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.
