Waste of Space by Gina Damico
Reviewed by Jack H.
Waste of Space by Gina Damico is centered around a modern day reality television show set in space. The writing style emulates that of a whistleblower report exposing misdeeds through a series of recovered documents, phone calls, and recordings. The dialogue is written like that of a screenplay, with stage directions and each character being named on each line next to their dialogue, but the exposition is written like that of a book. The characters all seem to be mere clichés but as the plot progresses more is learned about each character, with some even having ulterior motives.
This book is unique in its writing style but readers that enjoy mystery or satire may enjoy this. The novel does not lean too heavily into the mystery aspect, but there is an underlying plot that gets gradually fed to the reader. Waste of Space tells two separate, but woven together, stories. One of the “Spacetronauts” and one of the production crew who are making everything go smoothly. It is important to know that this book delves into topics that may be inappropriate for younger readers, such as sex and alcohol. If you enjoyed Waste of Space, then you may enjoy Hellhole by Gina Damico or The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Younger readers who are interested in a similar topic will enjoy Space Case by Stuart Gibbs.
Beyond this point, there are heavy spoilers as the plot will be summarized. The book starts with an interview between Chazz Young, the sleazy CEO of the reality TV network DV8, and NASAW, an unnamed space administration. Chazz pitches an idea – a reality show following a diverse cast of contestants who will be launched into “space” (although they were simply transported to a soundstage in New Mexico). On the spaceship, the reader is introduced to the cast – most notably Clayton, Nico, and Titania. DV8 introduces the first of many scripted events, an asteroid attack, to produce exciting content for the show. The issue is suspiciously quick and easy to deal with, leaving DV8 scrambling to fill time. On the next episode, they introduce weekly eliminations to nudge the contestants to be more entertaining. Gradually, some of the contestants wise up to the fact they are still on Earth. During one elimination, Clayton was scheduled to get taken. Another contestant, Jamarkus, sacrificed himself instead which led Clayton to explain to the other contestants that they were still on Earth. Just as tensions start ramping, NASAW goes rogue and a deafening noise can be heard right before the contestants briefly experience real weightlessness. Two cast members, Matt and Kaoru, are eliminated and whisked away by Boris, Chazz’s personal assistant. They soon awaken in the back of Boris’s van, knock out Boris, and drive for help. Tensions rise further in the ship, and whatever NASAW is doing reaches a fever pitch. Matt and Kaoru find an observatory and explain their story to an astronomer to try and get help. Chazz hires actors to be a SWAT team and storm the soundstage but they are held up by Louise pulling out a gun. She gets disarmed as Nico and Titania find an alternate exit off the ship. Nico sees Titania walk into a bright spinning circle and disappear, and we finally learn what NASAW stands for. The National Association for the Search of Atmospheric Wormholes.