Judge’s Commentary for Humanicide: Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards

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Below is a brief commentary for your entry in the 24th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. If you received the incorrect review by mistake, please contact Writer’s Digest immediately at this email address. With so many books to judge/record, our judges may accidently input the incorrect review into the system. We do our best to catch all of these, but there are always a few that slip past. Thank you for your understanding~

Entry Title Humanicide

Author: Henry Melton

Judge Number: 10

Entry Category: Genre Fiction

Books are evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning “needs improvement” and 5 meaning “outstanding”. This scale is strictly to provide a point of reference, it is not a cumulative score and does not reflect ranking. Our system only recognizes numerals during this portion of logging evaluations. As a result, a “0” is used in place of “N/A” when the particular portion of the evaluation simply does not apply to the particular entry, based on the entry genre. For example, a book of poetry or a how to manual, would not necessarily have a “Plot and Story Appeal and may therefore receive a “0”. 

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Structure, Organization, and Pacing: 5

Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar: 5

Production Quality and Cover Design: 5

Plot and Story Appeal: 5

Character Appeal and Development: 5

Voice and Writing Style: 5

Judge’s Commentary*:

HUMANICIDE by Henry Melton is an excellent entry into the science fiction genre. In Melton’s hands, the story is skillfully crafted and not off-putting at all for even the most casual reader of science fiction. The drama of humans coping with advanced technology and living conditions is relatable and causes the reader to ponder what could be possible in the future. An excellent read.

The book cover seems simplistic at first, but a closer look reveals more interesting details. I’d like to see more vivid colors, but that is a matter of personal opinion and not actually a fault of the cover. The back cover copy is engaging and will entice potential readers to pursue. On the back cover and inside, the author lets us know this is one book in a series. To his credit, I didn’t have any trouble picking up the story and becoming interested in the outcome. The author photo is a great touch.

This author brings to life interesting concepts I hadn’t thought about, such as conducting a funeral and the care of a body during a situation when people could be endangered by a deadly virus. I appreciate this author’s attention to detail and, as noted before, bringing a relatable human element to a situation that seems strange to us today. Kudos to Henry Melton. I believe his fans will definitely want to read the entire series. I hope he has more books planned.