355 ratings | 44 reviews | avg rating:3.61

James’s Year In Books

James’s 2025 Year in Books

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James Leth’s Followers (14)

James’s Bookshelves

to-read (153)
currently-reading (25)
read (386)
did-not-finish (0)
abandoned (1)
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James’s Friends (7)

James O.

14 books | 70 friends

Judy Leth

156 books | 10 friends

Cindy Jewkes

58 books | 901 friends

Vonnie Good

9 books | 29 friends

Elena

10,125 books | 453 friends

Aranya

852 books | 47 friends

Marcel

373 books | 4,943 friends

James Leth

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

https://substack.com/@jamesleth

Genre

Science Fiction, Fiction, Philosophy

Influences

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

Member Since

November 2013

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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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Combine Editions
James Leth’s books

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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James is Currently Reading

James Leth is currently reading

Mad Hatters and March Hares

by Seanan McGuire (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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May 18, 2026 08:50PM

James Leth is currently reading

Hav

by Jan Morris

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Mar 27, 2026 01:38AM

James Leth is currently reading

Otherworldly

by Dwain Worrell

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Mar 21, 2026 01:48AM

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James’s Recent Updates

James Leth entered a giveaway Dark Matter: A Novel by Blake Crouch (Goodreads Author) 10 copies available, ends on June 30, 2026 Enter to win »
20 hours, 41 min ago · like · see giveaway · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Dark Matter by Blake Crouch <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
James Leth entered a giveaway D: Heavy Water (Bomb Light #2) by Neal Stephenson (Goodreads Author) 50 copies available, ends on June 14, 2026 Enter to win »
Jun 01, 2026 03:02AM · like · see giveaway
James Leth is currently reading Mad Hatters and March Hares by Seanan McGuire (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 18, 2026 08:50PM · like
James Leth is currently reading Hav by Jan Morris	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 27, 2026 01:38AM · like
James Leth rated a book liked it Love and Math: The Heart of Hidden Reality by Edward Frenkel	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 25, 2026 02:10PM · like
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Mar 21, 2026 01:48AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Otherworldly by Dwain Worrell. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Otherworldly by Dwain Worrell <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
James Leth is currently reading Love and Math: The Heart of Hidden Reality by Edward Frenkel	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 01, 2026 12:54AM · like
James Leth is currently reading Amerika by Franz Kafka	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 01, 2026 10:11AM · like
James Leth rated a book really liked it The Eleventh Hour: A Quintet of Stories by Salman Rushdie	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 30, 2026 10:29PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Eleventh Hour by Salman Rushdie. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Eleventh Hour by Salman Rushdie <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
James Leth is currently reading The People's Library by Veronica G. Henry (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 28, 2026 12:30AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The People's Library by Veronica G. Henry. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The People's Library by Veronica G. Henry <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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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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