The Captain’s Log – salvation day (Kali Wallace) – A sci-fi thriller set in an abandoned spaceship!

Ahoy there me mateys!  I have been meaning to read some of Kali Wallace’s work for quite some time but always seem to forget to do so.  Then I was reminded of this book’s existence from Mogsy @ thebibliosanctum’s awesome review which led me to this fun read.  She said:

the way the story is presented is also very cinematic, and there were certain scenes that made me feel like I was watching a movie. Periodically, bits and pieces of conversation and reports from the House of Wisdom passengers’ last moments are also injected into the narrative, heightening the tensions and spooky atmosphere aboard the derelict ship. In addition, the world-building helps set Salvation Day apart from other sci-fi offerings that feature similar themes.

Aye, ye heard it correctly, an abandoned derelict ship filled with dead bodies . . . in space!  This read was certainly spooky.  The book starts with a group from a fringe colony taking a passenger vessel hostage with the goal of stealing a massive abandoned generation ship.  The generation ship’s crew was previously killed in a viral outbreak where there was only one survivor.  But when the kidnappers get to the ship, the dead bodies’ cause of death doesn’t seem to match the official story.

Of course that be all ye get from me because of spoilers.  The story is told from the perspective of two people, the original virus survivor, Jas, and one of the kidnappers, Zahara.  I actually thought the back-and-forth between the two helped add to the suspense and mystery of the plot.  With each shift, the reader is given new pieces of the current puzzle and also insight into the past.  And there is no romance here.  Hooray!

The world-building is what sets this apart from other sci-fi tales.  The story is nuanced with conflicting politics from multiple factions, problems with intrapersonal relationships, and atmospheric ship details.  This was a quick read that I devoured in one sitting.  The couple chapters of what happened politically at the very end weren’t completely to me taste but overall this was a fantastic read that I highly recommend.  Arrrr!

Goodreads has this to say about the novel (shortened by me because of spoilers):

. . . 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 . . .

But what Zahra and her crew could not know was what waited for them on the ship . . .

To visit the author’s Goodreads page go to:

Kali Wallace – Author

To buy the novel please visit:

salvation day – Book

To add to Goodreads go to:

Yer Ports for Plunder List