<b>4.5 Floridian Stars⭐</b>

The "really original and unique story" streak continues! <i>Salvagia</i> is phenomenally creative.

This is a short, fast-paced read: part mystery with mild thriller vibes. It doesn't really slow down enough to allow for introspection or for romance, but it's not supposed to. Most times, the focus of the plot is the action.

Thematically, it sits somewhere between climate fiction and satire. There are hints of commentary on storms, rising seas, and survival in a drowned world, but also plenty of tongue-in-cheek absurdity that feels unique to the hellscape of the 2020s. (Basically, "you know this shit show we're all experiencing in 2025? How do you think that will translate into life 30 years from now?")

While you won't find miles of depth to the characters in <i>Salvagia</i>, they each seemed designed to perfectly fit into (and accentuate) the worldbuilding, which is the real heart of this story. Florida herself stars in all of her near-future, climate catastrophe, surreal dystopian glory.

Corporate mafias, secret cabals, crypto groups, nostalgic salvage, anti-establishment right to repair groups, and so on... (That last one is particularly fun because I've been watching a lot of Louis Rossmann on YouTube lately.)

The story is told, first person, through Triss' point of view. She's likable and observant; it's a good way to experience the world. While, I never got to know her on a deep level, she felt right for the narrative.

There IS one character I really wish we could have gotten to know better though! <i>The Ghost</i>, Triss’ semi-sentient boat. She was my favorite. There was so much potential there and we just didn't get enough time with her.

<b>Audio-Specific 🎧:</b> Amy McFadden did an excellent job differentiating a wide cast of characters, and her accent work is strong as well. Most importantly, given that Triss was an observer jostled along by circumstance in this chaotic, weird story, her voice really matched that energy. It was the perfect narration for a book like this.

<b>📌 TL;DR: </b> Nothing embodies “Florida Man” better than post-apocalyptic Florida itself… Also, our future? Doomed.

This was a fun sci-fi murder mystery! It was wacky and I honestly never knew what was gonna happen next. I liked that it wasn't like "traditional' sci-fi in an overly complex world building type of way. It was easily readable and honestly the audiobook was great.

I feel like the book tried to do a lot of things and most of them fell flat. The worldbuilding was the most interesting part and I would have liked to spent more time learning about all this new technology and talking about what happened to the Yoreshore. It would have made for a more interesting book imo.

Although I like mysteries and thrillers I felt this one was so uninteresting it made listening to the book feel almost like a chore to me, I just couldn't find in me the interest to care for it.

What a fantastic debut novel! It’s set in the near-ish future, where the original Florida coastline is under water and a high value is placed on sunken artifacts from the drowned communities of the old coast, especially when they are associated with a good story. The heart of the story is Triss, a salvage diver, and her semi-sentient boat, the Floating Ghost. The author created an immersive world of murder, mystery, corruption, and environmental disaster. There are space drag races, mechanical alligators, swarms of micro drones, and (because it’s still Florida) real estate scams. It was a quick, fun, suspenseful, story with a really creative setting.

The narrator of the audiobook, Amy McFadden, did an excellent job, with lots of distinctive voices for the characters. I do think the plot and some of the names may have been easier to follow if I’d read the text, but that’s just my reading/listening style.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC.

This was so funnnn. A gentle reminder on what the sci-fi genre is capable of!

And I chose the word gentle for a reason. Sci-fi can sometimes get a little wordy with complex world-building and nuance. But "Salvagia" was playful enough in it's imaginative technological concepts (mechanical gators in the water!!) that it didn't overwhelm me.

I especially loved the setting being in South Florida, which is consistently doomed to be underwater in 20 years, and world-building surrounding Triss and her CabanaBoat, Ghost, where they search for Salvagia, artifacts in the drowned coastal cities of Florida as a source of modest income.

This story is mainly plot driven. There isn't a huge character dive on Triss or Riley, who is the son of the man she finds dead while scavenging for salvagia. Then comes a mystery plot of finding who killed Ortiz because he was wearing highly valuable salvagia that could grant Triss freedom from both the government and the Mafia.

It all felt plausible. As I briefly mentioned, there's also this neat element of Triss trying to escape both the claws of the government (they want to take her boat) and a corporate mafia (aren't we all?).

Highly recommend as an accessible sci-fi! I enjoyed my journey with this fun sci-fi mystery audiobook, I'll have to revisit this one on print! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you, Netgalley and Dreamscape Media, for the advanced reader copy! A light dystopian book about Miami, when her friend Triss makes her living diving for salvagia (artifacts). Lots of fun tropes and an interesting beach read.

Mechanical Alligator? Say no more, I'm there.

There's a lot more to Salvagia than the mechanical alligator and it's worth picking up if you like Sci-fi.
Triss is living in a future Florida that is mostly underwater. Triss is a diver and brings up things like air conditioners for recycling, but... also Salvagia - which is essentially nostalgic salvage. Just like nostalgic items are valued today for the story attached to them, salvagia increases in value similarly.

We join Triss and the crew as they salvage a specific shoe, but after some issues with the crew, Triss discovers one of the most powerful family heads chained underwater, dead. This is a problem! The aftermath of this discovery leads our main character on a adventure all over Florida, with risky diving, even riskier space races with "atmo-breakers", interaction with semi-sentient machines, real estate schemes and more. Triss is caught between the Feds, the powerful Florida "families" and her obligations to her friend who's seeking a third way (you'll have to read to find out about the ways). Can Triss and company carve out a different way of living that is sustainable and free? Well, obviously you'll need to read to find out. I do hope you'll read!
This book is a debut for this author, and it's so well put together. I was a little hesitant because the premise of future underwater Florida seemed a bit... like it could go a few ways. The way Chawaga navigated the world building, interpersonal motivations and relationships and pacing this novel made me want to read more from this author! It was a very satisfying read.

The audio for the book was excellent, though I am unsure if I had the finished product. Thanks to Dreamscape Lore and net galley for this advanced copy!

I was absolutely thrilled to receive an advance copy of the audio version of Tim Chawaga’s Salvagia. Not only has Chawaga created a unique twist on a future that has suffered serious environmental disasters, the advancement in technology has created semi-sentient vehicles. The meet Triss aboard the Ghost, a semi sentient boat she’s using to explore the Florida Keys, or what remains of them since the environmental disasters. She’s diving for pieces of the old way of life. You see in the modern day people are crazy to get their hands on remnants of the past. Where an old Ked sneaker can bring in more than enough to buy the ship she’s currently using, which is her goal. And it looked like things were going her way until her partner rips her off, throwing one heck of a monkey wrench into her plans and soon she finds herself partnering with someone new, who is possibly wrapped up in some shady business and racing to something else of value so she can buy the Ghost before it’s too late and her future get ruined. Totally unique, this is a wild refreshing sci-fi adventure/mystery. The story is narrated by the incredibly talented Amy McFadden, who is one of my absolute favorite narrators. Seriously, I’ve listened to more than a few books outside the normal genres I tend to listen to simply because she is the narrator. She never disappoints. Chawaga’s innovative story and McFadden’s narration is a fantastic combination you won’t want to miss. Thanks so much to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to listen to and review an advanced copy of the audio version of Salvagia.

https://www.amazon.com/review/RL77WRGAJOK14/ref=pe_123899240_1043597390_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

One of the major drawbacks of this one for me is that there was no time spent on character development. I wanted so much more from them than we were given. The entire book is pretty much just spent watching them do some things and talk to each other, which never gets below the surface.

Similarly, there was very little time spent on worldbuilding in any meaningful way. There was almost no context for things, including semi-sentient boats, and we were just expected to take everything at face value. The little bit of context we were given was interesting – I loved the idea of divers seeking out artifacts from before Florida was flooded, and the idea that the value of this “salvagia” depended on trends and bidding wars.

But then there were also times when the author went off on tangents, sometimes being overly descriptive of random things for no good reasons, other times waxing philosophical, but never in ways that added anything meaningful to the experience.

I loved the cover, premise, and title for this one, but it wasn’t executed in a way that gave me anything to be invested in. My thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Salvagia is an excellent sci-fi mystery set in a flooded Florida in a not-too-distant future. Triss is scraping by, living under the radar (ish) aboard her rented, sentient boat, Ghost. She dives for “salvagia,” nostalgic salvage considered valuable by collectors. Her goal is simple: buy Ghost so she can save herself, her boat, and her friend. But her plans take a sharp turn when she stumbles onto Riley Ortiz, son of the infamous Edgar Ortiz, whose drowned body she just found.

The setting is fantastic. I’m a sucker for a world in, on, or near water, and Chawaga delivers. This is a dystopian, futuristic world, far from my everyday life. Yet it feels like a real possibility. Aside from a few tiny details, of course, like sentient boats.

I liked Triss. She’s resourceful, tough yet likable, flawed, and real. But as much as I enjoyed her, I absolutely loved Ghost. The other characters were fine, though I didn’t feel especially connected to them. But the rich world, and Ghost, made up for that.

The plot was interesting too. In many mysteries, the clues tip the ending too early, but that wasn’t the case here. There’s a lot happening, and if you think you’ve figured something out, something else will catch you off guard. I enjoyed the multiple plotlines, though it was sometimes tricky to follow, especially in the early chapters. I listened to the audiobook, which might have contributed to that. It’s a bit harder to flip back to check the name of a character or s place.

The audiobook was narrated by Amy McFadden. She did a great job bringing the story to life with a clear, easy-to-understand voice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Lore for the advance copy of the audiobook.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.

Triss lives on a boat along the coast of Florida, diving for recycling and living just off the radar. But her true prize? Salvagia — nostalgic salvage that she can sell to the highest bidder. Which is a good thing considering that the federal government is pulling out of Florida and she needs to officially buy her sentient CabanaBoat if she wants to continue doing what she does. When she discovers the body of one of the most wealthiest men while diving, it quickly becomes a mystery of who put him there and why, and when his son Riley gets involved it becomes clear that Triss will have to go back down and find a valuable piece of salvagia. Priceless salvagia that isn’t just worth a fortune but that is also the hope of sustainable living in Florida.


Okay shout out to post apocalyptic underwater Florida considering I live here! This is so fun because a part of me when hearing some things that are going on many, many years in the future was like “oh that's just Florida today,” you know, wrestling gators and crazy people living in the swamps… it all checks out. I like the idea that you have the salvage divers that pick up the nostalgic salvage, a high-stakes job with an awesome payout… and then we start hearing what exactly she's picking up. Like Keds, out of all things, among many others. I like the mystery of the body and all the organizations involved. And also shout out to the contraption she wears – the Echidna, which she calls her “knuckles,” because, you know, Sonic. But I really like this drowned world and the really cool tech that we see. I did have some issues following who was who because everything was kind of weird? But overall, I just find this interesting, and I did like our main character because she is both badass and super resourceful. I will say the audiobook is well done with a narrator who does a fantastic job bringing not just the characters to life but this unique and interesting world as well. I enjoyed this and would definitely recommend this sci-fi eco thriller mystery.

Publication August 12th, 2025

Salvagia by Tim Chawaga

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed the Salvagia audiobook, and narration was great. The story about a flooded Florida with mystery and corporate drama kept me interested throughout. At times, I was a little lost on what was going on, but by the end, everything made sense and I appreciated the deeper themes. Overall, a solid and unique sci-fi mystery that I’d recommend!

Thank You NetGalley and Dreamscape Media

The publisher provided ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The setting is Florida in a near off future where the coastline has been swallowed by the sea.
Salvagia is Sci-Fi with a touch of dystopian, but it's also a bit scary because the future it shows is a little too possible.
Triss Mackey lives on the fringes diving the sunken ruins for recyclables and for the rare pieces of salvagia: nostalgic treasures from the past that collectors will pay handsomely for.
Her home and partner in crime is the Floating Ghost, a sentient boat with a dry wit and a personality all its own. Life is precarious but manageable until a dive turns up the drowned body of Edgar Ortiz, the most powerful man in the area.
From there Triss is pulled into a tangled web involving corporate mafias, space racing, federal agents on missions, and a conspiracy with stakes that could determine the future of her freedom, her boat, and the way of life she’s fought to protect.

I absolutely loved the world Tim Chawaga builds in Salvagia. It's both strange and familiar, it's half dystopian water city, half treasure strewn junkyard of our culture's past.
There's the neon-hued chaos of the yoreshore, mechanical gators lurking in the shallows, and the adrenaline filled rocket racing, the story stays captivating at every turn.
Yet at its heart, it tells the story of people who are resilient, flawed, and determined to hold on to what matters, even when there is a lot stacked against them.

I thought the characters were creative and memorable, especially the Ghost, with it's sly charm which somehow made me care about the fate of a boat. The narrator's pacing kept me interested as the mystery unraveled with some great twists. Though a few world building details and names were a little fuzzy in my mind, it eventually all clicked together and made sense.
Amy McFadden’s narration was a highlight, her voice is warm, expressive, and able to give each character a distinct voice without ever breaking the immersion. I could practically taste the salt in the air and hear the creak of the Ghost’s hull in the quiet moments.
What a fun book, Salvagia was imaginative and gripping. I was shocked this was the author's debut novel, after reading it I would have assumed he'd published loads before this.


Thanks so much to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ARC Audiobok.

This was an interesting book to listen to. Taking place at a time that I could very well see the earth heading towards with rising seas, environmental disasters, and shoddy constructions which cause their own disasters, people are still surviving but with a different way of life. I love the semi sentient boats (Ghost is really awesome!) and other machines (where they don't talk normally but still get their points across with moving where they want to go). Sadly not all is well and I feel for Triss when she gets pulled into a big scheme to use Titans to build new housing on the shores of Florida (which is short sighted money making with the feds pulling out), finds dead bodies, dives for more than just salvagia, and all she wants to do is buy Ghost so it isn't sunk on a reef. I did get confused with a couple of the names but other than that, this was a fast paced fun book to listen to. It even has ship racing (up to space!) and with the biggest treasure people were looking for (A shoe and a trading card) it brought a real feel to it (because again, totally plausible and I can see people today going for stuff like that).

I will say that this was a really good sci fi debut which was also a climate thriller, a diving treasure search, and finding out where you belong and fighting for what you feel is right, not just where the money is. The narrator, Amy McFadden did a great job in bring Triss and the other characters to life in this changed Florida landscape with secrets, death, and a chance for a better future by pushing the needle! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to this great story.

This is very much a mystery novel set in a futuristic / dystopian setting and the author did a great job building the world / setting of the story. From the crumbling infrastructure to the devastated cities and towns from natural disasters to the corruption and so much more, I was really able to understand the state of the world of the time this story takes place. We follow a main character who just wants to buy the boat and be "free", she tries this by trying to find Salvagia - nostalgic salvage from diving in the ocean.

As time goes on we learn more why this salvage is so important. The story keeps you engaged and questioning throughout. I loved that we really had multiple mysteries going on at the same time, one of which being a murder. A great fast pace, quick read for the end of summer!

Thank you NetGalley for an ALC
Actual rating - 3.5

In a future where much of southern Florida is completely underwater, Triss is a salvage diver bringing up air conditioners and other items the feds want. But her real excitement comes from finding salvagia - salvage with nostalgic meaning, which can then be sold for, sometimes, big bucks. When she finds the drowned body of a prominent billionaire, the mystery begins.

I feel like this book tried to do too much. There are too many plots, and too many characters without enough development of either. I love the world, the idea of salvagia, and semi-sentient ships, but I didn't have much attachment to any of the characters and had difficulty following the multiple plotlines and characters connected to them.

I received an ARC of the audiobook from #NetGalley.

This was a fun read, I really enjoyed the futuristic sci-fi setting. Each of the characters were enjoyable, but I didn’t personally feel connected to any of them. I loved the idea of the hidden treasures buried in the waters, but I would have liked more background and interactions with the ship, Ghost.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape for this ARC. Due to be published August 12, 2025

Salvagia by Tim Chawaga, Narrated by Amy McFadden
(Dreamscape Media) Audiobook Review

3.75 rounded up to 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dear Humans,

I am a lonely sea cucumber named Sam. Now, normally we don’t have brains, eyes, or even a sliver of feelings, but this is the future, and anything is possible. I have been living off the coast of futuristic Florida for the better part of a year now, and I must tell you how utterly disgusted I am at what I have seen. A black substance has been floating around my home, contaminating my tiny existence. Besides instilling fear about my imminent future, I have also witnessed various divers rummaging around for trash and treasure. The turbulence has created unnecessary headaches when trying to sleep. Please think of the little people you are affecting before you tear down our very existence.

Warmest regards,

Sam


As I handed this letter over to Triss Mackey, I could see her flinch at the words. Truth be told, she was a bit hesitant when I told her the letter came from a sea cucumber, but I digress. Triss has used the system. A system hellbent on creating normalcy within a mundane lifestyle under a biosphere. Multiple encasings to protect and harness life within its walls. Following a plan systematically put in place to control the human species. Presenting structure, albeit a boring existence. Triss conveniently masquerades as a recycler, collecting dumped trash beneath the waves. However, she takes full advantage of searching for rare treasures from yesteryear, such as a long-lost Pokémon card hanging around the neck of one Edgar Ortiz. In these valuable finds, known as salvagia, she can routinely offload them to the highest bidder, garnering her a hefty price. During one such dive, Triss happens to stumble upon the body of now-deceased Edgar Ortiz. The race is on to find out who and why someone would snuff out Mr. Ortiz, the most powerful man in the immediate area.

Killer robotic gators, sentient boats, thievery, acts of debauchery, and rocket racing as a betting sport. All of which can be found within the pages of this story! At its crux, numerous groups with various aspirations could be the culprits of the murder of Edgar Ortiz. All of which allow greed and power to be motivating factors. It becomes paramount that those in favor of keeping the beauty and freedom of this area rise to its defense and protect the innocence of this majestic land.

As for the story, our author, Tim Chawaga, has done a fabulous job creating a world soaked with political intrigue. In a setting reminiscent of a cyberpunk thriller, the sun beats down on the reader's head as we grab our snorkel while following Triss’s whodunit. As the nearby neon signs flicker, bee-like computer pods float around our ears with a play-by-play of what is in our best interests.

As Amy McFadden narrates, I am swept into an innovative world full of chaotic circuitry. Pulses of light shimmer through misty clouds of dirt upon the ocean floor. McFadden's voice lends to a comfortable experience, belying the disturbing chaos.

My pressure gauge notifies me that my time is up. I need to surface quickly. Slicing through water, my fins propel me towards the sun. I channeled my best version of Jacques Cousteau and averted any imminent dangers, all while recommending this novel.

Many thanks to Dreamscape Media for the audiobook through NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion.

Treasure diving, sci fi, dystopian, murder mystery.

Set in the future this book was read very quick and was full of twists and turns and action. A murder mystery set at sea, treasures under the waves, and a boat that will make you feel!

Set in a not-too-distant future where Florida’s coastline has been swallowed by the sea, Salvagia delivers a gripping blend of sci-fi, mystery, and climate thriller that feels alarmingly possible. Sometimes, sci-fi can lose me when it drifts too far into the fantastical, but here the world was so vivid, grounded, and tangible that I was able to lean all the way in. The flooded landscapes, the yoreshore, and the artifacts pulled from the depths weren’t strange, otherworldly inventions—they were treasures I recognized, pulled from the ruins of our own history. That familiarity made the stakes feel real and the danger all the more immediate.

Triss Mackey is the kind of heroine you root for from the start—smart, stubborn, and unapologetically living on the fringes of a drowned world. Scraping by as a salvager in the sunken ruins of Florida, she’s constantly navigating the gray areas of legality, morality, and survival. When she stumbles upon a dead body and a conspiracy tied to corporate greed and government withdrawal, Triss finds herself pulled into a high-stakes mystery where everything—her freedom, her boat, and her future—hangs in the balance. The story hums with noir energy, but with a sci-fi edge that’s raw, relevant, and gripping

I especially loved The Floating Ghost, Triss Mackey’s sentient boat, which added a surprising warmth and personality to the story’s high-stakes adventure. From corporate intrigue to underwater treasure hunts, every chapter brought a fresh rush of danger and discovery. The pacing never faltered, the mystery kept me guessing, and the setting was so immersive I could practically feel the salt air on my skin. This was a perfect example of how sci-fi can thrill without losing its human heart. Another fantastic debut for 2025 that’s well worth diving into

Thank you to the author, publisher and Books Forward for having me along on this books journey.