Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    The Salt Line: A Novel
    Unavailable
    The Salt Line: A Novel
    Unavailable
    The Salt Line: A Novel
    Audiobook15 hours

    The Salt Line: A Novel

    Written by Holly Goddard Jones

    Narrated by Hillary Huber

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    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 popstar and his girlfriend, Edie; the tech giant Wes; and Marta; a seemingly simple housewife.

    Once out of 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 amongst 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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateSep 5, 2017
    ISBN9780525497783
    Unavailable
    The Salt Line: A Novel
    Author

    Holly Goddard Jones

    Holly Goddard Jones's stories have appeared in New Stories from the South, Best American Mystery Stories, and various literary journals. She is an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the winner of a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award.

    Related to The Salt Line

    Related audiobooks

    Science Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Post-Apocalypse Now: The Hard Work of Cli-Fi

      Feb 8, 2019

      What will our future look like? How fast and for how long will things change? Are we mentally and physically prepared to deal with the impacts of these changes on our communities and socioeconomic structures? The post Post-Apocalypse Now: The Hard Wo

      10 min read

    • Article

      Inside the Billionaire Bohemian Club

      Feb 22, 2024

      Inside the Billionaire Bohemian Club
      7 min read

    • Article

      Inside the Billionaire Bohemian Club

      Feb 22, 2024

      Inside the Billionaire Bohemian Club
      7 min read

    • Article

      Just Another Guy in a Suit

      Aug 3, 2021

      Just Another Guy in a Suit
      9 min read

    • Article

      A Rolodex Of Rogues

      May 14, 2018

      A Rolodex Of Rogues
      1 min read

    • Article

      Commentary: Year In Review: 2017 Started — And Ended — With Americans In The Streets

      Dec 22, 2017

      Physicists have long understood that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. What is true in the natural world is also true in human society. Little wonder then that in 2017, democracy found its voice in the streets. Protesters marc

      4 min read

    • Article

      Fur And Away

      Aug 25, 2020

      Fur And Away
      2 min read

    • Article

      Send In The Spivs

      Apr 1, 2022

      IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW catastrophic, how terrible, how morally squalid, how globally imperilling the circumstances, there is nothing that cannot be shamelessly exploited by the descendants of Stanley Baldwin’s “hard-faced men who look as if they had d

      3 min read

    • Article

      S for Survival

      Apr 1, 2023

      S for Survival
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Future Is Futile

      Feb 10, 2023

      WHAT'S YOUR VIEW OF THE FUTURE? Is it resplendently rosy, or are humans destined to end up on a far-off planet, mining a rare spice and dodging giant sandworms? As a reader of news, I regularly plummet down gloomy rabbit holes of electricity outages,

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Future Is Futile

      Feb 10, 2023

      WHAT'S YOUR VIEW OF THE FUTURE? Is it resplendently rosy, or are humans destined to end up on a far-off planet, mining a rare spice and dodging giant sandworms? As a reader of news, I regularly plummet down gloomy rabbit holes of electricity outages,

      2 min read

    • Article

      Letter From The Collapse

      Jan 7, 2022

      I'm only a writer, and the most recondite type, an essayist. Could there by any role for something so insular at the end of the world? The post Letter from the Collapse appeared first on The Millions.

      14 min read

    • Article

      Post Script

      Dec 28, 2023

      Post Script
      2 min read

    • Article

      TV Guide

      Jul 25, 2021

      TV Guide
      3 min read

    • Article

      When World Stops Spinning

      Mar 29, 2020

      When World Stops Spinning
      3 min read

    • Article

      Books Of The Month

      Jan 20, 2023

      By Jonathan Carroll Carroll, an American long-resident in Vienna, has been winning awards for his elegantly spooky magical-realist fantasies since his 1980 debut, The Land of Laughs. His first novel since 2014 plays with ideas about fate, choice, art

      2 min read

    Reviews for The Salt Line

    3.5/5

    91 ratings18 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      In a realistic future, a tick plague has divided the US into zones. However, rich adventurers can choose to participate in out-of-zone excursions. However, this excursion goes terribly wrong on many levels.
      This book was a nice balance of action, character development, and exploration of the human condition including our need to balance freedom and safety.
    • 2/5
      I really wanted to like this novel but I found I couldn't get into it at all, and I had to add it to my DNF pile. While the story seemed interesting in its premise, I just couldn't get interested enough to pursue this novel. The pacing was quite slow and that made it a bit harder for me to read because I really wanted to get to the good bits as fast as possible. I also didn't feel any real connection with any of the characters; they just didn't have enough for me to feel that emotional tug. I don't really want to write too much on this review since I haven't fully read the novel and others who have finished it would have a better idea on it, but for me, this novel gets a 2/5 stars.

      Thank you to Penguin Random House and the First to Read program for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      Not sure how I feel about this book because I abandoned it with only 30 pages left to read and I just finished off those 30 pages now and thoroughly enjoyed them so WHY did I stop reading the book? Did I misplace it? I guess that’s possible. The Salt Line is a post apocalyptic story of rich elites who lives within the confines of a wall but choose to venture beyond the wall and the salt line to “brave” the wilderness and experience the wild frontier. Beyond the salt line are miner ticks which will bury into your skin and hatch their babies who will rip you apart as they are born. As terrifying as they are, the story is really more about the characters who venture into the wilderness; Jesse and Edie, Marta, Wes and Violet who joins them later. It’s a story of survival but it’s more than that. An interesting read.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed the creativity around the idea that ticks were a threat to humanity and had wiped out a large portion of the population. The country had been broken into zones with varying levels of protection against ticks. Corruption looms around keeping the ticks marked as a constant threat - entire industries have been created around bite prevention and keeping people secure from ticks. A survivalist group venture into a non-zone area and meet up with a band of non-zoned residents who have different views about tick prevention. Kidnapping occurs, and hostages with value as celebrities, political connections, and tech entrepreneurs are used as chess pieces in an elaborate game between those in- and out-of-zone.
    • 4/5
      Outside of the safe zone, killer ticks are waiting to bite, infest and infect anyone they come in contact with. However, those brave enough, and rich enough, can hire an Adventure Company to lead them outside of the wall into the wilderness beyond. A diverse group, including a pop star, his girlfriend, tech billionaire, and mobster's wife have signed up for the adventure. However, once they are beyond the wall, they are kidnapped and held hostage by a group living on the outside.This book had a bit of a slow beginning as it tried to introduce a plethora of characters before the adventure could begin. However, despite this criticism, it was an interesting world. The idea of disease infested killer ticks makes me shudder, which is part of why this book was so effective. I look forward to reading more.
    • 3/5
      This was another entry into that near future dystopia type genre that has almost runs its' course. In this novel, the country is besieged by disease carrying miner ticks and to combat them, chemical burns have created salt lines and zones around the country. The Gulf Zone seems not as protected as the Atlantic Zone, where commerce and the accompanying criminal element have blossomed. Here, fear helps keep the populace behind the line, although some well paid contractors venture out for goods/natural resources. While this premise seems alright, the story itself was a bit slow moving. A group of fairly diverse, (and well off) characters is getting ready to head out on an outward bound type excursion past the salt line. After three weeks of intense training, armed with stamps and full body suits, they head out into the Appalachian area. Once they are out of zone, the story picks up the pace a bit. Naturally there are plenty of people living in the wild and a plot ensues where they are they hostages. It's apparent not all of these people will survive and even for the ones that did, I thought it jumped around a lot and didn't end very cleanly.
    • 4/5
      This novel is set in a near-future South where ticks have become so deadly that people have retreated inside zones surrounded by a ring of scorched zone to keep the ticks out. An adventure company takes rich tourists on expeditions to the outside where they can experience nature again if they are willing to risk the very gruesome effects of a tick bite. Since the time of year for ticks is almost upon us, you can imagine how this gave me the willies! The story is about such a group setting out on an expedition, but things quickly take an unexpected and suspenseful turn. I really sped through this story, which combines dystopian and apocalyptic elements, suspense, and political commentary. The author is from my home state of North Carolina.
    • 4/5
      I ran across a mention of Holly Goddard Jones' new book The Salt Line in a newsletter. The publisher's description intrigued me..."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'."The Salt Line defines the area of 'safe' and 'unsafe'. Civilization and the wilds. The are outside of the Line has become a tourist destination for those wealthy enough to pay for an excursion - and what's needed to survive the deadly ticks that populate the land outside the Line. But ticks aren't the only danger....there are people living on the other side of the border as well.Goddard Jones gives us an ensemble cast with numerous strong personalities and leads. They are all flawed to a degree, with some eliciting sympathy and others fueling anger. Her world building is imaginative and believable. The ticks are darn right scary - and take inspiration from the illness that ticks cause in our present day. I am always fascinated by the imagining of a populace that survives outside of a 'protected' zone. The plotting that ties the outside and the tourists back to their world is inventive and well thought out. But Goddard Jones takes a further step and spends as much time on the relationships of the characters, their thoughts, actions and interactions.I'm so very glad I stumbled across The Salt Line. I loved it - and am hoping that there might be another book in the works. There's a nice little scene at the end - some unfinished business that perhaps promises more.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this dystopian book. America is divided into zones with a huge "salt line" cutting it off from the western states. However, there are people living on the other side of that line. A fact that a group of folks on an "expedition" to the outer zone discover. Unfortunately, for them, those people are not always nice.Everyone "out of zone" wears suits that cover their whole body. There are miner ticks out there that burrow into your skin and multiply rapidly. It's a sure death if the tick isn't removed immediately.This was a good read for me. Unfortunately, it was written so well, that I was seeing ticks, okay maybe just black spots, everywhere I looked. HA!!I sped through this thriller that I found well written with good character development.Thanks to Penguin Putnam Group and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
    • 3/5
      I don't normally read many dystopian novels so this was a leap outside of my reading 'comfort' zone. Because of that, it may have taken me a little longer than usual to get my head around this new world. That said, several of the concepts, such as reliance on tablets and apps for communication and news, were pretty relevant to present-day, and the idea of wealthy thrill-seekers paying to go on an excursion like this, was also well within the scope of my imagination. What I had trouble with, more than anything, was that I didn't find myself really caring too much about the people in the book, and I didn't feel like there was enough invested in anyone to make a reader worry too much about their fates. I wanted the backstory of how those living behind the Wall to be delved into more, as well as more gory details as to how the ticks really messed with everyone! I think the ending may have been rushed through but I also wanted to rush to know that the last 'survivors' got out okay. Overall, this was a pretty 'light' read for a survivalist dystopian novel that I thought could have been fleshed out more. I just couldn't tell if that was because it wasn't my normal genre to read or not. All that said, I'm glad to NOT be living around these disgusting killer ticks!
    • 4/5
      This book is a good dystopian thriller that was more character based than I expected. An infestation of disease-carrying ticks has disrupted the country. Most people now live in newly-designated geographical regions behind the Salt Line which is both a physical wall and a chemical barrier. A few people still live voluntarily on the wrong side of the line and a few thrill seekers take adventure trips beyond the Line. They will spend 3 weeks in boot camp, 3 beyond the Salt Line and 2 in quarantine. I won't describe the life cycle of the ticks or the ways in which they can cause damage to people, but it's scary. I'm freaked out by bugs so I was a little reluctant to even read this book due to the ticks but I needn't have been because the ticks are rarely described in all their creepy detail and there is only one really gross scene. In any event, the ticks turn out to be the least of the problems of a group of adventure tourists who have signed on for a tour to see the natural sights beyond the Line. What started out as a post apocalyptic wilderness adventure story turned into something else about a third of the way in. Some of the participants have secret motivations for taking the trip. There are a lot of characters in this book, unfortunately the author signals who the good guys are because they are the ones with back stories, the rest of the characters are just names who barely even have physical descriptions. For my taste, the motherhood theme was hammered a little too hard. Each of the main female characters was defined by her relationship with motherhood. The ending of the book felt a little limp but I generally liked this book and would be willing to read more from this author. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
    • 4/5
      This was a really good suspenseful novel. It takes place in a future where the world has been changed by miner ticks that cause debilitating injuries and can infect people with the deadly Shreve's disease. A wall and the salt line have been built to protect the zones of what used to be the US. This is the story of a group of individuals who venture out on an outward bound like excursion beyond the zone that turns out drastically different from what they were anticipating. I really liked the characters - they were well developed and had distinct voices. The future portrayed in the zones was not all that unbelievable - everyone is glued to their tablet feeds, money has been replaced by credits and instead of banks there is now an app called Pocketz. I highly recommend this book. I received an ARC through FirstToRead.
    • 4/5
      I like cli-fi. I also often think that the planet, being an organism, will be protecting itself in the future, in some way, from the humans--the poisoners. Here in this book the author has come up with a story about the Earth doing just that--protecting itself against the toxic humans. It comes in the form of a tick, that burrows under your skin, lays eggs, and when the eggs hatch, tear your skin to pieces getting out. That's not all--they can also give you a disease that paralyzes you. Whoo, this was a wild ride, and I loved every bit of it.
    • 3/5
      It was alright, not great, but it passed the time.
    • 5/5
      In this future version of the United States, a deadly tick-borne disease has driven the population to live in regional zones. These safe areas are separated from the out-of-zone area by bands of scorched earth and large, vibrating walls—the salt lines. Life in-zone is dominated by technology and the digital world, and it’s a regimented but safe existence. Outer Limits Excursions provides those seeking the thrill of camping under the stars or experiencing natural wonders the opportunity to trek out-of-zone for a significant price.

      The current expedition includes Wes, a young tech CEO, a pop star and his girlfriend (Edie), Marta, the wife of a “connected” businessman, a survivalist power couple, and a pair of Japanese siblings. They are outfitted with high tech gear, including a Stamp, which can kill the dreaded ticks upon attachment but only if administered quickly. Edie has lingering doubts about her boyfriend; Marta was directed by her husband to befriend Wes, and Wes is completely out of his comfort zone in more ways than he cares to consider. When their trip presents unanticipated challenges and dangers, alliances and relationships are tested. Can they rely upon each other to survive?

      This excellent book is a compelling, dystopian adventure with a bit of political thriller blended in that doesn't lose sight of the characters and their humanity. The point-of-view alternates each chapter with Edie, Mara, and Wes as the central characters and primary narrators, though others do get their turn in the narrative spotlight. If this difficult-to-put-down adventure doesn't keep you up past your bedtime, nightmares about the ticks (which have a distinctive bite with horrifying consequences) may cost you some sleep, but it’s worth the risk! Recommended to fans dystopian fiction and books such as Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel or California by Edan Lepucki.
    • 4/5
      I won a copy of this book from Goodreads and I thoroughly enjoyed it.When I first picked this book up and started reading it, I thought I would fly through it. I just didn’t want to put it down. Unfortunately life got in the way and I had to put it down so it took me awhile to get through it. I feel like if I had read it in a day or two like I thought I was going to, this would have been a five star book for me. Since it took me about a week to read, I didn’t get as into the story as I normally would have. Every time I started to really get into it I had to stop reading and do something else.When I was into it, I really loved the characters, especially Wes and Marta. Wes just reminded me so much of myself. Not so much the fact that he was smart, but I noticed we had some things in common. I always love when that happens. I’m a bit odd and it’s nice to see characters once in a while that are somewhat like me. Marta I just wanted to hug. Which if you knew me, you would know that’s weird. I don’t really do hugs. I also liked Edie and Violet.I enjoyed the writing and never once thought it was slow or boring. I loved the different POVs. The plot was great. To be honest, I just wanted to stay in bed and read all day. I didn’t want to stop turning the pages. I wanted to know what was going to happen next, and how it would all end.I think the only complaint I have is that I wish there were more ticks. I knew going into it that it wasn’t just about disease-carrying ticks, but I was hoping for a bit more.. Other than that, this book was fantastic and I will be making everyone I know read it.
    • 3/5
      The first third of the book had lots of promise. I was intrigued and thrilled to read it. It had the perfect introduction of the characters you’ll stay with throughout the book and you already had a sense of who your favorite characters are.The world building was certainly interesting and the explanation of how the ticks took over the country and divided it was well done. The breakdown in stages on what happens when you get a tick bite is done in good detail and the idea of the Stamp (which is a harsh form of an epi pen) is great and also well written. However, when I went halfway to the book it started falling short.The plot started losing its’ momentum and slows to a crawl. The characters then start losing their personalities and start becoming flat and two dimensional. I’d have to say the only two characters that were the most interesting to read were Marta and Wes. Understandably so, because they were key characters throughout this book. But their chemistry together and personalities just seemed to flow together and I enjoyed reading them the most.Edie, well it took a trip like this for her to see the light about Jesse. Although I wouldn’t say she’s really likeable. She has her moments where her compassion shines towards the last third of the novel which is admirable. But there’s just nothing to her personality. She just happens to be a page filler.By the last third of the book, you could already smell that there’s going to be a possible sequel as some aspects of the characters go on unexplained or incomplete. It’s almost eye rolling when this book really should have been completed in just one volume.If there ever is going to be a sequel, it would have to be ten times much better than this one and a vast improvement on plot and characters. I’d probably pick it up only if it focused a lot more on Marta and Wes.The book had a lot of promise, but it just fell short which is disappointing. It was such a great idea for a plot and the setting was well done.
    • 4/5
      3.5 – 4 starsI absolutely loved the concept of this book and mostly enjoyed the implementation. The publisher’s description mentioned that The Salt Line would appeal to those who liked Station Eleven and for once I felt that suggestion was actually accurate. But even more than Station Eleven, the story reminded me of The Hunger Games but without the battle to the death component. In The Salt Line, an aggressive tick, which carries a deadly virus about 20% of the time, has invaded the United States. Much like The Hunger Games, the United States no longer exists as we know it and instead much of the population is living in Zones, some wealthier than others. The main characters of The Salt Line live in the Atlantic Zone and are surrounded by a large wall, an electric field, and chemically treated wasteland to prevent the ticks, and other people, from entering. The people within the walls are heavily controlled by a government that uses fear as its main method of rule and grants little privacy to its residents.The main plot of the book revolves around an excursion company that offers pricy, adrenaline fueled trips outside the Salt Line. The main characters embark on such an excursion, and of course almost as soon as they head out, the trip is derailed. To avoid spoilers, I will not say anything more about the plot except to say that it is creative and mostly entertaining (it occasionally drags a bit). The story was at its best when the author described life in the Atlantic Zone or what remained from life prior to the arrival of the tick. I loved when the characters encountered places from the old United States such as a Cracker Barrel or when school groups visited what was at one time D.C. Several small things baffled me a bit in the story. First, the area outside of the walled in Atlantic Zone is called the Salt Line. I never understood why – the area is a ring of chemically scorched earth treated to prevent ticks from crossing where the trash is slowly taking over the scorched earth. There was a reference to an old folktale about not treating the earth well, but I did not feel that the tale tied well to the whole Salt Line idea. Salt is also the name of an addictive drug used by some citizens in the Atlantic Zone and as the story unfolds Salt may potentially be ingested for other uses. It confused me that the word salt was used in these various items for no apparent reason and with no connection between them. I also would have liked the zone idea to have been fleshed out more. There is a lot of detail about the Atlantic Zone because a fair amount of the story took place there so I had a good feel for how it operated; I would love to have learned more about the other zones. I read this book as Hurricane Harvey was descending upon my city and in the storm’s aftermath which I found to be appropriate timing. The people in The Salt Line live in a world where a potentially deadly tick has caused people to change the way they live. As climate change gets worse and these horrible storms keep occurring, we as a country are going to need to address ways that we can remain living in coastal cities without the fear of catastrophic and deadly floods. Hopefully we can find rational and less scary ways of doing so than the people did in The Salt Line.The Salt Line provides a lot to think about regarding today’s world, and I know I will be contemplating these various issues for a long time to come. Thanks to First to Read for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.