit?

Submissions for the 2026 Cygnus Awards and other Speculative Fiction Divisions are open now! For other genres, we still have 25 divisions open for the 2025 CIBAs! Whether you write mystery, romance, historical fiction, or something entirely different, there’s likely a perfect fit for your work.

Winners will be announced at the 2025 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2026 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 17-19, 2026! Save the Date for Registration!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our 14th annual conference and discover why!
August 21, 2025
The CYGNUS 2025 CIBAs Long List for Science Fiction
The Cygnus Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternative History, and Speculative Fiction. The Cygnus Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Science fiction is having a moment, and these incredible books prove it. From climate catastrophes to galactic adventures, from AI consciousness to time-bending mysteries, this year’s Cygnus Long List showcases the full spectrum of speculative imagination that authors are bringing to life.

Each of these authors is already winning with their books are now featured on our high-traffic website, shared across our social media, and promoted to our newsletter subscribers. But this is just the beginning of their CIBA journey.

These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2025 CYGNUS Science Fiction entries to the 2025 Cygnus Book Awards Long List. These entries are now in competition for the 2025 Cygnus Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. Finalists will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday April 18th, 2026 in beautiful Bellingham, WA.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2025 Cygnus Book Awards novel competition for Science Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- A.T. Balsara – The Great and the Small
- AA Dasilva – The Bleed-Through Effect
- Ansel Kohn – Betaterrestrial
- Aspry Jones – Protectors of the Light Crown
- Augustus Cileone – Galloper’s Quests
- B. Lynn Carter – The Eyes Have It
- Brett Lawrence – Shadow Seers
- Carrie Kwiatkowski – The Bindery Guild
- Celia Seupel – Girl with the Silver Hair
- Charles Weindorf – Comets of Omen the Presser Arc
- Chris Coward – Perpendicular Women: Adventures in the Multiverse
- Claudia Leboeuf – Fields of Prosperis
- Corey Frazier – Orion Heavenfall
- D.J. Darcey – Kingdoms and Empires Dark Rage
- David M. Pearce – The Holovid Hero
- David Tenenbaum – Survival Andromeda
- Deborah Mistina – Imber
- Dheepa R. Maturi – 108 an Eco-Thriller
- Georg Koszulinski – Future X
- Noah Kaplan – The Last Book. the Diary of the Last Earthling
- James Azinheira – Alphamind the Collective Consciousness
- James R Wells – The Eternal Moment
- Jeremy Clift – Space Vault the Seed Eclipse
- Joanne Hatfield – Ghost of Nostalgia
- Joshua A.H. Harris – Eyes of Iris
- Joshua Dyer – Avitron Ephemeris
- Kevin D. Miller – Taquoma
- L. Galuppo – Eco Reign Warning the Barriers Burn
- L.R. O’Brien – Tomorrow Is the Day
- Lawrence Brown – Black Phantom Dogs Book 1 Unrestricted Climb
- Lloyd Jeffries – Embers of Shadow Ages of Malice Book III
- Lou Dischler – In the Time of False Gods
- Lynn Yvonne Moon – Journey’s Travels – Mirrors
- M. E. Schuman – The Catalyst
- Matthew Marullo – Welcome To Opine
- Maxime Trencavel – The Matriarch Messiah
- Michael C Bland – The Price of Freedom
- Michael Gorton – Tachyon Tunnel 2: The Daklin Empire
- Michael Grigsby – Rescue in Time
- Michael W Hickman – Richard War Erupts
- Mickey Dubrow – Always Agnes
- Pa Vasey – Homo Machina
- Philip Carlisle – Mellisya
- Philroy A. Hinds – Humanity at Fault
- Q Turner – Blood Sacrifice
- Robert C Littlewood – Equilibrium (The Balance Wars Book 3)
- Russ Colson – A People Joined Asunder
- Russ Colson – Future’s Soul
- Russ Colson – The Vast Empty
- S. W. Lawrence Md – Cloud Dragon
- S.G. Blaise – Eldryan Elders
- Sarena Straus – DeInception
- Sean Kennedy – The Fire Within
- Spaulding Taylor – Last Star Standing
- Stephen A Salaka – Elysium Rising
- Stephen Eric Johnson – The Man From Rock Bottom
- Steve Sterling – Black Cliff Chronicles
- Tak Salmastyan – The Accelerates Forty Days To Dust
- Thomas Lapham – Beyond the Signal
- Thomas Sundberg – Bending Light
- Tim Rees – Tim Rees Original Earth
- Tom Mayer – Ithaca! The Warrior Queen of Aslon!
- William X. Adams – Attic Polters
- Wilson Kincaid – The Murder Algorithm
- Y S Pascal – The Zygan Emprise
- πnag Ual – How the World Gets Done
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook, LinkedIn, and Bluesky pages. We try to tag all authors listed here on Facebook. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed @ChantiReviews on these platforms.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE! We are @ChantiReviews everywhere!

We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

Congratulations once more to the 2024 Cygnus Grand Prize Winner

Ares

By Jayson Adams

Click here to see the full list of 2024 CYGNUS Book Award Winners for Science Fiction.

Ready to Submit?

Submissions for the 2026 Cygnus Awards and other Speculative Fiction Divisions are open now! For other genres, we still have 25 divisions open for the 2025 CIBAs! Whether you write mystery, romance, historical fiction, or something entirely different, there’s likely a perfect fit for your work.

Winners will be announced at the 2025 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2026 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 17-19, 2026! Save the Date for Registration!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our 14th annual conference and discover why!
July 15, 2025
THE SHADOW Of WAR: The Rise of Oceania Book 5 by Timothy S. Johnston – Climate Fiction, Sci-fi Thriller, Dystopian

In Timothy S. Johnston’s The Shadow of War, gripping personal, ecological, and political battles rage undersea for autonomy and power against the powerful surface nations. But even the ocean depths churn with betrayal, conflicting loyalties, and the ruthless ambitions of humanity.

This thriller opens on the dystopia of the year 2131, when rising sea levels have forced humanity to establish and inhabit underwater colonies. The fear of environmental collapse is heightened by the prospect of war as the colonies struggle to maintain their independence.

A simple scientific exploration of the Chagos trench by two geologist brothers takes a horrific turn, snapping the science fiction tension with the impact of gore horror. A slight touch by one brother on the hull of their Seacar causes his hand to suddenly dissolve into a strange mass, melting flesh away from bone. This opening foreshadows the enigmas and anomalies to be unravelled in a vast undersea mystery.

A few weeks later, Truman “Mac” McClusky, mayor of the underwater colony Triestes, must carefully balance between diplomacy and aggression.

As mayor and intelligence agency head, McClusky has to ensure the independence of Oceania, a coalition of undersea colonies, from the surface superpowers. Mac forges alliances among other undersea cities, including with the influential and charismatic Sahar Noor of Churchill Sands, and the trusted advisor Richard Lancombe. But Mac knows that, even with his underwater coalition, he’ll need true military power.

Mac knows of a peerless underwater weapon, one so robust as to alter the balance of power in favour of whoever holds it. He leads a group to acquire the various components of the weapon split across treacherous locations before they reach the wrong hands.

Covertly infiltrating enemy labs, the group confronts a myriad of unforeseen complications. Mac must constantly be vigilant of allies with ambiguous loyalties, such as Commodore Clarke. He weighs his duty to protect Oceania against the jeopardy his position brings to his loved ones, who become sabotage targets. With a questioning conscience about the moral complexities of rebellion constantly fighting with his pragmatic approach to war, will Mac and his group conquer the United States Submarine Fleet (USSF), French Submarine Fleet (FSF), and other oppressive forces working to take the liberty of the undersea world?

The Shadow of War is a stark reminder to humanity of the dire consequences of environmental degradation and unwavering human greed.

The undersea world, a haven for humanity, doesn’t take long to turn into a battlefield as the remnants of power-hungry aspirations resurface even in this submerged refuge. The story utilizes humanity’s destructive tendencies to make this electrifying thriller as intense as it is thought-provoking.

Johnston’s fast-paced prose fits perfectly in a high-stakes thriller, all the while balancing suspense and action with philosophical reflections. The ocean and the undersea world become a character in their own right, an embodiment of beauty, danger, and mystery, mirroring the psyches of the humans who live within them.

The Shadow of War caters to readers looking for political intrigue and dystopian science fiction with emotional depth, told through thrilling action. It’s an open door to a world beneath the waves, where survival is uncertain and the fate of nations rests on the bloody dream of a weapon.

The Shadow of War by Timothy S. Johnston won Grand Prize in the 2023 CIBA Cygnus Awards for Science Fiction.

January 17, 2025
The 2024 CYGNUS Awards Finalists for Science Fiction
The Cygnus Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternative History, and Speculative Fiction. The Cygnus Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring space, time travel, life on other planets, parallel universes, alternate reality, and all the science, technology, major social or environmental changes of the future that author imaginations can dream up for the CYGNUS Book Awards division. Hard Science Fiction, Soft Science Fiction, Apocalyptic Fiction, Cyberpunk, Time Travel, Genetic Modification, Aliens, Super Humans, Interplanetary Travel, Climate-Fiction, and Settlers on the Galactic Frontier, Dystopian, our judges from across North America and the U.K. will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward from the 2024 Cygnus Semi-Finalists to the FINALISTS. Finalists will be recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC25.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 5th, 2025 in Bellingham, WA at the beautiful Bellingham Yacht Club sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the FIRST PLACE AND GRAND PRIZE WINNERS of the 2024 Cygnus Book Awards novel competition for Science Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Timothy S. Johnston – A Blanket of Steel
- Janet Post – Vee: Shooting Star
- Neil V. Young – Children of the Stars
- Jeremy Clift – Born in Space: Unlocking Destiny
- Sean M. Tirman – Hounds of Gaia (The Marrower Saga, Book One)
- Don Stuart – Darwin’s Dilemma
- Sheri T. Joseph – Edge of the Known World
- Alexandru Czimbor – Sentience Hazard
- Peter Dingus – Deep Time
- Jaime Castle – Purgatory
- Jayson Adams – Ares
- A. R. Black – No Man’s Land
- John Be Lane – The Future Lies
- Aaron Arsenault – The Climate Diaries: Book One: The Academy
- Russell Klyford – Emergent Mars
- S.G. Blaise – Meddling Mages
- PJ Caldas – The Girl from Wudang
- Thomas Weaver – Artificial Wisdom
- Ellen Ricciutti – One Time or Another
- Shami Stovall – The Half-Life Empire
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us on Facebook.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

Congratulations once more to the 2023 Cygnus Grand Prize Winner

The Shadow of War

By Timothy S. Johnston

Click here to see the full list of 2023 CYGNUS Book Award Winners for Science Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 CYGNUS Book Awards for Science Fiction.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2024 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 3 – 6, 2025! Seating is Limited so Register Today!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our annual conference as we enter our second decade and discover why!
November 12, 2024
The Many Worlds of Ursula Le Guin: Celebrating the Legacy of a Literary Visionary on Her Birthday

The Master of Speculative Fiction

Ursula K. Le Guin is a Literary Magician

As the conjurer of complex, imaginative worlds, Ursula Le Guin is recognized as a literary titan of science fiction and fantasy. Spinning tales that examine the intricacies of familiar societal constructs within new and fantastic worlds is a magic that allowed Le Guin to explore new ways of imagining civilizations. It seems like a daunting task to take on, but Le Guin was born into a family primed for her questions. Last week was her birthday, and it’s never too late to support someone who was such a supporter of authors everywhere!

An Early Student of Society and Writing

Le Guin was born on October 21, 1929 in Berkeley, CA to anthropologist Alfred K. Le Guin and writer Theodora K. Le Guin. Brought up in a house filled with intellectual conversations and discussions about writing was the perfect combination she needed to fortify her vast imagination and endless curiosity and prompting her consideration of high-concept questions and new and innovative alternatives for the problems she witnessed in our own society. This placed Le Guin at the top of her class of speculative science fiction writers.

A Thoughtful Writer

Le Guin began her publishing journey in 1959 with a collection of eleven short stories, called Orsinian Tales. It was her first step into an imaginary world, writing about the fictional country of Orsinia and examining the right of the individual—sometimes alone, but often in conjunction with others—to his or her own thoughts and emotions, without society, or convention, or the State imposing restrictions. It was an auspicious start to her professional writing career, and established her as an author who was unafraid to explore the depths of philosophical and sociological themes.

Other notable works furthered that journey. The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) explored gender and sexuality through the lens of an alien culture, winning both the Hugo and Nebula awards. The Dispossessed (1974) is a thought-provoking exploration of anarchism and capitalism, and the beloved fantasy series, A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), examined coming-of-age themes and the nature of power.

Themes that Continue to Demand Exploration

The themes of identity, culture, and human nature are still issues that we mere humans grapple to understand. Through Le Guin’s richly developed worlds and complex characters, we come to understand perspectives we may not have thought about previously. Her speculative fiction provides a platform to critique our own societal norms and explore alternative ways of living.

Le Guin’s Legacy: A Monolith of Science Fiction and Societal Commentary

Upon Ursula Le Guin passing on January 22, 2028, she had established herself as a significant influence in both science fiction and feminist literature and inspired countless writers and thinkers to consider new societies. Her work has garnered numerous accolades, including the National Book Award, the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards, and she has left a profound literary legacy known for their depth and relevance in contemporary discussions on the important issues faced by civilizations.

Happy 95th birthday, Ursula Le Guin!

Born October 21, 1929 Berkeley, Calif. She entered the next dimension on January 22, 2018, Portland, Oregon.

Interested in exploring new worlds through today’s science fiction authors? We encourage you to dig into stories written by Chanticleer’s authors .

Unanimity
By Alexandra Almeida
First Place winner of CIBA Cygnus award

Alexandra Almeida probes the philosophical and ethical depths of wealth, technology, pop culture, and religion in a world ravaged by global warming through her sci-fi adventure,Unanimity: Spiral Worlds #1.

Readers will delight in the gradual reveal of both the technology within the story and the dramatic history between many of those involved with the creation and evolution of that technology.

Tom, a screenwriter, works with Harry, the genius inventor of the world’s most popular AI (artificial intelligence) app, to create a simulation that will nudge people toward acting morally.

Continue reading here…

The Last Lumenian
By S.G. Blaise
Cygnus Grand Prize Winner

Nineteen-year-old Lilla could have an idyllic life, but inThe Last Lumenianby S.G. Blaise, she comes face to face with a rebellion and their just cause.

Lilla’s father leads the Pax Septum Coalition, a nineteen-planet confederation. As a princess in her own right, she should be enjoying the status and wealth that comes from living on Uhna, the richest planet in the coalition due to the diamond mines found by her pirate ancestors centuries ago. She most definitely shouldn’t be worried about the rebellion brewing right under her father’s nose. However, when Lilla meets rebels in a refugee camp, she thinks she has found her destiny, a true purpose.

Continue reading here…

Terms of Service
By Craig W. Stanfill

“Terms of Service” are those cryptic notes that accompany computer devices and applications, spelling out their rules. The novel,Terms of Service,by Craig W. Stanfill, turns those notices into the foundation of a dystopian horror story where Artificial Intelligence (AI) controls virtually every aspect of human behavior.

Kim works for a giant AI corporation. It’s her task to train AI systems to interface with human beings, even as those systems make life difficult for the average person. AIs are not alive, not sentient, but they provide the precise terms of service under which every person in major metropolitan areas must live.

Continue reading here…

Elvia and the Gift of Passion
By Ruthy Ballard

Ruthy Ballard’s latest middle-grade novel,Elvia and the Gift of Passion,takes us to another planet in a distant galaxy. But the journey begins grounded on Earth.

Elvia lives a dull-as-dishwater life with her boring parents, Sally and Earl Hill. She dreams of living in Tanzania (or on Mars) after a DNA test reveals she is 99.1% Zulu, with a dash of Irish to explain her red hair.

When her mother wins a safari in a work raffle, Elvia’s dreams start to materialize. As the stubborn and dissatisfied daughter of two overprotective parents, Elvia does what any child in her situation would do; she ditches them. In the meantime, her parents try to fit in some relaxation and see the sights without their daughter.

This trip becomes far stranger than Elvia could have imagined.

Continue reading here…

Stone: Rhone and Stone Series, Book One
Strider S.R. Klusman

Award-winning author, Strider S. R. Klusman’s Stone: Rhone and Stone Series, Book One is set in the high desert outside of the dusty town of Skragmoore.

With all the trappings of a western, he draws us into the Badlands and takes us on a merry and hair rising journey through lake strewn caves and the dusty little town of Skragmoore. This YA adventure will have readers riveted in place to find out what happens next.

Rhone has survived alone in the wilderness since his mother’s death, but he has learned to thrive and spends more and more time out of doors under the open sky than at home in his old, dilapidated house. So, when he hears a voice, and no one else is there, he is confused to say the least. Where is the voice coming from and why won’t it shut up?

Continue reading here…

Thank you for joining us in celebrating the science fiction visionary, Ursula Le Guin!

Do you have a book that deserves to be discovered? You can always submit your book for an Editorial Review with Chanticleer!Chanticleer Editorial Review Packages are optimized to maximize your digital footprint. Reviews are one of the most powerful tools available to authors to help sell and market their books. Find out what all the buzz is about here.

Is your book an Award Winner?

Submitting to Book Awards is a great way to get your book discovered! Anytime you advance in the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards, your name and book are promoted right here on our website, through our newsletter, and across social media. One of the best ways to engage in long tail marketing!

Three Amazing Speculative Divisions are ready for your work!

Thank you again to the authors who wrote these wonderful books, and to Ursula Le Guin, who inspired so many to pick up the pen!

or(s):

November 1, 2024
The 2024 CYGNUS Awards Semi-Finalists for Science Fiction
The Cygnus Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternative History, and Speculative Fiction. The Cygnus Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring space, time travel, life on other planets, parallel universes, alternate reality, and all the science, technology, major social or environmental changes of the future that author imaginations can dream up for the CYGNUS Book Awards division. Hard Science Fiction, Soft Science Fiction, Apocalyptic Fiction, Cyberpunk, Time Travel, Genetic Modification, Aliens, Super Humans, Interplanetary Travel, Climate-Fiction, and Settlers on the Galactic Frontier, Dystopian, our judges from across North America and the U.K. will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward from the 2024 Cygnus Short List to the SEMI-FINALISTS. Finalists will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC25.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 5th, 2025 in beautiful Bellingham, WA at the Four Points by Sheraton sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2024 Cygnus Book Awards novel competition for Science Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Timothy S. Johnston – A Blanket of Steel
- Daniel Lawrence Abrams – Immortality Bytes: Digital Minds Don’t Get Hungry
- Janet Post – Vee: Shooting Star
- Joseph Anderson – Eden 2b
- Neil V. Young – Children of the Stars
- Jeremy Clift – Born in Space: Unlocking Destiny
- Derek Wachter – The Dark Side of the Moon
- Mark Sabbas – The Monarchs
- Sean M. Tirman – Hounds of Gaia (The Marrower Saga, Book One)
- Don Stuart – Darwin’s Dilemma
- Sheri T. Joseph – Edge of the Known World
- Alexandru Czimbor – Sentience Hazard
- Peter Dingus – Deep Time
- Jaime Castle – Purgatory
- Alexander Boldizar – The Man Who Saw Seconds
- Jayson Adams – Ares
- A. R. Black – No Man’s Land
- Jude Berman – The Die
- John Be Lane – The Future Lies
- Aaron Arsenault – The Climate Diaries: Book One: The Academy
- Russell Klyford – Emergent Mars
- S.G. Blaise – Meddling Mages
- PJ Caldas – The Girl from Wudang
- Thomas Weaver – Artificial Wisdom
- Ellen Ricciutti – One Time or Another
- Shami Stovall – The Half-Life Empire
- Lynn Yvonne Moon – Journey’s Travels – Mirrors
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us on Facebook.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

Congratulations once more to the 2023 Cygnus Grand Prize Winner

The Shadow of War

By Timothy S. Johnston

Click here to see the full list of 2023 CYGNUS Book Award Winners for Science Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 CYGNUS Book Awards for Science Fiction.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2024 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 3 – 6, 2025! Save the Date for Registration!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our annual conference as we enter our second decade and discover why!
September 3, 2024
The 2024 CYGNUS Awards Short List for Science Fiction
The Cygnus Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternative History, and Speculative Fiction. The Cygnus Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring space, time travel, life on other planets, parallel universes, alternate reality, and all the science, technology, major social or environmental changes of the future that author imaginations can dream up for the CYGNUS Book Awards division. Hard Science Fiction, Soft Science Fiction, Apocalyptic Fiction, Cyberpunk, Time Travel, Genetic Modification, Aliens, Super Humans, Interplanetary Travel, Climate-Fiction, and Settlers on the Galactic Frontier, Dystopian, our judges from across North America and the U.K. will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward from the 2024 Cygnus Long List to the SHORT LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2024 Cygnus Semi-Finalists List. Finalists will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC25.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 5th, 2025 in beautiful Bellingham, WA at the Four Points by Sheraton sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2024 Cygnus Book Awards novel competition for Science Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Timothy S. Johnston – A Blanket of Steel
- Daniel Lawrence Abrams – Immortality Bytes: Digital Minds Don’t Get Hungry
- Janet Post – Vee: Shooting Star
- Joseph Anderson – Eden 2b
- Neil V. Young – Children of the Stars
- David T. Isaak – Tomorrowville
- D. L. Wilburn Jr. – The God Protocol: Judgment
- Jeremy Clift – Born in Space: Unlocking Destiny
- C.P. Schaefer – Western Lights
- Derek Wachter – The Dark Side of the Moon
- Mark Sabbas – The Monarchs
- Sean M. Tirman – Hounds of Gaia (The Marrower Saga, Book One)
- Don Stuart – Darwin’s Dilemma
- Sheri T. Joseph – Edge of the Known World
- Alexandru Czimbor – Sentience Hazard
- Peter Dingus – Deep Time
- Jaime Castle – Purgatory
- Alexander Boldizar – The Man Who Saw Seconds
- Zach Fortier – Volk’s Bane
- I.D. Marie – The Tyrant’s Daughter
- Jayson Adams – Ares
- A. R. Black – No Man’s Land
- Nina Munteanu – Thalweg
- Jude Berman – The Die
- John Be Lane – The Future Lies
- Aaron Arsenault – The Climate Diaries: Book One: The Academy
- Russell Klyford – Emergent Mars
- Liz Cummings – Down the Rabbit Hole
- Michael A. Richards – FounderLand
- S.G. Blaise – Meddling Mages
- PJ Caldas – The Girl from Wudang
- Thomas Weaver – Artificial Wisdom
- Ellen Ricciutti – One Time or Another
- Shami Stovall – The Half-Life Empire
- Lynn Yvonne Moon – Journey’s Travels – Mirrors
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us on Facebook.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

Congratulations once more to the 2023 Cygnus Grand Prize Winner

The Shadow of War

By Timothy S. Johnston

Click here to see the full list of 2023 CYGNUS Book Award Winners for Science Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 CYGNUS Book Awards for Science Fiction.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2024 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 3 – 6, 2025! Save the Date for Registration!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our annual conference as we enter our second decade and discover why!
August 15, 2024
The CYGNUS 2024 CIBAs Long List for Science Fiction
The Cygnus Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternative History, and Speculative Fiction. The Cygnus Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring space, time travel, life on other planets, parallel universes, alternate reality, and all the science, technology, major social or environmental changes of the future that author imaginations can dream up for the CYGNUS Book Awards division. Hard Science Fiction, Soft Science Fiction, Apocalyptic Fiction, Cyberpunk, Time Travel, Genetic Modification, Aliens, Super Humans, Interplanetary Travel, Climate-Fiction, and Settlers on the Galactic Frontier, Dystopian, our judges from across North America and the U.K. will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2024 CYGNUS Science Fiction entries to the 2024 Cygnus Book Awards LONG LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2024 Cygnus Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. FINALISTS will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC25.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 5th, 2025 in beautiful Bellingham, WA at the Four Points by Sheraton sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2024 Cygnus Book Awards novel competition for Science Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Timothy S. Johnston – A Blanket of Steel
- Daniel Lawrence Abrams – Immortality Bytes: Digital Minds Don’t Get Hungry
- Janet Post – Vee: Shooting Star
- Chris Rasmussen – Upstream
- Joseph Anderson – Eden 2b
- Neil V. Young – Children of the Stars
- David T. Isaak – Tomorrowville
- Rod Galindo – Distress Call
- D. L. Wilburn Jr. – The God Protocol: Judgment
- Jeremy Clift – Born in Space: Unlocking Destiny
- C.P. Schaefer – Western Lights
- Derek Wachter – The Dark Side of the Moon
- Mark Sabbas – The Monarchs
- Sean M. Tirman – Hounds of Gaia (The Marrower Saga, Book One)
- Don Stuart – Darwin’s Dilemma
- Sheri T. Joseph – Edge of the Known World
- Alexandru Czimbor – Sentience Hazard
- Peter Dingus – Deep Time
- Jaime Castle – Purgatory
- Alexander Boldizar – The Man Who Saw Seconds
- Zach Fortier – Volk’s Bane
- I.D. Marie – The Tyrant’s Daughter
- Jayson Adams – Ares
- Laurie Stevens – The Return
- Marc Corwin – The Lasso Unravels: When All Hell Breaks Loose
- A. R. Black – No Man’s Land
- Nina Munteanu – Thalweg
- Jude Berman – The Die
- John Be Lane – The Future Lies
- Aaron Arsenault – The Climate Diaries: Book One: The Academy
- Russell Klyford – Emergent Mars
- Liz Cummings – Down the Rabbit Hole
- Michael A. Richards – FounderLand
- S.G. Blaise – Meddling Mages
- PJ Caldas – The Girl from Wudang
- Thomas Weaver – Artificial Wisdom
- Ellen Ricciutti – One Time or Another
- Shami Stovall – The Half-Life Empire
- Lynn Yvonne Moon – Journey’s Travels – Mirrors
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us on Facebook.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

Congratulations once more to the 2023 Cygnus Grand Prize Winner

The Shadow of War

By Timothy S. Johnston

Click here to see the full list of 2023 CYGNUS Book Award Winners for Science Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 CYGNUS Book Awards for Science Fiction.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2024 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 3 – 6, 2025! Save the Date for Registration!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our annual conference as we enter our second decade and discover why!
July 28, 2024