39 ratings | 39 reviews | avg rating:4.82

Carole’s Year In Books

Carole’s 2025 Year in Books

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Shay

10,927 books | 956 friends

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50 books | 7 friends

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Carole Stivers

Goodreads Author

Genre

Science Fiction, Mystery

Member Since

July 2019

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Carole Stivers is a Silicon Valley biochemist whose "home genre" is science fiction. Her near-future science fiction novel The Mother Code is on track for publication by Berkley Books (Penguin Random House) in May 2020. It has already been sold in countries around the world, including the UK, Germany, France, Holland, Spain, and Brazil. And, it was recently optioned for film by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment.

In addition to her passion for science fiction, Carole has been a life-long fan of mystery—starting as a child reading Nancy Drew, graduating to Agatha Christie and "Ellery Queen," and later to John Grisham and Scott Turow. "A good mystery is not too far a cry from a good work of science fiction. Both deal with intricate human ...more

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Hello, I really liked your book. I know its been mentioned to you before but this book reminded me of the story of Horizon Zero Dawn video game. The themes of disaster, hope and mother also greatly have that same resonance. Could not put it down. Also here is the spoiler/slash story of the game (13 minutes) if you have not read a synopsis yet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlDRAmTmhlc Once again great book.

Carole Stivers Hi Fabian, You're not the first to make this comparison - though I'm not a gamer and in my little bubble, I had never heard of Horizon Zero Dawn until…moreHi Fabian, You're not the first to make this comparison - though I'm not a gamer and in my little bubble, I had never heard of Horizon Zero Dawn until after my book was published! Thanks for the link, which offers a great synopsis of the game. After watching it, I can see why people make the comparisons they do. Though I wasn't familiar with the game, the potential threats posed by military bots are a common thread in lots of sci-fi. And it's why I took such pains to place my story after a time (the Water Wars) when the threats had been recognized and measures had been put in place to contain them. Are there any live-action movies based on Horizon Zero Dawn? If so, I'd love to see them. If not, why not? Seems like perfect fodder for endless Netflix binging! Anyway, I'm glad that you, as a fan of the game, enjoyed my book as well!(less)

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https://soundcloud.com/saplpodcast/gene-sciency-stuff-and-the-roomba-personality-quotient?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing Not really a question but our podcast discussed Mother Code. We all loved the book. Great job!

Carole Stivers Hi! After having my debut novel published into the void of a burgeoning pandemic, it's rewarding to hear that readers are still picking it up and enjo…moreHi! After having my debut novel published into the void of a burgeoning pandemic, it's rewarding to hear that readers are still picking it up and enjoying it! I listened to and enjoyed your podcast. I do want to tell you that the book was acquired by Berkley in November, 2018. All of the edits had to be completed by October, 2019, in time for publication of the ARCs. Thus, there was no way I could have known about COVID when I wrote it (a process that took about 8 years!). You can only imagine my horror when the pandemic delayed the book launch from May, 2020 to August, 2020, and even then the "conditions on the ground" were too much like my novel to be believed. Needless to say, my next novel will not involve a pandemic. But let's see what else I can predict! ("I'm sorry you needed a catheter. Why do you have my daughter's necklace?" I laughed out loud!)(less)

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Carole Stivers’s books

Average rating: 3.55 · 2,730 ratings · 530 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Mother Code 3.55 avg rating — 2,722 ratings — published 2020 — 30 editions	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
	The Butterfly Garden 3.63 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2019	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

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Carole’s Recent Updates

Carole Stivers rated a book really liked it Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (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
I decided to give this one 4 stars, because I think it'll make a great movie. As a book, well... Even as a fan and author of science fiction, this was a tough slog for me. As our protagonist Ryland Grace (a faintly disguised version of Mark Watney fr ...more
Feb 28, 2026 06:41PM · 5 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Carole Stivers rated a book it was amazing Tread Lightly: A Novel by Elizabeth Kemp (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
At a pre-holiday meet-up to talk about this book (bring cookies!), every one of us readers realized that they thought Elizabeth Kemp's TREAD LIGHTLY had taken place in their own hometown. Reminiscent of Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies, this juicy mu ...more
Feb 07, 2026 04:32PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Tread Lightly by Elizabeth Kemp. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Tread Lightly by Elizabeth Kemp <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Carole Stivers rated a book it was amazing Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Amy Ellis Nutt	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
While this book, published in 2015, might now be slightly out of date, it still poignantly captures the plight of a human born into a body that isn't true to the self hidden inside. I came away with a more nuanced understanding of the difference betw ...more
Feb 07, 2026 04:09PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Carole Stivers rated a book it was amazing The Girl Who Made a Mouse From Her Grandfather’s Whiskers by Kenneth Hunter Gordon	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
Ursula K. Le Guin meets H.P. Lovecraft in this daring little novel, and we, the readers, get to savor that battle. With simple language and seamless worldbuilding, Kenneth Hunter Gordon weaves a daunting tale of human survival. And through the logica ...more
Feb 07, 2026 04:04PM · like · see review
Carole Stivers rated a book it was amazing Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI by Karen Hao	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
In EMPIRE OF AI, seasoned tech reporter Karen Hao reveals the seedy underbelly of the race to a deeply flawed but most likely life-altering Artificial General Intelligence, through the lens of one of its leading proponents, OpenAI. Encompassing the s ...more
Feb 07, 2026 03:55PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Empire of AI by Karen Hao. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Empire of AI by Karen Hao <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Carole Stivers rated a book it was amazing The Blues and Billie Armstrong: A Novel by Roy Dufrain Jr (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
This coming-of-age tale about a boy uncovering family secrets in small-town Northern California, and later, that boy become a man at last forced to confront the mysteries of his own past, hit my sweet spot in so many ways. Roy’s language grips you by ...more
Feb 07, 2026 03:45PM · like · see review
Carole Stivers rated a book it was amazing Tread Lightly: A Novel by Elizabeth Kemp (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
At a pre-holiday meet-up to talk about this book (bring cookies!), every one of us readers realized that they thought Elizabeth Kemp's TREAD LIGHTLY had taken place in their own hometown. Reminiscent of Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies, this juicy mu ...more
Feb 07, 2026 03:33PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Tread Lightly by Elizabeth Kemp. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Tread Lightly by Elizabeth Kemp <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Carole Stivers rated a book it was amazing December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg	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
I loved the way retired psychiatrist and amazing writer Adam Strassberg weaves the ever-present menaces of homelessness and mental illness in with the inventive and heartwarming story of a modern Christmas miracle in this small gem of a read. His cha ...more
Dec 03, 2024 04:20PM · like · see review
Carole Stivers rated a book it was amazing ReInception by Sarena Straus (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
Though this science fiction thriller starts out slow, it soon builds into nonstop action and ends with an amazing twist. A masterpiece of futuristic world building, it’s a perfect read for fans of series like The Hunger Games and An Ember in the Ashe ...more
Nov 04, 2024 06:29PM · like · see review
Carole Stivers rated a book it was amazing Mayor of the Tenderloin: Del Seymour's Journey from Living on the Streets to Fighting Homelessness in San Francisco by Alison Owings	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
Just last week, I watched from my car as a shaggy young man and his female dealer performed the sleight-of-hand that transformed a fistful of money into a small packet of drugs. The young man ambled off down Turk Street in San Francisco’s Tenderloin, ...more
Oct 15, 2024 03:26PM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Mayor of the Tenderloin by Alison Owings. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Mayor of the Tenderloin by Alison Owings <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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SciFi and Fantasy...: What Else Are You Reading in 2020?	2957	905	Dec 31, 2020 04:52PM
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Carole’s Year In Books

Carole Stivers’s Followers (192)

Carole’s Bookshelves

Carole’s Friends (11)

Carole Stivers

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