A powerful and suspenseful dystopia by Australian author Jennifer Mills
It is refreshing to encounter fantasy or sci-fi written by Australian authors, with so few publishing opportunities in those genres in this country. Salvage by Jennifer Mills is a piece of powerful dystopian fiction, examining a potential future where global warming has been left unchecked, and the ultra-rich use technology to try and escape the problems rather than solve them.
Jude’s life is about survival. She finds work where she can, keeps away from the ever rising oceans, and if people start asking questions, she moves on. Through chapters labelled Before, Station, or with months (which is assumed to be current time in the story), we learn about Jude’s former life as adopted sister to Celeste Prince, heiress to an unstable fortune, and Celeste’s trajectory to becoming one of a few billionaires who choose to wait out the end of the world in a state of torpor on an ill-fated space station.
The writing is tight, and descriptive enough while always keeping a certain clinical element to it, which seems fitting for Jude’s practical and introverted personality. Jude seems to be coded as neurodivergent, with a dislike of unsolicited touch, a preference for one outfit of comfortable clothes, and a special interest in repairing and driving an old truck, though no label is ever given to her. She makes connections with people in the Freelands, despite her desire to hide her personal history. Some of these characters we learn very little of, perhaps because Jude doesn’t have a lot of curiosity about them. As a result, side characters such as Solare and Tik are little more than names, and it’s difficult to get a clear mental picture of who these people are.
One of the highlights of this story are the Station chapters. Written from Celeste’s point of view when the station wakes her at specific intervals from her torpor for exercise and mental stimulation, these chapters build on a sense of foreboding, building tension as Celeste believes all is fine while simultaneously showing her mental deterioration.
It was surprising that the Before chapters were written in present tense, while the chapters labelled by month started in past tense and then changed to present tense half way through. One assumes that was a deliberate choice, but the swap in the monthly chapters didn’t have any significant impact — in fact, I didn’t notice until several chapters later that it had happened. It would have seemed more logical to put present time in present tense and the Before chapters in past tense, but overall it didn’t impact the readability of the story.
This book was an exciting read. Jennifer Mills does an excellent job of building suspense, and it’s far too easy to fall into a ‘just one more chapter’ cycle, particularly with the three different timelines. It is worth noting that Jennifer Mills also writes horror, so one assumes that happy endings aren’t her specialty. However, the journey is more than worth it.
Reviewed by Kristin Stefanoff
Social media handles: @StefanoffK
The views expressed in this review belong to the author and not Glam Adelaide, its affiliates, or employees.
Distributed by: Pan Macmillan Australia
Released: May 2025
RRP: $34.99
