2.5 on the Masq Scale. The Ultimate Inferior Beings by @MarkRomanAuthor #scifi #bookreview
Cover links to Amazon.com
The Ultimate Inferior Beings
Written by Mark Roman
Genre: Science Fiction, Humor
When jixX is appointed spaceship captain for a dangerous space mission he doesn’t regard it as a promotion. More like a computer error, given he’s a landscape architect. The error theory gains in strength when he meets the crew: a carpenter, a gynaecologist and a scientist trying to prove the existence of God.
To add to jixX’s woes, there’s a stowaway on board, one of his crew is a saboteur and the ship’s computer thinks it’s a comedian. And then they meet aliens. Not technologically advanced aliens - their civilization is based on the invention of the brick - but jixX has a bad feeling about them anyway.
Among them are a religious bunch who believe in The Ultimate Inferior Beings - a species that are really, really bad at everything. According to an ancient prophecy this species will, perhaps inadvertently or absent-mindedly or through some tragic mishap, bring about the end of the Universe.
One alien becomes convinced that the humans are these incompetent beings. He realizes he must be the Chosen One, and that it is his Duty to wipe them out before they can trigger total annihilation. So it comes down to jixX to save Humankind ...
To add to jixX’s woes, there’s a stowaway on board, one of his crew is a saboteur and the ship’s computer thinks it’s a comedian. And then they meet aliens. Not technologically advanced aliens - their civilization is based on the invention of the brick - but jixX has a bad feeling about them anyway.
Among them are a religious bunch who believe in The Ultimate Inferior Beings - a species that are really, really bad at everything. According to an ancient prophecy this species will, perhaps inadvertently or absent-mindedly or through some tragic mishap, bring about the end of the Universe.
One alien becomes convinced that the humans are these incompetent beings. He realizes he must be the Chosen One, and that it is his Duty to wipe them out before they can trigger total annihilation. So it comes down to jixX to save Humankind ...
Lucy Pireel's Review
I love laughing out loud when I read a funny book, that is if there's anything to laugh about. Unfortunately this book didn't even manage to get the smallest of smiles out of me. I had hoped it would be like Hitchhikers Guide, because that's what the title and cover reminded me of, but alas it came nowhere near that masterpiece.
Don't get me wrong it is decent in it's writing, but for example, there's a lot of x'es, so much it feels contrived. There's a lot of 'badaboom' jokes that don't really work for me, and then there's the plot that to be honest takes a few tours into the unbelievable, asking more than a lot from the suspension of disbelieve.
On the other hand there's the sci-fi elements that work amazingly well. I could get into that side of the book, apart form the ending, but that's a whole other part of my review, I'll get to that later. The sci-fi elements are believable and in no way too far fetched. Technology and human interest work well together if not for the silly, falling flat jokes.
And then there's the ending that, again to me, felt like a cop out. All in all, I'm not quite sure what to say, like, or dislike? I guess this is very much a matter of taste, because technically there's not much 'wrong', but still I wouldn't recommend it or read more of this author.
Review Disclaimer: Book provided in exchange for an honest review.
