The Galactic Idiot

by Scott Finlay

Gary Wright is a good-hearted young man yearning for adventure, having dreamt of space exploration and heroism his whole life. When Gary's frighteningly ill-tempered uncle, Colonel Virgil Cross, arranges a job for him aboard Terra One, humanity's very first and most decrepit space station, Gary's life turns upside down, and the rest of the galaxy flips with him. The one problem with Gary is that he's a complete and utter moron. In fact, the last thing he says before destroying the moon is, "Oops".

Suddenly caught in the middle of a galactic catastrophe with more adventure than he can handle, Gary is fleeing two of the galaxy's most powerful and least forgiving empires in a broken and unpredictable ship, encountering many diverse friends and enemies along the way including: Shii'an, the confident, tentacled rogue with a permanent smirk etched on her face; Korg, a dour, purple goliath who just wants to tinker with machines; Megatroll, the most dangerous computer worm in history trapped in a robot vacuum cleaner; Mon Arun, a shape-shifting reptilian saboteur; and Queen Morgaan, the omnipresent insectoid mother of a trillion mindless drones and a single daughter she'll protect at all costs.

Genres: Science Fiction

231 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 6, 2021

About the author

Scott Finlay, born in 1989 in the United States, is a professional software developer with an expertise in computer security. For many years he was active in the hacker scene and there known and respected as a skilled white hat hacker. In his daily life he designs complex systems, investigates disruptions, and sometimes tries unusual solutions by thinking outside the box. He draws on his architectural skills while designing his stories and his debugging skills are in many ways similar to those of a detective. Through his technical expertise, particularly regarding software and hacking topics he is able to write accurately.

In 2012 Scott moved to Germany for love and started a family there. As an American living in Europe, he has a somewhat unique view on the world and its politics, and draws inspiration from many of the issues he sees in the world to build dystopian settings and make social commentary.

Reviews

[Amilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found myself smiling more than I would have expected while reading this, and not only because of the witty humor and absurd yet too believable scenarios. I genuinely enjoyed the raw science fiction in this one. Not only is the not-quite-dystopian world interesting with some disturbing parallels to our own society, but there are some pretty cool sci fi ideas here. It begins with pretty simple and subtle details like how chairs would work in a universe where not everyone has two legs, or how to make a uniform that fits a worm person. The whole idea of en entire civilization controlled by a single person whose consciousness spans across trillions of bodies is also pretty interesting and pretty new to me, and it makes you question a lot of things you take for granted. Honestly, just looking at this pandemic we have now, I guess for the Vamra it wouldn't have even been a minor inconvenience.

[Susan Finlay · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a surprise! I watch a lot of sci-fi movies and tv shows but rarely read sci-fi books. My husband read this book and recommended it to me, so I decided to try it and loved it. The characters were unique and interesting, the world-building was phenomenal, and the plot was well-thought out. On top of all that, Mr. Finlay gave us some fun, laugh-out-loud moments. Did I mention the world-building? Until now, I didn't realize how difficult it is to create a sci-fi or fantasy world. The author has to describe everything and let the reader know all the rules of that world, without bogging down the plot. He did a great job!

I highly recommend 'The Galactic Idiot' to anyone looking for a fun romp thru space.

[dave cornell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hilarious romp!

This book was very fun, and very funny. Our hapless hero is a bumbling fool who's likable and causes Mayhem and eventually saves the earth. It has ridiculously entertaining characters like an evil sentient vacuum cleaner, and a squid like beef with multiple arms. Great stuff highly recommended!

[Agnus Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was OK. Fast paced with a cute, feel-good ending. I had a hard time with the main character being spoken to and about like they had less value and were dumb...but the book is titled the Galactic Idiot so I'm not really sure what I was planning on with that title so, I guess my bad with that criticism. It did take me about 30% of the way through the book to get over that and, once I did, I was able to enjoy the story and finish it in an afternoon.

I did like the idea that the person everyone considers to be a moron to be the one with all the answers...and what that actually says about "intelligence".

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

An apt title

The author refers to a fleet of warships as an army when it’s clearly a navy. He then has a subordinate acknowledge a female supervisor with a ‘yes, sir’ when it should have been ‘yes,ma’am “. He then refers to the helmsman of another warship as airman, which is an Air Force rank. Zero research went into writing this book. These are only a few of the military related blunders I found. There are enough in the book to make the title seem very apt indeed.

[Iah · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amusing story, not funny more mas by which I mean mildly amused smirk.
It lack the originality of D Adams & the sharp whit relying on the stupid luck of its lead. I was glad to Finnish it as it was a bit long the summery of they all lived happily was not wanted or needed. All said it has a certain charm.