Previous Finalists

Book of the Month

Blurb

Stockholm. New Year's Eve. One janitor squad. One mystery compound. One hell of a day.

A fast, sardonic, sci-fi mystery you won't forget. Join a ragtag crew of sanitation techs as they unravel a conspiracy buried deep in Sweden's waste stream — all before midnight.



About the Book
Waste-processing might sound boring — until the pee starts acting weird.

When a waste processing/energy plant near Stockholm starts misbehaving, a crew of lowly techs is dispatched to figure it out. The team is under-trained, under-equipped, and hilariously ill-prepared. Except one — the new recruit. She's a little too smart for her own good.

What follows is a cross-city chase packed with dead ends, ethical dilemmas, real danger, and high-stakes absurdity. (and pop culture nods for the observant aficionado)
Will they stop the scheme in time? Or just flood the city with chaos and mayhem?


“You are a vital component of Global Waste”
went the company motivational email…
Irena wants to fit in, and she needs the job, so she tries not to rock the boat.

But discovering something strange and potentially deadly in Stockholm's wastewater sends her fellow janitor squad members off the rails. Their hare-brained assumptions and accusations, fueled by the web site 'Syllojizm,' drive them to ever more dangerous mayhem. Irena is caught between her integrity and her need for security.

It's New Year's Eve, 2099. Can Irena get to the bottom of the wastewater mystery while containing her teammates, staying out of prison, and escaping Luxembourger street vendors, Buddhist monks, and the dreaded Canadian Space Agency?

What Our Readers Think

The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
13th December 2023
TITLE: Custodians of the Future
AUTHOR: X. Ho Yen

Star Rating: 5

'A cleverly plotted, futuristic novel packed full of memorable characters and a lot of perfectly timed humour.' The Wishing Shelf

REVIEW
I very much loved the premise of this novel, a janitor squad led by Irena, the FNG (Focking New Guy) – although she's not a guy, she's a girl – who investigate a Stockholm wastewater mystery – yes, wastewater! I must say, it's different! Add to that, it's very much a comedy, and reminded me a little of Ghostbusters in the way it's full of larger than life characters and has a lot of well-timed one liners. The author, coolly named X. Ho Yen, is a master at developing his small group of central characters, and the futuristic Stockholm (that's in Sweden by the way) setting is, well, original. Personally, having lived not far from Stockholm myself, I love the fact it was set there.
There were a number of elements to this novel I particularly enjoyed. Firstly, the writing style is excellent; not overly descriptive, plenty of speech with strong characterisation. Secondly, I liked how the author placed his 'what's happened in the world so far' summary at the beginning of the chapters. Not only was it compelling and, often, imaginative, it helped with pacing, the author successfully removing backstory from the central plot. And, thirdly, the story's funny; admittedly, not as funny as, say, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but still, I enjoyed a number of laugh-out-loud moments. I love comedy in novels; it often helps in enticing readers to turn the page – and this is very much the standout element of Custodians of the Future.
So, if you enjoy futuristic/sci-fi/mystery/comedy, this book is probably for you. I think most readers will love following (and rooting for) the janitor squad and its wacky members. I think they'll also be interested in discovering who is polluting Stockholm's water. Is it the nasty, evil Canadian Space Agency? Yes, probably. But you'll have to read it to find out!

'Wishing Shelf' Book Review
www.thewsa.co.uk