“Salvage Marines: Necrospace, Book 1” is a militaristic SciFi novella set in a bleak future where a few monolithic corporations also serve as governments. People are forced to receive an education, but they must also pay for their education. Thus everyone who doesn’t come from a wealthy family starts out life with a debt that usually last that person’s lifetime. Work and careers are determined by a placement test, the results of which are almost absolute for the test taker. The only other avenue available for the average citizen is to join the salvage marines, which are a militaristic force run by each individual corporation. The salvage marines are used to do anything and everything from reclaiming useful materials, abandoned facilities and even planets. Many times the salvage marines are assigned to theses tasks in areas that are inhabited with hostile forces that can range from rival factions to indigenous alien life. Because the jobs are incredibly dangerous, the pay is incredibly high. The trick is to survive long enough to pay off one’s debt.
Author, Sean-Michael Argo does only the bare minimum on character development. The book is written like a series of action vignettes with some down time between them.
Narrator Jeffrey Kafer has a good voice and did a solid job as well. Overall, I enjoyed “Salvage Marines: Necrospace, Book 1” more than enough to pick up book 2. Finally, this audio book was provided by the narrator at no cost in exchange for an honest review, courtesy of Audio Book Boom.