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Salvage
Excessive mining, human pollution and war have left the earth devastated and all but inhabitable to humans. A Dome built over the city of Sydney and controlled by the tyrant Silmac protects what is possibly the last bastion of civilisation.
When Silver is abandoned out in the badlands by her salvage crew, she must fight for survival to make it back to safety. But she soon finds that the Dome no longer offers the protection it once did, as she faces betrayal, makes new alliances and uncovers secrets that will bring her into conflict with Silmac himself.
When Silver is abandoned out in the badlands by her salvage crew, she must fight for survival to make it back to safety. But she soon finds that the Dome no longer offers the protection it once did, as she faces betrayal, makes new alliances and uncovers secrets that will bring her into conflict with Silmac himself.
314 pages, Paperback
Published October 7, 2016
362 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 19, 2018
I got this book as a giveaway. I finally got around to reading it and I am glad I did as I really enjoyed it.
The story is about a woman named Silver who is living inside a dome covering what is now Sydney. Humans are forced to live inside the dome as the world is so polluted they can only go outside the dome with air filters and those that live outside the dome have mutated and become inhuman. Silver works on a salvage crew that goes outside the dome into "the badlands" (ie everywhere else) and salvages materials (mostly metal) from the world outside. On one of these trips Silver's crew is attacked and she is left in the badlands and has to make her way back to the dome alone.
Along the way she rescues a mutant from some of the other mutants. He is grateful and takes her to a bunker where she shelters overnight and finds an intriguing diary of Benjamin Adams highlighting the time before the dome. If you think I have given spoilers, think again - that is just the first 35 pages! It is pretty fast paced and I read it in one hit (admittedly I was on the tilt train from Bundaberg to Brisbane and didn't have much else to do, but it did keep me entertained for five hours) The book dips into Benjamin's diary throughout the book and gives you an overview of how society fell. A lot of it is scarily accurate and I could easily see how it slid into disaster.
It is definitely a book I would recommend to others.
The story is about a woman named Silver who is living inside a dome covering what is now Sydney. Humans are forced to live inside the dome as the world is so polluted they can only go outside the dome with air filters and those that live outside the dome have mutated and become inhuman. Silver works on a salvage crew that goes outside the dome into "the badlands" (ie everywhere else) and salvages materials (mostly metal) from the world outside. On one of these trips Silver's crew is attacked and she is left in the badlands and has to make her way back to the dome alone.
Along the way she rescues a mutant from some of the other mutants. He is grateful and takes her to a bunker where she shelters overnight and finds an intriguing diary of Benjamin Adams highlighting the time before the dome. If you think I have given spoilers, think again - that is just the first 35 pages! It is pretty fast paced and I read it in one hit (admittedly I was on the tilt train from Bundaberg to Brisbane and didn't have much else to do, but it did keep me entertained for five hours) The book dips into Benjamin's diary throughout the book and gives you an overview of how society fell. A lot of it is scarily accurate and I could easily see how it slid into disaster.
It is definitely a book I would recommend to others.
November 9, 2017
I recently won a book in a little contest, and I am so glad I did.
Title- 'Salvage'
Author- Martin Rodoreda
Genre- Specultive Fiction
Publisher- Odyssey Books
A woman's quest for survival in a future devastated by pollution, mining and war.
The title is short and succinct, and indicates exactly what the novel is about.
The story follows Silver, one of the many survivors who struggle to survive in a dystopian Sydney, around 100 years in the future.
Other characters central to the plot are Coal, Lead, Grave, Asp, Blocka, Meek and Silmac.
The survivors of the effects of war and pollution live in a domed city built over Sydney. The surrounding suburbs are left to a mutated form of human. To make a living, some people venture out into these badlands to salvage and reclaim items of value, bringing them back to the dome for sale.
The mutes are a constant threat, so the groups are armed and prepared to defend if need be.
I found the characters to be well-written and credible, by that I mean when they were good they were real heroes, and when they were bad, they were downright evil. If it was a 1950s stage play, you'd hear the crowd 'yay' and 'boo' when the characters came on stage.
I liked the book because it was my kind of book. (the sort of writing I like to do myself). Martin describes his future Sydney region perfectly; has nicely paced action and tension, with a heart-racing climax. The characters, as said, were believable and made you feel for them, and the trials and tribulations they were going through. As for the antagonists, yep, if I had a gun (and had a violent tendency) I'd love to be there to deliver a few bullets to the deserving creeps myself.
If you like reading dystopian/ speculative fiction, and want a book hard to put down, then I reckon you'd enjoy Salvage as much as I did.
Title- 'Salvage'
Author- Martin Rodoreda
Genre- Specultive Fiction
Publisher- Odyssey Books
A woman's quest for survival in a future devastated by pollution, mining and war.
The title is short and succinct, and indicates exactly what the novel is about.
The story follows Silver, one of the many survivors who struggle to survive in a dystopian Sydney, around 100 years in the future.
Other characters central to the plot are Coal, Lead, Grave, Asp, Blocka, Meek and Silmac.
The survivors of the effects of war and pollution live in a domed city built over Sydney. The surrounding suburbs are left to a mutated form of human. To make a living, some people venture out into these badlands to salvage and reclaim items of value, bringing them back to the dome for sale.
The mutes are a constant threat, so the groups are armed and prepared to defend if need be.
I found the characters to be well-written and credible, by that I mean when they were good they were real heroes, and when they were bad, they were downright evil. If it was a 1950s stage play, you'd hear the crowd 'yay' and 'boo' when the characters came on stage.
I liked the book because it was my kind of book. (the sort of writing I like to do myself). Martin describes his future Sydney region perfectly; has nicely paced action and tension, with a heart-racing climax. The characters, as said, were believable and made you feel for them, and the trials and tribulations they were going through. As for the antagonists, yep, if I had a gun (and had a violent tendency) I'd love to be there to deliver a few bullets to the deserving creeps myself.
If you like reading dystopian/ speculative fiction, and want a book hard to put down, then I reckon you'd enjoy Salvage as much as I did.
November 11, 2019
Salvage written by Martin Rodoreda, published by Odyssey Books, Australia is a work of fiction set in futuristic Sydney. It traces a portion of the main characters’ life – the trials, the challenges and the triumphs. The story progresses at a rapid pace to culminate at a climax left to the reader’s imagination.
Have you ever imagined a world which has so drastically deteriorated that there are weekly tsunamis and earthquakes? A world destroyed by war and by the impacts of natural calamities on the petroleum refineries, nuclear reactors, factories and mines? How will the human race behave under these circumstances? Will they become more compassionate and inclusive and somehow overcome all these? Or will they become savage and ready to eat each other and gradually become extinct? The author has painted such a vivid picture of the future that this book seems to be the answer to all such questions! And it's very bleak! It is as if such adversities have caused a further divide amongst the human race. The rich and powerful became more so and brutal too – afflicting the poor with torture, threats and abandonment.
There are two main characters in this – the woman main character, Silver, exemplifies the feminine goodness in a human while the male character is the masculine goodness of the human race. However, the author has given both these characters strokes of vulnerability and character flaws which makes them relatable and very human. The villain personifies the satanic characteristics – great knowledge with no compassion, ruthlessness, conniving, manipulative.
The story opens with Silver fighting for her existence in a morbid, devastated Sydney which is infested with insects, roaches, mutated & cannibalistic humans and wild animals. She is part of a salvage crew who live in the Dome and salvage scrap items from the rubbles of Sydney to take back to the Dome where it is sold. The book follows her in her struggles outside as well as inside the Dome. She along with the male main character try to bring harmony and equality inside the Dome. Will they succeed? Or will the evil triumph? Or will everything be ended by natural forces?
This is a gripping, fast-paced novel – and if you can take the bloodshed, gruesome picturizations of the surroundings and the events in your stride, then you would not be able to put this book down!
Have you ever imagined a world which has so drastically deteriorated that there are weekly tsunamis and earthquakes? A world destroyed by war and by the impacts of natural calamities on the petroleum refineries, nuclear reactors, factories and mines? How will the human race behave under these circumstances? Will they become more compassionate and inclusive and somehow overcome all these? Or will they become savage and ready to eat each other and gradually become extinct? The author has painted such a vivid picture of the future that this book seems to be the answer to all such questions! And it's very bleak! It is as if such adversities have caused a further divide amongst the human race. The rich and powerful became more so and brutal too – afflicting the poor with torture, threats and abandonment.
There are two main characters in this – the woman main character, Silver, exemplifies the feminine goodness in a human while the male character is the masculine goodness of the human race. However, the author has given both these characters strokes of vulnerability and character flaws which makes them relatable and very human. The villain personifies the satanic characteristics – great knowledge with no compassion, ruthlessness, conniving, manipulative.
The story opens with Silver fighting for her existence in a morbid, devastated Sydney which is infested with insects, roaches, mutated & cannibalistic humans and wild animals. She is part of a salvage crew who live in the Dome and salvage scrap items from the rubbles of Sydney to take back to the Dome where it is sold. The book follows her in her struggles outside as well as inside the Dome. She along with the male main character try to bring harmony and equality inside the Dome. Will they succeed? Or will the evil triumph? Or will everything be ended by natural forces?
This is a gripping, fast-paced novel – and if you can take the bloodshed, gruesome picturizations of the surroundings and the events in your stride, then you would not be able to put this book down!
May 1, 2017
Review by SUE PARRITT
From the first sentence, Martin Rodoreda’s debut novel Salvage sets the tone for his narrative of a future devastated Sydney, as the protagonist, Silver, reacts to the ominous groaning of the ruined building where she’s searching for scrap metal. Silver is a member of one of the salvage crews that venture outside the Dome -- an immense metal and glass structure that shields the inhabitants from the extreme weather and toxic air found in the Badlands -- where cannibalistic mutants and packs of feral dogs reside. Silver’s fear intensifies when she emerges from the building to discover a group of mutes devouring what she presumes is the body of her partner Coal, and hears trucks speeding towards the Dome. The crews’ mantra: ‘We never leave a man behind’ has been broken and she is alone with only a gun and a facemask for protection.
What follows is a tale of betrayal, despair, unexpected friendship and a gradual revelation of truth as Silver struggles to survive in a violent, chaotic city ruled by the despot Corbett Silmac from his palatial office high in Silmac Tower. Standard fare for a dystopian cli-fi novel -- a future blighted by war, pollution and extreme weather events -- but what kept me reading was the introduction of diary entries that provided a credible and thought-provoking backstory.
The diary begins in December 2001 with the diarist Benjamin Adams -- a university graduate struggling to find a job appropriate to his qualifications -- addressing a future Ben, possibly a cousin. The subsequent entry, over a year later, reveals Adams has found work as an architect, a position that will ultimately determine not only his and his family’s future but also that of his home city, Sydney. The entries are sporadic, but the diarist’s awareness of global environmental issues is evident almost from the start and his growing fears for his family echo those of many contemporary parents. This juxtaposition of twentieth-century environmental disasters, government inaction on climate change and pollution, with Silver’s world of frequent earthquakes, tsunamis and floods little more than a century later, creates a sense of urgency for radical global change that will resonate with readers.
The emphasis on power -- electricity is in short supply within the Dome and controlled by Silmac -- reminded me of recent events in my home state, Victoria. The closure of Hazelwood, the dirtiest coal-fired power station in Australia, was viewed by many as a disaster for workers and the region. It seems both the Australian government and business are more concerned by loss of jobs and reduced power generation than the pollution of our already damaged environment.
Rodoreda draws a parallel between our total reliance on electricity and the future he has envisioned. Within the Dome, knowledge of solar power technology has been deliberately withheld from most to control the masses. Those unable to pay exorbitant fees are denied access to electricity, and even the wealthy leading families must endure rationing, another control mechanism. All Dome dwellers fear loss of power in much the same way as we do -- witness the kerfuffle surrounding the twenty-four-hour power outage in South Australia that was blamed on the amount of renewable energy generated by that state not the severe storm that toppled pylons. With battery storage becoming more affordable, we, unlike Rodoreda’s characters, will have the opportunity to leave the grid.
Fear is the primary emotion in this novel, pervading every character’s life, including the diarist whose attempt to use solar power in his major design project is thwarted, forcing him into subterfuge. The reader soon learns that the Dome is no haven, with gang warfare on the streets between rival salvage crews and towards women, direct consequences of a fear-based culture.
The fear of difference, a preoccupation of many contemporary right-wing politicians, is another theme successfully explored in Salvage. Dome dwellers are led to believe that anyone venturing into the subterranean domain of the Homeless -- descendants, as are the mutants, of the millions of Sydneysiders originally denied access to the Dome -- won’t return as they will be killed and eaten. However, when Silver and her new-found friends flee from the police and are forced to take refuge in the tunnels that were once the domain of trains and commuters, they discover dialogue can be more powerful than weapons when both parties are willing to listen to one another.
There is a similar poignant scene in Chapter 2 when Silver rescues an elderly mute from a savage beating by young mutes wielding clubs, and is in turn led to safe shelter from a storm. Mutes are justly feared by the salvage crews for their aggression and viewed as nothing but savage sub-human creatures. But Silver’s perceptions are challenged when the elderly mute feeds and cares for her overnight. She’s further astounded by the presence of electric light in his underground home.
Throughout the novel, solar power continues to play an important role and could almost be considered a ‘character’, such is its prominence in the final chapters. Although I believe this focus accords well with the overall themes, I was disappointed by the abrupt and inconclusive ending. It felt as though I was in a speeding vehicle that suddenly made an emergency stop for no apparent reason. The hint of a sequel would have tempered my reaction and I hope the author might consider such a project.
I enjoyed Salvage and look forward to reading subsequent books from this emerging Australian writer.
ABOUT SUE PARRITT
Sue is an Australian fiction writer. Her climate fiction trilogy of a future dystopian Australia, began with Sannah and the Pilgrim, published by Odyssey Books, 2014 and Commended in the FAW Christina Stead Award, 2014. Pia and the Skyman, published April 2016, was Commended in the FAW Christina Stead Award, 2016. The Sky Lines Alliance, published November 2016, completed the trilogy. Her fourth novel, Safety Zone, a coming of age story with a difference in that the protagonist comes of age twice, is due for release later this year. For her current project, she has turned to the past, writing a novel -- working title: Feed Thy Enemy -- based on her father’s extraordinary experiences in Naples as a RAF airman (1944) and as a tourist (1974).
From the first sentence, Martin Rodoreda’s debut novel Salvage sets the tone for his narrative of a future devastated Sydney, as the protagonist, Silver, reacts to the ominous groaning of the ruined building where she’s searching for scrap metal. Silver is a member of one of the salvage crews that venture outside the Dome -- an immense metal and glass structure that shields the inhabitants from the extreme weather and toxic air found in the Badlands -- where cannibalistic mutants and packs of feral dogs reside. Silver’s fear intensifies when she emerges from the building to discover a group of mutes devouring what she presumes is the body of her partner Coal, and hears trucks speeding towards the Dome. The crews’ mantra: ‘We never leave a man behind’ has been broken and she is alone with only a gun and a facemask for protection.
What follows is a tale of betrayal, despair, unexpected friendship and a gradual revelation of truth as Silver struggles to survive in a violent, chaotic city ruled by the despot Corbett Silmac from his palatial office high in Silmac Tower. Standard fare for a dystopian cli-fi novel -- a future blighted by war, pollution and extreme weather events -- but what kept me reading was the introduction of diary entries that provided a credible and thought-provoking backstory.
The diary begins in December 2001 with the diarist Benjamin Adams -- a university graduate struggling to find a job appropriate to his qualifications -- addressing a future Ben, possibly a cousin. The subsequent entry, over a year later, reveals Adams has found work as an architect, a position that will ultimately determine not only his and his family’s future but also that of his home city, Sydney. The entries are sporadic, but the diarist’s awareness of global environmental issues is evident almost from the start and his growing fears for his family echo those of many contemporary parents. This juxtaposition of twentieth-century environmental disasters, government inaction on climate change and pollution, with Silver’s world of frequent earthquakes, tsunamis and floods little more than a century later, creates a sense of urgency for radical global change that will resonate with readers.
The emphasis on power -- electricity is in short supply within the Dome and controlled by Silmac -- reminded me of recent events in my home state, Victoria. The closure of Hazelwood, the dirtiest coal-fired power station in Australia, was viewed by many as a disaster for workers and the region. It seems both the Australian government and business are more concerned by loss of jobs and reduced power generation than the pollution of our already damaged environment.
Rodoreda draws a parallel between our total reliance on electricity and the future he has envisioned. Within the Dome, knowledge of solar power technology has been deliberately withheld from most to control the masses. Those unable to pay exorbitant fees are denied access to electricity, and even the wealthy leading families must endure rationing, another control mechanism. All Dome dwellers fear loss of power in much the same way as we do -- witness the kerfuffle surrounding the twenty-four-hour power outage in South Australia that was blamed on the amount of renewable energy generated by that state not the severe storm that toppled pylons. With battery storage becoming more affordable, we, unlike Rodoreda’s characters, will have the opportunity to leave the grid.
Fear is the primary emotion in this novel, pervading every character’s life, including the diarist whose attempt to use solar power in his major design project is thwarted, forcing him into subterfuge. The reader soon learns that the Dome is no haven, with gang warfare on the streets between rival salvage crews and towards women, direct consequences of a fear-based culture.
The fear of difference, a preoccupation of many contemporary right-wing politicians, is another theme successfully explored in Salvage. Dome dwellers are led to believe that anyone venturing into the subterranean domain of the Homeless -- descendants, as are the mutants, of the millions of Sydneysiders originally denied access to the Dome -- won’t return as they will be killed and eaten. However, when Silver and her new-found friends flee from the police and are forced to take refuge in the tunnels that were once the domain of trains and commuters, they discover dialogue can be more powerful than weapons when both parties are willing to listen to one another.
There is a similar poignant scene in Chapter 2 when Silver rescues an elderly mute from a savage beating by young mutes wielding clubs, and is in turn led to safe shelter from a storm. Mutes are justly feared by the salvage crews for their aggression and viewed as nothing but savage sub-human creatures. But Silver’s perceptions are challenged when the elderly mute feeds and cares for her overnight. She’s further astounded by the presence of electric light in his underground home.
Throughout the novel, solar power continues to play an important role and could almost be considered a ‘character’, such is its prominence in the final chapters. Although I believe this focus accords well with the overall themes, I was disappointed by the abrupt and inconclusive ending. It felt as though I was in a speeding vehicle that suddenly made an emergency stop for no apparent reason. The hint of a sequel would have tempered my reaction and I hope the author might consider such a project.
I enjoyed Salvage and look forward to reading subsequent books from this emerging Australian writer.
ABOUT SUE PARRITT
Sue is an Australian fiction writer. Her climate fiction trilogy of a future dystopian Australia, began with Sannah and the Pilgrim, published by Odyssey Books, 2014 and Commended in the FAW Christina Stead Award, 2014. Pia and the Skyman, published April 2016, was Commended in the FAW Christina Stead Award, 2016. The Sky Lines Alliance, published November 2016, completed the trilogy. Her fourth novel, Safety Zone, a coming of age story with a difference in that the protagonist comes of age twice, is due for release later this year. For her current project, she has turned to the past, writing a novel -- working title: Feed Thy Enemy -- based on her father’s extraordinary experiences in Naples as a RAF airman (1944) and as a tourist (1974).
November 26, 2019
Martin Rodoreda’s impressive debut novel is set in a dystopian future where the climate catastrophe has seemingly wiped out most of the human population, and where survivors huddle inside a protective dome built around the remains of Sydney. Beyond the Dome is an urban wasteland inhabited by so-called mutes, savage relics of humankind who prey on those brave enough (or desperate enough) to scavenge for profitable metals from the collapsed structures.
Silver is the name of the novel’s likeable and determined protagonist, left to die in the wastelands by her crew at the story’s outset. As she struggles to return to the Dome, she happens upon an old journal - one that, initially unbeknownst to her, holds the key to society’s salvation. The contents of this journal are interspersed throughout the main plot, giving us a glimpse into a comfortingly mundane past before the inevitable environmental apocalypse swept all away before it. In the meantime though, Silver has to contend with dangerous foes in her former crew, as well as the military apparatus of the Dome’s autocratic ruler, Silmac, the scion of a powerful family intent on maintaining his power at any cost.
Like any work of fiction that imagines what the world looks like if the current climate catastrophe is left unaddressed, Salvage presents a dystopia that is credible enough to discomfort the reader straight away. The plot is well-paced and the writing is solid, if sometimes a little heavy on detail, at one point describing a man as “standing only one hundred and sixty-five centimetres tall” in a weirdly specific turn of phrase. I came to care about the characters enough to worry about their fate during the bloody denouement though, and I thought their relationships and rivalries were effectively portrayed.
I was given this book for free by its publishers, Odyssey Books, and I approached the book with a degree of scepticism. I’m delighted to say, however, that my scepticism was unfounded, and even though Rodoreda isn’t breaking any new ground with this work, he’s still written a thrilling dystopian yarn populated with engaging characters and set in a world that, frighteningly, might one day turn out to be not so far removed from where chronic climate denialism leads us.
Silver is the name of the novel’s likeable and determined protagonist, left to die in the wastelands by her crew at the story’s outset. As she struggles to return to the Dome, she happens upon an old journal - one that, initially unbeknownst to her, holds the key to society’s salvation. The contents of this journal are interspersed throughout the main plot, giving us a glimpse into a comfortingly mundane past before the inevitable environmental apocalypse swept all away before it. In the meantime though, Silver has to contend with dangerous foes in her former crew, as well as the military apparatus of the Dome’s autocratic ruler, Silmac, the scion of a powerful family intent on maintaining his power at any cost.
Like any work of fiction that imagines what the world looks like if the current climate catastrophe is left unaddressed, Salvage presents a dystopia that is credible enough to discomfort the reader straight away. The plot is well-paced and the writing is solid, if sometimes a little heavy on detail, at one point describing a man as “standing only one hundred and sixty-five centimetres tall” in a weirdly specific turn of phrase. I came to care about the characters enough to worry about their fate during the bloody denouement though, and I thought their relationships and rivalries were effectively portrayed.
I was given this book for free by its publishers, Odyssey Books, and I approached the book with a degree of scepticism. I’m delighted to say, however, that my scepticism was unfounded, and even though Rodoreda isn’t breaking any new ground with this work, he’s still written a thrilling dystopian yarn populated with engaging characters and set in a world that, frighteningly, might one day turn out to be not so far removed from where chronic climate denialism leads us.
December 12, 2018
I won this book last year in a contest run by the author, thanks for my copy Martin.
I really enjoyed the book. It is very well written and moves along at a good pace. There is great character descriptions and it's easy to like a lot of them and want others dead. Lots of action and it could be adapted into a movie. The future may well end up something like this due to climate change, war and natural resources running out so the story is very realistic. Highly enjoyable and a ripper first novel for the author.
I really enjoyed the book. It is very well written and moves along at a good pace. There is great character descriptions and it's easy to like a lot of them and want others dead. Lots of action and it could be adapted into a movie. The future may well end up something like this due to climate change, war and natural resources running out so the story is very realistic. Highly enjoyable and a ripper first novel for the author.
February 21, 2019
This edition was a Giveaways from the author.
A future that is so close to reality the more the story evolves. While reading it becomes hard to ignore our present day culture concerning the downward spiral taking the planet to unknown consequences.
An excellent story line overall except a little too much of indecision between Silver and Grave concerning their feelings. Small issue I know for such a wonderful book.
The telling point for me was with only 20 pages to finish I didn't know, or want to know the ending. For me Martin, the ending was perfect. Congratulations on a fine book.
A future that is so close to reality the more the story evolves. While reading it becomes hard to ignore our present day culture concerning the downward spiral taking the planet to unknown consequences.
An excellent story line overall except a little too much of indecision between Silver and Grave concerning their feelings. Small issue I know for such a wonderful book.
The telling point for me was with only 20 pages to finish I didn't know, or want to know the ending. For me Martin, the ending was perfect. Congratulations on a fine book.
November 16, 2016
I have waited 45 years to see what I believed would happen to our world, be put in to print.
This is a book every school aged person should read. This is a book, every adult should read, although I still feel that the message of what humans are doing to our world, for the benefit of few, would still not get through to those who can make so much difference.
This book has the basis of facts as the diary entries, to show what has been occurring in previous years in Australia. I know, at a point it becomes speculative, because we can not tell the future.
However, back 45 years ago, I participated in a class which was asked to look at Technologies and the affect on various parts of our lives. Of the various groups who showed their findings, not one believed our world would be liveable after about the 2020's due to air pollution, acid rain, polluted food supplies, cultural classes due to religion, extreme weather events and global warming. This is back before the Internet, when you had to use books for research.
So, this book is the flip side of the coin, and what the world looks like after all our nightmare predictions come true. It isn't my generation that may see it comes to pass, but my grandchildren and their families may be the ones living with what we don't do something about today.
This is a book every school aged person should read. This is a book, every adult should read, although I still feel that the message of what humans are doing to our world, for the benefit of few, would still not get through to those who can make so much difference.
This book has the basis of facts as the diary entries, to show what has been occurring in previous years in Australia. I know, at a point it becomes speculative, because we can not tell the future.
However, back 45 years ago, I participated in a class which was asked to look at Technologies and the affect on various parts of our lives. Of the various groups who showed their findings, not one believed our world would be liveable after about the 2020's due to air pollution, acid rain, polluted food supplies, cultural classes due to religion, extreme weather events and global warming. This is back before the Internet, when you had to use books for research.
So, this book is the flip side of the coin, and what the world looks like after all our nightmare predictions come true. It isn't my generation that may see it comes to pass, but my grandchildren and their families may be the ones living with what we don't do something about today.
October 20, 2016
I received an advanced copy of this book for review. I didn't know much about the story when I started and I was a little worried that it would be just another zombie apocalypse book, but it was so much more. The book was able to take into account recent disasters and weather trends and extrapolate a terrible fate for humanity. Using the 'flashbacks' of the found journal pages, we are able to see how the characters ended up in this reality. It would occasionally feel a little heavy handed about the need for clean energy, but the story line and characters were compelling enough that those feelings were fleeting. I will warn that the book is written and set in Australia, so there are some slang terms that I was unsure of, although I could figure out most of the references ("footy") and the alternate spelling of words ("colour") doesn't bother me. I really enjoyed this book, although I did think that the ending was abrupt and I would have been happier with a more defined ending rather than leaving it up to the reader to decide what will happen next.
November 17, 2017
This is an interesting speculative fiction book of our future due to climate change and greed. It follows Silver a survivor in the constructed Dome in Sydney, Australia, and how they can attempt to bring down those who are in power, and attempt to help the others in need.
Well written characters and well-paced, and well edited.
Well written characters and well-paced, and well edited.
October 25, 2016
This is a genuinely eerie tale of a future that feels not only real, but looming over our own present.
November 13, 2017
A wonderfully entertaining dystopian type read. Fun action scenes as well as strong character development. Highly recommended.
January 28, 2018
This is a standout first novel!
I found the story gripping and finished it in one sitting.
Characters were well rounded and highly believable.
I look forward to more books by this author!
I found the story gripping and finished it in one sitting.
Characters were well rounded and highly believable.
I look forward to more books by this author!
January 22, 2020
Set in a post apocalyptic world set in Sydney, Australia. The first time I read such a setting, although to me it was comforting that the characters spoke in metric system. We found our main character, Silver, a young adult that lives inside an structure called the Dome, made of thick glass along with her crew and friends, and that after an encounter with the Mutes, people that suffered from mutations after the disaster produced by pollution, goes missing from her crew and finds herself forced to follow an older mute to survive the night. This futuristic Sydney is governed by a company that profits on scrapes of metal found on the out lands of the Dome they live in. Silver has to find the way to go back inside and find a new crew to afford to live, after her last crew left her on the out for good, she can’t trust them at all. Finds a crew when she stops a guy from attacking a girl named Asp. She doesn’t get along with their leader, Grave, so well at the beginning but find something that makes them get closer in their motivations.
Street fights, found family, survival, and political subjects are heavy on theme and the political focus on renewable energy was something I never read before on dystopian novels, where the mcs overthrow the government and save everyone on a pretty messed up environment but what’s next? I liked that a lot. This book was interesting and it picks up from the very start with survival action.
Some Characters:
Silver: I thought she was 16-17 as the average lead girl tends to be, but she’s around 20 so it satisfies me having a more grown mc. Had to put up with a lot of shit
Coal: I knew he was a dick the moment he appeared. I wasn’t surprised with his actions at all at the beginning.
Grave: suave and nice, took me by surprise a couple times with his deeds
Asp: I LOVED her, her attire and personality and how she worries for her family 10/10.
Blocka: A big hearted bear for his Asp, one of my fave tropes.
Benjamin Adams: We know him through his diary, and it breaks my heart his worries are all for his kids, not himself.
Ellianie Guzmán, 2020
Street fights, found family, survival, and political subjects are heavy on theme and the political focus on renewable energy was something I never read before on dystopian novels, where the mcs overthrow the government and save everyone on a pretty messed up environment but what’s next? I liked that a lot. This book was interesting and it picks up from the very start with survival action.
Some Characters:
Silver: I thought she was 16-17 as the average lead girl tends to be, but she’s around 20 so it satisfies me having a more grown mc. Had to put up with a lot of shit
Coal: I knew he was a dick the moment he appeared. I wasn’t surprised with his actions at all at the beginning.
Grave: suave and nice, took me by surprise a couple times with his deeds
Asp: I LOVED her, her attire and personality and how she worries for her family 10/10.
Blocka: A big hearted bear for his Asp, one of my fave tropes.
Benjamin Adams: We know him through his diary, and it breaks my heart his worries are all for his kids, not himself.
Ellianie Guzmán, 2020
August 11, 2021
Completely Unrealistic.
And by unrealistic I mean the fact that any government could have the courage and foresight to invest in the building of a protective dome over an entire city.
Salvage takes the climate emergency of today and asks: What if we did nothing? What if we allowed vested mining interests to continue to drive our response to climate change? What if we ignored what our planet is trying to tell us? What would happen to humanity?
Opening at a time when what is left of human kind is living within a protective Dome built over the city of Sydney and has forgotten what it's like to be able to breath unfiltered air, Salvage follows Silver as she discovers that those in power have not yet learned the lessons of the past.
A gripping read from beginning to end.
And by unrealistic I mean the fact that any government could have the courage and foresight to invest in the building of a protective dome over an entire city.
Salvage takes the climate emergency of today and asks: What if we did nothing? What if we allowed vested mining interests to continue to drive our response to climate change? What if we ignored what our planet is trying to tell us? What would happen to humanity?
Opening at a time when what is left of human kind is living within a protective Dome built over the city of Sydney and has forgotten what it's like to be able to breath unfiltered air, Salvage follows Silver as she discovers that those in power have not yet learned the lessons of the past.
A gripping read from beginning to end.
September 21, 2020
Great read
January 20, 2021
A great read, first book by Martin Rodereda and I was impressed. All the talk about climate change and pollution makes me think twice about our current situation.
March 30, 2024
Part speculative science fiction. Part dystopian. Part action. Climate change and the ensuing environmental disasters have rendered the world unliveable. A dome built over the city of Sydney serves as a last refuge. The vast majority of its inhabitants suffer in poverty without electricity or fresh food, and scant opportunities to make a living. The main character, Silver, is one of those struggling to survive.
Silver eeks out a living as a salvager - working as part of a crew venturing out of the relative safety of the dome and into the badlands in search of any materials that can be sold on and reused. After she unknowingly becomes tangled in a conspiracy, the only way out is to work with those already involved in finding a way to bring down the system which oppresses them. While the narration follows Silver's POV, the other characters are equally important and I'd say it's almost an ensemble cast.
Salvage explores the question of "what if this was our future?" The characters are simply the means of exploring this scenario, and at times their motivations and personalities do fade to the background. Throughout the book, excerpts of a diary written by a man living through the first few decades of the 2000's document how extreme climate change lead to humanity's downfall. These excerpts come across as a touch preachy, as does some of the dialogue - some parts feel more like the character is reading an essay out loud rather than natural speech. It breaks the immersion, like an ad in the middle of a movie.
Aside from those few paragraphs of preaching, it was extremely engaging. The action scenes are some of the best I've read. It's difficult to vividly describe a fight without slowing the pace too much, or conversely, not describing it enough and leaving the reader with a confusing mess, but it's done brilliantly here. The mad max-esque shootout near the end of the book had me on the edge of my seat. Overall, the writing has a really nice flow. I read the whole book in one sitting and never felt like it was dragging. The premise and the world building was A grade. I reckon this book would make an awesome movie.
(A note of caution: there are a couple instances of sexual assault in this book. Though not gratuitous and handled respectfully, it's something that can still be uncomfortable to read.)
Silver eeks out a living as a salvager - working as part of a crew venturing out of the relative safety of the dome and into the badlands in search of any materials that can be sold on and reused. After she unknowingly becomes tangled in a conspiracy, the only way out is to work with those already involved in finding a way to bring down the system which oppresses them. While the narration follows Silver's POV, the other characters are equally important and I'd say it's almost an ensemble cast.
Salvage explores the question of "what if this was our future?" The characters are simply the means of exploring this scenario, and at times their motivations and personalities do fade to the background. Throughout the book, excerpts of a diary written by a man living through the first few decades of the 2000's document how extreme climate change lead to humanity's downfall. These excerpts come across as a touch preachy, as does some of the dialogue - some parts feel more like the character is reading an essay out loud rather than natural speech. It breaks the immersion, like an ad in the middle of a movie.
Aside from those few paragraphs of preaching, it was extremely engaging. The action scenes are some of the best I've read. It's difficult to vividly describe a fight without slowing the pace too much, or conversely, not describing it enough and leaving the reader with a confusing mess, but it's done brilliantly here. The mad max-esque shootout near the end of the book had me on the edge of my seat. Overall, the writing has a really nice flow. I read the whole book in one sitting and never felt like it was dragging. The premise and the world building was A grade. I reckon this book would make an awesome movie.
(A note of caution: there are a couple instances of sexual assault in this book. Though not gratuitous and handled respectfully, it's something that can still be uncomfortable to read.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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