Papyrus

How pompous! Anyway…

I’ve decided that I will give an annual award for the best independent fiction I’ve read each year. The award itself means nothing more than showing up in a post on my site. But the whole point of this site is to allow independent authors gain just that little bit more exposure, so for what it’s worth…

The awards this year should be the only time that the possible winners won’t all appear as a review as the site only started in July 2011.

So without further ado, the winner of the 2011 Papyrus Independent Fiction Award is:

The Door to the Sky – by David Michael

 David Michael very quickly became an indie author to watch for me. I first encountered his writing when I picked up The Summoning Fire in early 2011. It was a great book (4 stars) and left me on the look-out for the next novel to come out. In April 2011 I stumbled across The Door to the Sky and made a rather greedy grab for it.

The Door to the Sky is not a particularly easy read at the start. There are many confusing scenes and I was a bit lost a few chapters in. However, many disparate events gradually make sense as the author fleshes out the timeline (and realities). In the end, I found that I was still having a blast even when reading the final paragraph. I would label it Science Fiction/Fantasy.

Here are some of the comments I made after reading it:

I would not describe this book necessarily as a strong linear storyline. I would not state that the characters were beautifully vivid for me. I would, however, describe this book as a work of art; a series of impressions creating an overall picture – a Renoir of print.

For those who intend to read it, I strongly suggest not contemplating anything until the very end where one can stand on top of the mountain peak after a bracing climb and enjoy the view.

David Michael is the author of 4 novels at this time of this article and a large number of short stories available through stores such as Amazon and Smashwords.

You can find his blog and bibliography here: http://www.gunsandmagic.com/