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43 ratings | 43 reviews | avg rating:4.84

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Donna Foster

7,961 books | 5,001 friends

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199 books | 172 friends

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Carole Stivers

Goodreads Author

Born

in East Cleveland, Ohio, The United States

Website

https://www.carolestivers.com/

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 · 2,797 ratings · 539 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Mother Code 3.55 avg rating — 2,789 ratings — published 2020	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 it was amazing The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez (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
TEN STARS!!! Nestled as it is in cleft between magical realism and science fiction, this gem of a novel falls right in my sweet spot. I’m only sorry it took me so long to get around to reading it! Through its massive cast of memorable characters and vi ...more
Oct 06, 2026 05:38PM · like · see review
Carole Stivers rated a book it was amazing Open the Floodgates by Nina Schuyler (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
Toni Morrison famously said that language can be a generative tool of freedom, but it can also be a weapon of control that freezes, limits, and cages the living world. In her Earthsea Cycle, Ursula LeGuin wrote that to speak the “true name” of someth ...more
Oct 05, 2026 03:20PM · 2 likes · like · see review
Carole Stivers entered a giveaway Her Life in Ruins by Cynthia W. Gentry (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
Sep 30, 2026 06:02PM · like · see giveaway
Carole Stivers rated a book it was amazing A Summer for Moths by Henry Rivers (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
A thoroughly enjoyable read - well-written, fast-paced, and as steamy as they come! Rivers's depictions of contrasting social rank and privilege, the beautiful lyricism of his language, and his rich evocation of setting and character might be reminis ...more
Aug 26, 2026 04:05PM · like · see review
Carole Stivers wants to read Open the Floodgates by Nina Schuyler (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
Aug 25, 2026 03:53PM · like
Carole Stivers is now following Cary Neeper Author of A Place Beyond Man: The Archives of Varok
Jul 08, 2026 04:17PM · like
Carole Stivers rated a book it was amazing Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams	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 read Careless People for two reasons: to try to understand why and how Silicon Valley tech bros have become so political in recent years, and to gather background material for characters in my own science fiction novels. Check, and check. Money buy ...more
Mar 17, 2026 10:11AM · like · see review
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
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
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

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