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Salvagia: A Novel
Tim Chawaga's sci-fi mystery debut, in which a diver searching for nostalgic salvage discovers the body of the most infamous man in flooded Florida and must avoid suspicion from both feds and corporate mafias. Reminiscent of Kim Stanley Robinson's New York 2140 and inspired by John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series.
Triss Mackey is flying just under the radar, exploiting a government loophole that lets her live quietly aboard the Floating Ghost—her rented, sentient CabanaBoat. In exchange, she dives for recycling, recovered from the flooded area of formerly-coastal cities known as the yoreshore. If she happens to find some salvagia—nostalgic salvage, valued artifacts from the past—well, that's just between her and the highest bidder.
But when the federal government begins withdrawing from Florida entirely, Triss must buy the Ghost outright or lose her loophole. Meanwhile, the corporate mafias are poised to seize power, especially Mourning in Miami, led by the legendary Edgar Ortiz, owner of the Astro America luxury hotel. Triss needs a score big enough to keep her free from both the feds and corporations, before the Ghost is sent to a watery, insurance-scamming grave.
In pursuit of such a score, she stumbles upon the chained up, drowned corpse of Ortiz, and winds up with more than she bargained for, including a partnership with Ortiz's hotshot spaceracing son, Riley. If she can help Riley solve the mystery of his father's death, it may lead them to a valuable piece of salvagia and with it, the hope of a sustainable, free way of Florida living.
Triss Mackey is flying just under the radar, exploiting a government loophole that lets her live quietly aboard the Floating Ghost—her rented, sentient CabanaBoat. In exchange, she dives for recycling, recovered from the flooded area of formerly-coastal cities known as the yoreshore. If she happens to find some salvagia—nostalgic salvage, valued artifacts from the past—well, that's just between her and the highest bidder.
But when the federal government begins withdrawing from Florida entirely, Triss must buy the Ghost outright or lose her loophole. Meanwhile, the corporate mafias are poised to seize power, especially Mourning in Miami, led by the legendary Edgar Ortiz, owner of the Astro America luxury hotel. Triss needs a score big enough to keep her free from both the feds and corporations, before the Ghost is sent to a watery, insurance-scamming grave.
In pursuit of such a score, she stumbles upon the chained up, drowned corpse of Ortiz, and winds up with more than she bargained for, including a partnership with Ortiz's hotshot spaceracing son, Riley. If she can help Riley solve the mystery of his father's death, it may lead them to a valuable piece of salvagia and with it, the hope of a sustainable, free way of Florida living.
264 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 12, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
August 28, 2025
Florida is never far from the American mind: Disney World. NASA. JM/WAVE. Even GTA. It is the second home of both the Trumps and the greater Bin Laden family. Most recently, it's the import site for the War on Terror tactics with the "Alligator Alcatraz" concentration camp. The “Florida Man” meme, actually a product of the state's more liberal freedom of information laws, gives us a sense of otherness with the denizens of the Sunshine State.
There must be something in the water. Something more than alligators, anyway. Hegel, always useful when painting with a broad brush, reminds us that it is not the differences that terrify us about the other. It’s the slow, creeping realization that they are us. What if (To steal some Baudrillard) Florida is presented as extreme, even fictitious, to help us believe the rest of the country is real, rational, and has a future? But what if that’s all bunk, and Florida is actually our future?
Tim Chawaga’s first book, Salvagia, takes us to our future- a world blown apart after a series of cascading natural and political disasters. The tide has beaten Southern Florida. What remains are the frayed ends of the old order’s nervous system. While some form of federal power still exists, the day-to-day world is awash in cults, nomads, and clans: Church of the Invisible Hand, the Miami Mourners, Interluner Transport Haulers, to name a few. Some worship tech, others liberate tech. What’s most different from our world is that these characters are characters of action.
Triss Mackey, our hero of her times, makes her living on the margins. What keeps her free is her work. She dives deep into the sunken city of yoreshore and pulls up the half-remembered artifacts that spam our world but are of great value to the collectors in hers. Triss lives on a boat, not unlike Ishmael, both of whom feel most sturdy at sea. For Triss, her pequod is the Ghost- a living, thoughtful companion. Ghost, the aptly named living and ephemeral presence, grounds Triss and keeps her from completely abandoning her humanity. They’re adrift, but at least they’re adrift together.
All this digging up of the lost and forgotten keeps Triss free and self-reliant until she comes across the dead body of the well-connected Edgar Ortiz. Despite her best efforts, Triss’s frontier life comes to the center, and we see the dizzying world of the broken future in all its calidoscopic wonder.
The author Tim Chawaga does yeoman’s work guiding us along. He unfolds a world that gives you a sense of the uncanny, so close to real and yet imperceptibly different. Triss is a synecdoche of this feeling. Raised by nomads, she has had to scrape out a life on the harsh and indifferent world’s terms. The result is a flinty, cloistered character. While Chawaga relishes in the minutiae of the world, he doesn’t let us know Triss all at once. Rather, we catch glimpses of her inner self as she realizes the only way out is through, and that for there to be a world beyond scavenging, reconciliation is in order.
What will remain of us when our landscape is reduced to detritus? The old monuments to excess and intemperance, torn loose from their context, swirl in the waters that swallowed up the old order. Even in this broken time, when sentience isn’t even cleanly the property of humans anymore, and many humans have turned their back on consciousness, where will our culture spring from?
For Salvagia, culture is always there. Split the rock, and the human story is there waiting. What I love about Chawaga’s work is that he builds us a world where new sports, games, cultures, and phrases exist. We aren’t just seeing a world so we can escape ours for a few hundred pages. We’re seeing the strength of the human spirit under siege. When there are so few comforts, a party in the world of Salvagia is still possible. And maybe not just possible, but necessary.
Even in the desolation of Salvagia, people find ways to cohere. In the shocking recognition of the other, the other of time in the broken future, and in the other broken person, there is buried deep below the tide, recognition—a recognition at first terrifying, but ultimately consoling. Our world is what we are willing to dive to the deepest depths for. That’s where we will find ourselves.
Tim Chawaga is a thrilling new voice in American literature. Run, don’t walk, to your nearest bookstore and dive in.
There must be something in the water. Something more than alligators, anyway. Hegel, always useful when painting with a broad brush, reminds us that it is not the differences that terrify us about the other. It’s the slow, creeping realization that they are us. What if (To steal some Baudrillard) Florida is presented as extreme, even fictitious, to help us believe the rest of the country is real, rational, and has a future? But what if that’s all bunk, and Florida is actually our future?
Tim Chawaga’s first book, Salvagia, takes us to our future- a world blown apart after a series of cascading natural and political disasters. The tide has beaten Southern Florida. What remains are the frayed ends of the old order’s nervous system. While some form of federal power still exists, the day-to-day world is awash in cults, nomads, and clans: Church of the Invisible Hand, the Miami Mourners, Interluner Transport Haulers, to name a few. Some worship tech, others liberate tech. What’s most different from our world is that these characters are characters of action.
Triss Mackey, our hero of her times, makes her living on the margins. What keeps her free is her work. She dives deep into the sunken city of yoreshore and pulls up the half-remembered artifacts that spam our world but are of great value to the collectors in hers. Triss lives on a boat, not unlike Ishmael, both of whom feel most sturdy at sea. For Triss, her pequod is the Ghost- a living, thoughtful companion. Ghost, the aptly named living and ephemeral presence, grounds Triss and keeps her from completely abandoning her humanity. They’re adrift, but at least they’re adrift together.
All this digging up of the lost and forgotten keeps Triss free and self-reliant until she comes across the dead body of the well-connected Edgar Ortiz. Despite her best efforts, Triss’s frontier life comes to the center, and we see the dizzying world of the broken future in all its calidoscopic wonder.
The author Tim Chawaga does yeoman’s work guiding us along. He unfolds a world that gives you a sense of the uncanny, so close to real and yet imperceptibly different. Triss is a synecdoche of this feeling. Raised by nomads, she has had to scrape out a life on the harsh and indifferent world’s terms. The result is a flinty, cloistered character. While Chawaga relishes in the minutiae of the world, he doesn’t let us know Triss all at once. Rather, we catch glimpses of her inner self as she realizes the only way out is through, and that for there to be a world beyond scavenging, reconciliation is in order.
What will remain of us when our landscape is reduced to detritus? The old monuments to excess and intemperance, torn loose from their context, swirl in the waters that swallowed up the old order. Even in this broken time, when sentience isn’t even cleanly the property of humans anymore, and many humans have turned their back on consciousness, where will our culture spring from?
For Salvagia, culture is always there. Split the rock, and the human story is there waiting. What I love about Chawaga’s work is that he builds us a world where new sports, games, cultures, and phrases exist. We aren’t just seeing a world so we can escape ours for a few hundred pages. We’re seeing the strength of the human spirit under siege. When there are so few comforts, a party in the world of Salvagia is still possible. And maybe not just possible, but necessary.
Even in the desolation of Salvagia, people find ways to cohere. In the shocking recognition of the other, the other of time in the broken future, and in the other broken person, there is buried deep below the tide, recognition—a recognition at first terrifying, but ultimately consoling. Our world is what we are willing to dive to the deepest depths for. That’s where we will find ourselves.
Tim Chawaga is a thrilling new voice in American literature. Run, don’t walk, to your nearest bookstore and dive in.
August 16, 2025
3.5 rounded up. A light dystopia with a waterlogged Florida set in the near future. Miami is drowned and Triss makes her living diving for salviagia, or artifacts from when Miami was above water, to sell to rich people (always rich people, even in the future).
Sentient boats, extortionist FBI agents, mafia, evil drone societies and some good old mystery. It was a pretty good beach read with just enough depth to hold my interest.
Sentient boats, extortionist FBI agents, mafia, evil drone societies and some good old mystery. It was a pretty good beach read with just enough depth to hold my interest.
August 12, 2025
“There are those who feel more comfortable in the water than on land. I am not among them. [...] We are not meant to be here. Big sky is a comfort to me. Open ocean is a terror.”
Salvagia is an excellent sci-fi mystery set in a flooded Florida in a not-too-distant future. Triss is scraping by, living under the radar (ish) aboard her rented, sentient boat, Ghost. She dives for “salvagia,” nostalgic salvage considered valuable by collectors. Her goal is simple: buy Ghost so she can save herself, her boat, and her friend. But her plans take a sharp turn when she stumbles onto Riley Ortiz, son of the infamous Edgar Ortiz, whose drowned body she just found.
The setting is fantastic. I’m a sucker for a world in, on, or near water, and Chawaga delivers. This is a dystopian, futuristic world, far from my everyday life. Yet it feels like a real possibility. Aside from a few tiny details, of course, like sentient boats.
I liked Triss. She’s resourceful, tough yet likable, flawed, and real. But as much as I enjoyed her, I absolutely loved Ghost. The other characters were fine, though I didn’t feel especially connected to them. But the rich world, and Ghost, made up for that.
The plot was interesting too. In many mysteries, the clues tip the ending too early, but that wasn’t the case here. There’s a lot happening, and if you think you’ve figured something out, something else will catch you off guard. I enjoyed the multiple plotlines, though it was sometimes tricky to follow, especially in the early chapters. I listened to the audiobook, which might have contributed to that. It’s a bit harder to flip back to check the name of a character or s place.
The audiobook was narrated by Amy McFadden. She did a great job bringing the story to life with a clear, easy-to-understand voice.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Lore for the advance copy of the audiobook.
August 20, 2025
Awesome world building. Great start from a promising new author
August 11, 2025
The setting is Florida in a near off future where the coastline has been swallowed by the sea.
Salvagia is Sci-Fi with a touch of dystopian, but it's also a bit scary because the future it shows is a little too possible.
Triss Mackey lives on the fringes diving the sunken ruins for recyclables and for the rare pieces of salvagia: nostalgic treasures from the past that collectors will pay handsomely for.
Her home and partner in crime is the Floating Ghost, a sentient boat with a dry wit and a personality all its own. Life is precarious but manageable until a dive turns up the drowned body of Edgar Ortiz, the most powerful man in the area.
From there Triss is pulled into a tangled web involving corporate mafias, space racing, federal agents on missions, and a conspiracy with stakes that could determine the future of her freedom, her boat, and the way of life she’s fought to protect.
I absolutely loved the world Tim Chawaga builds in Salvagia. It's both strange and familiar, it's half dystopian water city, half treasure strewn junkyard of our culture's past.
There's the neon-hued chaos of the yoreshore, mechanical gators lurking in the shallows, and the adrenaline filled rocket racing, the story stays captivating at every turn.
Yet at its heart, it tells the story of people who are resilient, flawed, and determined to hold on to what matters, even when there is a lot stacked against them.
I thought the characters were creative and memorable, especially the Ghost, with it's sly charm which somehow made me care about the fate of a boat. The narrator's pacing kept me interested as the mystery unraveled with some great twists. Though a few world building details and names were a little fuzzy in my mind, it eventually all clicked together and made sense.
Amy McFadden’s narration was a highlight, her voice is warm, expressive, and able to give each character a distinct voice without ever breaking the immersion. I could practically taste the salt in the air and hear the creak of the Ghost’s hull in the quiet moments.
What a fun book, Salvagia was imaginative and gripping. I was shocked this was the author's debut novel, after reading it I would have assumed he'd published loads before this.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ARC Audiobok.
Salvagia is Sci-Fi with a touch of dystopian, but it's also a bit scary because the future it shows is a little too possible.
Triss Mackey lives on the fringes diving the sunken ruins for recyclables and for the rare pieces of salvagia: nostalgic treasures from the past that collectors will pay handsomely for.
Her home and partner in crime is the Floating Ghost, a sentient boat with a dry wit and a personality all its own. Life is precarious but manageable until a dive turns up the drowned body of Edgar Ortiz, the most powerful man in the area.
From there Triss is pulled into a tangled web involving corporate mafias, space racing, federal agents on missions, and a conspiracy with stakes that could determine the future of her freedom, her boat, and the way of life she’s fought to protect.
I absolutely loved the world Tim Chawaga builds in Salvagia. It's both strange and familiar, it's half dystopian water city, half treasure strewn junkyard of our culture's past.
There's the neon-hued chaos of the yoreshore, mechanical gators lurking in the shallows, and the adrenaline filled rocket racing, the story stays captivating at every turn.
Yet at its heart, it tells the story of people who are resilient, flawed, and determined to hold on to what matters, even when there is a lot stacked against them.
I thought the characters were creative and memorable, especially the Ghost, with it's sly charm which somehow made me care about the fate of a boat. The narrator's pacing kept me interested as the mystery unraveled with some great twists. Though a few world building details and names were a little fuzzy in my mind, it eventually all clicked together and made sense.
Amy McFadden’s narration was a highlight, her voice is warm, expressive, and able to give each character a distinct voice without ever breaking the immersion. I could practically taste the salt in the air and hear the creak of the Ghost’s hull in the quiet moments.
What a fun book, Salvagia was imaginative and gripping. I was shocked this was the author's debut novel, after reading it I would have assumed he'd published loads before this.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ARC Audiobok.
August 11, 2025
This book was such a fun and easy read! Set in the nearish future, the book mostly takes places in Florida, except the Florida coastline has been swallowed by the sea, so really most of the story takes place on a boat, on constructed islands, bits of land not fully swallowed, or underwater as the FMC Triss dives looking for salvagia.
I loved that the Ghost (the boat) was sentient. It felt like it added a bit of fun and personality to the murder mystery story. Honestly though, it felt like every chapter added to the high-stakes adventure. From the corporate intrigue to the underwater dives for treasure to the mystery of who killed the legendary Edgar Ortiz, I felt immersed in the story the whole time. I loved Triss too. She's the kind of character I love to root for - smart, stubborn, and a badass in her own right. Her character felt relatable. She's spent a lot of time trying to gain her freedom and she will do whatever she needs to to secure that freedom.
Overall, I felt like this was a solid book, though I did want a bit more world building a bit more character development. That's more a personal preference though than a criticism, because I had a great time reading this one!
My many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this as an ARC! While I did receive an ARC copy, all thoughts and opinions are, as ever, my own.
I loved that the Ghost (the boat) was sentient. It felt like it added a bit of fun and personality to the murder mystery story. Honestly though, it felt like every chapter added to the high-stakes adventure. From the corporate intrigue to the underwater dives for treasure to the mystery of who killed the legendary Edgar Ortiz, I felt immersed in the story the whole time. I loved Triss too. She's the kind of character I love to root for - smart, stubborn, and a badass in her own right. Her character felt relatable. She's spent a lot of time trying to gain her freedom and she will do whatever she needs to to secure that freedom.
Overall, I felt like this was a solid book, though I did want a bit more world building a bit more character development. That's more a personal preference though than a criticism, because I had a great time reading this one!
My many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this as an ARC! While I did receive an ARC copy, all thoughts and opinions are, as ever, my own.
August 17, 2025
Many thanks to Books Forward and Diversion Books for the advanced reader copy. I’m excited to share my honest thoughts. It was such a unique reading experience!
One of the strongest aspects of Salvagia is its exploration of the long-reaching consequences of climate change—not just on the landscape, but also on culture, values, and memory. Chawaga presents a future shaped by rising waters, where the remains of once-thriving coastlines are now called the “yoreshore,” and what’s left of the ecosystem is either fiercely protected or ruthlessly exploited, depending on who holds the power. Themes of conservation, environmental decay, and the consequences of unchecked development run deep throughout the narrative, grounding this speculative world in very real concerns.
What I found especially compelling was the value placed on salvaged objects—bits of the old world that are coveted not just for their rarity, but for the stories they carry. There’s a reverence here, a quiet nostalgia for what’s been lost and a tender awareness of what we’re still trying to preserve. The book touches on memory and material culture in ways that feel unexpectedly intimate, and it’s this emotional thread that ties the worldbuilding to the heart of the story.
That said, Salvagia does come with a learning curve. The narrative immerses you in its universe from page one, referencing factions, systems, and institutions as though you’re already familiar with them. While these elements are explained over time, the pacing of that information can be a little dense. There’s no doubt that Chawaga has created a layered and well-thought-out world, but putting the puzzle pieces together requires some patience and close attention.
At the center of this world is Triss Mackey, a diver living on the fringes of legality, scraping by in a bureaucratic loophole aboard her sentient CabanaBoat, the Floating Ghost. Triss is a character built on quiet resilience and hard-won autonomy. She keeps the world at arm’s length—including the reader—but in the moments when she shows care for those around her, the emotional depth beneath her guarded exterior begins to shine through. She’s not chasing revolution or grandeur; for her, freedom looks like small pockets of peace...cruising the Ghost, diving for salvagia, and finding a rhythm in survival.
Much of the novel finds Triss pulled in every direction; by the feds, the Church of the Invisible Hand, the Miami Mourners, and more. She begins the story somewhat adrift, her only real ambition being to buy the Ghost and finally have something that’s truly hers. She’s a realist to a fault, toeing the line between grounded and pessimistic, and while her friends are fueled by big causes (climate justice, community survival)...Triss hesitates. Still, over time, she reaches a quiet yet powerful resolution: even if the system is broken, even if power always seems to win, she’ll stand for what she believes in. She’ll protect the people she loves. And in that decision, she discovers a purpose more meaningful than she ever anticipated.
One of the strongest aspects of Salvagia is its exploration of the long-reaching consequences of climate change—not just on the landscape, but also on culture, values, and memory. Chawaga presents a future shaped by rising waters, where the remains of once-thriving coastlines are now called the “yoreshore,” and what’s left of the ecosystem is either fiercely protected or ruthlessly exploited, depending on who holds the power. Themes of conservation, environmental decay, and the consequences of unchecked development run deep throughout the narrative, grounding this speculative world in very real concerns.
What I found especially compelling was the value placed on salvaged objects—bits of the old world that are coveted not just for their rarity, but for the stories they carry. There’s a reverence here, a quiet nostalgia for what’s been lost and a tender awareness of what we’re still trying to preserve. The book touches on memory and material culture in ways that feel unexpectedly intimate, and it’s this emotional thread that ties the worldbuilding to the heart of the story.
That said, Salvagia does come with a learning curve. The narrative immerses you in its universe from page one, referencing factions, systems, and institutions as though you’re already familiar with them. While these elements are explained over time, the pacing of that information can be a little dense. There’s no doubt that Chawaga has created a layered and well-thought-out world, but putting the puzzle pieces together requires some patience and close attention.
At the center of this world is Triss Mackey, a diver living on the fringes of legality, scraping by in a bureaucratic loophole aboard her sentient CabanaBoat, the Floating Ghost. Triss is a character built on quiet resilience and hard-won autonomy. She keeps the world at arm’s length—including the reader—but in the moments when she shows care for those around her, the emotional depth beneath her guarded exterior begins to shine through. She’s not chasing revolution or grandeur; for her, freedom looks like small pockets of peace...cruising the Ghost, diving for salvagia, and finding a rhythm in survival.
Much of the novel finds Triss pulled in every direction; by the feds, the Church of the Invisible Hand, the Miami Mourners, and more. She begins the story somewhat adrift, her only real ambition being to buy the Ghost and finally have something that’s truly hers. She’s a realist to a fault, toeing the line between grounded and pessimistic, and while her friends are fueled by big causes (climate justice, community survival)...Triss hesitates. Still, over time, she reaches a quiet yet powerful resolution: even if the system is broken, even if power always seems to win, she’ll stand for what she believes in. She’ll protect the people she loves. And in that decision, she discovers a purpose more meaningful than she ever anticipated.
August 18, 2025
What a fantastic debut novel! It’s set in the near-ish future, where the original Florida coastline is under water and a high value is placed on sunken artifacts from the drowned communities of the old coast, especially when they are associated with a good story. The heart of the story is Triss, a salvage diver, and her semi-sentient boat, the Floating Ghost. The author created an immersive world of murder, mystery, corruption, and environmental disaster. There are space drag races, mechanical alligators, swarms of micro drones, and (because it’s still Florida) real estate scams. It was a quick, fun, suspenseful, story with a really creative setting.
The narrator of the audiobook, Amy McFadden, did an excellent job, with lots of distinctive voices for the characters. I do think the plot and some of the names may have been easier to follow if I’d read the text, but that’s just my reading/listening style.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC.
The narrator of the audiobook, Amy McFadden, did an excellent job, with lots of distinctive voices for the characters. I do think the plot and some of the names may have been easier to follow if I’d read the text, but that’s just my reading/listening style.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC.
August 20, 2025
This is a fun romp, set in an eerie and interesting climate dystopia. I really enjoyed the charactera, and the way that this story didn't feel predictable in the usual ways.
April 14, 2025
Based on the “near future” this mystery/sci-fi story was a really fun read. The expansion of the world based on our actual world was really fun and original. The story took a little to click for me and the names can be confusing but that could also very well be at the fault of myself. But once I got into it, the book read very quick and was full of twists and turns and action. Really fun read with interesting familiar world building elements and an action packed mystery to solve.
Received this book as an ARC through NetGalley.
Received this book as an ARC through NetGalley.
August 12, 2025
I would like to thank the publisher for sending me an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.
Triss lives on a boat along the coast of Florida, diving for recycling and living just off the radar. But her true prize? Salvagia — nostalgic salvage that she can sell to the highest bidder. Which is a good thing considering that the federal government is pulling out of Florida and she needs to officially buy her sentient CabanaBoat if she wants to continue doing what she does. When she discovers the body of one of the most wealthiest men while diving, it quickly becomes a mystery of who put him there and why, and when his son Riley gets involved it becomes clear that Triss will have to go back down and find a valuable piece of salvagia. Priceless salvagia that isn’t just worth a fortune but that is also the hope of sustainable living in Florida.
Okay shout out to post apocalyptic underwater Florida considering I live here! This is so fun because a part of me when hearing some things that are going on many, many years in the future was like “oh that's just Florida today,” you know, wrestling gators and crazy people living in the swamps… it all checks out. I like the idea that you have the salvage divers that pick up the nostalgic salvage, a high-stakes job with an awesome payout… and then we start hearing what exactly she's picking up. Like Keds, out of all things, among many others. I like the mystery of the body and all the organizations involved. And also shout out to the contraption she wears – the Echidna, which she calls her “knuckles,” because, you know, Sonic. But I really like this drowned world and the really cool tech that we see. I did have some issues following who was who because everything was kind of weird? But overall, I just find this interesting, and I did like our main character because she is both badass and super resourceful. I will say the audiobook is well done with a narrator who does a fantastic job bringing not just the characters to life but this unique and interesting world as well. I enjoyed this and would definitely recommend this sci-fi eco thriller mystery.
Triss lives on a boat along the coast of Florida, diving for recycling and living just off the radar. But her true prize? Salvagia — nostalgic salvage that she can sell to the highest bidder. Which is a good thing considering that the federal government is pulling out of Florida and she needs to officially buy her sentient CabanaBoat if she wants to continue doing what she does. When she discovers the body of one of the most wealthiest men while diving, it quickly becomes a mystery of who put him there and why, and when his son Riley gets involved it becomes clear that Triss will have to go back down and find a valuable piece of salvagia. Priceless salvagia that isn’t just worth a fortune but that is also the hope of sustainable living in Florida.
Okay shout out to post apocalyptic underwater Florida considering I live here! This is so fun because a part of me when hearing some things that are going on many, many years in the future was like “oh that's just Florida today,” you know, wrestling gators and crazy people living in the swamps… it all checks out. I like the idea that you have the salvage divers that pick up the nostalgic salvage, a high-stakes job with an awesome payout… and then we start hearing what exactly she's picking up. Like Keds, out of all things, among many others. I like the mystery of the body and all the organizations involved. And also shout out to the contraption she wears – the Echidna, which she calls her “knuckles,” because, you know, Sonic. But I really like this drowned world and the really cool tech that we see. I did have some issues following who was who because everything was kind of weird? But overall, I just find this interesting, and I did like our main character because she is both badass and super resourceful. I will say the audiobook is well done with a narrator who does a fantastic job bringing not just the characters to life but this unique and interesting world as well. I enjoyed this and would definitely recommend this sci-fi eco thriller mystery.
September 24, 2025
A blast from start to finish. There’s a Tim Robinson bit where Tim asks a climate scientist to make his ideas fun so that “normal people” don’t get mad at him for making alarming predictions about the future. Salvagia is like that, and I mean in the best way. It’s a novel of ideas—how the climate crisis will affect Florida and human habitations and ecology, the cultural fallout after the fall of Miami, how big tech will both mitigate and exacerbate these issues, how small rebellions try and fail to make a dent—all of this wrapped in a full-tilt story about shipwreck diving and sentient boats and hunting for rare Pokemon cards.
The best way I can pitch Chawaga as a writer is to ask you to imagine a world-builder like Kim Stanley Robinson kept in check by a noir writer’s need for speed—his writing is chock full of big ideas and fun-to-imagine tech, but the pace never feels bogged down.
There are a lot of hallmarks of noir writing that’ll be familiar to fans of the genre: the writing is lean as hell; people shoot first and ask questions later; there are characters who are just after the next big score. But Chawaga balances the hard-edged-ness with characters who want to find a way out of the capitalist nightmare—and not just via insurance fraud. There’s a pulsing heartbeat in the book, a through-line of hope that our small human rebellions might add up and tip the scale towards a better world, even if that better world feels far off at the moment.
I also did not think that I would find myself so emotionally attached to a sentient boat. But I was. I was.
Chawaga introduces enough ideas and tech for a series, and I’m really hoping he writes more novels in this universe. I’d love one set inside OrlanDome, like a futuristic Disney world noir a la Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom? Or one set in a retirement community a la The Villages?
The best way I can pitch Chawaga as a writer is to ask you to imagine a world-builder like Kim Stanley Robinson kept in check by a noir writer’s need for speed—his writing is chock full of big ideas and fun-to-imagine tech, but the pace never feels bogged down.
There are a lot of hallmarks of noir writing that’ll be familiar to fans of the genre: the writing is lean as hell; people shoot first and ask questions later; there are characters who are just after the next big score. But Chawaga balances the hard-edged-ness with characters who want to find a way out of the capitalist nightmare—and not just via insurance fraud. There’s a pulsing heartbeat in the book, a through-line of hope that our small human rebellions might add up and tip the scale towards a better world, even if that better world feels far off at the moment.
I also did not think that I would find myself so emotionally attached to a sentient boat. But I was. I was.
Chawaga introduces enough ideas and tech for a series, and I’m really hoping he writes more novels in this universe. I’d love one set inside OrlanDome, like a futuristic Disney world noir a la Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom? Or one set in a retirement community a la The Villages?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2025
This was an interesting book to listen to. Taking place at a time that I could very well see the earth heading towards with rising seas, environmental disasters, and shoddy constructions which cause their own disasters, people are still surviving but with a different way of life. I love the semi sentient boats (Ghost is really awesome!) and other machines (where they don't talk normally but still get their points across with moving where they want to go). Sadly not all is well and I feel for Triss when she gets pulled into a big scheme to use Titans to build new housing on the shores of Florida (which is short sighted money making with the feds pulling out), finds dead bodies, dives for more than just salvagia, and all she wants to do is buy Ghost so it isn't sunk on a reef. I did get confused with a couple of the names but other than that, this was a fast paced fun book to listen to. It even has ship racing (up to space!) and with the biggest treasure people were looking for (A shoe and a trading card) it brought a real feel to it (because again, totally plausible and I can see people today going for stuff like that).
I will say that this was a really good sci fi debut which was also a climate thriller, a diving treasure search, and finding out where you belong and fighting for what you feel is right, not just where the money is. The narrator, Amy McFadden did a great job in bring Triss and the other characters to life in this changed Florida landscape with secrets, death, and a chance for a better future by pushing the needle! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to this great story.
I will say that this was a really good sci fi debut which was also a climate thriller, a diving treasure search, and finding out where you belong and fighting for what you feel is right, not just where the money is. The narrator, Amy McFadden did a great job in bring Triss and the other characters to life in this changed Florida landscape with secrets, death, and a chance for a better future by pushing the needle! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to this great story.
August 16, 2025
Mechanical Alligator? Say no more, I'm there.
There's a lot more to Salvagia than the mechanical alligator and it's worth picking up if you like Sci-fi.
Triss is living in a future Florida that is mostly underwater. Triss is a diver and brings up thing slike air conditioners for money, but... also Salvagia - which is essentially nostalgic salvage. Just like nostalgic items are valued today for the story attached to them, salvagia increases in value similarly.
We join Triss and the crew as they salvage a specific shoe, but after some issues with the crew, Triss discovers one of the most powerful family heads chained underwater, dead. This is a problem! The after math of this discovery leads our main character on a adventure all over Florida, with risky diving, even riskier space races with "atmo-breakers", interaction with semi-sentient machines, real estate schemes and more. Triss is caught between the Feds, the powerful Florida "families" and her obligations to her friend who's seeking a third way (you'll have to read to find out about the ways). Can Triss and company carve out a different way of living that is sustainable and free? Well, obviously you'll need to read to find out. I do hope you'll read!
This book is a debut for this author, and it's so well put together. I was a little hesitant because the premise of future underwater Florida seemed a bit... like it could go a few ways. The way Chawaga navigated the world building, interpersonal motivations and relationships and pacing this novel made me want to read more from this author!
The audio for the book was excellent, though I am unsure if I had the finished product. Thanks to Dreamscape Lore and net galley for this advanced copy!
There's a lot more to Salvagia than the mechanical alligator and it's worth picking up if you like Sci-fi.
Triss is living in a future Florida that is mostly underwater. Triss is a diver and brings up thing slike air conditioners for money, but... also Salvagia - which is essentially nostalgic salvage. Just like nostalgic items are valued today for the story attached to them, salvagia increases in value similarly.
We join Triss and the crew as they salvage a specific shoe, but after some issues with the crew, Triss discovers one of the most powerful family heads chained underwater, dead. This is a problem! The after math of this discovery leads our main character on a adventure all over Florida, with risky diving, even riskier space races with "atmo-breakers", interaction with semi-sentient machines, real estate schemes and more. Triss is caught between the Feds, the powerful Florida "families" and her obligations to her friend who's seeking a third way (you'll have to read to find out about the ways). Can Triss and company carve out a different way of living that is sustainable and free? Well, obviously you'll need to read to find out. I do hope you'll read!
This book is a debut for this author, and it's so well put together. I was a little hesitant because the premise of future underwater Florida seemed a bit... like it could go a few ways. The way Chawaga navigated the world building, interpersonal motivations and relationships and pacing this novel made me want to read more from this author!
The audio for the book was excellent, though I am unsure if I had the finished product. Thanks to Dreamscape Lore and net galley for this advanced copy!
August 2, 2025
One of the things I’ve always loved about science fiction is its ability to make me feel emotions about the strangest things. Adrian Tchaikovsky once made me cry about a swarm of bees; Tim Chawaga did it about a boat.
That’s the genius of this book. Its future, flooded Florida is lurid, larger-than-life, verging at times on parody - there’s someone at the beginning whose stated goal is to collect Florida Characters - but it’s grounded by Chawaga’s unnaturally good ability at creating characters out of a passing description and a few lines of dialogue. The heart of the book is so strong I never once doubted that a shoe and a trading card were two of the most valuable objects in the world. This is the challenge of speculative mystery - building a premise well enough that the reader enjoys and understands the resolution. Some writers do it with exposition and carefully defined rules. Chawaga does it with emotion.
And like all science fiction, this book is really about the present. Its tensions and their resolutions, its imagining of a future in spite of the reality of that future, are the same paradoxes that pervade the world right now. We are all, unfortunately or otherwise, Florida characters.
That’s the genius of this book. Its future, flooded Florida is lurid, larger-than-life, verging at times on parody - there’s someone at the beginning whose stated goal is to collect Florida Characters - but it’s grounded by Chawaga’s unnaturally good ability at creating characters out of a passing description and a few lines of dialogue. The heart of the book is so strong I never once doubted that a shoe and a trading card were two of the most valuable objects in the world. This is the challenge of speculative mystery - building a premise well enough that the reader enjoys and understands the resolution. Some writers do it with exposition and carefully defined rules. Chawaga does it with emotion.
And like all science fiction, this book is really about the present. Its tensions and their resolutions, its imagining of a future in spite of the reality of that future, are the same paradoxes that pervade the world right now. We are all, unfortunately or otherwise, Florida characters.
September 25, 2025
9/25/25: 3 stars. Probably the weakest of the debuts I have read this year, this is a book set in near-ish future Florida, now flooded, following a woman who dives for "salvagia"—nostalgic salvage, valued artefacts of the past—stumbling across the dead body of a very important rich person and having to weave between corporate mafias and feds to try to solve the mystery of this man's death to get one last score. The character dynamics and protagonist characterization felt a bit underwhelming and lacking verisimilitude to an extent that it interfered with my ability to immerse myself in the story. I also found it hard to get interested in the mystery, which had an interesting set up but then didn't really have much in the way of interesting developments. Still, the factional dynamics and climactic moments were well written, and I really really enjoyed the overall vibe of this setting. I love how much this book actually digs into some of why Florida looms so large in the American imagination as well, paying tribute to such an important yet strange state. Overall, I do think I enjoyed it juuuuust enough to say that while this book was not a hit for me, I will definitely be following this author's next work because with a bit of growth he could be fantastic.
August 11, 2025
This is very much a mystery novel set in a futuristic / dystopian setting and the author did a great job building the world / setting of the story. From the crumbling infrastructure to the devastated cities and towns from natural disasters to the corruption and so much more, I was really able to understand the state of the world of the time this story takes place. We follow a main character who just wants to buy the boat and be "free", she tries this by trying to find Salvagia - nostalgic salvage from diving in the ocean.
As time goes on we learn more why this salvage is so important. The story keeps you engaged and questioning throughout. I loved that we really had multiple mysteries going on at the same time, one of which being a murder. A great fast pace, quick read for the end of summer!
Thank you NetGalley for an ALC
Actual rating - 3.5
As time goes on we learn more why this salvage is so important. The story keeps you engaged and questioning throughout. I loved that we really had multiple mysteries going on at the same time, one of which being a murder. A great fast pace, quick read for the end of summer!
Thank you NetGalley for an ALC
Actual rating - 3.5
August 11, 2025
Publication August 12th, 2025
Salvagia by Tim Chawaga
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I really enjoyed the Salvagia audiobook, and narration was great. The story about a flooded Florida with mystery and corporate drama kept me interested throughout. At times, I was a little lost on what was going on, but by the end, everything made sense and I appreciated the deeper themes. Overall, a solid and unique sci-fi mystery that I’d recommend!
Thank You NetGalley and Dreamscape Media
The publisher provided ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Salvagia by Tim Chawaga
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I really enjoyed the Salvagia audiobook, and narration was great. The story about a flooded Florida with mystery and corporate drama kept me interested throughout. At times, I was a little lost on what was going on, but by the end, everything made sense and I appreciated the deeper themes. Overall, a solid and unique sci-fi mystery that I’d recommend!
Thank You NetGalley and Dreamscape Media
The publisher provided ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
September 28, 2025
Really liked this one. I’m not always a sci-fi person but the post-climate disaster world was very compelling and the characters were great. It’s super fast paced and a truly fun read. I had to pick it up every chance I got. Would def recommend.
December 26, 2025
Loved this take on a not-too-distant Florida. As a native myself the salvagia wasn’t the only thing making me feel nostalgic — the world building was smart, building on familiar landmarks and making this sci-fi adventure feel like a reality just a few water logged years away. I listened to the audio version and the narration was great and kept me hooked throughout
September 4, 2025
Today’s review is brought to you by Salvagia by Timothy Chawaga. It takes place in the yoreshore of a flooded future Florida. There’s feds, organized crime, a dangerous computer, boats, people trying to live free, and our protagonist Tess who is just trying to live a quiet life. It was very Florida. All that was missing was controlled substances.
One thing that needled my weird lil brain was how to say ‘salvagia.’ I ended up sampling the audiobook just to answer that question. Essentially, pretend it’s Italian.
This falls in a strange little niche of quirky dystopian stories full of colorful characters. There are stakes but there’s a levity to the drama brought on by a subtle humor and the oddity of the place and characters. I’ve only encountered this one other time with FKA USA. I liked it then too.
In this strange world, I wanted a tiny bit more exposition. Chawaga does a good job with the exposition. I’m just overly curious about these fictional places. Two small children simultaneously getting software and/or hardware updates didn’t help either.
The ending was bittersweet in the best way. If everything was too perfect and tidy, it wouldn’t fit. It has hope and possibility and that’s enough. It’s very genre so I won’t speak too much on the plot. If the blurb speaks to you, go for it. I had fun. 4/5
One thing that needled my weird lil brain was how to say ‘salvagia.’ I ended up sampling the audiobook just to answer that question. Essentially, pretend it’s Italian.
This falls in a strange little niche of quirky dystopian stories full of colorful characters. There are stakes but there’s a levity to the drama brought on by a subtle humor and the oddity of the place and characters. I’ve only encountered this one other time with FKA USA. I liked it then too.
In this strange world, I wanted a tiny bit more exposition. Chawaga does a good job with the exposition. I’m just overly curious about these fictional places. Two small children simultaneously getting software and/or hardware updates didn’t help either.
The ending was bittersweet in the best way. If everything was too perfect and tidy, it wouldn’t fit. It has hope and possibility and that’s enough. It’s very genre so I won’t speak too much on the plot. If the blurb speaks to you, go for it. I had fun. 4/5
July 31, 2025
I recieved this as an ARC from Books Forward in exchange for my honest review. Thanks Books Forward!
A diver who looks for nostalgic treasure ends up finding the dead body of one of the richest and most powerful men, which leads to a lot of dealings with both the feds and various mafia-like organizations.
Unfortunately, I did not like this book as much as I thought I would. The concept sounded cool but I felt like there was a lot missing. For me, this book was filled with a lot of information in the beginning and it didn't get easier to parse through and fully understand what was going on. I felt that there was also a lack of world building and fleshing out characters. I could tell you what happened in this book but at the same time I don't know what was really happening.
Though I did not enjoy the book overall, I appreciated the opportunity to read it.
A diver who looks for nostalgic treasure ends up finding the dead body of one of the richest and most powerful men, which leads to a lot of dealings with both the feds and various mafia-like organizations.
Unfortunately, I did not like this book as much as I thought I would. The concept sounded cool but I felt like there was a lot missing. For me, this book was filled with a lot of information in the beginning and it didn't get easier to parse through and fully understand what was going on. I felt that there was also a lack of world building and fleshing out characters. I could tell you what happened in this book but at the same time I don't know what was really happening.
Though I did not enjoy the book overall, I appreciated the opportunity to read it.
August 20, 2025
3.5
@booksforwardpr sent me an early copy of Salvagia by Tim Chawaga! I really enjoyed this post-environmental collapse murder mystery. The characters were all a little wacky in a really enjoyable way and the water-based world-building was particularly interesting.
If you're interested in speculative fiction about a post-environmental collapse US, murder mysteries with medium stakes (tension but still a fun romp!), and semi-sentient boats, put this one on your list!
@booksforwardpr sent me an early copy of Salvagia by Tim Chawaga! I really enjoyed this post-environmental collapse murder mystery. The characters were all a little wacky in a really enjoyable way and the water-based world-building was particularly interesting.
If you're interested in speculative fiction about a post-environmental collapse US, murder mysteries with medium stakes (tension but still a fun romp!), and semi-sentient boats, put this one on your list!
August 18, 2025
4.25 rounded down
September 22, 2025
(Audio courtesy of Netgalley, Tim Chawaga, and Dreamscape Lore, as well as the Libro.fm Audiobook Listening Copy Program.)
4.5 Floridian Stars⭐
The "really original and unique story" streak continues! Salvagia is phenomenally creative.
This is a short, fast-paced read: part mystery with mild thriller vibes. It doesn't really slow down enough to allow for introspection or for romance, but it's not supposed to. Most times, the focus of the plot is the action.
Thematically, it sits somewhere between climate fiction and satire. There are hints of commentary on storms, rising seas, and survival in a drowned world, but also plenty of tongue-in-cheek absurdity that feels unique to the hellscape of the 2020s. (Basically, "you know this shit show we're all experiencing in 2025? How do you think that will translate into life 30 years from now?")
While you won't find miles of depth to the characters in Salvagia, they each seemed designed to perfectly fit into (and accentuate) the worldbuilding, which is the real heart of this story. Florida herself stars in all of her near-future, climate catastrophe, surreal dystopian glory.
Corporate mafias, secret cabals, crypto groups, nostalgic salvage, anti-establishment right to repair groups, and so on... (That last one is particularly fun because I've been watching a lot of Louis Rossmann on YouTube lately.)
The story is told, first person, through Triss' point of view. She's likable and observant; it's a good way to experience the world. While, I never got to know her on a deep level, she felt right for the narrative.
There IS one character I really wish we could have gotten to know better though! The Ghost, Triss’ semi-sentient boat. She was my favorite. There was so much potential there and we just didn't get enough time with her.
Audio-Specific 🎧: Amy McFadden did an excellent job differentiating a wide cast of characters, and her accent work is strong as well. Most importantly, given that Triss was an observer jostled along by circumstance in this chaotic, weird story, her voice really matched that energy. It was the perfect narration for a book like this.
📌 TL;DR: Nothing embodies “Florida Man” better than post-apocalyptic Florida itself… Also, our future? Doomed.
4.5 Floridian Stars⭐
The "really original and unique story" streak continues! Salvagia is phenomenally creative.
This is a short, fast-paced read: part mystery with mild thriller vibes. It doesn't really slow down enough to allow for introspection or for romance, but it's not supposed to. Most times, the focus of the plot is the action.
Thematically, it sits somewhere between climate fiction and satire. There are hints of commentary on storms, rising seas, and survival in a drowned world, but also plenty of tongue-in-cheek absurdity that feels unique to the hellscape of the 2020s. (Basically, "you know this shit show we're all experiencing in 2025? How do you think that will translate into life 30 years from now?")
While you won't find miles of depth to the characters in Salvagia, they each seemed designed to perfectly fit into (and accentuate) the worldbuilding, which is the real heart of this story. Florida herself stars in all of her near-future, climate catastrophe, surreal dystopian glory.
Corporate mafias, secret cabals, crypto groups, nostalgic salvage, anti-establishment right to repair groups, and so on... (That last one is particularly fun because I've been watching a lot of Louis Rossmann on YouTube lately.)
The story is told, first person, through Triss' point of view. She's likable and observant; it's a good way to experience the world. While, I never got to know her on a deep level, she felt right for the narrative.
There IS one character I really wish we could have gotten to know better though! The Ghost, Triss’ semi-sentient boat. She was my favorite. There was so much potential there and we just didn't get enough time with her.
Audio-Specific 🎧: Amy McFadden did an excellent job differentiating a wide cast of characters, and her accent work is strong as well. Most importantly, given that Triss was an observer jostled along by circumstance in this chaotic, weird story, her voice really matched that energy. It was the perfect narration for a book like this.
📌 TL;DR: Nothing embodies “Florida Man” better than post-apocalyptic Florida itself… Also, our future? Doomed.
December 3, 2025
Rating: 4* of five
The Publisher Says: A near-future, sci-fi mystery reminiscent of Kim Stanley Robinson's New York 2140 and inspired by John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series, in which a salvage diver discovers the body of the most infamous man in the Florida yoreshore, putting her in the crosshairs of both feds and corporate mafias.
Triss Mackey was flying just under the radar, exploiting a government loophole that let her live quietly on the Floating Ghost—her rented, sentient CabanaBoat. In exchange, she merely had to dive for recycling recovered from the underwater, formerly-coastal cities. If she happened to find some Salvagia—nostalgic salvage, valued artifacts from the beforetime, which is to say our present—well that's just between her and the highest bidder. It's not a glamorous life, but it's not so bad.
That is, until the federal government begins pulling out of the Florida coast and retreating to their OrlanDome. The corporate mafias are poised to seize power, none more so than Mourning in Miami, led by the legendary Edgar Ortiz, owner of the Astro America megahotel. Triss needs one last score, something worth enough to buy the Ghost outright and keep her free from both the feds and the corporations. And she needs it now, before the Ghost is sent to a watery, insurance-scamming grave.
But when she discovers the chained up, drowned corpse of Ortiz on a dive, Triss finds herself stuck between the investigating government agents and the Mourning in Miami elites until Riley, Ortiz’s son, offers her a third if she can help him unravel Mourning in Miami's conspiracy and solve his father’s death, they can track down a valuable piece of Salvagia, a score worth well beyond what Triss needs to save the Ghost and, maybe, find a new, better way of Florida living.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: I knew I'd like the read when drowned Florida had something its floating inhabitants call the "yoreshore"...like today's foreshore, it's a liminal place, prone to change with the tides; named after the old, drowned shoreline. Triss is very clearly modeled on hardboiled Travis McGee, and I liked the sentient boat the Floating Ghost in an update of the Busted Flush of yore.
Like Travis on the Busted Flush, Triss wants nothing more than to be let alone to live in peace. Only we all know that ain't gonna happen, she's livin' in the loopholes of the dying society that clings harder than ever to control of its people. Travis was always buttin' heads with by-the-book sorts. Triss's boat life of salvaging the remains of our vanished lifestyle...called salvagia...is much the same: an affront to those who can't tolerate anyone not being like them.
Unless, of course, those people are playing ball and bribing Officialdom to look the other way while things happen that can benefit everyone. Like Edgar Ortiz, the "crime boss" indistinguishable from the officials unless you squint. Someone squinted hard enough to decide Edgar Ortiz didn't need to suck air anymore...and Triss, after locating excellent salvagia while dodging cyborg gators, locates Edgar chained up under the sea sucking water. "Dead" is so prosaic a term, no?
Chaos ensues, of course...not least because Riley, Edgar's son, is now with her...but also because the balance of power is wrecked. There's clearly something breaking in the world, and it's powerfully manifesting in what was once Florida...Church of the Invisible Hand, the Miami Mourners, Interluner Transport Haulers, and others are all carving out insane little fiefdoms and following looney belief systems in them. No wonder the remnant federal power preferred Edgar Ortiz.
Or did they? Triss is certainly in someone powerful's crosshairs and needs to figure out whose before they take a fatal shot at her.
You've all heard of the uncanny valley before. It's been used most often to describe the awfulness that is AI slop images. Here it is in novel form. This is Florida 2045, plausibly, and it feels really weird to think that thought. Triss is a real libertarian Florida gal, in her sentient henchboat the Floating Ghost. She wants nothing to do with the Authorities but has no choice while Edgar Ortiz's discovery is hanging over her. Her acquaintances thereabouts are motivated by Big Causes, things like climate justice and community formation and support...where Triss wants a score big enough to buy the Floating Ghost for her own, not live aboard at an owner's whim. Sure, she'll help out...but commit herself? To anything not her own?
No.
She is, then, our world's great survivor in her selfish focus. She's Travis McGee's great-granddaughter in spirit if not fact. It made her a bit hard for me to warm to; but I found the world she's in, the way she works that world for her own benefit, compelling reading.
Please don't emulate her, just read about her exploits and enjoy the dense worldbuilding. I suspect that, if you make it 10% or more in, you're in to stay. It's a fun place for you, your sci-fi adventure reader giftee, and the young STEM-interested teen in your circle to have a good Sunday's reading.
The Publisher Says: A near-future, sci-fi mystery reminiscent of Kim Stanley Robinson's New York 2140 and inspired by John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series, in which a salvage diver discovers the body of the most infamous man in the Florida yoreshore, putting her in the crosshairs of both feds and corporate mafias.
Triss Mackey was flying just under the radar, exploiting a government loophole that let her live quietly on the Floating Ghost—her rented, sentient CabanaBoat. In exchange, she merely had to dive for recycling recovered from the underwater, formerly-coastal cities. If she happened to find some Salvagia—nostalgic salvage, valued artifacts from the beforetime, which is to say our present—well that's just between her and the highest bidder. It's not a glamorous life, but it's not so bad.
That is, until the federal government begins pulling out of the Florida coast and retreating to their OrlanDome. The corporate mafias are poised to seize power, none more so than Mourning in Miami, led by the legendary Edgar Ortiz, owner of the Astro America megahotel. Triss needs one last score, something worth enough to buy the Ghost outright and keep her free from both the feds and the corporations. And she needs it now, before the Ghost is sent to a watery, insurance-scamming grave.
But when she discovers the chained up, drowned corpse of Ortiz on a dive, Triss finds herself stuck between the investigating government agents and the Mourning in Miami elites until Riley, Ortiz’s son, offers her a third if she can help him unravel Mourning in Miami's conspiracy and solve his father’s death, they can track down a valuable piece of Salvagia, a score worth well beyond what Triss needs to save the Ghost and, maybe, find a new, better way of Florida living.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: I knew I'd like the read when drowned Florida had something its floating inhabitants call the "yoreshore"...like today's foreshore, it's a liminal place, prone to change with the tides; named after the old, drowned shoreline. Triss is very clearly modeled on hardboiled Travis McGee, and I liked the sentient boat the Floating Ghost in an update of the Busted Flush of yore.
Like Travis on the Busted Flush, Triss wants nothing more than to be let alone to live in peace. Only we all know that ain't gonna happen, she's livin' in the loopholes of the dying society that clings harder than ever to control of its people. Travis was always buttin' heads with by-the-book sorts. Triss's boat life of salvaging the remains of our vanished lifestyle...called salvagia...is much the same: an affront to those who can't tolerate anyone not being like them.
Unless, of course, those people are playing ball and bribing Officialdom to look the other way while things happen that can benefit everyone. Like Edgar Ortiz, the "crime boss" indistinguishable from the officials unless you squint. Someone squinted hard enough to decide Edgar Ortiz didn't need to suck air anymore...and Triss, after locating excellent salvagia while dodging cyborg gators, locates Edgar chained up under the sea sucking water. "Dead" is so prosaic a term, no?
Chaos ensues, of course...not least because Riley, Edgar's son, is now with her...but also because the balance of power is wrecked. There's clearly something breaking in the world, and it's powerfully manifesting in what was once Florida...Church of the Invisible Hand, the Miami Mourners, Interluner Transport Haulers, and others are all carving out insane little fiefdoms and following looney belief systems in them. No wonder the remnant federal power preferred Edgar Ortiz.
Or did they? Triss is certainly in someone powerful's crosshairs and needs to figure out whose before they take a fatal shot at her.
You've all heard of the uncanny valley before. It's been used most often to describe the awfulness that is AI slop images. Here it is in novel form. This is Florida 2045, plausibly, and it feels really weird to think that thought. Triss is a real libertarian Florida gal, in her sentient henchboat the Floating Ghost. She wants nothing to do with the Authorities but has no choice while Edgar Ortiz's discovery is hanging over her. Her acquaintances thereabouts are motivated by Big Causes, things like climate justice and community formation and support...where Triss wants a score big enough to buy the Floating Ghost for her own, not live aboard at an owner's whim. Sure, she'll help out...but commit herself? To anything not her own?
No.
She is, then, our world's great survivor in her selfish focus. She's Travis McGee's great-granddaughter in spirit if not fact. It made her a bit hard for me to warm to; but I found the world she's in, the way she works that world for her own benefit, compelling reading.
Please don't emulate her, just read about her exploits and enjoy the dense worldbuilding. I suspect that, if you make it 10% or more in, you're in to stay. It's a fun place for you, your sci-fi adventure reader giftee, and the young STEM-interested teen in your circle to have a good Sunday's reading.
October 19, 2025
This book throws a lot of information at you initially, and most of it I found to be superfluous, however the world was so interesting that I had to finish it. There’s a lot to this book and it could have set the stage for an entire series, but the story it tells here just isn’t very strong. Let me explain a bit.
We follow Triss Mackey, a diver that collects salvagia to sell and maintain her way of life. What is salvagia? It’s the remnants of Florida that remain just off the coast of the US. It’s been hundreds of years since Florida sank into the ocean and the stuff that went down with them is worth a pretty penny. Most of society lives in giant dome cities, at least if they live on the coast (because the storms are pretty bad? I’m honestly not sure.)The government runs the domes, while the mafia and religious organizations have dominion over much else. Anyway, technology has advanced quite a bit, considering the domes, and many people use AI-powered devices to get by. Triss lives outside of all three organizations because of some loophole for salvage divers. She rents a semi-sentient boat to do her work and eventually wants to buy it. However, when diving one day she comes across a dead guy. Actually one of the most famous men in the whole state, Edgar Ortiz, the head of a prominent mafia family. From here she meets people entwined with Edgar and, along with her best friend, embark on a mission to discover why he was killed and find a piece of salvagia that will finally allow her to buy a boat and live in peace.
The story events feature prominent members of all three organizations as they all want to know what happened to Edgar Ortiz, with Triss caught in the middle. She’s abrasive and untrusting, but her backstory explains where much of those feelings come from. I like how she’s always plotting her next move and paying attention to details. There are other characters, like her naive best friend that essentially wants to start a commune based around preserving nature and the son of Edgar Ortiz, who is a general jokester despite the circumstances, but neither leave much of an impression. This story is more a vessel to explore the world as, even Triss, doesn’t get much development through it. So let’s talk about that world a little more.
On top of Florida being underwater, there is also a debris field surrounding Earth from the crashing of satellites into one another. It’s very difficult for anyone to leave the planet (though apparently there are colonies on Mars I think?) and because of this, some daredevils have created a game out of trying to get through the field. They’re called Atmo-Breakers. They fly little pods as fast as they can through the field to see if they can get through. Whoever gets the farthest wins and many people bet on these races. Many of the pods people bet on to explode, and there are casualties every race. Why do they race? For fame? Money? Who’s to say? Many organizations simply want funds to reindustrialize the remaining above-water portion of Florida. The mafia seems to think they can make a ton of cash by conning people into buying homes outside the domes despite the inclement weather. The religious organizations’ motives are unknown as they operate remotely and don’t speak much about their plans. They make below board deals and bets on conflict victors. The feds are a whole other entity that seemingly wants to keep the public safe from not only the planet, but also the mafia and religious orgs. They are order, but they are almost dictatorial in their use of power. Triss deals with each in the ways that most benefit her and her manipulation of them is quite amusing.
The world of Salvagia is really interesting. From the three groups fighting for power, to the planetary conditions (space included) there’s a vessel for a great story here. Unfortunately, the characters and plot of this story weren’t the best use of the setting. At times the writing repeated itself and even felt unedited to the point of incoherence. The characters themselves were shallow and the relationships between them weren’t well-developed. Triss’ history was interesting and I think her mindset and actions were valid, but it mainly felt like she was a bystander in another story. Maybe that’s the point. We’re not supposed to feel important in this kind of society. Everyone is just a pawn to another. A means to an end. You might enjoy this if you like different versions of society, but I’d encourage you to try something more substantial than this.
We follow Triss Mackey, a diver that collects salvagia to sell and maintain her way of life. What is salvagia? It’s the remnants of Florida that remain just off the coast of the US. It’s been hundreds of years since Florida sank into the ocean and the stuff that went down with them is worth a pretty penny. Most of society lives in giant dome cities, at least if they live on the coast (because the storms are pretty bad? I’m honestly not sure.)The government runs the domes, while the mafia and religious organizations have dominion over much else. Anyway, technology has advanced quite a bit, considering the domes, and many people use AI-powered devices to get by. Triss lives outside of all three organizations because of some loophole for salvage divers. She rents a semi-sentient boat to do her work and eventually wants to buy it. However, when diving one day she comes across a dead guy. Actually one of the most famous men in the whole state, Edgar Ortiz, the head of a prominent mafia family. From here she meets people entwined with Edgar and, along with her best friend, embark on a mission to discover why he was killed and find a piece of salvagia that will finally allow her to buy a boat and live in peace.
The story events feature prominent members of all three organizations as they all want to know what happened to Edgar Ortiz, with Triss caught in the middle. She’s abrasive and untrusting, but her backstory explains where much of those feelings come from. I like how she’s always plotting her next move and paying attention to details. There are other characters, like her naive best friend that essentially wants to start a commune based around preserving nature and the son of Edgar Ortiz, who is a general jokester despite the circumstances, but neither leave much of an impression. This story is more a vessel to explore the world as, even Triss, doesn’t get much development through it. So let’s talk about that world a little more.
On top of Florida being underwater, there is also a debris field surrounding Earth from the crashing of satellites into one another. It’s very difficult for anyone to leave the planet (though apparently there are colonies on Mars I think?) and because of this, some daredevils have created a game out of trying to get through the field. They’re called Atmo-Breakers. They fly little pods as fast as they can through the field to see if they can get through. Whoever gets the farthest wins and many people bet on these races. Many of the pods people bet on to explode, and there are casualties every race. Why do they race? For fame? Money? Who’s to say? Many organizations simply want funds to reindustrialize the remaining above-water portion of Florida. The mafia seems to think they can make a ton of cash by conning people into buying homes outside the domes despite the inclement weather. The religious organizations’ motives are unknown as they operate remotely and don’t speak much about their plans. They make below board deals and bets on conflict victors. The feds are a whole other entity that seemingly wants to keep the public safe from not only the planet, but also the mafia and religious orgs. They are order, but they are almost dictatorial in their use of power. Triss deals with each in the ways that most benefit her and her manipulation of them is quite amusing.
The world of Salvagia is really interesting. From the three groups fighting for power, to the planetary conditions (space included) there’s a vessel for a great story here. Unfortunately, the characters and plot of this story weren’t the best use of the setting. At times the writing repeated itself and even felt unedited to the point of incoherence. The characters themselves were shallow and the relationships between them weren’t well-developed. Triss’ history was interesting and I think her mindset and actions were valid, but it mainly felt like she was a bystander in another story. Maybe that’s the point. We’re not supposed to feel important in this kind of society. Everyone is just a pawn to another. A means to an end. You might enjoy this if you like different versions of society, but I’d encourage you to try something more substantial than this.
August 5, 2025
Salvagia by Tim Chawaga, Narrated by Amy McFadden
(Dreamscape Media) Audiobook Review
3.75 rounded up to 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dear Humans,
I am a lonely sea cucumber named Sam. Now, normally we don’t have brains, eyes, or even a sliver of feelings, but this is the future, and anything is possible. I have been living off the coast of futuristic Florida for the better part of a year now, and I must tell you how utterly disgusted I am at what I have seen. A black substance has been floating around my home, contaminating my tiny existence. Besides instilling fear about my imminent future, I have also witnessed various divers rummaging around for trash and treasure. The turbulence has created unnecessary headaches when trying to sleep. Please think of the little people you are affecting before you tear down our very existence.
Warmest regards,
Sam
As I handed this letter over to Triss Mackey, I could see her flinch at the words. Truth be told, she was a bit hesitant when I told her the letter came from a sea cucumber, but I digress. Triss has used the system. A system hellbent on creating normalcy within a mundane lifestyle under a biosphere. Multiple encasings to protect and harness life within its walls. Following a plan systematically put in place to control the human species. Presenting structure, albeit a boring existence. Triss conveniently masquerades as a recycler, collecting dumped trash beneath the waves. However, she takes full advantage of searching for rare treasures from yesteryear, such as a long-lost Pokémon card hanging around the neck of one Edgar Ortiz. In these valuable finds, known as salvagia, she can routinely offload them to the highest bidder, garnering her a hefty price. During one such dive, Triss happens to stumble upon the body of now-deceased Edgar Ortiz. The race is on to find out who and why someone would snuff out Mr. Ortiz, the most powerful man in the immediate area.
Killer robotic gators, sentient boats, thievery, acts of debauchery, and rocket racing as a betting sport. All of which can be found within the pages of this story! At its crux, numerous groups with various aspirations could be the culprits of the murder of Edgar Ortiz. All of which allow greed and power to be motivating factors. It becomes paramount that those in favor of keeping the beauty and freedom of this area rise to its defense and protect the innocence of this majestic land.
As for the story, our author, Tim Chawaga, has done a fabulous job creating a world soaked with political intrigue. In a setting reminiscent of a cyberpunk thriller, the sun beats down on the reader's head as we grab our snorkel while following Triss’s whodunit. As the nearby neon signs flicker, bee-like computer pods float around our ears with a play-by-play of what is in our best interests.
As Amy McFadden narrates, I am swept into an innovative world full of chaotic circuitry. Pulses of light shimmer through misty clouds of dirt upon the ocean floor. McFadden's voice lends to a comfortable experience, belying the disturbing chaos.
My pressure gauge notifies me that my time is up. I need to surface quickly. Slicing through water, my fins propel me towards the sun. I channeled my best version of Jacques Cousteau and averted any imminent dangers, all while recommending this novel.
Many thanks to Dreamscape Media for the audiobook through NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion.
(Dreamscape Media) Audiobook Review
3.75 rounded up to 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dear Humans,
I am a lonely sea cucumber named Sam. Now, normally we don’t have brains, eyes, or even a sliver of feelings, but this is the future, and anything is possible. I have been living off the coast of futuristic Florida for the better part of a year now, and I must tell you how utterly disgusted I am at what I have seen. A black substance has been floating around my home, contaminating my tiny existence. Besides instilling fear about my imminent future, I have also witnessed various divers rummaging around for trash and treasure. The turbulence has created unnecessary headaches when trying to sleep. Please think of the little people you are affecting before you tear down our very existence.
Warmest regards,
Sam
As I handed this letter over to Triss Mackey, I could see her flinch at the words. Truth be told, she was a bit hesitant when I told her the letter came from a sea cucumber, but I digress. Triss has used the system. A system hellbent on creating normalcy within a mundane lifestyle under a biosphere. Multiple encasings to protect and harness life within its walls. Following a plan systematically put in place to control the human species. Presenting structure, albeit a boring existence. Triss conveniently masquerades as a recycler, collecting dumped trash beneath the waves. However, she takes full advantage of searching for rare treasures from yesteryear, such as a long-lost Pokémon card hanging around the neck of one Edgar Ortiz. In these valuable finds, known as salvagia, she can routinely offload them to the highest bidder, garnering her a hefty price. During one such dive, Triss happens to stumble upon the body of now-deceased Edgar Ortiz. The race is on to find out who and why someone would snuff out Mr. Ortiz, the most powerful man in the immediate area.
Killer robotic gators, sentient boats, thievery, acts of debauchery, and rocket racing as a betting sport. All of which can be found within the pages of this story! At its crux, numerous groups with various aspirations could be the culprits of the murder of Edgar Ortiz. All of which allow greed and power to be motivating factors. It becomes paramount that those in favor of keeping the beauty and freedom of this area rise to its defense and protect the innocence of this majestic land.
As for the story, our author, Tim Chawaga, has done a fabulous job creating a world soaked with political intrigue. In a setting reminiscent of a cyberpunk thriller, the sun beats down on the reader's head as we grab our snorkel while following Triss’s whodunit. As the nearby neon signs flicker, bee-like computer pods float around our ears with a play-by-play of what is in our best interests.
As Amy McFadden narrates, I am swept into an innovative world full of chaotic circuitry. Pulses of light shimmer through misty clouds of dirt upon the ocean floor. McFadden's voice lends to a comfortable experience, belying the disturbing chaos.
My pressure gauge notifies me that my time is up. I need to surface quickly. Slicing through water, my fins propel me towards the sun. I channeled my best version of Jacques Cousteau and averted any imminent dangers, all while recommending this novel.
Many thanks to Dreamscape Media for the audiobook through NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion.
August 4, 2025
Set in a not-too-distant future where Florida’s coastline has been swallowed by the sea, Salvagia delivers a gripping blend of sci-fi, mystery, and climate thriller that feels alarmingly possible. Sometimes, sci-fi can lose me when it drifts too far into the fantastical, but here the world was so vivid, grounded, and tangible that I was able to lean all the way in. The flooded landscapes, the yoreshore, and the artifacts pulled from the depths weren’t strange, otherworldly inventions—they were treasures I recognized, pulled from the ruins of our own history. That familiarity made the stakes feel real and the danger all the more immediate.
Triss Mackey is the kind of heroine you root for from the start—smart, stubborn, and unapologetically living on the fringes of a drowned world. Scraping by as a salvager in the sunken ruins of Florida, she’s constantly navigating the gray areas of legality, morality, and survival. When she stumbles upon a dead body and a conspiracy tied to corporate greed and government withdrawal, Triss finds herself pulled into a high-stakes mystery where everything—her freedom, her boat, and her future—hangs in the balance. The story hums with noir energy, but with a sci-fi edge that’s raw, relevant, and gripping
I especially loved The Floating Ghost, Triss Mackey’s sentient boat, which added a surprising warmth and personality to the story’s high-stakes adventure. From corporate intrigue to underwater treasure hunts, every chapter brought a fresh rush of danger and discovery. The pacing never faltered, the mystery kept me guessing, and the setting was so immersive I could practically feel the salt air on my skin. This was a perfect example of how sci-fi can thrill without losing its human heart. Another fantastic debut for 2025 that’s well worth diving into
Thank you to the author, publisher and Books Forward for having me along on this books journey.
Triss Mackey is the kind of heroine you root for from the start—smart, stubborn, and unapologetically living on the fringes of a drowned world. Scraping by as a salvager in the sunken ruins of Florida, she’s constantly navigating the gray areas of legality, morality, and survival. When she stumbles upon a dead body and a conspiracy tied to corporate greed and government withdrawal, Triss finds herself pulled into a high-stakes mystery where everything—her freedom, her boat, and her future—hangs in the balance. The story hums with noir energy, but with a sci-fi edge that’s raw, relevant, and gripping
I especially loved The Floating Ghost, Triss Mackey’s sentient boat, which added a surprising warmth and personality to the story’s high-stakes adventure. From corporate intrigue to underwater treasure hunts, every chapter brought a fresh rush of danger and discovery. The pacing never faltered, the mystery kept me guessing, and the setting was so immersive I could practically feel the salt air on my skin. This was a perfect example of how sci-fi can thrill without losing its human heart. Another fantastic debut for 2025 that’s well worth diving into
Thank you to the author, publisher and Books Forward for having me along on this books journey.
September 1, 2025
Thank you NetGalley and Diversion Books for the ARC.
I really wanted to like this book, I really did. The plot of the book sounded so interesting. A post-apocalyptic world where pieces of salvage, like old shoes and trading cards, have tremendous value and instead of racing on a track races take place in space. But there really was just too much going on in this book for me to know what was happening at any point.
The plot of this book was really confusing, I think especially because the world building was not the best. I think that if this book was longer and the world was able to be explained, the plot wouldn’t have been as confusing. But as it stands it feels like there were a bunch of plot points strung together with a smattering of world-building interspersed.
I liked the idea of most of the characters but there wasn’t much if any character development in the whole book. The reasons that most of the characters did anything was not clear and was actually really confusing most of the time. It was difficult to know who to trust in the book, which may be due to the book being told from the main character’s point of view, but even her actions didn’t always make much senese.
Finally, I think that the setting of this book was a little confusing. This book is set in Florida but I felt like if you didn’t know a lot about the landscape of Florida it was difficult to understand where the characters were, where they were going, and how long it would even take to get there. I don’t know if there is a map in the final copy of the book but I think that the lack of a map made it difficult to get my bearings in this book.
The only people that I think would really love this book are people who love dystopian books and love Flordia. Other than that, I think that this book should probably be a pass.
I really wanted to like this book, I really did. The plot of the book sounded so interesting. A post-apocalyptic world where pieces of salvage, like old shoes and trading cards, have tremendous value and instead of racing on a track races take place in space. But there really was just too much going on in this book for me to know what was happening at any point.
The plot of this book was really confusing, I think especially because the world building was not the best. I think that if this book was longer and the world was able to be explained, the plot wouldn’t have been as confusing. But as it stands it feels like there were a bunch of plot points strung together with a smattering of world-building interspersed.
I liked the idea of most of the characters but there wasn’t much if any character development in the whole book. The reasons that most of the characters did anything was not clear and was actually really confusing most of the time. It was difficult to know who to trust in the book, which may be due to the book being told from the main character’s point of view, but even her actions didn’t always make much senese.
Finally, I think that the setting of this book was a little confusing. This book is set in Florida but I felt like if you didn’t know a lot about the landscape of Florida it was difficult to understand where the characters were, where they were going, and how long it would even take to get there. I don’t know if there is a map in the final copy of the book but I think that the lack of a map made it difficult to get my bearings in this book.
The only people that I think would really love this book are people who love dystopian books and love Flordia. Other than that, I think that this book should probably be a pass.
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