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A review by eddiesourboy
Salvation Day by Kali Wallace
adventurous
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Kali Wallace takes her readers on a fast-paced journey through an abandoned exploration spaceship in Salvation Day. The story begins from the point of view of Zhara, our heroine who has been cheated by the United Councils of Earth. She has volunteered to be the leader of a dangerous mission: to infiltrate and take over the House of Wisdom, a huge exploration vessel that has been abandoned for ten years. In order to get through its security, she must kidnap Jaswinder Bhattacharya, the only member of the House of Wisdom who survived the epidemic. He is forced to cooperate as Zhara and her crew commandeer a passenger vessel and break into the long-abandoned spaceship, but he doesn’t tell them everything. He’s the only one who really knows what happened ten years ago; the only one who knows the truth about the virus that killed over 300 people. It’s been dormant in their bodies since the day he left, and they’re about to wake it up.
Wallace keeps the book exciting by switching between the perspectives of Zhara and Jaswinder, giving the reader insight into their opposing views and morals. She does a great job building their characters over time, along with their friends and co-hostages. Through them, we learn what Earth has been like since the Collapse; the injustices some face and the privileges others have. No character is without flaw, nor are they without justification for their cause.
This novel is Kali Wallace’s first publication outside of the YA genre, and quite frankly, she killed it. Salvation Day is a fantastic mixture of sci-fi, thriller, and post-apocalyptic horror. I’m certain that young adults would enjoy it, but the darker themes and more sophisticated language lends itself to older readers as well. As a science fiction and post-apocalyptic novel, it succeeded in the idea of imagining now and extrapolating the future. The future is not always pretty, and Wallace isn’t afraid to show it. It was incredibly exciting to read as well. The eerie setting and exploration of the unknown made this a real page-turner. From start to finish, I had trouble putting the book down; I needed to know what happened next. It truly lived up to its expectations as a thriller.
Not only does this novel contain unique commentary on numerous current social justice issues, but the diversity in the cast is impressive. There are characters from around the world (as we know it, pre-Collapse), characters from varying social classes, and my personal favorite, a gay protagonist. And Kali Wallace does NOT bury her gays, folks. I wasn’t expecting any romance, in fact that was part of the appeal for me, but I was more than ok with this subplot.
As a final note: The finale of this book made me cry. I have not cried while reading a book in years. I wish I could explain to you exactly why I was so moved, but that would be a massive spoiler. I suppose you’ll have to read and find out for yourself. I promise it’s worth it. Salvation Day has my utmost respect, and I hope you consider tagging along on this thrilling mission with Jaswinder and Zhara.
(i got an a on this review :D)
Wallace keeps the book exciting by switching between the perspectives of Zhara and Jaswinder, giving the reader insight into their opposing views and morals. She does a great job building their characters over time, along with their friends and co-hostages. Through them, we learn what Earth has been like since the Collapse; the injustices some face and the privileges others have. No character is without flaw, nor are they without justification for their cause.
This novel is Kali Wallace’s first publication outside of the YA genre, and quite frankly, she killed it. Salvation Day is a fantastic mixture of sci-fi, thriller, and post-apocalyptic horror. I’m certain that young adults would enjoy it, but the darker themes and more sophisticated language lends itself to older readers as well. As a science fiction and post-apocalyptic novel, it succeeded in the idea of imagining now and extrapolating the future. The future is not always pretty, and Wallace isn’t afraid to show it. It was incredibly exciting to read as well. The eerie setting and exploration of the unknown made this a real page-turner. From start to finish, I had trouble putting the book down; I needed to know what happened next. It truly lived up to its expectations as a thriller.
Not only does this novel contain unique commentary on numerous current social justice issues, but the diversity in the cast is impressive. There are characters from around the world (as we know it, pre-Collapse), characters from varying social classes, and my personal favorite, a gay protagonist. And Kali Wallace does NOT bury her gays, folks. I wasn’t expecting any romance, in fact that was part of the appeal for me, but I was more than ok with this subplot.
As a final note: The finale of this book made me cry. I have not cried while reading a book in years. I wish I could explain to you exactly why I was so moved, but that would be a massive spoiler. I suppose you’ll have to read and find out for yourself. I promise it’s worth it. Salvation Day has my utmost respect, and I hope you consider tagging along on this thrilling mission with Jaswinder and Zhara.
(i got an a on this review :D)