Review of The Midas Effect
Posted: 22 Aug 2021, 13:56
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Midas Effect" by Manuel Dorado.]
What if you could have the power to make all your wishes become a reality? Would you grasp for such a power?
Manuel Dorado’s The Midas Effect is a masterfully told story whose conclusion would make you remember the popular warning: be careful what you wish for. No, it is not a story filled with hyper-scientific drama of Martian wars or such hyperbolic motifs typical of many sci-fi books but it is a rather well-contained realistic story injected with the necessary amount and element of the scientifically improbable or, dare I say, impossible: quantum inflexors. These quantum inflexors are humans endowed with varying special superhuman abilities. The main character, Miguel Le Fablec, is however different from the rest in that he is a Midas type inflexor: one who has the ability to make all his wishes come true. But Miguel is unaware of his power until a group of scientists lured him into what is called The Project. Under the intrusive supervision of the CIA, they were finally able to help him both discover and unleash his true potential. But such a man as Miguel with the omnipotence of a god was not likely to be left alone, so it comes as little surprise when the CIA hatches their well-kept plan to weaponize him for a top secret agenda.
Manuel does a good job with his characters by bestowing them with all sort of idiosyncrasies. One good thing about the characters having different idiosyncrasies is that it sometimes provided good occasion for comic relief. An example of such funny scene would be when Castillo with his compulsive habit of adjusting his tie—can’t he ever dress up without a tie? —tried to adjust a tie he forgot was no longer on him! There is Monica too with carnivorous tendencies to chew her lower lips. There was the inscrutable Russian scientist Gorlov with his monotonous facial expression that almost never changes no matter what. And then there was Dr. Barrett too whose default language seems to be mathematical jargon that rendered him totally incapable of giving a simple explanation of any matter at all. The Midas Effect is however not just a book of idiosyncrasies but of surprising twists, misery, science, love, and ethics. It touches on all these themes howbeit tentatively.
Apart from the idiosyncrasies of the characters, not much else good can be said about the characterization in the book. Whereas the story had a very rich plot, it was poor on characterization. Another complaint the story deserves is that it seems too restrained. One could almost feel the writer’s unwillingness to fully explore the story’s different themes and the possibilities inherent in the plot. For example, I think some problems which the protagonist faced were no real problems in light of the abilities conferred on him. Sometimes, one would wonder why he could not just wish himself out of certain situations. But it seems that Miguel only had the omnipotence of a god and not the wisdom or creativity of one. His inability to think of creative solutions by himself was demonstrated at a time when Vincent offered him helpful clues on what he could do during a face-off with Castillo and other attackers. Why didn’t he think of those suggestions himself? But well, it would seem no single human can have it all—not even a Midas like Miguel.
This book has a wonderful premise and I would therefore recommend it to anyone who appreciates good plot in a story. It is however not suitable for a young audience because it contains profane content and some sex scenes.
For the analysis provided above, I give The Midas Effect a 3 out 4 stars rating. Though it has most of the making of a perfect story, its major bane remains the poor development of its characters.
******
The Midas Effect
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
What if you could have the power to make all your wishes become a reality? Would you grasp for such a power?
Manuel Dorado’s The Midas Effect is a masterfully told story whose conclusion would make you remember the popular warning: be careful what you wish for. No, it is not a story filled with hyper-scientific drama of Martian wars or such hyperbolic motifs typical of many sci-fi books but it is a rather well-contained realistic story injected with the necessary amount and element of the scientifically improbable or, dare I say, impossible: quantum inflexors. These quantum inflexors are humans endowed with varying special superhuman abilities. The main character, Miguel Le Fablec, is however different from the rest in that he is a Midas type inflexor: one who has the ability to make all his wishes come true. But Miguel is unaware of his power until a group of scientists lured him into what is called The Project. Under the intrusive supervision of the CIA, they were finally able to help him both discover and unleash his true potential. But such a man as Miguel with the omnipotence of a god was not likely to be left alone, so it comes as little surprise when the CIA hatches their well-kept plan to weaponize him for a top secret agenda.
Manuel does a good job with his characters by bestowing them with all sort of idiosyncrasies. One good thing about the characters having different idiosyncrasies is that it sometimes provided good occasion for comic relief. An example of such funny scene would be when Castillo with his compulsive habit of adjusting his tie—can’t he ever dress up without a tie? —tried to adjust a tie he forgot was no longer on him! There is Monica too with carnivorous tendencies to chew her lower lips. There was the inscrutable Russian scientist Gorlov with his monotonous facial expression that almost never changes no matter what. And then there was Dr. Barrett too whose default language seems to be mathematical jargon that rendered him totally incapable of giving a simple explanation of any matter at all. The Midas Effect is however not just a book of idiosyncrasies but of surprising twists, misery, science, love, and ethics. It touches on all these themes howbeit tentatively.
Apart from the idiosyncrasies of the characters, not much else good can be said about the characterization in the book. Whereas the story had a very rich plot, it was poor on characterization. Another complaint the story deserves is that it seems too restrained. One could almost feel the writer’s unwillingness to fully explore the story’s different themes and the possibilities inherent in the plot. For example, I think some problems which the protagonist faced were no real problems in light of the abilities conferred on him. Sometimes, one would wonder why he could not just wish himself out of certain situations. But it seems that Miguel only had the omnipotence of a god and not the wisdom or creativity of one. His inability to think of creative solutions by himself was demonstrated at a time when Vincent offered him helpful clues on what he could do during a face-off with Castillo and other attackers. Why didn’t he think of those suggestions himself? But well, it would seem no single human can have it all—not even a Midas like Miguel.
This book has a wonderful premise and I would therefore recommend it to anyone who appreciates good plot in a story. It is however not suitable for a young audience because it contains profane content and some sex scenes.
For the analysis provided above, I give The Midas Effect a 3 out 4 stars rating. Though it has most of the making of a perfect story, its major bane remains the poor development of its characters.
******
The Midas Effect
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon