Salvation Day

By: Kali Wallace

Narrated by: Vikas Adam, Kimberly Farr, Kyla Garcia

A lethal virus is awoken on an abandoned spaceship in this incredibly fast-paced, claustrophobic thriller.

They thought the ship would be their salvation.

Zahra knew every detail of the plan. House of Wisdom, a massive exploration vessel, had been abandoned by the government of Earth a decade earlier, when a deadly virus broke out and killed everyone on board in a matter of hours. But now it could belong to her people if they were bold enough to take it. All they needed to do was kidnap Jaswinder Bhattacharya—the sole survivor of the tragedy, and the last person whose genetic signature would allow entry to the spaceship.

But what Zahra and her crew could not know was what waited for them on the ship—a terrifying secret buried by the government. A threat to all of humanity that lay sleeping alongside the orbiting dead.

And then they woke it up.

Critic reviews

Praise for Salvation Day

"Kali Wallace, the world needs you--and this book. Salvation Day is a taut thriller, a near-future look at where we're headed next, a mirror reflecting the best and worst of humanity. It is all that, and so much more. I'd follow the rebellious heroine Zahra anywhere--especially into another nail-biter of a story like this."--James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of The Demon Crown

“Salvation Day is a masterful story set at a screaming pace. It had me holding on for dear life all the way through. I loved it.”—Mur Lafferty, Hugo Award-winning author of Six Wakes

"Breakneck pace with real thrills and chills—plus lots of meaty stuff to think about. One of the major science-fiction debuts of 2019. Kali Wallace is a force to be reckoned with."—Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of Quantum Night

"A smart, gripping thriller you just can't put down. Explosions, betrayals, morally gray choices and twisty secrets; all set in the world that comes after the end of ours. Perfect for fans of Aliens and locked spaceship murder mysteries." – Kameron Hurley, Hugo Award-winning author of The Light Brigade

"More than a science fiction novel, it's a good old-fashioned thriller set in the future--every page filled with breadth and scope and twists and turns. An exciting, dangerous, magical quest for truth."—Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Malta Exchange

“A suspenseful journey with complex characters and a riveting universe that is as bold as it is fascinating, Salvation Day is a space thriller that will infect you with its gripping narrative as much as its mind-bending viruses.”--Peter Tieryas, author of Mecha Samurai Empire

"Wallace delivers an exciting sf thriller that shines a light on government secrets, shifting blame, and elitism and class in a future society. The tight plot and well-developed characters create an engrossing read."--Library Journal

A Wonderful Mashup!

It’s a caper! It’s a haunted house! It’s full of political intrigue and a cult!

“Salvation Day” is all of those things. But most of all, it’s wonderful!

Unexpected Story of Survival and Understanding

This is a story about the truths that those who govern choose to share with the governed. The struggle for freedom to live is never over.

Good book, annoying issues with the reading.

The chapters in the book all have the same four rotating names. So each chapter of the same name are read by a different person.

In the chapters named Zahra the person reading does good but whenever a character finishes dialog and the character speaking is identified it sounds like the identifying part was just copy and pasted. No matter the character, for example if Bob talks when it gets to the part of the writing that says "Bob said" this phrase will sound exactly same, every-single-time. Like it was the same recording just copy and pasted. It is obnoxious. When another character talks, lets say Kate. When Kate finishes talking and the writing would say "Kate said" it will be the exact same recording of "Kate said" every single time. And so on for every character. Its weird too cause the reader does a really good job of reading every other part. But it really can be really jarring when a tense moment is going on and then "Kate said" sounding so generic and copy pasted. Like the way she says those parts to are just... odd. And to hear the same inflection, every single time is ugh.


The book itself was alright. There were some good moments and some twists and turns. But the pace stays the same and never really picks up.

What A Story!

I’ll get this out of the way to begin with. This story reminded me of a modern day (actually futuristic) retelling of Michael Crichton’s Andromeda Strain – which was one of my favorite books growing up and pushed me into my love for Science Fiction, Bio-Thrillers, and a new genre to that time Technothrillers. Salvation Day by Kali Wallace was an excellent combination of all of these genres and will stand up as one of my favorite books in 2019.

So, sitting down and re-reading the synopsis has me quickly realizing that this is going to be a hard review to write without spoiling anything. If I end up going off course, I apologize, and if I’m vague, that’s why.

Salvation Day tells the story of a group of people who have been forgotten. They were either outcast into the wastelands of the deserts in the former United States or they have chosen to live there because of one reason or another. They are seeking a new place to live… a Salvation Day you might say. They set their sites onto a derelict ship that (slight spoiler here) took the lives of every member of the ship except for one (spoiler over). But this ship holds the secrets of its dead crew along with many, many more.

The overall storytelling that jumped back and forth between characters but also between transmissions and other communication was really up my alley. I thought that it jumped around just enough as to not be confusing but to tell stories within stories.

When you finally get towards the end and the entire set up starts to make sense – I hope you’re as shocked as I am. This book had me hook, line, and sinker throughout and still managed to surprise me.

The story itself was excellent and was one that I absolutely flew through. This is aided by the triple narration threat that was Vikas Adam, Kimberly Farr, and Kyla Garcia. These three did a great job making Wallace’s great story into something even better.

Almost

I feel like they “jumped the shark” a bit early but the passionate ending saved the story. I give it 4 star’s overall.