The Vacuum of Space

"The Vacuum of Space" is the first in the "Triana Moore, Space Janitor" series. The main character, Triana Moore, is a smart but mostly ordinary janitor on an orbital space habitat who stumbles across a murder. Striking a work/life balance is always hard but it's even harder when you're trying to solve a murder while getting to know the handsome rich guy who buys you expensive chocolate.

Some books have trouble striking a good balance between making a heroine relatable (particularly to a male like me) and moving the plot forward. Some treat the heroine as basically a man who… show more.

I enjoyed reading about this protagonist and her escapades. Triana is a brilliant coder whose main charge is the ship’s maintenance bots. When one of her bots discovers a dead body–that disappears–Triana gets sucked into the investigation and learns that not all the security agents are what they seem.

One of the things I appreciated about this novel is that the protagonist, Triana, is as smart as she is–to the extent that she can outwit the security team–while still happily working for the janitorial staff. Overall, I found the pacing to be great and the plot highly imaginative.

I love books that don’t take themselves too seriously. The Vacuum of Space aims for a zany drama akin to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, where serious events transpire within a comical context. Toning down the comedy a few notches while ramping up the drama leads to an unexpectedly entertaining murder mystery!

The author avoids stereotypes when developing the characters and slowly revealing their secrets. The main character, a lowly techno-janitor trying to fly under everyone’s radar, hides more secrets than anyone. That’s bad because a murderous psychopath roams the corridors of a realistic, rotating space station. Escape is… show more.

I adore well-written humor in a science fiction setting and Julia really did a great job. This story is fun and has plenty of fast-paced action. It’s a great clean, upbeat, well-written series with the perfect amount of comedy, adventure, mystery, and is a great way to escape the dreariness of the world. It’s a totally binge-worthy series!