Salvagia - by Tim Chawaga (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Tim Chawaga's sci-fi mystery debut, in which a diver searching for nostalgic salvage discovers the body of the most infamous man in flooded Florida and must avoid suspicion from both feds and corporate mafias. Reminiscent of Kim Stanley Robinson's New York 2140 and inspired by John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series.

Triss Mackey is flying just under the radar, exploiting a government loophole that lets her live quietly aboard the Floating Ghost--her rented, sentient CabanaBoat. In exchange, she dives for recycling, recovered from the flooded area of formerly-coastal cities known as the yoreshore. If she happens to find some salvagia--nostalgic salvage, valued artifacts from the past--well, that's just between her and the highest bidder.

But when the federal government begins withdrawing from Florida entirely, Triss must buy the Ghost outright or lose her loophole. Meanwhile, the corporate mafias are poised to seize power, especially Mourning in Miami, led by the legendary Edgar Ortiz, owner of the Astro America luxury hotel. Triss needs a score big enough to keep her free from both the feds and corporations, before the Ghost is sent to a watery, insurance-scamming grave.

In pursuit of such a score, she stumbles upon the chained up, drowned corpse of Ortiz, and winds up with more than she bargained for, including a partnership with Ortiz's hotshot spaceracing son, Riley. If she can help Riley solve the mystery of his father's death, it may lead them to a valuable piece of salvagia and with it, the hope of a sustainable, free way of Florida living.

Review Quotes

"Salvagia is a wonderful debut from one of the best new writers we have. If you love smart, exciting science fiction, this one's for you!"--Jonathan Strahan, World Fantasy Award winning editor of New Adventures in Space Opera

"Salvagia delivers nostalgic mystery, adventure, and climate punk all in one package. This is a miss-your-subway-stop, keep-listening-in-your-driveway, hide-it-in-a-textbook, read-it-during-a-Zoom-call level of superb."--Mur Lafferty, author of the Midsolar Murders series

"A sharp and inventive debut, Salvagia is a full-throttle trip that doesn't let up until the last page. With deft worldbuilding and compellingly noirish characters, Chawaga's future Florida crackles with intrigue and danger at every turn."--Victor Manibo, author of The Sleepless and Escape Velocity

"Salvagia makes the climate apocalypse look cool. From the depths of sunken Miami to the heights of atmo-breaker races, Chawaga zips through post-climate change Florida, taking his characters through a thrilling murder mystery that unravels into a set of corporate and personal entanglements that serve as a neat mirror of our own world's issues, magnified and extrapolated into the future."--Isabel J. Kim, Hugo and Nebula Award finalist and author of Sublimation

"This near future novel weaves together elements of murder mysteries, thrillers, and found families into a propellant-fueled page turner of a plot. Along the way, Chawaga's debut presents a critique of many present-day issues while avoiding a descent into total dystopianism, leaving the reader with a satisfyingly bittersweet finish."--S.B. Divya, Hugo and Nebula Award finalist and author of Meru

About the Author

Tim Chawaga is a writer and playwright whose short fiction has been featured in Interzone and Escape Pod and whose work has been performed in New York and Philadelphia at many venues that have either closed or been converted into gyms. He has a BFA in Drama from the Tisch School of the Arts, is a 2019 graduate of Clarion West, and is the recipient of George R.R. Martin's Worldbuilder Scholarship. He works in tech and lives in a co-op in Brooklyn with his partner and dog.