Terminal Peace

Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse #3

by Jim C. Hines

The third and final book of the Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse follows a group of unlikely heroes trying to save the galaxy from a zombie plague.

Marion “Mops” Adamopoulos and her team were trained to clean spaceships. They were absolutely not trained to fight an interplanetary war with the xenocidal Prodryans or to make first contact with the Jynx, a race who might not be as primitive as they seem. But if there’s one lesson Mops and her crew have learned, it’s that things like “training” and “being remotely qualified” are overrated.

The war is escalating. (This might be Mops’ fault.) The survival of humanity—those few who weren’t turned to feral, shambling monsters by an alien plague—as well as the fate of all other non-Prodryans, will depend on what Captain Mops and the crew of the EDFS Pufferfish discover on the ringed planet of Tuxatl.

But the Jynx on Tuxatl are fighting a war of their own, and their world’s long-buried secrets could be more dangerous than the Prodryans.

To make matters worse, Mops is starting to feel a little feral herself…

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Humor, Fiction, Space, Zombies, Audiobook

336 pages, Hardcover

First published August 23, 2022

About the author

Jim C. Hines began his writing career with a trilogy about the irrepressible Jig the goblin, which actor and author Wil Wheaton described as "too f***ing cool for words." He went on to deconstruct fairy tales in his four-book Princess series, made all the world's literature a grimoire in the Magic ex Libris series, and explored the heroic side of spacecraft sanitation in his Janitors of the Post Apocalypse trilogy. His short fiction has appeared in more than fifty magazines and anthologies. Jim has been outspoken about topics like sexism and harassment, and was the editor of the Invisible series—three collections of personal essays about representation in sf/f. He received the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 2012. Jim currently lives in mid-Michigan.

Reviews

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY REVIEW: 4.5 Stars

I loved this trilogy!! I love the original storyline, the characters, and space as the setting

In my opinion, this trilogy is underrated!! I think theses books should get more attention! The books are funny, have wonderful species of characters and you care for them! I had ordered my hardback to go with my first two books, but also got it from Netgalley! Highly recommend!

I’ll leave it with some fun quotes!

*Humans are little more than animals. I say this not out of malice or racism. Indeed, I’m quite fond of human beings. But after years of study, I’ve found them to be an evolutionary quagmire of inefficiency. Scientifically and objectively, humans are a primitive species.

They have redundant lungs and kidneys, but only a single brain or heart, as well as seemingly "optional" organs like the appendix. Even more absurd is their reproductive system. Half the species keep their genitalia on the outside of their bodies! Then there’s the human gastrointestinal abomination if ever there was one!!

*The human GI tract is more than seven and a half meters long. Despite this absurd length, humans regularly emit foul-smelling exhaust as a byproduct of inefficient digestion. Krakau biochemists have tried for years to reduce these emissions through a carefully controlled diet, but their efforts have met with minimal success.

** Thank you to Netgalley and DAW Books for a digital copy of this book.

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

MY BLOG: https://melissa413readsalot.blogspot....

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure I already said most of what follows in one of my previous non-reviews for this trilogy but there goes anyway and stuff. So. You need to read this series because:

① It’s one of the most underrated SF series in the history of most underrated SF series 👋 waves at Linesman 👋.

② Scrumptiously creative, original world.

③ Those characters! Those alien species! 😍😍😍

④ Machiavellian shenanigans for the win!

⑤ HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

⑥ Such character growth, much wow.

⑦ Action-packed plot with shrimploads of twists and turns and surprises, oh my!

⑧ Best character and ship names ever. And that’s a scientifically proven fact.

⑨ HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

⑩ One of the most satisfying ending to a series in the history of most satisfying endings to a series.

⑪ An epilogue that will make you feel disgustingly warm and fuzzy inside. (I almost didn’t survive this unexpected bout of despicable bliss.)

➽ Nefarious Last Words (NLW™): one day space janitors will rule the world. And it better be sooner rather than later.



P.S. Mops for president!

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

· Book 1: Terminal Alliance ★★★★
· Book 2: Terminal Uprising ★★★★

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never expected to read this book.

Not because I didn't love the first two. I did. They are some of my absolute favorite military science fiction reads, because of the humor, the relationships, the world-building, and the way Hines so deftly twists milsf tropes about. It centers space janitors in the BEST way possible!

I didn't expect this book because shortly after Book 2 was published, Hines' wife passed away. I read his blog posts, and was heartbroken alongside him. I expected the Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse to end at book 2, because how can a person go on after a loss of half your soul? And then the pandemic happened, and it scuttled the publishing world.

So when this ARC popped up on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it.

And I knew that it was going to be sending me in tears. In the first chapter. In the middle of the book. In the end and the ending and everything afterward.

Maybe I'll do a more in-depth post. Because I'm highly annoyed that this trilogy is so underhyped, because it is everything I ever wanted in a space opera:

✅ Friendships
✅ Zombies
✅ Mutiny
✅ Interplanetary secrets
✅ Underdog spaceship crew
✅ POG power!
✅ Chemical Solvents
✅ Snarky AI
✅ And the most terrifying callback to Clippy, Microsoft Word's "helpful" paperclip

I received an ARC from NetGalley

[Elentarri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going from janitors on a space ship to saving the galaxy, this is an entertaining (but with serious bits), fast-paced science fiction trilogy with delightful characters (humans and aliens), fascinating world building, and an interesting premise.

[Elena Linville-Abdo · Rating 5 out of 5]

 Stars: 5 out of 5

This was an excellent ending to what turned out to be a very good series. I will definitely check out other books by this author, because as far as introductions go, the Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse knocked it out of the park.

This book effectively resolves the main issue of the first two books - the seemingly unresolvable Prodryan treat. How do you prevail over a species who considers all other species as inferior and the whole universe as their own playground, ripe for the taking? Where conquest is woven into the very DNA of a Prodryan? The only way to beat that is genocide, at least according to the Krakau Alliance. And we found out exactly to what lengths the Krakau are willing to go to accomplish that in the previous two books. But Marion "Mops" Adamapoulos and her crew might just have another solution...

I loved how unpredictable these books are. Every time I think I know the course which the story will take, the author manages to surprise me with a completely different resolution. I admit that I still have doubts about the feasibility of the solution proposed at the end of this book, but I admit that it's beautifully accomplished. What solution? you might ask. Well, read the book to find out.

Mops also had a big obstacle to overcome in this book. One that is very personal and very terminal. It was both uplifting and bittersweet to embark on this journey with her and to see her slowly come to grips with her own condition and her place in the big picture. Mops grew a lot as a leader and a human being throughout the series. So did all the other characters as well. I was particularly impressed with how far Kumar came from the obsessive-compulsive cleaner he'd been in book 1. The great part is that he is still obsessive-compulsive, but he had matured as a person and discovered some inner depths that I frankly didn't know he had. That's the great thing about this series - the characters evolve and mature, but they fundamentally stay themselves. The growth is believable. They still act in character and the decisions they make are believable based on what we know of them.

I admit that up until almost the end was wasn't sure what kind of solution our crew would find to the Protryan problem short of full-on genocide or chemically altering an entire species which would also be a different kind of genocide. As I had mentioned earlier, the solution is quite beautifully done, even if I have doubts it would last long-term. I would be interested to see how it works out, if the author decides to revisit this world again in his later works. 

There are a number of characters I would like to follow up on, including Mops and all the Librarians on Earth. We end this book on a hopeful note, with a real cure for feral humanity. This is huge. How would that work out? A whole civilization to rebuild and hordes of feral humans to cure and re-educate. That's a big task. Also, how will this new alliance work? How would the Prodryans interact with other species when they aren't trying to conquer them?

All in all, this was a very good story - fast paced and full of twists and turns and engaging characters. And the Jynx are furry little balls of awesome.

PS: I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Mike Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final book in the Janitors of the Post-apocalypse caught me by surprise - in a good way. The elements that I enjoyed most about the earlier books were still there but the tone had changed.

I got to cheer for the human underdog, winning through ingenuity and daring and by refusing to play the conflict game by the rules. Mops, the genius human leader of the multi-species band of janitors who have been thrust into the role of saving the human race and possibly the universe, isn't just better at tactics and strategy than her opponents, she has a different definition of winning. One where as many people as possible on all sides survive and the whole wasteful process of war is abandoned. That's not easy to do when the most efficient killers in the galaxy define themselves by their ability to conquer.

I got to smile at the quiet humour that runs through the book, sometimes based on unintentionally inappropriate references to the now largely destroyed human culture, sometimes just from the banter between a crew I've come to know well and occasionally from the way Mops rebukes someone without shouting at them - like the new engineer, proud of his prowess, who has made an error that cost Mop's ship its weapons pod. She gets him to walk through his actions until his mistake hits him in the face like the handle of a rake that he's just stood on.

I got to admire, again, Jim Hines' ability to dream up aliens who really are alien while still making them beings that I can empathise with.

So what was different?

Mops is going feral. She's reverting to the mindless, savage, almost impossible-to-kill creature she was before she was 'cured' by the aliens who unleashed the plague that made her that way. She's going to lose everything that makes her her. And she knows it. And neither her genius nor her bravery nor her friends and allies can do anything about it except watch it happen.

I found this deeply affecting, as I imagine anyone would who has watched someone they love lose themselves to disease and death.

Yet Jim Hines didn't let 'Terminal Peace' become a dirge for Mops. Mops accepts the inevitability of her own decline but she doesn't just curl up in a ball and give in. She makes plans and she trusts her team to do what she won't be able to do.

I won't share the plot because that will spoil the fun but I admired the way Jim Hines had the members of Mops' team accept their expanded responsibilities and carry on in a way that Mops would have made Mops proud.

The outcome was as clever and unexpected and pleasing as ever but, for me, it had more impact than the earlier books because Mops' reversion added something sombre that balanced out the wise-cracking and the anarchy, giving the team's mission more focus and weight.

I loved this trilogy. If you haven't read it yet, don't start here. Read 'Terminal Alliance' and 'Terminal Uprising' first. And when you do read 'Terminal Peace', read the Author's Note at the end to hear what inspired the change in tone in the last book of the trilogy.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot was going on in this final part of the trilogy, but everything came together in a very satisfying ending. I will miss the crew!

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terminal Peace is the third in the "Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse" series by Jim C. Hines. Really, do you need anything other than the name of the series to know this is going to be great?

Premise is that humanity have been turned "feral" by an alien disease, except for a few who were naturally immune. Those became "librarians," and have been working to free humanity from subjugation by various intergalactic powers.

Mops is a human janitor who is also the captain of a ship crewed by humans and aliens. War is imminent, and humans will suffer even more than they already have. It's up to Mops and her crew to clean up yet another mess, but Mops is running out of time, as she's been infected and will soon "revert."

Mops is a delight, as are her crew. There are plenty of pop culture references, but not enough to distract from the story. This is a story of the underdog and how doing the right thing sometimes pays off, even if not in ways you expect. Mops and her crew battle their way to a forbidden planet in hopes of something that will stop the Prodryans, who want to dominate the galaxy. Can they convince the "primitive" Jynx to help them?

Hines is a good writer, and has created worlds and beings with whom you will want to spend more time. I'm hoping there are more in this series, although the ending of this book did wrap things up well.

I received an advance copy from DAW via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

4.75/5 stars.

[Meg Yeager · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic end to a perfect series. I loved the ending of this book and the way each member of the crew got to step up and become independent. Mops was a fantastic lead character, but I think the author made a good choice in allowing the others to blossom. I didn't think I would cry in a book about space janitors, but I was incredibly wrong. I can't wait to reread this book when I forget all the details.

[Jen (That's What I'm Talking About) · Rating 4 out of 5]

After stopping Admiral Sage from creating more feral super soldiers, Mops and her motley crew join the Earth Defense Fleet, upgrade the EDFS Pufferfish, and set out on a secret mission to find a weapon that can stop the xenocidal Prodryans. Yet when they meet the mysterious Jynx, the crew learn many secrets and surprises that may draw them into a brewing civil war on Tuxatl.

Terminal Peace is the final story in the delightfully entertaining Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse series. This trilogy should be read in order, with each book a standalone adventure, but building upon the previous tale to create the overall story. The series is an entertaining and humorous space adventure with a spunky heroine and her cast of unlikely heroes. The crew continues to adjust and think outside the box as they grow into their own, learning and going beyond what they believed capable. Things are made even more difficult for the crew as their leader, the unflappable Mops, learns that her body is rejecting the Krakau cure and she is reverting to her feral state. This gives opportunity for the supporting characters to shine in new rolls. Mops is a great character: one of those underdogs who is destined for more, but it looks like maybe her time is up. This adds urgency and a layer of emotional that wasn’t present in the first two stories.

Terminal Peace shares a solid story and brings a satisfying end to the trilogy. I enjoyed the progressing storyline and how the author ties it all into the larger picture. The evolution of the crew and the friendships is well done. The addition of a whole new species is both a good and frustrating aspect. I liked how the Jynx race is the X-factor needed to balance the universal scales. The fact that they are isolated yet hold such power is handled well. They want to be left alone and have the means to do it. However, adding a new world and species also added a lot of volume to the book as the author creates the setting and explains the history, and the story felt long and drawn out at times.

Narration: Overall, the performance by Ms. Mitchell is solid and entertaining. The story is primarily shared via the third person POV of Mops, but it is also shared from the POVs of a couple of the supporting characters. While the narrator maintains the same voice, Ms. Mitchell gives just enough variation between the different characters that I was able to know who was speaking just by voice. Additionally, the narrator gives each character and race its own suitable flair - the “mechanical” feel of the Grom, no-nonsense from Monroe, panicked wonder from Kumar, etc.

I’ve really enjoyed my time with the Pufferfish and her crew. What started as humorous adventure (space janitors?!) turned into a serious, yet fun, and emotional sci-fi. I highly recommend.

My Ratings:
Story: B
Narration: B+

Originally posted at That's What I'm Talking About
Review copy provided by publisher

[Cecilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mops and her crew head off to an unexplored planet for a potential weapon against the Prodryans and finds more than she bargains for - a planet of cat-like creatures (haha) ruled by a computer/dictator tree with no care for personal freedoms. She also faces a hard decision when she starts reverting to zombie status.

I particularly cared for the direction the writer went in when Mops started reverting. In so many books, the main character figures out how to overcome their challenges and saves the day. Instead, Mops makes a very hard decision and trusts in her team, and I found that kind of beautiful.

[Brandon Wills · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid conclusion to the story of mops

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal ending to an extremely fun series! I had so much fun with these books!

[Christopher Gerrib · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've known Jim Hines since his first book came out, and I think I've read all of his fiction. This book like the previous two in the trilogy went on my automatic to-buy list as soon as it was possible. I read the book and am glad to report that he did not disappoint.

Jim's had some personal issues the past couple of years, on top of COVID-19 which affected us all, so this book was delayed. I can also see that these personal issues led to a darker book than the previous two, starting with a problem affecting a main character almost from page 1. But all is not lost, either in life or in the book.

Overall, a very fine conclusion to another fun series by Jim C. Hines.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally posted at BooksOfMyHeart.net.

This is the final installment of Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse. It has been a really fun journey throughout the entire series. I loved Mops in the first book and that love has only grown with each story. She is such a wonderful character. She went from feral human, to head janitor, to captain of the Pufferfish and she just keeps doing what must be done for her team and other humans.

In this story, Mops sneaks onto a planet that has been blockaded by the enemy Prodryans. What was so important about this planet that the Prodryans decided to blockade it instead of just destroying it? And what is happening on this new planet of Tuxatl, might even be scarier than the war itself.

This was a great ending to the series. While it has a bit of a different feel than the previous two books (less silliness is the biggest one), it still feels like the same series. There is a note from the author that he was going through some really tough shit during the writing of this book. He even set it aside for a while and then he was a different person when he picked the book back up. I think fans of the series will enjoy this book, even with it being different from the first two. I think it feels a bit deeper with less silliness, but there was also still humor too.

If you haven’t given this series a try, I highly recommend it. It is a fun science fiction story set in the future and in space and other planets (and even a little bit of Earth). The characters are very well developed. You really do fall in love with so many of them. The action and humor help bring the entire series together.

Narration:
Rebecca Mitchell continued to perform in this series. I’ve really enjoyed her narration. I did read the first book instead of listening, but listened to the second two. I would for sure listen to them all again. I hope to find more stories that she’s performed that would interest me. I would like to listen to more of her work.

[Teshas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic finale to a fantastic series. It's wacky and fun and also great space opera. I'm only a little sad that Mops was out of commission for a significant part of the book, but I understand.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A satisfying and peaceful ending to the trilogy with the prevention of all out galactic war. The alignment with the author's personal tragedy lends credence to the main character's struggles. This was an enjoyable, action space trilogy.

[Chip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some somewhat unlikely YAesque plotting / plot holes (Joe Abercrombie grimdark this ain’t), but all-in-all a nice end to a worth-reading trilogy.

[Maxima Aelwyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

God this was worth the wait

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good ending, but I'm still sad the series is over.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though afflicted with a Hole--I don't think Hines came up with a good enough reason why the Prodryans didn't just destroy Tuxatl once they found out the threat--and more serious in tone than the opener (as the author was going through a family tragedy while writing it), there are still a few glints of comedy and comedic casting to help carry this through, and it does come to a properly robust ending. Nice work.

[Willow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most satisfactory ending to a very enjoyable trilogy.

[Scott Wozniak · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ending of the series was as good as the other two books. The characters grew and developed in satisfying ways, the plot had some wonderful twists at the end, and all the emotional loops were closed. If you enjoy action comedy, especially with a sci-fi twist, you will love this trilogy.

[Faase · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terminal Peace concludes the Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse series (3 parts, starting with Terminal Alliance). This is a space adventure with loads of humor, tons of weird aliens and fun ideas. If you are in a kind of 'Galaxy Quest' mood, this series might be for you.

[Antipoet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fitting and clever conclusion to a thoroughly enjoyable series.

If you're like me, you'll have some reservations about the fact the book opens with Mops being told she's dying/reverting to her zombie state. I think it worked out, with Jim once again proving he can handle difficult plots well.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun series. It’s a really satisfying ending too. If you’re looking for a light science fiction series I recommend this one highly. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and has been super fun to read, on second thought I’m rounding this up to five stars for the overall quality of the series. You don’t want to start with this one though if you’re a reader that waits on a series being finished before you start it. You do want to start with Terminal Alliance. Everything I’ve read by this author has been super fun so take a look at his other books too if you’d enjoy some non serious fantasy books.

[Cressa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful finish to the Space Janitors series. Our brave crew set out once again and end up having to save the world using their superior knowledge of cleaning products. Seriously though, I knew that the author had suffered a terrible loss and I wondered how that would affect this book. His heartache is woven in bits and pieces throughout the storyline, but he left his readers with a glimmer of hope at the end.

ARC from Netgalley.

[Stephan van Velzen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this conclusion. One of the better final books in a trilogy I've read.

[A.N.G. Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this final installment of the Janitors of the Post Apocalypse trilogy! In my opinion, it was the slowest of the three and I could not keep the Jynx names/characters straight in my head for some reason; they kept running together and some of the plot became confusing. Other than that, however, it was great! An excellent space opera comedy and one of my favorite modern series!

[Ziggy Nixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humans are little more than animals. I say this not out of malice or racism. Indeed, I’m quite fond of human beings. But after years of study, I’ve found them to be an evolutionary quagmire of inefficiency. Scientifically and objectively, humans are a primitive species.

If there's one thing I could say about "Terminal Peace", it would be simply this: it was so worth the wait! I have been such a fan of this series, reading the first book in late 2019 (not quite a year and a half after its original publication) and since hungrily awaiting each subsequent chapter as a true fan should! And yes, this week in preparation for this final instal(l)ment, I read "Terminal Alliance" again (which I had already read, um, again before, when Book 2 came out) and then "Terminal Uprising" for the 2nd time. Both still thrilled me and so, man, was I psyched to finally get to open Book 3.

Who hasn’t incapacitated a ship and tried to wipe out a planet’s population when they were a child?

So what did this numbskull = me do? I read the darn thing in ONE DAY! That's right: I snuck in a few chapters before lunch, read past and through my usual Saturday afternoon nap-time (feel. the. sacrifice!!!) and then right up until the midnight church bells softly chimed throughout the valley! Yep, there I was : a nearly 60-year old dudester closing a book I never wanted to end with a damn tear or three rolling down my cheek for that amazingly touching and truly satisfying ending! I will say this quite clearly about Author Jim C. Hines: no matter how many Nusuran, Glacidae, Quetzalus, Tjikko, Krakau, Rokkau, Prodryan, or Jynx (and all iterations of each) he includes, he simply does HUMANITY right! And yes, I'm including feral, semi-feral (a term I just made up right here myself), 'cured' and immune humanity in all that!

Nusurans are the only known race to have invented contraceptives before the wheel.

Needless to say - but I will anyway - I've obviously been dying to know how Hines would set up this last chapter. We went from deep space and more aliens than you could throw a Scalzi at in Book 1, to a more Terran setting in Book 2. Sure, there was fore- and aft-shadowing galore at the end of the middle tome, but I couldn't even begin to guess what we'd be in for as things reached what can only be considered in hindsight an epic conclusion! I mean, what do you do when your story-line needs a quick jolt to start the last chapter and get folks re-charged to follow their favorite Intergalactic Janitors again? BOOM! You throw a wrench in the works. Or perhaps in this case better said, you drop a Nusuran merkin in the plumbing! And that, fans, is what happens when you let yourself get invested in the characters. Wow.

None of the native plants are edible, but I discovered a red, vine-like type of seaweed that has an intoxicating effect when burnt. As team botanist, I took it upon myself to test the effects. For a while there, I’m pretty sure I could see time.

I have a feeling anything and/or everything I say about the story will be a bit of a spoiler if I provide even the most scant of details. So being as general (a nuissance) as I can be (see?), I will say the characterizations of ALL species and players were just awesome, the space confrontations were just brilliant (those Checkers scenes were so TENSE!), and, again, the conclusion just hit all the right buttons! Hines is a very, very skilled story-tellER (and excellent editor this reviewer would like to add to satisfy his own OCD/Kumar-esque issues) and this is just wonderful story-tellING, even if you are typically NOT a scifi fan. Oh, no, don't misunderstand. I'm totally a geekoid in that regard (seriously, why else would I squeal so when BOTH the 'United Federation of Planets' and the 'Galactic Republic' were mentioned?)! I'm talking about you guys (points various fingers, flippers and even some potentially very naughty bits at all of you out there). Bottom-line: read 'em! You'll never face scrubbing your toilets the same way again!

And for the love of Elvis, be polite.