Salt of the Earth

“Your heart will race!”It’s 2038, and Berkeley, CA is drought-ravaged, dusty and smog-filled. Jess Prentiss, a chemistry student, starts her day with a jog through the hills – only to realize that she is being chased. Over the course of three days, she barely stops running. Fleeing from one narrow escape to another, Jess learns that it's her own scientific discoveries that are at the crux of a massive power struggle involving water, salt, cut-throat capitalistic contracts, worldwide famine, the Governor of California and a radicalized populist environmental group. With time ticking, Jess must discover which players are the good guys -- and whether 29-year old Matteo Wu, the man who appears out of nowhere to help her, is someone she can trust with her life and heart.Kirkus Calls SALT OF THE EARTH "Blazingly paced, exciting, and satisfying—an excellent futuristic tale."A young scientist goes on the run when her work becomes the center of a deadly power struggle in this sci-fi thriller.The Berkeley, California, of 2038 is so smog-ridden that few venture outdoors without an oxygen tank and face mask.For Jessila “Jess” Prentiss, 27, a post-doctoral student in chemistry, the biggest event she’s expecting as her day unfoldsis a long-awaited rainstorm, the first in more than a year. When she gets a message from her ex-boyfriend and boss,David Steubingly, 54, asking her to visit, her Keeper (a digital assistant) warns against it. But Jess ignores theadvice—only to discover on arrival that large men are beating David. They’re wearing windbreakers marked De Sel, adesalination company that California depends on to grow crops. Confused and in disbelief, Jess starts running, and overthe next three days, she’ll barely stop. Matteo Wu, a young man, proves himself surprisingly willing to help; in fact, he’sbeing paid to track Jess and keep her safe, though he doesn’t know why. As he and Jess work to get off-grid, a difficulttask in this well-surveilled world, the players in this chase reveal themselves as influential capitalist interests on the onehand and power-seeking radical environmentalists on the other. Both are interested in a cheap solution for desalinatingwater—a mystery to Jess, since her work involves wind technology. Deciding whom to trust and how to get out of thissituation alive, with conscience intact, will challenge Jess on every level. Moschandreas (We Could Fall, 2015) offersmany thrilling, cinematic episodes of capture, concealment, and escape in this novel packed full of telling details about aworld 20 years in the future: rich in technology but poor in arable land, drinkable water, and breathable air. Her maincharacters are well-rounded and sympathetic—Matteo, for example, has a good reason for working at his somewhatshady job. The developing relationship between Jess and Matteo is also nicely handled, slotting in well with theheroine’s trust issues. It’s all capped off with a dramatic and believable finale.Blazingly paced, exciting, and satisfying—an excellent futuristic tale.Online Book Club Rates SALT 4 out of 4 stars!Despite its futuristic fictional setting, this story is sexy, smart, and (in my opinion) most importantly, believable. The technological concepts are described in a detailed yet simple way, using actual scientific terminology, rather than just made-up terms like so many other sci-fi stories. Though typically I am not a fan of stories that include a lot of action scenes, the action within this novel is crafted beautifully. The scene descriptions are vivid and memorable, yet the violence is not gratuitous or excessive. Furthermore, the character development is effective and well-nuanced. Jess, as our lead, is a strong and intelligent woman, employed in a very male-dominated field of study. Matteo, as her counter, also has a complex and multi-faceted emotional backstory.