The Salvagers

The Salvagers #1

by John Michael Godier

Set four centuries in the future, salvager Captain Camden D. Hunter and his crew find the richest shipwreck ever lost in the mining vessel Cape Hatteras and the fabulous wealth it contains. Lost 200 years before under mysterious and unknown circumstances, the Cape Hatteras is the most famous shipwreck in history. If anyone finds out that Cam's found it, he'll have every claim jumper in the solar system wanting a cut. But that’s the least of his worries, though he doesn't know it. The Cape Hatteras was once a government ship and they want it back. Unbeknownst to Cam and his crew, within that ship lies a dark secret that could threaten Earth, the solar system, and even the whole of the universe itself.

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction

278 pages, Paperback

First published October 29, 2013

Reviews

[Michael Bacon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll start by making it clear that my review score represents what this book is--an independently published novel (I'm going to say I presume it's self published). It's a diverse market out there, with plenty of room for contemporary literature, classics, big publisher genre fiction, and tiny indie books like this. I feel like it would be silly, even pretentious, to hold them all to the same standard. So my rating represents my feelings over a book I bought for three bucks on a whim, without expectations. And on that basis, I certainly got my money's worth.

I came to The Salvagers via John Michael Godier's excellent YouTube channel. He really is a top class YouTuber, presenting videos on SETI and space science that are about as perfect for my tastes as they can get--fascinating, digestible, well researched, intelligent, humorous, and given an engaging and polished delivery. Godier wouldn't seem out of place presenting science documentaries on TV and radio (in fact he'd be better than most presenters I've seen).

Even though I'm a fan of his videos, I typically balk at self published books, because the expectation is that at the very best they will be unpolished, and at worst unreadable. But I was bored, and after another semester of reading Pulitzer and Nobel winners I felt like I wanted a break to just plough through something light and breezy, with some interesting science in it. And that is exactly what I got. There are certainly places where the lack of polish shows, but despite that I had fun reading this.

Often when I read or watch Sci-fi I get frustrated by narrative decisions that have been made with no care or attention to how science actually works (Independence Day for instance: as my dad, a former RAF engineer once told me, if those aliens fired their flaming death guns into cities at that close a range, the back draft would suck their ships into the ground). Perhaps the biggest strength of this book is that however improbable the events that take place, they all seem to be based on sound physics. And when you're talking about an alien shadow universe placed on top of our own... that's interesting.

[Sudoaptget69 · Rating 4 out of 5]

First thing's first, I'm not a physicist or anything like that, so I'm in no good position to review the realism of this sci-fi, however, it's enough to satisfy and immerse me. I love the fact that this novel is rather conservative on humanity's advancements in the future. It really sets it apart from other sci-fi, which tend to take great liberties in technological advancement to make things more exciting.

Most actions the characters do in space are slow and methodical. Communication is limited by the speed of light. Space is made out to be a hostile environment. Several moments emphasize this and it raises the stakes quite well. This is something I think more sci-fi should take advantage of!

Overall, the world is by far my most favorite part of the novel and what immersed me. It felt like a very plausible future to my layman self and the protagonist goes to several locations within the solar system, each feeling plausible in their portrayal. Other sci-fi tend to feel more fantastical. Of course, the fact this novel only takes place within our solar system will help.

I would say the weak points are the characters and dialogue. It's not bad by any means, and the world had me more than satisfied anyway, but I wouldn't call it memorable either. The characters get the job done well, but you'd be somewhat hard pressed to describe any of their personalities in great detail, except maybe the protagonist since the novel is in his first-person perspective.

To me, this book is a very comfortable 4 star. Perhaps a 4.5 if we want to accommodate the fact that this is an indie novel. The world sucked me in, so that is one big compliment I have to give.

[Eddie Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked Godier's lead characters and the overall story of an extraordinary salvage job in space was interesting. The science, however, left me woefully in the dark. That's a bit of a pun, actually, since the the author's science delves into dark matter. For science fiction fans who have more understanding of science than poor me, the story will certainly flesh out for you many of the possibilities behind the true nature of dark matter. A good SF novel, all in all. I recommend it!

[Kayin Laedtke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible fun and an easy read for SF! JMG made so many clever choices that I often had to stop and appreciate the writing itself.

[Robert Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the story and the characters but it's a little on the short side.
The flashbacks to the modern day from 400 years in the future can be jarring at times.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great start to what I hope will become Salvagers series! Well written, solid science, just an all around fun & compelling read!