Reviews:

Flowers for E.T.
While the representation of a story through a mélange of movies is not something I'm entirely comfortable with, it sometimes seems quite apropos-and in the case of "The Simpleton" by Mark Wayne McGinnis, I'm tempted to say that it is a combination of "The Lawnmower Man", "Flowers For Algernon", and "E.T."-with just a hint of "Ender's Game" thrown in for good measure, at the end.

I thoroughly enjoyed McGinnis' take on the familiar 'enhanced intelligence' concept-it has always fascinated me. That the alien feels concerned for enhancing the intelligence of a living thing without its consent is a great doorway to ruminations about the paradox of life being a violent exercise, yet intelligence urges us to seek peace. I appreciate writers who, like Tolstoy, take side-trips into the philosophical in the course of their story-telling.

On the downside, I've never been a big fan of the sci-fi trope in which the aliens are too peaceful to defend themselves and thus require us, savage humans, to fight their war for them. How is that not just using humans as second-hand weapons? But, whatever-it also allows for alien characters who are more savage than humans, rather than less-so balance is maintained.

Being anti-authoritarian, I'm also a big fan of stories where the security forces and the military are so paranoid and knee-jerk violent that they practically doom the planet in their narrow-minded quest to control a situation they don't understand-so I enjoyed that aspect of this story as well.

I'm very story-oriented-when I read, it is basically just to enjoy myself. This makes it difficult for me to discuss my impressions of a book without a great deal of 'spoilers'-but rest assured that "The Simpleton" is far less simple than the little bits I've given away in this review-and the whole story is complex and entrancing in the way only good sci-fi can be.-
Xper Dunn

Love this author's books.
I'm the biggest fan of Mark Wayne McGinnis. The Simpleton was impressive on a lot of levels... the multi-dimensional characters and the unusual and brilliant world he created, and just the science fiction and fantasy and mood he created.. it all blended together in one of the best books I've ever read. I read all of Mark's books. I recommend them all - Scrapyard Ship, Star Watch, Ship Wrecked Stranded on an Alien Planet, Boy Gone, The Hidden Ship, Gun Ship, Guardian Ship, USS Hamilton, and USS Jefferson. Please read this author's work, if you love action and adventure sci-fi or fun and entertaining space scifi space opera, McGinnis will not disappoint.- Sterling