Torian Razner, a mechanic, pilot and security guard, if not very experienced, bought a starship, with all her hard- earned credit in solid currency bars. Now she’s got a lot of work ahead before she can even leave dry dock. The title MOSS’D IN SPACE is humour, sure, but it also points out how moisture and spores aboard systems made to support life can take over the environment. The small ship, called Destitute or Traitor depending on whom you ask, is oozing moss.

I don’t know why the cover shows people sitting in what looks like a landscape, as the tale sustains the space theme. One minute, Torian is glad to see the back of her former boss, Amelia the smuggler, and the next, she’s lurching from wormhole to space station on a ship prone to breakdowns, given how old its tech and equipment are. Another problem is that it’s an alien ship, so naturally, mechanics are few who understand it, one reason it was left aside and sold cheaply. However, there’s a bright side. Torian swiftly discovers that the life support system produces its oxygen via the moss and has even developed a mind and speech. Mechanical Operations and Support Systems, or Moss, is actually an organic computer with serious abandonment issues. Well, it was dumped in a dock hangar and left to go derelict for over a century.

What I especially like is that Torian doesn’t just want to be a smuggler or tour guide with her new purchase; she has a noble cause. A small percentage of people in closed system environments, like space stations, are incompatible with the air provided and develop asthma and lung conditions. One such is her sister, Celise Razner, who works in a medical centre and still can’t qualify for better oxygen. If Celise can’t get to live in a purer environment, she won’t live more than a few years. The little ship is only really big enough for one and a temporary guest, but Torian has plans to sort out the situation now she has freedom of movement. Or, she will do, if she can ever keep the Destitute running.

This tale strikes me as a cross between THE SHIP WHO SANG and MURDERBOT, and the author Rebecca Thorne admits to being inspired by the latter. This is a low-stress story, soft on action, on violence, on romance and anger, though all of those do occur. Interest is sustained by various location shifts and the introduction of some alien species, all of whom are treated with awe by the female mechanic. Let’s repeat that; MOSS’D IN SPACE stars a female mechanic and pilot. Great reason to read the book.