4.5 on the Masq Scale! The Ultimate Inferior Beings by @MarkRomanAuthor #scifi #bookreview
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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 ...
Belinda F.'s Review
This is a genuinely funny and clever little story. It is very short and I would have liked to have read more - I was really enjoying it. The cover made me think of Monty Python (I'm sure that was the intention) but the content is much more Red Dwarf. The story is silly but not too silly.
It is set sometime in the future when humans have colonised the galaxy on a planet called Tenalp known to be inhabited by idiots.
When one of their starships arrives home mysteriously early and with all of its crew dead the government of Tenalp decides a second crew must be sent into space to discover what had happened to the first (screwed logic that is so much like every government you just have to laugh).
So into space is launched the space ship Night Ripple (that made me laugh every time the name was mentioned - if you're not sure why try saying it fast a few times). The Night Ripple is captained by landscape gardener and ordinary bloke JixX who has no real experience of space investigation at all and comes aboard clutching only a pot plant. JixX is a bewildered and likeable character who manages to keep his good humour throughout his trails and is in fact the only vaguely sane character in the entire book.
JixX's crew consist of a carpenter (from a planet with no wood), a behavioural scientist, a gynaecologist and of course the ship's computer (who is very Red Dwarf) - as well as the ship's stowaway the slightly mysterious SylX. Add this cast to the members of the race of Mamms who they discover on their voyage and a great deal of humour is had.
The book seems to finish about three quarters of the way through and although the epilogue, glossary and appendices are amusing too I was slightly disappointed there was no more story especially as the reason for the initial voyage (why the first crew were all found dead) was never answered. However that aside it was a first rate read - funny, silly and clever.
Review Disclaimer: Book provided in exchange for an honest review.
