The Salt Line

By: Holly Goddard Jones

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

In the spirit of Station Eleven and California, award-winning novelist Holly Goddard Jones offers a literary spin on the dystopian genre with this gripping story of survival and humanity about a group of adrenaline junkies who jump "the salt line".

How far will they go for their freedom - once they decide what freedom really means?

In an unspecified future, the United States' borders have receded behind a salt line - a ring of scorched earth that protects its citizens from deadly disease-carrying ticks. Those within the zone live safe, if limited, lives in a society controlled by a common fear. Few have any reason to venture out of zone, except for the adrenaline junkies who pay a fortune to tour what's left of nature. Those among the latest expedition include a pop star and his girlfriend, Edie; the tech giant Wes; and Marta, a seemingly simple housewife.

Once out of the zone, the group find themselves at the mercy of deadly ticks - and at the center of a murderous plot. They become captives in Ruby City, a community made up of outer-zone survivors determined to protect their hardscrabble existence. As alliances and friendships shift among the hostages, Edie, Wes, and Marta must decide how far they are willing to go to get to the right side of the salt line.

©2017 Holly Goddard Jones (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Jones' darkly clever worldbuilding creates a nightmare that seems far from unthinkable....It's The Hunger Games meets The Godfather meets Robin Cook, with female characters playing all the key roles. Hell, yeah.” (Kirkus Reviews starred review)

“Social commentary and intense thrills rolled into one seamless story. Outwardly an adventure story, this suspenseful novel uses a thrilling premise to examine the fallout of abandoning universal freedoms in order to ensure collective safety.” (Publishers Weekly)

“The mystery-like structure keeps the reader guessing as Jones switches seamlessly from evocative pastoral descriptions of North Carolina and Tennessee to action-packed scenes of violence....At once dark, disturbing, and highly enjoyable, this is a timely novel bursting with ideas.” (Booklist)

Odd, pointless story.

The set up is for an exciting post apocalyptic thriller.

What you actually end up with is a mediocre soap opera that ends without ever really going anywhere.

Many...even most of the characters die, but it all happens 'off screen' and you don't really feel anything, and neither do the other characters and despite all they supposedly go through, nothing really changes for the characters or the world afterwards.

Which is really too bad. The set up and premise are excellent...its a world I would like to read more about...just needs a different author to tell the story.

And OK Reed, but nothing special.

The story sounded great in the preview, but it was pretty lackluster. I’m not sorry I read it, but I was glad when it was over.

Great Story! Definitely recommend.

I really enjoyed this listen. Very interesting story with great characters that kept me invested throughout.

Great

Loved this book. Great, believable characters in an unusual situation. Excellent writing. I can’t wait for her next nivel.

Wish the narrator was a bit better

The speed the book was read was way too slow for me. Using the sped ups feature didn’t help.

Wow

If anyone spends anytime outdoors these days you may have a fear of ticks. They are everywhere. And this story took my fear and made it alive. A world where we are in fear of getting bit by a tick? I’m practically there....

Okay book

Maybe I missed something but I thought there would have been something more that tied the characters together. Some of the plot & character decisions seemed too hap hazard.

Character-driven dystopia (with killer ticks)

Thank goodness I didn’t see the comparison to Station Eleven (which I hated) or I wouldn’t have read the book. Literary writers tackling genre (sci-fi, cli-fi, dystopia, etc.) seem to do it really well or really badly. This was quite good.

World building was good, charter development was excellent, perfect rise and fall (so many books are just one action scene after another, which gets boring).

The only caveat: you can’t be too squeamish about ticks. I had a little difficulty listening to the more graphic parts. If I had been reading, I would have skipped those descriptive parts.

Breath of Fresh Air in Speculative Fiction

This book is a roller coaster that takes you to places you don't expect, and it's an absolute delight. Jones takes a step away from tired sci-fi tropes, and leads you into the queasy, gritty world of an America besieged by a severe tick infestation. Her characters are real, three-dimensional, and subvert your expectations with every chapter.

A highly recommended read for anyone looking for a smart, apocalyptic read in the vein of Cormack McCarthy's The Road.

intersting storyline

Would you listen to The Salt Line again? Why?

probably not. the characters while fine, weren't robust enough for me to have an affinity with, and i need to be able to feel the character, or empathise with them to re-read / re-listen.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

i thought the ending was expected.

Any additional comments?

i thought the character of andy was quite weak and ill thought out. he just wasn't realistic enough in his emotions and actions.

i felt that violet and her relationships weren't cemented enough. we hear all about her history, but it wasn't enough, it was a veneer.

the narrator did a good job though, and i quite enjoyed her voices.