Booklog 21/2018 - Jim C Hines: Terminal Alliance - Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse, #1

[jacey]

The apocalypse (a mutated plague) turned all humans into mindless savages, but the Krakau found a cure. A hundred years later, those cured humans are allowed into space on Krakau ships, acting in menial roles. They are prized for their toughness, their ability to thrive on basic rations, and their hard work. They get the jobs that no one else wants. Marion “Mops” Adamopoulos is a Lieutenant in charge of shipboard hygiene and sanitation. When a bio attack wipes out the command crew and turns the shipboard humans feral again, Mops and her crew are wearing containment suits so they are the only ones not affected. They go from being janitors and plumbers to having to fly the ship and outwit the aliens, and in doing so learn the secret that the Krakau didn't want them to know.

It's quirky and intriguing. Highly recommended.