20. Down to Earth

The book:  Salvage
The author:  Alexandra Duncan
The rating:  3.5 stars

"Are we always our mistakes?  Does anything we do heal them?"

It's never wise to judge a book by the quotes on the back of the dust jacket, but some glowing praise from my favourite YA sci-fi writer, Beth Revis, as well as other just-as-rave reviews which dubbed Salvage "kick-ass, brilliant, feminist science fiction" definitely gave me high hopes for this debut novel.

While Salvage was enjoyable enough, it certainly didn't live up to my lofty expectations.  A good novel needs a lot of the things, but when that novel is science fiction, perhaps the element that is paramount is its worldbuilding.  A good world can make or break a novel, and while generic worldbuilding can be redeemed by an extremely intriguing plot or characters, a well-built world can carry a generic cast of characters or a well-worn plot a far ways.  Unfortunately, Salvage's world failed to deliver.  From the very beginning, I found it difficult to buy into the whole Space Amish scenario; even once the setting shifted to the Gyre, the worldbuilding continued to puzzle.  A futuristic setting is unique in that it enables the author to easily communicate their view on present-day issues through the future they create, but Duncan seems to shy away from making any sort of statement one way or another on any issue other than feminism.  A continent made of trash is bound to carry connotations of some sort regarding environmentalism or commercialism or... something.  But instead, the setting of the Gyre is vastly underdeveloped, used for nothing more than yet another cheap tragedy to push the main plot along.  Forget Diet Theme... Duncan introduces InvisiTheme, so hard to see, it's like it's not even there!

While I've stated that unique characters and their characterization can make up for a dull world, the cast of Salvage is nothing new.  Be it in the Parastrata, the Gyre, or Mumbai, Duncan's world seems to be populated exclusively with stock characters.  Child prodigy?  Check.  The golden-hearted one with a troubled past?  Check.  The kind mentor figure whose death acts as a driving force to our hero's quest?  Check.  The calculating, immoral, and emotionless scientist?  Check.  There's very few characters in Salvage that you haven't seen a thousand times before, and in likely more nuanced variations.  Furthermore, these characters are exceptionally flat... save for dying, nobody changes much over the course of the lengthy novel, and this lack of depth and development prevents the reader from becoming engrossed in Duncan's tale.

The one exception to this rule is Ava Parastrata, the story's heroine.  Her character development - and the feminist theme portrayed by this development - are easily the most engaging aspects of Salvage (almost as if Ava and the girl-power message sucked every last drop out of the characterization and theme budgets, making them intriguing, rich splashes on a backdrop of grey and cliche).  My opening quote provides a good summation of Ava's storyline and conflict:  is redemption possible?  Can one become whole again, become someone new?  Refreshingly explored and thoughtfully developed, this thread, coupled with some good ol' girl-power that is not often found in sci-fi novels, provides a taste of what I'd hoped Salvage would be.  It's not enough to truly allow the novel to realize its potential, but it's certainly better than nothing.

The other redeeming feature of Salvage is the way Duncan resists the urge to follow in the current YA fad of stretching every story over a trilogy.  I can easily see how a lesser writer might have split Salvage into three books:  book one taking place on the Parastrata, book two in the Gyre, and book three beginning once Ava and Miyole arrive in Mumbai.  As I've mentioned before, there are few things I appreciate more than a writer penning a solid stand-alone, and I'm glad to say that Salvage was that.  A multi-segmented tale was started, developed, and finished between two covers, and I was thoroughly satisfied by the time I flipped the last page.  Yes, Salvage wasn't all that I hoped it would be, and yes, it was rather myopic, focusing almost exclusively on Ava and the central theme at the expense of all else, but I had a smile on my face by the time I turned the last page, and from one reader to another, can we really ask for much else?