Miss Universe

by David M. Jones

The aliens came to Earth with a threat and an offer. We must cease and desist all use of the name Miss Universe for our Earthbound pageants. But we are invited to send one candidate to compete in the real Miss Universe pageant on a planet thousands of light years away. Karly Matthews, a renowned geneticist, is chosen to accompany Earth’s delegate and train her in the skills she will need to survive an interplanetary competition. But as mishaps occur along the path, Karly learns that the greatest threat to Earth’s place among the intergalactic community isn’t the cadre of bizarre aliens, but humans themselves.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy

292 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 25, 2024

Reviews

[Gordon Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, don’t be fooled by the title; this is true Science Fiction. Don’t think, “Miss Congeniality.” Think “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy,” filled with thousands of alien races and myriads of inconceivable scientific and technical wonders.

But, rich in technological and social setting though the story may be, it is the characters that drive the plot. Karly, the heroine, is a fully rounded character more typical of normal Sci-Fi stories than beauty pageants. Her biggest asset is her brain, and the main information we have as to her physical beauty is heavily tempered by her inferiority complex. As in all Hero’s Journeys, she makes a choice to step out of the mold and take on an adventure, and the story rolls from there.

The supporting cast, especially the two beauty queens, are expected to be stereotypes. And they are (until suddenly they aren’t, but that would be telling). The robots, androids and aliens that appear in rapid succession act pretty much like a wide variety of humans would, with all the failures, foibles, and drives of the human race.

There is plenty of wild and wonderful technology to keep hard-core Sci-Fi nerds happy, and the physical action is orchestrated to keep most action fans on the edge of their seats.

The tone of the novel is mostly light but not really humorous. There are no ROFL jokes, and the implausibility of the situation cannot be taken seriously. Except by Karly. Despite the fantastic improbability of everything around her Karly takes it all seriously, and since we spend most of our time inside her head, we are drawn into the conflict as well, and her suspense is real to us. The few chapters with outside points of view serve to give us alternate looks at Karly.

On the down side, it is a highly introspective book, and readers expecting more outside action might find Karly’s internal agonizing…well, agonizing. Fans of chick lit and the lighter Literary Fiction will find it quite normal and fascinating.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable book that will reach out to a wider audience than the average Sci-Fi novel. Try it. You’ll like it.

Five stars

This review was originally published on Reedsy Discovery.

[D.H. Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miss Universe

So I saw a paperback edition of this book being passed around at a meeting of my writer’s critique group. The author was someone I didn’t know much. It’s a large group, and we might have exchanged words a few times. I didn’t get to take that paperback, but I looked the book up and thought it sounded interesting. It was on Kindle Unlimited, and since I have a KU subscription, I started reading it.

It was very entertaining, and I found it even drawing my attention away from the paperback I was also reading at the time (one of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn books, so that’s saying a lot). Miss Universe was a thoroughly entertaining read. Highly recommended.

[Diana Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a nice surprise. I didn't go in with particular expectations, but was pleased both by the quality of the writing and the cleverness of the plot. The author put a lot of thought and imagination into coming up with the world building surrounding the "real" Miss Universe pageant, and the story held some interesting twists and turns. All in all, a unique and entertaining sci-fi read.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't usually like SciFi, so imagine my surprise at enjoying this book. It's a pageant staged light years away. One of the contestants is from Earth...a first time addition. Several twists keep it interesting. Good writing!

[Yunet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll start by saying that although I enjoyed this book and it did contain moments that made me laugh that still wasn't enough for me to give this book a five star rating.

[Pete Ffrench · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way Miss Universe should be run, not just posing in bikinis and evening gowns but getting stuck in and competing. Some weird competitors and a lot of sci fi thrown in for good measure and it's a good concept.

[Andrew Buck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting story. It is a light, funny, uncomplicated and easy to read book. It is a perfect summer read.

[Maureen Horswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow what a miss universe

Started out as a lost cause and ended up as amazing proof of what you can achieve when you have nothing to lose.

[Govno Nichevo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this was a very good read. Amusing and irreverent at times, good pace, and an entertaining story.

[Ginger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was different from what I usually read. Once I got into it I could not wait to see what happened. The author sure has an imagination.

[MB (What she read) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars and lots of fun to read

(FMCs as written by men never “feel” quite real/accurate to me. But this wasn’t too bad.)

I think Scalzi fans may enjoy this.

[Axel Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Read it.

The premise is awesomeness, the book very entertaining. I really enjoyed this one. Now I'm off to see if there are others.