3 out of 4 stars
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Would you consider communicating with a voice inside your head, a divine occurrence or insanity? Welcome to Salt Of The Earth by Kate Moschandreas, where this is actually normal. The technological advancement in this futuristic science fiction thriller is so developed that people have no need of human interaction. They just whisper their question/request and a computer response is spoken in their heads! Moreover, surveillance feeds, doorway scans, drones, and an advanced electronic tracking system ensure everyone is trackable. The year is 2038, and this age-old question is on the dock: Do people do things for others only in exchange for a benefit or are there still in existence, genuinely honest and good people – also known as ‘salt of the earth?’
The protagonists in this riveting drama are Matteo Wu, an observationist (read spy!), and, Jessila Prentis (Jess), a chemical engineering Ph.D. student. Jess' entire research group under David Steubingly, is involved in research on solar and other renewable energy. No water research, no desalination whatsoever! Nevertheless, Jess suddenly finds her life topsy-turvy over a desalination invention she is purportedly working on. She is even scheduled to be signing the invention’s patent rights in a ceremony two days away! The scientist that she is, Jess doesn’t waste time on pinching herself to confirm she is not dreaming. Instead, she lines up her facts, to identify her misunderstanding of the situation: She stumbled upon David - her boss and recent ex, being brutally assaulted by goons from De Sal, check. The goons chased after her and a fishy policewoman responded to her distress call, check. Matteo mysteriously appeared and henceforth stays put at her side, check. A famous scientist demanded, at gunpoint, patent application forms she knows nothing about, check. The ‘fishy’ policewoman reappeared and is very intent on capturing her, check. What is she missing? Jess soon discovers that the key lies in her desalination-unrelated research and, she is just a pawn in a do-or-die game with dangerous players drawn from the government, official water desalination firm (De Sal), greedy scientists and terrorists. Will she even live long enough to get to the bottom of this mystery? Besides, what’s Matteo’s role in all this?
The book is fast paced and intense, with the whole plot unraveling in just three days. It is an exciting hide and seek, near-miss chase that keeps one guessing at who is friend and who is foe. I was so engrossed in the happenings that I almost prayed for the characters! The author’s picturesque writing style and descriptive imagery, tinged with some dry humor, kept me turning the pages for more. Check out this example:
The book is divided into three sections corresponding to each of the three days, plus an epilogue or rather, a brief one year later account. Each section is subdivided into chapter-equivalent, alternating points of view between Jess and Matteo, narrated in the third person. This provides an understanding of each character’s inner conflict which in no time has the reader rooting for the character! The plot unfolds around both the bay area and the hills of Berkeley, California, which has been Jess’ home of four months.Her thoughts kept drifting upward, like a balloon with strings she must grab before they float away.
There is marked character development in the novel. Jess develops from a very naïve, heart-broken young woman, to one that boldly owns her invention and does exactly what she wants with it. Matteo too - a hurting, cynical, nothing-to-live-for kind of guy develops into a caring man that takes on his boss. There isn't much depth in the other characters, though.
The main theme explored in the book is a humane (salt of the earth) disposition in a technologically advanced but dying world. Yes, dying. You see, the novel paints a gloomy picture where an unchecked climate change has resulted in fog, smog, brown muck, and drought. The smog is so dense that people have to carry oxygen tanks, or might as well smoke four packs! Freshwater is scarce and very expensive. For this reason, various players in the novel will literally kill to own the desalination invention. By it, fresh water will be cheap again, agriculture will rebound, food prices will plummet, and the famine will end. Ideally, the world will be saved. But who amongst these players wears the salt-of-the-earth hat? Greed and manipulation also strongly feature in the plot, proving the adage that there is always good and evil going on. We have cops, and we have robbers!
The only thing I did not like was the author’s consistent switching between past and present tenses throughout the book. Her intention was to probably write flashbacks in past tense and the unfolding plot in the present tense. Whereas this would make sense in a screen script, it created a confusing delivery in the narration. Imagine cruising happily on a suspense high, then suddenly being jolted by a tense change, right in the middle of the narration! This made me lose momentum many times.
The constant tense changes, coupled with the few minor grammar errors I encountered, make me rate Salt Of The Earth 3 out of 4 stars. Because the tense changes did not interfere with my understanding of the plot, I’m sure other people will enjoy the book as well. Lovers of sci-fi and crime thrillers, in particular, will love this novel. The technological advancement reminded me of Julia Roberts’ (writing as RD Robb) ‘in death’ series. If you enjoy fast-paced fiction, then this book is certainly up your alley. I must, however, warn you that there is a bit of gore. To compensate, there is some romance in the air!
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Salt of the Earth
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