Memory

Scavenger #3

by K.J. Parker

The exciting conclusion to K. J. Parker's Scavenger trilogy.
Returning to his childhood home was supposed to bring peace for Poldarn. But it was not to be. The island proved no sanctuary from the ghosts of his past, or from the demons that stalk his dreams. Instead, he has unearthed yet more lies, betrayals, and enemies from his former life. But with each fresh discovery, Poldarn is coming ever closer to the reality of his shadowy origins. One by one, the fragmented memories and obscure clues are falling into place, forming a truth he cannot escape, a past he cannot deny, and a history that may be more than he---or anyone else---can bear.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Novels, Dark Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy

562 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 3, 2003

About the author

K.J. Parker is a pseudonym for Tom Holt.

According to the biographical notes in some of Parker's books, Parker has previously worked in law, journalism, and numismatics, and now writes and makes things out of wood and metal. It is also claimed that Parker is married to a solicitor and now lives in southern England. According to an autobiographical note, Parker was raised in rural Vermont, a lifestyle which influenced Parker's work.

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read most of Parker's work and after finishing this trilogy, I can say this by far my favorite. We left the last installment with Poldarn leaving his homeland island; some memories have returned, but the blow on the head a few years ago has left the two decades or so between leaving the island in the first place and now still a gap. Yes, Poldarn has dreams that occasionally give him glimpses of the past, the future, and even other events as a spectator of sorts. We also know that there are wheels within wheels going on in political intrigue and that he has been involved in many of these schemes, but he does not remember. Well, Parker brings it home in the final volume and he really knows how to wrap up a story!

I am not even going to attempt to give a plot summary here as that will involve spoilers, but this story starts off with Poldarn acting as an agent of a bell foundry securing their charcoal supplies in a god forsaken part of the empire. When Poldarn returns, we are treated to details of the foundry and in this, Parker excels in depicting the 'lost wax' method of casting. Poldarn is still beset by dreams (visions?) and we finally learn who the 'Mad Monk' that somehow features in his dreams is; or I should say both he and the Mad Monk often 'trade places' in both of their dreams. Is Poldarn really a god? He fits the ancient depiction and lore, but often Parker gives us reason to doubt this; for example, he repeated notes that the lore was made up by monks to help increase their donations. Yet, Poldarn's people were cast out centuries ago in part due to their belief in the god Poldarn and where ever he goes, it seems blood and mayhem are left in his wake; not intentionally (often), but there you go.

The myth/lore states that Poldarn will usher in the end of the world, something that his dream conversations with the crows tell him has happened again and again in the past. Parker keeps us hanging here, tantalizing us with hints and clues, but that just serves to build the tension. It seems everyone Poldarn knew in the past gives him at best partial truths of his past, if not outright lies, so he himself does not know what to believe. The lost two decades of his life weigh heavily upon him as he just seeks to lead a normal life; alas, that is definitely not in the cards.

Memory was my favorite of the series and again, I think this is his best work to date. Parker strings the reader along with fragmented tales and obscure clues regarding the 'missing years' of Poldarn, slowly building to the denouement, and oh, what a denouement! This is a series I will definitely have to reread! 4.5 stars, rounding up for the kick ass ending!!

[John McDermott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good conclusion to what's been an original and engaging trilogy.
All the plot threads are tied up nicely at the end as we finally learn how Poldarn lost his memory.
A bit different from your usual Fantasy fare ; this is a trilogy I can wholeheartedly recommend.

[Shane Findlay · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last thirty pages made me dizzy and I had to lie down to finish it. Only two authors are capable of doing this to me. Parker is one of them.
Edit 2nd read: See above and add - Fuck me! How did I forget that ending!

[Jeremy Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sheer brilliance.

Memory's plot largely consists of tying up every loose strand from its predecessors, so I can't say much in way of summation without spoiling the show. I will say, although it's far from the most popular, the Scavenger trilogy may be my favorite KJ Parker series thus far.

Poldarn is a grimdark Everyman. Parker uses a simple plot device (loss of memory) to sculpt his protagonist into dozens of symbolic representations of the human condition. Identity is explored here; the meaning of love; purpose, loss, grief, and friendship. The running theme of all three books is an exploration of morality: what it is, what it means, and whether or not we can achieve it.

As with everything Parker writes, it was wonderfully done.

[Rachel Toh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate how the entire trilogy is summed up in the last 10 pages. My friend and I came up with a formula to read the trilogy for maximum enjoyment: start with book one, skip book 2 and the first 80% of this book, go straight to the end.

[Steve Kimmins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This conclusion to a most unusual fantasy trilogy was fascinating. I really enjoyed it and continue to grow in admiration for this author with whom I’ve been acquainted for around a year.

Poldarn, our main protagonist, has left his mysterious homeland as described in volume 2, and returned to the mainland and the Empire. He hasn’t recovered his memory but the large gaps are regularly being filled on his travels by tales told him by others, and also in somewhat oblique dreams involving crows! The problem is that he doesn’t trust many of the people telling him these stories of his past. That’s been a theme all through this series. Poldarn is pretty sure he’d sooner not know if he’s the sort of monster and schemer people sometimes tell him he was. He doesn’t feel like that now. He certainly seems to be a skilled warrior though that gets him into as much trouble as it does in saving his life. He knows he’s often being used by others but with his memory stopping him using past experience as a guide his frequent choice is to run away from what other people, who often say they’re friends, are pointing him towards. Maybe he’s even a god whose speciality is to foretell destruction!

The last 10% of the book is quite dense with ‘reveals’ about Poldarn, though that’s not as bad as it sounds. Almost nothing that the author reveals, through others, about Poldarn comes as a complete surprise because he’s often discovered or suspected it for himself, even if he’s not really trusted those discoveries. By the end of the book Poldarn believes he has a reasonable idea who he has been, how he’s been manipulated, etc., but the question then is what does he do about it? And a nice ‘signing off’ twist right at the end!

It might seem strange that a major theme is this man with no memory of his past, who usually doesn’t want to know what or who he once was despite regularly almost finding out. Is that frustrating for the reader? Not at all - I think we tend to sympathise with his desire to turn over a new leaf, stop being manipulated, a hostage to his past, and become anonymous. Memories are what make us who we believe we are - he could become a genuinely new man by preventing those old memories returning. Maybe I extrapolate too far in looking for a message, but all of us, so immersed in our daily lives and society, have rather less Independence of action than we’d like to think! Capable of being manipulated even.

All in all, an excellent ending to an absorbing series. However, I don’t think I’d recommend it to all my fantasy reading friends if you’re not already a KJ Parker fan. I think there are more accessible one-off books or short stories by this author. But once you appreciate his distinct story telling style and especially how he likes to support his worlds in detail on deep, everyday life, foundations (I learnt a lot about metal casting procedures in this volume; farming, woodwork and iron forge work in previous volumes!), then this trilogy is a true gem.

[Carina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Years after borrowing the series from a friend, I have finally finished its last book Memory. And it is with a touch of sadness I say goodbye to the bewildered Poldarn and his identity struggle. I came to like him over time, he is very much like one of those friends who always screws things up but who you can't be mad at. I became just as tormented as Poldarn sometimes throughout the story, his back and forth struggle with the wish to know who he is and the side of him that is indifferent because he seems much better off in his new self.

I find this last book to be progressing in the same pace as the two others, in a slow and explanatory manner where Poldarn has gotten himself into a project of some sort where the tricks and tools of the trade is described in such detail the reader could probably take on the profession after reading it. In the second book Poldarn spends the entire book taking up his old (but forgotten) blacksmith profession and attempts to battle a huge volcano erupting over his old homeland. He ends up killing most of his friends and family and marries his daughter. Something I find hilarious and disturbing at the same time, whilst Poldarn shrugs his shoulders and deems it an appropriate time to leave. In this final book he has ended up at a foundry and helps casting bells. Inevitably people recognise him, even if he doesn't recognise anyone. He is slowly regaining his memory through dreams, and people who know him well attempts at telling him the truth about who he is, where he came from and what he was supposed to be doing. But Poldarn has decided he doesn't want to know, and dismisses it as lies.

He ultimately finds out, what of that he has been told is the truth, and that all this time, he has been used and manipulated by people in power, and that a great plan had been set in motion, and he had messed it all up by forgetting. Quite ingenious for a narrative really, but it gets a few minus points for the slow pace and the slightly disappointing grand finale.

It has been a good run though, and I am glad I read this series and Poldarn is now embedded in my mind, and I will never look at crows the same way.

[Valentina Zunino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Su goodreads ho trovato i libri di K.J. Parker elencati sotto "speculative fiction" o "dark fantasy", ma io ho deciso di coniare una nuova definizione: fantasy della deprimenza o, volendo tentare una traduzione inglese, downer fantasy, e che gli amanti del lieto fine se ne stiano alla larga.
Questa saga è, se possibile, ancora più crudele di "the engineer trilogy" che già mi aveva lasciato tra il malinconico e il rassegnato, eppure tutta questa "depressione&morte" non toglie nulla al piacere della lettura, perché il misterioso autore sa come tenerti attaccato alla pagina, dannato lui.
Il fulcro della storia è una domanda (chi è davvero Poldarn) e sta al lettore decidere se arrivati all'ultima pagina la risposta data sia soddisfacente o meno.
Il primo volume rimane il più riuscito, il secondo è una lettura interessante ma, ammettiamolo, assolutamente inutile per l'economia della trama, e pure il terzo può essere tagliato di almeno un 200 pagine senza risentirne (detto in altri termini: è troppo lungo e non succede quasi niente).
L'elemento più intrigante della saga è l'ordine "religioso" degli sword monks, ultimo rimasuglio di un passato dove l'esistenza di dio non era ancora diventata un'idea obsoleta. Nel momento in cui è ambientata la storia il concetto di religione è il concetto del "draw": sfoderare e rinfonderare la spada così in fretta da annullare completamente il momento del "colpo", e avvicinarsi così all'essenza del divino (perché per gli dei che vivono al di là del tempo l'attimo in cui decidi di colpire è sufficiente, e ciò che ne consegue è già accaduto).
K.J. Parker in apparenza ambienta tutti i suoi romanzi nello stesso mondo, ma la geografia è abbastanza nebulosa, per non parlare della cronologia interna, lasciandoti sempre un po' incerto sul quando e il dove in relazione ad avvenimenti già letti in altri libri.
La trama purtroppo presenta delle discrepanze e alcuni plot-hole, ma nessuno è perfetto, e la saga in toto si merita un 4 stelline meno meno in ogni caso.
Al lettore che si accosti per la prima volta al signor Parker, consiglio di iniziare da "The folding knife (che è un romanzo stand-alone)" e vedere come si trova

[Liemian Bresenio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this book (and thus the Scavenger trilogy as a whole) approximately a year ago, but I now find it leaping to the front of my brain during some random internet searches. As most other reviews have long stated, the Poldarn/Ciatarn character is endearing to the reader and the hapless situations he finds himself in are dark and destructive yet out and out entertaining. Oftentimes we are just bewildered by how bad things can get for poor sorta-innocent sorta-not Poldarn, and while it takes a massive amount of stalling and exposition to get there, Memory does provide the answers we have been waiting for.

So why the review? Here beginneth the spoilers:

What I disagree with from almost every other review of this work is with the ending. Other reviews describe it as a bad, unhappy ending, but surely this is not the case, at least for Poldarn himself. Yes as always we find that he is responsible for oncoming disaster of epic proportions, but the situation in Memory presents two very distinct differences to the rest of the doom and gloom Poldarn has faced throughout the series. This time around 1) We know now that those in charge, and indeed society at large, is very much deserving of the ruin that Poldarn has brought upon them and 2) Poldarn himself (now armed with his complete memory and identity) is able to walk away from it all, able at last to shoulder the burden of his past wrongdoings as well as the fate of the world. As the story already implies that the world will change and move regardless of what befalls it, our hero/anti-hero has found peace with himself by the end of the story and I say good for him.

But what really sticks out in my mind is the number of potential identities and past lives the trilogy placed onto Poldarn. What an incredible piece of fiction this must be when you can go back through the entire trilogy, come back to the end and ask yourself "So was the protagonist revealed to be ______?" and no matter what name you fill in the blank, the answer is still "Yes."

[Samantha Balmes]

Nice ending with an unexpected way of satisfying the prophecy. Plot holes you could drive a truck through though. For example, the arrival of Muno Silsney as a major player in the war when Poldarn killed him on page 557-558 in Shadow. Opps! Still think the entire series would have been better as a single book with a lot less of the mundane description of daily activities. However, the overall storyline was good.

[Zedsdead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poldarn has gone to ground, quietly blacksmithing for a bell foundry, sleeping in a turf hut, and keeping to himself.

But fate—and his own possible godhood—won’t be denied: the army conscripts the foundry for the production of a terrifying experimental new weapon and numerous power players become aware of Poldarn’s identity. This late in the trilogy we are introduced to a group of his close friends from his sword-monk student days; their various machinations pull him in numerous conflicting directions.


O_O I thought I knew where this was going, and I was pre-emptively disappointed. I’m happy to have been so wrong. Parker set up that ending perfectly and then managed to smack me right in the face with it. I only wish it hadn’t all come at once in the last couple pages, I feel like I haven’t been able to absorb it, to grasp what it means for the protagonist and the world.

Plot points, spoilers, and reveals:
--As a teenager, Poldarn impregnated a married woman and was banished to the Empire to work as a spy for the raiders. Tazencius and Halder cooked up the scheme: Halder gets to sack cities for resources, Tazencius gets the destabilization he needs to seize power. He sponsors Poldarn at monk school.
--Poldarn murdered a classmate while at Deymeson in an effort to save their two friends after a prank went wrong. The dead friend survived and worked his way up to become sort of the pope of the empire. Cordo/Cleapho, the friendly stranger at the inn in book one.
--There have been numerous Feron Amathy’s. Poldarn wore that name for years, slaughtering the populace for his father-in-law Tazencius.
--Father-Tutor and Cordo found out and recruited Poldarn to reveal the scheme to the emperor. Poldarn agreed but was knocked out during his flight and lost his memory.
--Back living with the raiders, Poldarn unknowingly marries and impregnates his own daughter, accidentally goes to war against his only friend on the island, and winds up murdering that man’s entire settlement. He flees back to the empire.
--While reluctantly working as a bandit, Poldarn is backed into killing a teen princeling with delusions of heroism. The kid turns out to be Poldarn’s own son with Lysanette, Tazencius’s daughter.
--Poldarn tries to retire to a bell foundry, but the army arrives and refits the foundry to make experimental cannons. Poldarn sneaks off but gets captured by a mysterious woman, who turns out to be his wife. (Empire wife not raider wife.) She secures Tazencius’s forgiveness in exchange for Poldarn’s retirement.
--At a peace conference with the Amathy house, two of Poldarn’s old classmates are hung up to be tortured to death. Poldarn saves Xipho, the mother of another of his sons, kills Cleapho in a duel, and is banished after a lot of revealing exposition by Tazencius.
--As he wanders the streets, Poldarn encounters a dying old woman crushed by a carriage. He had saved her several times over the course of his travels and now learns that she was deliberately spreading plague across the empire. (Even better, she does so as vengeance for a murdered son, another student that Poldarn happened to have killed twenty years before. At every turn, his incidental actions led to this.) All along, the looming End of Days possibly heralded by the coming of Poldarn had seemed to be the raiders, or the new weapon. And all along it was actually plague.

[Hot Mess Sommelière ~ Caro · Rating 2 out of 5]

In terms of KJ Parker trilogies, this one was far inferior in content, character development, plot and pacing to The Two of Swords, Volume One. Would not recommend unless you are a die-hard KJ Parker fan.

[Tom Loock · Rating 4 out of 5]

The following thoughts regard the whole trilogy rather than just this final part Memory. No spoilers, promise.

How good is a book, or, rather a whole trilogy, that you want to re-read again soon and whose main character (Poldarn) you can't get out of your head even while you're reading other novels? There's only one answer: Very, very good - 4.5 stars

Is the Scavenger-trilogy perfect? No. But Holt set the bar extremely high with three thick books (1600+ pages) in which the lead character can not remember who he is after he wakes up on a battlefield on page 1 until all is revealed at the end. Poldarn does learn bits and pieces here and there, but some of it is not true as people (try to) use him for their aims.

Books 1 Shadow and 3 Memory are very similar in style and voice, while Book 2 Pattern is completely different and for the sake of comprehension you could just skip it and would not miss anything - but please don't: it's well worth reading. It takes place in one location and is told in a straight forward-style, almost linear, with a different cast of characters. I'd love to question Holt about this fact.

[Peter]

Disappointed on an epic scale!!: After having read Marrow I was ready for the next big Robert Reed novel. However, I got extremely disappointed. I wouldn't say that Robert did any great character development in Marrow but he completely forgot about it in this novel!

Secondly, I clearly remember some Marrow reviewers who didn't like the arguable exaggerated dimensions (e.g. 15000 years later...). I can only recommend those readers to stay away from Sister Alice as far as possible - we are now talking about 'millions of years'. I found the constant exaggeration of space and time dimensions useless and not adding anything to the story.

The antagonists and protagonists in Sister Alice have god-like powers and are capable of performing everything you would imagine from a god. However, they still haven't mastered to fly faster than light which kind of doesn't fit if you read about all their talents and deeds!

The story was incredibly and full of potential, however, the delivery was rushed and also lacking the science part.

I am wondering what Peter F. Hamilton or Alastair Reynolds would have done with such a great plot...

[Ekmef · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic. This series is quite hard, it took me half the first novel to get into it and even then I was often bored out of my mind. All those names and events that supposedly happened... In the second book the story becomes a bit more linear and wanting to know 'what happened' kept me going on. This kind of reading experience is unique in a fantasy setting - a true non cliched mystery. It is really worth it to read on and finally reaching the ending. Together with the main character you go through the process of trying to fit all the pieces together. And it definitely fits beautifully.

[Brian Maicke · Rating 4 out of 5]

The conclusion to Parker's Memory trilogy. This installment follows Poldarn as he returns to the mainland. We finally find out who exactly Poldarn is, and what he was doing during the time before he lost his memory. The story is told through a number of flashbacks intertwined with the current storyline.

I really enjoyed this series, though anticipation and the comedy of errors in the first book made me somewhat hesitant to continue, the story was always rather compelling and I'm happy with where it ended up.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the words of Lord Dunsany, the tale is one of those that have not a happy ending.

But, given all that preceded it, we couldn't have expected one, could we? As in the previous books, Poldarn moves from place to place, sometimes by choice, sometimes due to outside influences, learning more and more about his past and becoming more and more certain that he really doesn't want to know because he might not have been a very nice man.

And the end, when it comes, has a certain majestic inevitability.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong conclusion to a fascinating series. Persevering readers are rewarded with answers to all of Poldarn's (the protagonist) questions.
This is not a happy little fantasy series. It's dirty, brutal, and the events and repercussions of the actions taken are appalling in some cases but that is the kind of fantasy I look for. His writing style is reminiscent of Abercrombie's and a few others - nearly all non-US authors. coincidence? I think not - and reads like historical fiction.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a lot Parker has to manage to land the ending of this trilogy. On the surface, the question is obvious -- who is Poldarn? -- but in true Parker fashion, the multiple threads and possibilities he creates along the way are either true or false, all or nothing, and even as you reach the end, you wonder how much he's been playing you since the first book. The truth is, he's playing with you long after you reach the last page.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best and most creative trilogies I have ever read. Parker keeps you guessing with huge twists, and her characters are amazingly deep, well-sculpted, and entertainingly believable. While the other books are just as good, the way Parker ends the story easily make 'Memory' the most interesting and surprising of the series.

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just an astounding conclusion to this series which has a chance of becoming my top finished fantasy series of all time. I am re-reading the books since that is a must once all the cards are on the table; everything takes quite a different complexion once you actually know the mystery of the "memoryless" hero.

[Elvet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a few pages left in Memory, the last book of K.J. Parker's Scavenger trilogy. I've never read a more cyclic series, the story travels around in intersecting circles, yet it's still coherent. I like her writing enough to pick up her other books, good thing there's a sale coming up at Chapters :-)

[Stephen Burk · Rating 4 out of 5]

All three of these books were great. The story that unfolded by the end was convoluted and messed up and I really felt sorry for the main character. I would have given all the books in this trilogy 5/5 stars except throughout the trilogy there were a lot of spelling, grammar and other writing issues in each book.

[Chaundra · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pace picks back up with this book, and was going so well. . .until the end where the "villain" goes into reveal all mode. I personally think it would have been better had some of those loose ends not been tied up so neatly, but still a much more enjoyable read than book 2. Still insane, but much more readably insane.

[Carlyle Laurent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great end to the series. I gave it 4 because it's pretty slow at the start. But the last third was really something special. Finally learning everything that's been going on since the first book felt incredible. The world created by Parker in this trilogy was really admirable in how diverse and interesting it was. Incredible creativity on the authors part. Definitely recommend.

[Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Satisfying resolution to the trilogy, largely tying up the plot threads (in particular, resolving the protagonist's identity), and further developing the key themes, namely whether people are simply the sum of their memories and whether evil is intrinsic or a product of circumstances. Shot through with mordant humor, and enlivened by an intriguing twist at the end.

[Jenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

hmmmmmmmm this one was not as awesome as the previous. I think you'd be best off just stopping after the second one. Still, the very very end made up for a lot and lifted this from a 3 to a 4. GO MOUSE LADY.

[Saud Alsubaie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense story with some very funny parts

[Donnelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was immensely annoyed with it... until the very last page.

[Brian Grossman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11123618