Indie Recommends Indie: Drew Harrison

Hello friend. Happy Friday! For the last Indie Recommends Indie feature of the year, I am happy to bring back a familiar face: author Drew Harrison who shared about his SciFi short stories collection, Early Adopter, with us some months back. Featuring primarily indie SciFi, here are 6 books for your consideration. Let’s dive in! 🙂

Welcome back to Armed with A Book, Drew! Please tell me and my readers about yourself!

Hey there, Kriti—it’s great to be back on this blog! I’m yet another example of that classic teacher–writer combo… when I’m not working with students on calculus or comma rules, I’m usually brainstorming my next book idea. I like to write fiction with a thoughtful bend—stuff that (hopefully) makes readers pause and think about something they’ve never considered before. I find that my background in education also shapes my work; if I’ve done my job right, you’ve hopefully learned about something new without even realizing you’ve learned anything at all! Science fiction is my recent fixation, but I’ve been feeling the temptation to try branching out into epic fantasy—or even romantasy??? (but don’t tell anyone)

Do you primarily read indie books or big publishers books as well?

If I had to guess, it might be 80% traditional publishing for me, and a modest 20% for indie titles. There’s just so much great stuff out there to read, and while I do have faith in indie lit—I’m an indie author, after all—the fact remains that there’s always a bit more risk when it comes to indie titles. Reading the KDP publishing catalogue can feel like searching for diamonds in the rough (and it’s always a delight when you find one!) but sometimes, I just want a guaranteed good read.

The most memorable indie titles I’ve read won’t even be listed below, but it’s for a good reason: they’re not published yet! I’ve always found it so rewarding and fulfilling to do manuscript swaps with other indie authors. The concept is simple: I send a draft of one of my books, and in exchange I receive an incomplete draft of another author’s work. We then provide feedback to each other on what’s working well and what could use extra attention in future revisions! 

Some of the stories I’ve read in those swaps have literally changed the way I approach writing. A small handful have gone on to be published, but most haven’t… authors are always tooling at their favorite projects until they’re perfect. It’s always a bit sad to hear that a story I loved was later scrapped by the author entirely and reshaped into a different book… and yet, in a way, I also feel lucky to have seen that story for the brief window of time it existed. It’s like a literary mandala that I got to see before the creator rubbed the sand away!

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Drew’s Indie Recommendations

This novel is a *lot* in all the best of ways.

It’s rare to read something that feels simultaneously so ambitious and so well-realized. Nearly every aspect of Mendel’s Ladder is a triumph: the pacing is lightning-quick and binge-readable; the writing itself is sophisticated, haunting, and utterly compelling; the characters are interesting; there’s philosophical meat on these half-fungal bones. The world Fein has created has all the harrowing emptiness that made me fall in love with the ‘Dark Souls’ franchise; the pages practically ooze with implied lore, storied history, and audacious, fascinating detail.

I’ve read books where you could rip out a chapter, glue it into another novel, and a reader might not be any the wiser–so many books draw from the same tropes / have worlds that are built out the exact same way. Mendel’s Ladder is so drenched in its own heavy mythos that even a single sentence from its length could barely work in any other book, and that’s something I cannot praise enough. By the end of chapter one, I was fully convinced that I (and the story itself) was in great hands–and as the pages blurred by on my kindle, Mendel’s Ladder quickly earned a place as one of my favorite indie titles I’ve read.

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A Dream of Waking Life is a captivating, relentless journey through the labyrinth of dreams and perhaps an intimate handshake with psychosis itself. Based on the foreword, author E.S. Fein has clearly poured a lot of himself into this story, and after finishing it, not only do I feel like I’ve met Fein in the flesh, but I also experience an aftertaste of introspection that reminds me of my own distant experiences with psychedelic substances. With deft authorly skill, Fein weaves a fever-dream of intrigue, but be warned: this isn’t your typical linear narrative, and for some readers, a story this complex might be a tough, red-colored pill to swallow.

If you’re a fan of mind-bending plots and layers upon layers of reality, this book delivers–and to be honest, I’ve seen other reviews mention Inception in comparisons, but Inception is the kiddie pool compared to this story’s bottomless ocean. The dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream structure keeps you guessing, and just when you think you understand the rules to Matt’s world(s), things somehow once again escalate in ways that are sometimes bizarre, but always compelling. Yes, the constant “it was all a dream” moments can be repetitive, and sometimes the plot’s sudden right turns felt improvised by the author–but all told, the incoherency is strangely a strength. It reminds me of my most vivid dreams: barely held together by strings of logic, but entirely visceral, emotional, and sometimes, harrowing.

Part tragic romance, part psychological thriller, part drugs PSA, part metaphysical exploration, “A Dream of Waking Life” is a story that wears many hats through many Matts. It’s a story that will make you think–and though the thoughts it inspires aren’t always the most comforting, they’re important bits of self-reflection, making us ponder where we stand in a world we can never absolutely know. It’s for those reasons that, despite its absolutely relentless disorientation and the extended bad vibes of a bad trip, this was still a (somehow) enjoyable read.

I’d also like to add a note that the audiobook’s performer, Betty Bat, did an amazing job capturing the emotional heart of an incredibly demanding story–and considering the custom music, the wide cast of voices, the vocal effects, and even the auditory drug trips, the overall production value of the audiobook is truly exceptional. I liked her read so much that I immediately hired her for my next audiobook project—more on that at the end of this IRI post!

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Good science fiction isn’t simply about the technology, the exciting advancements, the world of the future… Good sci-fi is as much (if not more) about shining a light on humanity through the lens of that technology–to learn about the creators by the things they create. With that primary aim, Youtopia exceeded all of my expectations. This is compelling, thought-provoking sci-fi with an enjoyable/twisty plot, a sympathetic protagonist, and a fascinating world that feels lived-in and authentic thanks to well-thought-out small details that give the world consistency and breadth.

The premise is simple: breakthrough advancements in tech straddling the line between VR and neuroscience allows “immersers” to retreat to a virtual, personalized paradise, living the rest of their days in a simulated daydream. It would be easy to veer towards the cliche with a setup like that, but Rein’s world is given surprising depth. I particularly liked the written interludes/diatribes from in-world characters (in the forms of published articles), which were surprisingly rich with character philosophy and highlighted some seriously good writing.

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Fans of Futurama should find the irreverent, off-beat future familiar (in the best kind of way). Through the interconnected stories of Japanese Robots Love to Dance, Treiber creates a future that feels both parody and plausible all at once. The cast of characters is as varied in personalities as it is in metal alloys–and through the book’s various vignettes, Treiber delivers occasionally poignant moments interspersed between the fun antics. The prose is without flourish, yet effective enough to tell the story well. Sometimes, showy/sophisticated writing can get in the way of the story–Treiber’s prose is transparent, which makes for super light reading!

For people who enjoy scifi–but tire of the mopey and pessimistic tone that sometimes colors the genre—Japanese Robots Love to Dance is a welcome reprieve! Enjoy it before your optical lenses are repossessed by the company that owns the copyright to your visual processor.

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To call this an ambitious story would be an understatement: at its core, this is a story about the meeting of cultures, and each of the story’s cultures have been dutifully sculpted for the reader with wondrous, meticulous detail. Over the course of the story, readers will have to stay atop an ever-growing vocab list: Waapils, Moundbuilders, cradles, Best Practices. There’s names long enough to make your eyes spin, and cultural practices / attitudes unique to each of the story’s factions.

But this is not meticulous detail for the sake of being detailed–nearly every single fact introduced by the story holds significance later on. It’s this aspect that really drove home just how well-written this story is… what seems like throwaway detail at the time often ripples back by the story’s end.

The World’s Other Side didn’t have a slow start, per se, but readers who are used to sudden conflict and instant stakes may find the beginning a bit dense. The conflict is inter- and intracultural more than physical at first, but that cross-culture friction is so thoughtfully contrived that it’s a delight to read. Character perspective chapters are steeped in their worldviews–the things they emphasize, the things they note. The early acts of the novel are almost ethnographic, but for fans of the social sciences, it’s compelling because of that detail.

The cultural friction blossoms into full-fledged violence by the end in an action climax that should thrill.

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This story is meant to be a continuation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. 

I listened to the audiobook for this title–more a radio play, in appropriate homage to the source material–and found it to be an unexpected delight!

The ambitious production had a lot of elements to it, and nearly all of them landed well: the text itself, written in a mostly-tone-matching Wells style, was well read and acted by the talented narrator; the sound effects were of high quality and helped to accentuate dramatic moments in the story; the music provided great additional flavor to the scenes–and I was very impressed to learn that it was composed by the author of the text! My only complaint for the entire production was that I felt like a few of the music tracks for the earliest chapters felt tonally mismatched for the rising action. Very quickly, though, the music shifts to something that (in this listener’s opinion) is more fitting for the story–so anyone else turned off by those earliest track choices, keep listening!

There’s a completed, little plot within this lightning-quick audiobook, but it’s also clearly just the opening act of a larger story. It doesn’t have much in the way of depth, but I’m not sure that genuine depth is achievable in so brief a runtime. In sum, readers who want a single-afternoon audiobook that is well-written, well-read, and rich with sound effects and music should give this one a shot!

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Find it on Goodreads, IndieStoryGeek and Amazon.

Anyone who enjoys thoughtful sci-fi, even if the outlook isn’t particularly sunny, should find plenty to enjoy in Early Adopter. The collection should appeal to fans of Black Mirror—and, while I always hate to compare myself favorably to genre greats,readers in their reviews have likened this collection to sci-fi anthologies from the likes of Ted Chiang, Frederick Pohl, Larry Niven, and William Gibson.

I’d also like to mention that, as alluded to in my review above for A Dream of Waking Life, I was so impressed by the narrator’s performance of that story that I immediately had to hire her to help me produce an audiobook for this collection. I think I sent my query to her website within ten minutes of finishing that novel’s audiobook! 

Betty BAT, a relative newcomer to the audiobook space, shines in her read of half the collection’s stories. James Langton, an award-winning veteran of narration whose credits include “Dark Age” by Pierce Brown and a trilogy of Robin Hobb novels, rounds out the narration by lending his voice to the other half of the stories. Anyone who enjoys listening to science fiction can check out its listing below!

Audible Link

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Read an excerpt from Early Adopter. Connect with Drew’s on his website.

Thanks for hanging out with us today! Did you add any books to your TBR today based on this post or did you see any you have already read? Tell us in the comments!

If you are an indie or small press author who is an avid reader and wants to be featured, connect with me social media or express your interest through my contact form. This is a fantastic way to bring attention to fellow indie authors as well as your own book. 🙂