Annihilation, but with salt.
That’s not a throwaway review, I really felt the vibes of Annihilation (or perhaps of the Southern Reach as a whole, rather than just the first book). The sense of an intrusion into the world, the transformation of what is familiar into what is rich and strange and malevolent. People can approach the heart of the mystery, but they return changed and altered.
I suppose in that parallel Saltwrack would be set far later in the process of transformation than Annihilation, not when the infection begins, but once the alteration is already complete … or is it.
In case it’s not clear, I loved this.