Book Review: "Space Brooms," by A.G. Rodriguez

 

    A.G. Rodriguez's Space Brooms! is a fast-paced, pulpy sci-fi comedy with plenty of action and a core group of likeable, well-rounded characters.

    Our narrator is Johnny Gomez, a 37-year-old janitor for Astro-Suds on the space station Kilgore. He is a guy who gave up on his dream of directing films (holofilms, that is -- this is a sci-fi book after all) and moved penniless to this space station to find work and hopefully, one day, some adventure. All he's found, though, is a miserable job for a miserable boss and a whole lot of disappointment. He does have a helpful and friendly roommate, Rygar, who continues to surprise throughout the novel. This augmented fellow might know more about the sort of adventure Johnny is looking for than he has ever let on.

    One day Johnny finds a data chip while cleaning a zero gravity restroom and, on his way back from the job, is jumped by two thugs looking for the chip. He's saved by cousins Hooper and Leilani, smugglers who seem at first to be helping him just for fun. When Johnny is again attacked by a different criminal cartel while trying to turn the chip into the space station's security force, Hooper chimes in unexpectedly on Johnny's communication system to once more help him out of the jam. This time they meet up and head to the station's underbelly (where Rygar, the roommate, seems to hold some sway) and introduce Johnny to Lisette, a fence who can help sell this mysterious data chip. And while Johnny hasn't previously met Lisette, he has seen her around the station many times and incorporated her into his adventurous, film-like daydreams to distract from his custodial work. So this, truly, is the adventure Johnny has been waiting for.

    The group of four, aided at times from afar by Rygar, now have to get to Luna (our moon) to sell the chip, the seemingly unimportant contents of which initially blows Johnny's mind. On the way to Luna they'll run into multiple criminal syndicates, pirates, and police forces, and have all the galactic fights, chases, and potential romances one should expect in a good pulpy sci-fi novel.

    A.G. Rodriguez is a strong writer who keeps the action clear and moving at a brisk pace, and I had a great time getting acquainted with this janitor with big aspirations. As a 30-something guy that has personally abandoned the dreams of my youth for the monotony of the modern work force, it's easy to relate to a character like Johnny. My only real complaint about the book is that it reaches a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion, with some running threads either not being resolved fully or closed in ways that are a little less upbeat than the rest of the book, which is otherwise witty and light-hearted even in stressful story beats.

    But, hey, that's okay! I think we'll get to see Johnny, the space cowboy Hooper, the fierce mechanic Leilani, and the mysterious fence Lisette again in the future. I look forward to it.


4/5

My thanks to NetGalley, A.G. Rodriguez, and Angry Robot for this ARC. Space Brooms! will be available on March 25th.