Review by Terrance McArthur
Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it from Amazon.
Gary Wright isn’t very smart…but that doesn’t stop him from saving the galaxy in Scott Finlay’s wacky space epic, The Galactic Idiot.
Off-Earth for the first time, sent to its oldest
space station to work as a janitor for his military martinet of an uncle, Gary
collides with a crazy cavalcade of kooky creatures:
…an eight-foot-tall, purple mechanic who just wants to fix things and be appreciated,
…a four-legged, three-tentacled pickpocket with a heart of gold (she probably stole it),
…a snide, trouble-making, insult-comic of a computer worm who wants to cause mayhem by self-replicating, but is stuck in the circuitry of a lowly robotic vacuum cleaner,
…a lizardlike, shape-changing terrorist, whose name changes whenever he accomplishes something (or doesn’t).
AND…
…an insectish alien queen, who controls a trillion drones across the galaxy, but can’t control her one daughter.
Everything Gary does has unforeseen consequences, often disastrous, but ultimately serendipitous. There are secret weapons, refugee tourists, warped warp drives, fast food in space, the Martian Crown Jewels, and unusual reasons to go “Oops!”
Gary’s wide-eyed naiveté propels him from misadventure to misadventure. He doesn’t understand what is happening around him, sees the most dangerous villain as a friend, and hates making decisions, so he defers to anybody he thinks is smart…and he thinks everybody is smart. He’s not smart, not strong, not a leader, but stumbles his way into amazing solutions, heroic actions, and strategic brilliance. He’s a lot like everybody else in the universe.
Imagine a mash-up of Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker’s Guide), Terry Pratchett (Discworld), Robert Asprin (Phule’s Company), and a chaos-driven Grateful Dead concert, and you will approach the off-the-wall level of The Galactic Idiot. Give it a read, and you will shake your head, reread to make sure that is what you thought you read, and you will laugh.
Worse things could happen.
To enter to win a copy of The Galactic Idiot, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "galactic,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen March 6, 2021. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. BE AWARE THAT DUE TO THE CURRENT CRISIS THERE MAY BE A DELAY IN SHIPPING THE WINNING BOOK. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.
Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors! A new episode went up this week.
Terrance V. Mc Arthur is a Librarian in Fresno County, California. He is also a storyteller, puppeteer, magician, and maker of pine needle baskets. On top of that he writes stories that range from rhymed children's tales to splatterpunk horror. He's an odd bird, but he's nice to have around.
Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.
Sounds interesting! Different than the usual fare. Count me in!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a different fun read! tWarner419(at)aol(dot)com
ReplyDeleteWe have a winner!
ReplyDelete