The XV Minotauro Prize already has a winning novel. Is about Dark border (formerly titled God's eye) by Sabino Cabeza, a space opera set in the year 2560. The work awarded by Minotaur will receive 6,000 euros and will be published on October 6. In addition, the Grupo Planeta publishing house, a benchmark in the Fantasy, Terror and Science Fiction sector in Spanish, will officially present the book during the Sitges International Film Festival.
Dark border has been selected from among four magnificent finalists. The other three proposals that have reached the last stage are Memory of the blue girl (Fantasy), Symbiosis (Science Fiction) and Growing fears (Terror). The contest has received a total of 449 manuscripts from different countries, mainly Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Colombia. There has also been participation from Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Puerto Rico or the US.
The jury that has evaluated the projects is made up of independent members with renowned CVs: Laura Fernández (journalist and writer), Sofía Rhei (writer), Blanca Rodríguez (president of the Spanish Association of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Terror), Pablo Tébar (writer and screenwriter, 2017 Minotauro Prize) and Roberto Jiménez (journalist for the Xataka technology portal).
The Minotauro Prize is one of the publisher's outstanding events since 2004 and has become a cultural catalyst for genre literature. Previous titles that were raised with this recognition were Snow on Mars (Pablo Tébar), Those who dream (Elio Quiroga), Pantheon (Carlos Sisi) or Lords of Olympus (Javier Negrete), among other works of undeniable quality. This new edition of the contest is especially noteworthy, since it coincides with the 20th anniversary of the acquisition of Minotauro by Grupo Planeta.
What the jury thinks about the winning novel:
«Ships that rescue other ships because the enemy is not the other but the unknown. Here is the first national science fiction classic (philosophical) hard of the XXI century ». Laura Fernandez
"A story that turns the epic into human and narrates space-time through details and emotions." Sofia Rhei
«It reconciles the best of the tradition of the classic novels of temporal paradoxes with the current that we are seeing in the international arena where the characters are more diverse and empathetic. A breath of fresh air that, beyond the main plot, explores interesting sub-themes, such as responsibility towards others, loyalty or affection ». Blanca Rodriguez
«A different and luminous Science Fiction novel. Far from the usual dystopias, the sisterhood and the collaborative spirit of the characters remind us of Star Trek. A story of heroes where we all like their characters. Real people who face the unknown without falling into the usual clichés of the genre. Pablo Tebar
"Science fiction should never lose sight of humanism and that is something that this novel knows very well. Beyond her classic and meticulous approach, she beats with a passionate heart for human relationships, cooperation and dreams of a different life. Roberto Jimenez
See previous winners of the MINOTAUR AWARD
ABOUT THE WINNING NOVEL: DARK FRONTIER
Synopsis: In the year 2560, humanity has managed to spread over eight thousand planets thanks to the anagravonic engines that allow the Inspacio-Expacio jumps. Captain Florence Schiaparelli, known in the Federal Fleet as Florence Half life, and the crew of the Banshee Their mission is to obtain all possible data from the black hole that she herself has baptized as the God eye. But when they spot an unidentified ship trapped near the black hole's event horizon, Captain Schiaparelli You must decide if you risk losing everything to save the crew of the mysterious ship.
Dark border is a novel written in the best tradition of space adventure stories, with a high component of female empowerment and that extols collaboration as an alternative to confrontation. A work that explores the secrets of the universe and the inexhaustible curiosity of the human being to discover them.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sabino Cabeza Abuín He was born in Seville in 1965. After several stops in Salamanca, Murcia, León and Valencia, he ended up in Zaragoza, where he has lived for twenty years. He is a non-commissioned officer of the Air Force, has a degree in Psychology from the University of Valencia, and works as a Psychoanalyst in the city of the Ebro.
His fondness for science fiction and fantasy comes from afar. He still has his first copy of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and the collection of Collection "Antología de Novelas de Anticipación" (which he stole from his father without his knowing it), in which he met Poul Anderson, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, Domingo Santos or José María Aroca.
His first attempts at writing are also from those times, when he imitated his admired Jules Verne or Tolkien. His influences are countless, although he highlights Ursula K. Leguin and Terry Pratchett from the long list.
He owes not only his love of reading to his parents, but also his attraction to Astronomy. He remembers watching with his mother, in the summer of 1982, all the chapters of "Cosmos", so he also declares himself a debtor to Carl Sagan for the times of the times, guilty of inoculating him with a fascination for the mysteries of the universe.
He has not stopped writing since, and he has not stopped learning since. Consider that the years give you history and perspective. But also that the imagination needs to be ignited in childhood, and he confesses to having had the good fortune of being born in a home where precisely that was given to him: to imagine.
Technical data:
Release date: October 6
Format: 15 x 23, Hardcover with dust jacket. 317 pages.
Price: 19.50 euros.
