Terminal Alliance

November 13, 2017
Though humorous, the strong first installment of Hines’s Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse military science fiction series takes its core concept very seriously. It’s set in a future in which a plague killed most of humankind and turned the survivors into feral monsters. The alien Krakau have cured a handful of humans, leading to the creation of the Earth Mercenary Corps. When a bioweapon attack against the EMCS Pufferfish kills or incapacitates everyone aboard except Lt. Marion “Mops” Adamopoulos and her shipboard hygiene and sanitation team, they must commandeer the damaged ship and expose a conspiracy backed by villains who may be capable of undoing the Krakau cure. Much as in Hines’s Jig the Goblin series, the humor here comes from the contextual absurdity of underdog protagonists standing up to superior forces through cunning, unpredictability, and unconventional tactics—in this case, “space janitors” outwitting those who underestimate them. The ragtag EMC members also have an entertainingly incomplete understanding of human civilization, so they choose names that defy traditional gender norms (a woman is called Wolfgang Mozart) and name their ships for what they think of as Earth’s most intimidating creatures (e.g., the EMCS Honey Badger). This solidly entertaining story has plenty of potential for further installments. Agent: Joshua Bilmes, JABberwocky Literary.

In a steady voice, Colleen Delany helps narrate this space opera set in 2205. The Earth Mercenary Corps Ship PUFFERFISH is in trouble when a virus kills the Krakau and turns humans into mindless cannibals. Narrator Jessica Ball imbues Lt. Marion "Mops" Adamopoulos with effervescence as she leads her intrepid janitors who make up the shipboard hygiene and sanitation team. A full cast seamlessly portrays Mops's crew and a variety of space beings. Mops leads her fearless team, using only their cleaning and sanitizing tools, as they restore the ship, clean a space station, and foil a plot by multiple-tentacled Prodryan to destroy the Krakau and humans and rule the galaxy. A wild ride includes sound effects that liven up the adventure. M.B.K. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine