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James Leth
359 ratings | 44 reviews | avg rating:3.61

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James Leth’s Followers (14)

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James’s Bookshelves

to-read (155)
currently-reading (27)
read (390)
did-not-finish (0)
abandoned (1)
favorites (21)
reference (2)

James’s Friends (7)

James O.
James O.
14 books | 70 friends

Judy Leth
Judy Leth
156 books | 10 friends

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Cindy Jewkes
58 books | 901 friends

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Vonnie Good
10 books | 29 friends

Elena
Elena
10,125 books | 453 friends

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Marcel
375 books | 4,938 friends

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James Leth

Goodreads Author


Born
in The United States
Website

Genre
Science Fiction, Fiction, Philosophy

Influences
Jules Verne, Neal Stephenson, Connie Willis, Tim Powers, Dan Simmons, ...more

Member Since
November 2013


With two computer science degrees from MIT and over 30 years in engineering R&D, I try to keep the technical material in my fiction realistic -- or at least a plausible extension of what we know today.

I released my first novel, Phoenix Afterlife, in October 2015.

I am currently preparing my second novel for release.

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Popular Answered Questions

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?
James Leth I'll pass on the best advice I saw. Unfortunately, I do not remember who to credit with this, but it concerns the input you get from the readers of yo…moreI'll pass on the best advice I saw. Unfortunately, I do not remember who to credit with this, but it concerns the input you get from the readers of your drafts in progress: When they tell you what's wrong with your draft, listen to them; if it bothers them, it will probably bother other readers. When they tell you how to fix it, ignore them (politely); only you can fix it in a way that's true to the story you're trying to tell.(less)
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How do you get inspired to write?
James Leth I try to look for the other side to the story. For example, I wrote a short story several years ago about a beached whale, told from the perspective o…moreI try to look for the other side to the story. For example, I wrote a short story several years ago about a beached whale, told from the perspective of the whale. We humans see such things as an opportunity to help an unfortunate animal caught in a deadly accident. But there are a number of reasons to believe that whales may be as intelligent as we are, and it seems highly unlikely that they wouldn't know more than we do about tides and currents. This led me to suppose that when whales beach themselves, they do so deliberately, with an intention vastly different than our interpretation. The resulting story is posted on my blog at jamesleth.com.(less)
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Combine Editions

Average rating: 4.35 · 17 ratings · 8 reviews · 1 distinct work
Phoenix Afterlife
4.35 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions
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* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

James is Currently Reading

The Book of Lost ...
James Leth is currently reading
by Hayley Gelfuso (Goodreads Author)
bookshelves: currently-reading
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Aug 27, 2026 09:14PM
Antimatter Blues
James Leth is currently reading
by Edward Ashton (Goodreads Author)
bookshelves: currently-reading
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Jul 20, 2026 10:44PM
The Exodus Direct...
James Leth is currently reading
by Ian Copeland (Goodreads Author)
bookshelves: currently-reading
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Jul 20, 2026 10:55AM

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James’s Recent Updates

James Leth entered a giveaway
Fold Catastrophes by Peter Watts
Fold Catastrophes
by Peter Watts (Goodreads Author)
1 copy available, ends on September 22, 2026 Enter to win »
Sep 15, 2026 08:49AM  ·   · see giveaway
James Leth entered a giveaway
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
The Corrections: A Novel (25th Anniversary Edition)
by Jonathan Franzen
5 copies available, ends on September 29, 2026 Enter to win »
Sep 15, 2026 08:47AM  ·   · see giveaway ·  preview book
James Leth is currently reading
The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso
The Book of Lost Hours
by Hayley Gelfuso (Goodreads Author)
Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Science Fiction
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Aug 27, 2026 09:14PM  ·   ·  preview book
James Leth rated a book really liked it
The Wager by David Grann
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
by David Grann (Goodreads Author)
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Aug 22, 2026 12:02AM  ·   ·  preview book
James Leth rated a book really liked it
Frequency by Douglas E. Richards
Frequency: Hard Science Fiction
by Douglas E. Richards (Goodreads Author)
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Jul 27, 2026 12:18PM  ·   ·  preview book
James Leth is currently reading
Antimatter Blues by Edward Ashton
Antimatter Blues (Mickey7, #2)
by Edward Ashton (Goodreads Author)
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Jul 20, 2026 10:44PM  ·   ·  preview book
James Leth is currently reading
The Exodus Directive by Ian Copeland
The Exodus Directive: "The AI Novel We’ve All Been Waiting For" - A Gripping Sci-Fi Thriller of Technology, Power, and Control
by Ian Copeland (Goodreads Author)
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Jul 20, 2026 10:55AM  ·   ·  preview book
James Leth rated a book really liked it
First Ascent by Douglas Phillips
First Ascent (Ascending Carbon, #1)
by Douglas Phillips (Goodreads Author)
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Jul 19, 2026 11:26PM  ·   ·  preview book
James Leth is currently reading
Frequency by Douglas E. Richards
Frequency: Hard Science Fiction
by Douglas E. Richards (Goodreads Author)
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Jul 18, 2026 06:22PM  ·   ·  preview book
James Leth is currently reading
The Wager by David Grann
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
by David Grann (Goodreads Author)
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Jul 10, 2026 02:00PM  ·   ·  preview book
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James’s Quotes

“Fifty thousand years ago there were these three guys spread out across the plain and they each heard something rustling in the grass. The first one thought it was a tiger, and he ran like hell, and it was a tiger but the guy got away. The second one thought the rustling was a tiger and he ran like hell, but it was only the wind and his friends all laughed at him for being such a chickenshit. But the third guy thought it was only the wind, so he shrugged it off and the tiger had him for dinner. And the same thing happened a million times across ten thousand generations - and after a while everyone was seeing tigers in the grass even when there were`t any tigers, because even chickenshits have more kids than corpses do. And from those humble beginnings we learn to see faces in the clouds and portents in the stars, to see agency in randomness, because natural selection favours the paranoid. Even here in the 21st century we can make people more honest just by scribbling a pair of eyes on the wall with a Sharpie. Even now we are wired to believe that unseen things are watching us.”
― Peter Watts, Echopraxia
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James’s Groups

154447 Support for Indie Authors — 16765 members — last activity Sep 13, 2026 02:36PM
Officially 15k Members Strong & Climbing!! Building and supporting a community of self-published authors dedicated to both sharing experiences and le ...more
26989 Goodreads Authors/Readers — 57615 members — last activity 1 hour, 0 min ago
This group is dedicated to connecting readers with Goodreads authors. It is divided by genres, and includes folders for writing resources, book websit ...more
78683 Review Group — 5908 members — last activity 13 hours, 13 min ago
Reviews are very important for Self-Published (SP), and Indie authors, just as they are for others. Unfortunately, though, many SP/Indie books don't g ...more
195198 ScribIntel for Unsung Authors — 11 members — last activity Jul 11, 2025 12:09PM
ScribIntel is for unknown authors. It is truly sad so much talent goes unnoticed. It's like a beautiful garden of flowers that is unseen. If you are ...more
206325 SIA Showcase for Readers and Writers — 1129 members — last activity Sep 16, 2026 11:12PM
From the group that coined the term bookwhack*, here is the official bookwhack group! In all seriousness, we at Support Indie Authors understand how ...more
1086382 Author Marketing - Resources, Exchanges, & Challenges — 1712 members — last activity Aug 28, 2026 10:16AM
This group is for all authors who want to learn about marketing for the purpose of increasing book sales. This group will include: 1) Marketing Resou ...more
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