Aaron R. Tyler's latest novel, M.I.R.E.: Memory Implantation for Rehabilitation and Empathy, is a visceral, grab you by the throat and squeeze, experience. In this medical thriller monsters are all too human, and the line between hero and villain is thin.
I'll warn you up front. This novel is graphic - Tyler pulls no punches in his descriptions of physical and sexual violence throughout the story. This is intended, I think, to ensure the reader has a more than casual understanding of what far too many victims experience.
Brilliant brain surgeon, Dr. William Stonehurst, has discovered he can cure PTSD by removing the memory of the traumatic event - a blessing for veterans and many others who find their lives severely limited by the trauma they re-experience. His research also leads him to the understanding that those removed memories can be stored and later implanted in another person's brain. He suspects these memories can trigger PTSD in violent criminals and generate empathy for their victims, preventing future attacks.
But Dr. Stonehurst has a secret - his research was inspired by his twin sister who committed suicide due to trauma she continued to experience after being brutally assaulted and raped. He also has a desire to exact vengeance upon her attacker, John Kiel, who got away with the crime on a technicality. When the M.I.R.E. procedure gets approved as a sentencing option for repeat, violent offenders, he may finally get his chance for revenge.
Tyler doesn't shy away from the moral questions raised by M.I.R.E. To say that many of the characters are not nice is an understatement, but do the ends justify the means? Is it appropriate knowingly inflict PTSD, even on violent criminals, in hopes of preventing future crimes? Is this justice or vengeance... or both? These are questions that Tyler's characters have to find their own answers to, as we all must.
I was kept riveted by this story throughout. It was fascinating, and disturbing. At times I had to put it down to process what I read, or in anticipation of what was to come.