# My third novel (sci-fi thriller) Spindown **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 5, 2018, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522 "2018-10-05T20:04:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/21 "2018-11-01T17:55:02Z")
Hey, congrats on this Andy! Wishing you the best. > [@Trinopus](#): > > I was blessed to read this book in pre-publication and made the usual round of not-very-helpful suggestions and recommendations, which, if the author has the sense of a sea-squirt, he ignored entirely… 😉 > > This is a Darn Good Book! A thriller, an adventure, and some mighty good nuts-and-bolts science fiction. The characters are well-developed and believable, and the pacing is seat-of-the pants. > > Also, the author is a great fellow, one of the very best, all-around, that the Straight Dope has ever known! He’s kinda dangerous, though. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/22 "2018-11-01T17:59:43Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Hey, congrats on this Andy! Wishing you the best. > > He’s kinda dangerous, though. 😉 Thanks very much! If you’re a sci-fi fan, I hope you give the book a try. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/23 "2018-11-01T19:03:23Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > … and I have no problem with thoughtful critical reviews. If you think it deserves 3 or 4 stars, by all means be honest. > > If you think it deserves 1 or 2, maybe just be a teeny-tiny bit dishonest. 😉 I know when I’m looking for new books, the 3 star reviews tend to be the most useful. 5 starts are often shills or fanboys, whose opinions are unreliable, and 1 stars are usually the people who hate it for some reason unrelated to its actual quality, like they don’t like violence, or gay people, or swearing, or something. 3 star reviews usually actually put some thought into it, and point out both what you might like and dislike about the book, making the decision to try it more effective. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/24 "2018-11-01T19:32:30Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > I know when I’m looking for new books, the 3 star reviews tend to be the most useful. 5 starts are often shills or fanboys, whose opinions are unreliable, and 1 stars are usually the people who hate it for some reason unrelated to its actual quality, like they don’t like violence, or gay people, or swearing, or something. > > 3 star reviews usually actually put some thought into it, and point out both what you might like and dislike about the book, making the decision to try it more effective. Very good point. I think any sort of thoughtful reviews, whether positive or critical or a combination, can only help an author, as well as helping help potential readers. Hint hint… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/25 "2018-11-07T19:26:34Z")
Just finished Spindown Andy, and I thought it was a good read. Well written overall, nice plotting, nice nod to somewhat ‘realistic’ space travel without getting too bogged down in ultra-hard scifi. If I had to come up with any criticism, I found a small handful of times where your turn of phrase was a bit awkward to my ear. Could just be me, and it was nothing of major substance anyway. The key to me was it held my interest more than enough to keep reading, and any book that can do that is a plus. Curious as to how you envisage Aotea is pronounced? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/26 "2018-11-07T21:11:56Z")
> [@GreedySmurf](#): > > Just finished Spindown Andy, and I thought it was a good read. Well written overall, nice plotting, nice nod to somewhat ‘realistic’ space travel without getting too bogged down in ultra-hard scifi. > > If I had to come up with any criticism, I found a small handful of times where your turn of phrase was a bit awkward to my ear. Could just be me, and it was nothing of major substance anyway. > > The key to me was it held my interest more than enough to keep reading, and any book that can do that is a plus. > > Curious as to how you envisage Aotea is pronounced? Fantastic! Thanks so much for giving it a read, and I’m very glad you enjoyed it. [Aotea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aotea_(canoe)) is actually a mythical seagoing vessel in Maori mythology – the canoe that supposedly brought the Maori’s ancestors to New Zealand. I’ve always assumed it’s pronounced “ay-oh-tay-uh”, but I’m not a Kiwi. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/27 "2018-11-08T21:03:56Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I’ve always assumed it’s pronounced “ay-oh-tay-uh”, but I’m not a Kiwi. Your assumption looks like a pretty good approximation to this Pakeha (European ancestry) Kiwi. I think the Maori pronunciation is a bit more “ow-a-tay-uh”. “ow” as in _how_, _now_, or _cow_, followed by a very short “a”… almost swallowed… a bit like the “u” in _up_. (Sorry, I’m sure someone with some linguistics experience could explain that much better.) ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/28 "2018-11-08T22:10:08Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > Your assumption looks like a pretty good approximation to this Pakeha (European ancestry) Kiwi. > > I think the Maori pronunciation is a bit more “ow-a-tay-uh”. > “ow” as in _how_, _now_, or _cow_, followed by a very short “a”… almost swallowed… a bit like the “u” in _up_. > > (Sorry, I’m sure someone with some linguistics experience could explain that much better.) Thanks for the info! ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2018, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/29 "2018-11-24T23:35:32Z")
Indie book blog “Tome Tender” did a feature on Spindown with a fantastic (and positive!) write-up and review! [Tome Tender: Spindown by Andy Crawford](http://tometender.blogspot.com/2018/11/spindown-by-andy-crawford.html) ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/30 "2018-11-25T00:14:53Z")
Congratulations on your new novel. Curious, how long did it take you to write it? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/31 "2018-11-25T00:45:35Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > Congratulations on your new novel. Curious, how long did it take you to write it? Thanks! This one took me about a year to write, and nearly another year to revise and edit. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/32 "2018-11-25T03:53:01Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Thanks! This one took me about a year to write, and nearly another year to revise and edit. Do you plot out your books or do you write “by the seat of your pants?” ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2018, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/33 "2018-12-28T03:02:45Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > Do you plot out your books or do you write “by the seat of your pants?” Sorry I missed this question! I plot out my books in advance (aside from my first book… and not plotting that one before writing was a mistake), though sometimes I run into things that I end up changing while I’m writing. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2018, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/34 "2018-12-28T03:05:14Z")
A really lovely and very thoughtful (and bilingual! French and English) new review was just posted on the book blog “One More Fantasy Blog…” (the blogger is based in Benin, which is pretty cool): [[Review] Spindown by Andy Crawford | One More Fantasy Blog](https://onemorefantasyblog.wordpress.com/2018/12/27/review-spindown-by-andy-crawford/#more-149) A snippet: > [@](#): > > Despite all the questions that are brought to the attention of attentive readers, Spindown is a fast-paced book. From the first chapters, the stage is set. The first big change is not unexpected. But from that point on, things escalate quickly. Events are introduced in quick succession, and new depth is brought to light as the plot advances. > > The author manages to plant the answers on the reader’s path. And even though some of the chain of events may seem clichéd, there are still a lot of surprises. Surprises that you won’t see coming. > > All things considered, Spindown could be described as a crime novel set a few lightyears from Earth. One that will make you think of Agatha Christie’s Orient Express, without being limited by that single comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2018, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/35 "2018-12-30T19:34:02Z")
Just finished it and left a 5\* review on Kobo. Great classical SF and full of surprises. Some questions. How many of the 20,000 did you imagine died in the war? Does the fact that these people selected as pacifists were perfectly willing to engage in warfare not show the flaw in the original premise? Does this show–I think it does–that the violent nature of humanity is baked in to our genes? How did anyone expect that the gene pool, selected much more randomly than the actual travelers, would grow up less prone to force and violence than the actual inhabitants? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2018, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/36 "2018-12-30T21:38:36Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Just finished it and left a 5\* review on Kobo. Great classical SF and full of surprises. Some questions. Thank you so very much! Reader reviews are so, so important to any chance of success for indie books like mine. I couldn’t find the review so it may not have posted yet, but I’ll check back and I look forward to reading it. If at all possible, I’d greatly appreciate if you could also copy the review to any other ebook sites you have an account with (especially Amazon, and Goodreads too if possible). > [@](#): > > How many of the 20,000 did you imagine died in the war? Does the fact that these people selected as pacifists were perfectly willing to engage in warfare not show the flaw in the original premise? Does this show–I think it does–that the violent nature of humanity is baked in to our genes? How did anyone expect that the gene pool, selected much more randomly than the actual travelers, would grow up less prone to force and violence than the actual inhabitants? Taking into account all of the violence and “accidental” deaths, I think the death toll was well into the thousands – perhaps as many as a quarter of the total compliment. And yes, I think that the mission of the conspirators was a fool’s errand – there’s no way to eliminate the violent nature of humanity, IMO. They were true believers in a long line of true believers who were willing to do violence and even things they knew were evil in service of what they fanatically believed was a greater good, unaware that this “greater good” was impossible. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/37 "2018-12-31T01:56:25Z")
Yeah, about what I expected. Will there be a sequel? Sorry kobo is the only site I belong to. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/38 "2018-12-31T02:11:23Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Yeah, about what I expected. Will there be a sequel? > > Sorry kobo is the only site I belong to. Not sure yet about a sequel. If it becomes a big hit (still hoping!), then probably; if not, then maybe not. Do you have a link to your review? I still haven’t been able to find it. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/39 "2018-12-31T23:13:21Z")
I don’t understand it either. I wrote a review three times, but the Kobo site still shows no reviews. I must be doing something wrong, but the boxes for the reviewers are unclear. “Title” is title of what? The review, the book; I’ve tried both. “Display name” is whose name? Yours, mine, the man in the moon. Anyway, nothing works. The cover is great, but doesn’t seem to have much to do with the story. No one goes out in space in a space suit. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2019, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522/40 "2019-01-01T00:16:49Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I don’t understand it either. I wrote a review three times, but the Kobo site still shows no reviews. I must be doing something wrong, but the boxes for the reviewers are unclear. “Title” is title of what? The review, the book; I’ve tried both. “Display name” is whose name? Yours, mine, the man in the moon. Anyway, nothing works. Well thanks for trying! I appreciate your efforts, and hopefully it will eventually show up. I’d love it if you could post it here in the meantime, if you don’t mind. > [@](#): > > The cover is great, but doesn’t seem to have much to do with the story. No one goes out in space in a space suit. Yep. The artist had a few ideas and this was by far the best one once it was drawn. I think it does a very good job of representing the tone of the story, even if there’s no scene that it matches. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822522.md?page=3)