Super Quick Review

[soc_puppet]

Just finished the audiobook for Terminal Peace by jimhines/Jim C. Hines, third and final installment of the "Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse" trilogy.

Without spoilers, I will say that I was fully prepared to accept the pre-epilogue ending. Jim has gone through some serious shit over the past few years, even beyond Covid, and he hasn't shied away from bringing personal experience into his works. Nor is he shy about doing what needs to be done for the sake of story and character. That said, I 100% welcomed the epilogue with open arms; sometimes sweetness can be a flavor enhancer, just like salt is.

I will also say that Jim remains a deft hand at pulling an unexpected third option out from behind a rock when you aren't looking. One that still works. I had to reassure myself of his track record on that count several times during the course of this book, but he got us/the characters there in the end!

Long story short, I would absolutely read/listen to more stories set in this universe.

Comments

Nifty!

[jesse_the_k]

I'm always looking for SF epics I can get behind.

Conveniently, Jim posts the first chapter of each book for free browsing:

https://www.jimchines.com/project/janitors/

...and there's an audio trailer as well! https://www.graphicaudio.net/our-productions/series/janitors-of-the-post-apocalypse.html

Weirdly the production company doesn't host Terminal Peace. Remarkably, the audio producers advise readers how to work around the devilish tendency of Audible to withdraw support for a title:

ZIP DOWNLOAD PURCHASES: If you purchase the mp3, m4b or flac option, then we recommend that you also download the zip files containing the audio from our website download section and back it up on your computer hard drive, because some titles or series may be removed at some point in the future due to licensing restrictions.

Co-signed

[soc_puppet]

There's actually two versions of the audiobooks, which I just found out when re-downloading the series; the one you've linked to has a full cast and lots of sound effects and probably also music (IIRC, the tagline for Graphic Audio is "A movie in your mind"). There's also a more conventional recording available. I think it's really cool that there are two different versions available, because I love full cast recordings with sound effects and so forth, but simple, single-narrator versions can be better for accessibility (audio processing and so forth).


Anyway, Jim is good people. I first found out about his work in 2009, when he was one of a number of white authors responding well to RaceFail. I vowed then and there to try his new book (The Stepsister Scheme, first in the princesses quartet), and if his writing was even half as good as his politics, it would be money well spent. Needless to say, I stuck around 😉 He's not always perfect, but he does own his mistakes when he makes them, and keeps trying to do better, which counts for a lot in my estimation.

Jim has also been a frequent guest/the Toastmaster (master of ceremonies kinda role) at our local SFF con, so I can confirm that he's cool in person, as well 👍