Anyone interested in beta-reading a half-finished SF novel?
Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2026 4:47 am
I've mentioned that I'm trying to write a novel here or there on the ZBB. It's now perhaps a bit more than half done - well, the current draft is - at about 27,000 words and three out of six of the weeks during which the story is supposed to happen.
It's science fiction, but perhaps a bit unusual in that regard. It's not dystopian, at least IMNSHO, though people with very different political views than mine might see it as dystopian. And, it's not very action oriented. What I have so far is mainly dialogues and internal monologues. You've been warned.
Politically, I think it's rather left-wing, and some people might agree, but dyed-in-the-wool left-wingers might argue that it's not left-wing at all.
The basic idea is to combine three things that are each well-established tropes in their own right, but where I'm not sure how often they've been combined in this form: first, a sort-of more-or-less socialist sort-of more-or-less Utopian future, second, first contact between humans and aliens (as in, the contacted aliens are the first contacted alien species), and third, a coming-of-age story. And the main emphasis is on the third part.
Problem is, at the moment, I'm not really ready yet to just put it out there. So, if you're interested, say so, in this thread or by PM, and I'll PM you links to the document and places to comment on it. (Proton Docs. No membership needed.)
I reserve the right to reject requests if, frankly, I've got the impression that I don't trust you enough.
If anyone does this, please don't discuss details of the work in this thread or anywhere else in public.
Thank you.
It's science fiction, but perhaps a bit unusual in that regard. It's not dystopian, at least IMNSHO, though people with very different political views than mine might see it as dystopian. And, it's not very action oriented. What I have so far is mainly dialogues and internal monologues. You've been warned.
Politically, I think it's rather left-wing, and some people might agree, but dyed-in-the-wool left-wingers might argue that it's not left-wing at all.
The basic idea is to combine three things that are each well-established tropes in their own right, but where I'm not sure how often they've been combined in this form: first, a sort-of more-or-less socialist sort-of more-or-less Utopian future, second, first contact between humans and aliens (as in, the contacted aliens are the first contacted alien species), and third, a coming-of-age story. And the main emphasis is on the third part.
Problem is, at the moment, I'm not really ready yet to just put it out there. So, if you're interested, say so, in this thread or by PM, and I'll PM you links to the document and places to comment on it. (Proton Docs. No membership needed.)
I reserve the right to reject requests if, frankly, I've got the impression that I don't trust you enough.
If anyone does this, please don't discuss details of the work in this thread or anywhere else in public.
Thank you.