Space Brooms

There is more than one tradition in science fiction. You can have your epic space battles, but here in Blighty we have the tradition of an every person getting wrapped up in something far above their pay grade. Arthur Dent had his towel, and Johnny Gomez has his mop and bucket. It can’t just be space fighters and cyborgs in the future, someone is going to need to make sure that the toilets are still working or at least make sure the robots that fix the toilets are still working. 

Kilgore Station is one of the core locations close to Terran space where aliens from across the universe gather to work, live, and party. Johnny arrived over a decade ago to find a new life away from the scrapyards of Luna. Rather than ending up with a lucrative new life, he ended up being a long-time worker for Space Brooms, a janitor contractor. After one particularly gross clean up in an alien bathroom Johnny finds a chit that will change his life. He may not want trouble, but trouble looks like it wants him. 

When I think of comedic science fiction, I automatically get visions of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Red Dwarf, two formative novels in my life. It is high praise that Space Brooms by A. G. Rodriguez has elements of both books but still feels like its own thing. Johnny is an Arthur Dent like character, a janitor out of water, and later in the book Johnny joins a ragtag group of space scavengers who all have their own quirks. 

What separates Brooms is that it is a little darker and harsh, especially on Johnny. He is punched from pillar to post for an item that he does not even want. He has no choice but to go on an interplanetary adventure as it is his only chance of survival. In parts Johnny takes what is happening badly, reflecting on a life poorly lived. It is here that the book finds its heart. This is an action adventure, but it is also a coming-of-age story about a man in his late 30s finally getting on with living. 

Like any good lighter sci fi, there are some wonderfully eccentric side characters in the book from a Stetson wearing spaceship pilot, to his gruff cousin. The various gangs offer some of the most amusing moments. Everyone is after the chit that Johnny found from the most sophisticated assassins to useless punk gangs. Survival relies as much on various gangs getting in each other's way as Johnny doing anything. 

Brooms is a book of light and shade, but on balance it is a lighter book. It is an adventure full of dark humour. Johnny feels like a more modern comedic protagonist, someone with internal demons, but who we can still laugh with/at. If you are looking for a science fiction romp that spans the Solar System, then this is a perfect book for whiling away a few hours.