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The Library of Traumatic Memory
The first literary science fiction novel from Neil Jordan, visionary director of The Company of Wolves and Interview with the Vampire
In a windswept corner of a forgotten peninsula, love and loss echo through the halls of a mansion built on secrets. Here memory is currency of the future, and the past refuses to stay buried.
In the year 2084, Christian Cartwright, a quiet librarian at the enigmatic Huxley Institute, spends his days archiving the world’s most painful memories in the Library of Traumatic Memory.
But when his lover Isolde dies in a mysterious car crash, Christian secretly resurrects her as a digital consciousness — an act of grief, obsession, and defiance.
As Christian navigates a world where memories can be edited, dreams harvested, and the dead made to speak, he uncovers a deeper conspiracy buried in the Institute’s foundations — one that stretches back centuries to his 18th-century ancestor Montagu Cartwright, the architect of the Huxley Mansion.
Montagu’s obsidian mirror and copper model may hold the key to a reality where architecture shapes fate and time loops back on itself.
Blending gothic mystery, speculative science, and philosophical depth, The Library of Traumatic Memory is a haunting meditation on love, loss, and the ethics of memory.
As the past and future collide, Christian must decide what it means to remember — and what it costs to forget.
In a windswept corner of a forgotten peninsula, love and loss echo through the halls of a mansion built on secrets. Here memory is currency of the future, and the past refuses to stay buried.
In the year 2084, Christian Cartwright, a quiet librarian at the enigmatic Huxley Institute, spends his days archiving the world’s most painful memories in the Library of Traumatic Memory.
But when his lover Isolde dies in a mysterious car crash, Christian secretly resurrects her as a digital consciousness — an act of grief, obsession, and defiance.
As Christian navigates a world where memories can be edited, dreams harvested, and the dead made to speak, he uncovers a deeper conspiracy buried in the Institute’s foundations — one that stretches back centuries to his 18th-century ancestor Montagu Cartwright, the architect of the Huxley Mansion.
Montagu’s obsidian mirror and copper model may hold the key to a reality where architecture shapes fate and time loops back on itself.
Blending gothic mystery, speculative science, and philosophical depth, The Library of Traumatic Memory is a haunting meditation on love, loss, and the ethics of memory.
As the past and future collide, Christian must decide what it means to remember — and what it costs to forget.
- GenresScience FictionFiction
336 pages, Hardcover
First published March 12, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
maybe I'm too dumb for this?
I found it very confusing and meandering, nothing made sense to me, there was no speech quotation marks which only further perplexed me, I don't know what to say, it sounded like an ambitious cool plot but for me it didn't work
I found it very confusing and meandering, nothing made sense to me, there was no speech quotation marks which only further perplexed me, I don't know what to say, it sounded like an ambitious cool plot but for me it didn't work
March 26, 2026
A triangle. The geometric options didn’t allow for softness. Humans needed curves, whorls, donuts, circles. But all they had was this triangle.
This book has wonderfully messed with my head.
We have two interwoven narratives here: that of the architect Montagu Cartwright, and that of his descendant Christian Cartwright, a librarian in the near future who archives traumatic memories.
There is also a common theme of how architecture, as the human fascination with the artificial, is slowly erasing the human in us.
And much more ...
This book has wonderfully messed with my head.
We have two interwoven narratives here: that of the architect Montagu Cartwright, and that of his descendant Christian Cartwright, a librarian in the near future who archives traumatic memories.
There is also a common theme of how architecture, as the human fascination with the artificial, is slowly erasing the human in us.
And much more ...
March 16, 2026
This book is very difficult to describe, and very difficult to review. On the one hand I found it confusing and scattered, and on the other I adored the striking writing, short chapters, and twists I didn’t anticipate.
It flickers between 2084 and the 18th century, taking place on the same peninsula and following characters in the same family. As they go about their lives - doing shifts at work, having affairs, discovering strange things about the mines and churches in the local area - you discover how the past and future intersect. Plots to make money by funding the present with money from the future, silicone memory storage that fits under the tongue, a chemical spray that freezes insects in time.
It’s advanced and conceptual and overwhelming, and it’s meant to be. Like the characters, you feel both curious and despairing, and that strange, almost unpleasant, in-between feeling lends itself to the indescribable complexity of language, love and loss.
To summarise, I don’t know exactly what I read, but I’m glad I read it. I’ll think on it for some time.
Thank you to @headofzeus for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
It flickers between 2084 and the 18th century, taking place on the same peninsula and following characters in the same family. As they go about their lives - doing shifts at work, having affairs, discovering strange things about the mines and churches in the local area - you discover how the past and future intersect. Plots to make money by funding the present with money from the future, silicone memory storage that fits under the tongue, a chemical spray that freezes insects in time.
It’s advanced and conceptual and overwhelming, and it’s meant to be. Like the characters, you feel both curious and despairing, and that strange, almost unpleasant, in-between feeling lends itself to the indescribable complexity of language, love and loss.
To summarise, I don’t know exactly what I read, but I’m glad I read it. I’ll think on it for some time.
Thank you to @headofzeus for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
April 28, 2026
It’s a challenge, and spotty, but I give it a 5 because it gave me ideas I’d never had before and that’s rarity these days.
September 30, 2026
I think this is falling somewhere between a 3.5 and 4 ⭐️ and I think it will be a rating that will take me a while to decide on!
I was really intrigued by the blurb of this book and thought it sounded fascinating - I do feel like the actual plot possibly slightly diverged from this, or maybe I just had different expectations of where the storyline would lead. Having said that, I think it was a really interesting commentary on the cost of a constant strive for progress, innovation, and profit that I think provides a lot of food for thought.
I liked the 2 timelines we followed in the first part, and the dual perspective we got in the second part, and I liked how the book was written. I found quite a few parts of the book quite disturbing (but I believe that was the point). I enjoyed a lot of the references made and found it quite gripping, especially by how fast paced and short the chapters were.
I think this was a really interesting take on a dystopian/sci-fi novel that I am glad I picked up!
I was really intrigued by the blurb of this book and thought it sounded fascinating - I do feel like the actual plot possibly slightly diverged from this, or maybe I just had different expectations of where the storyline would lead. Having said that, I think it was a really interesting commentary on the cost of a constant strive for progress, innovation, and profit that I think provides a lot of food for thought.
I liked the 2 timelines we followed in the first part, and the dual perspective we got in the second part, and I liked how the book was written. I found quite a few parts of the book quite disturbing (but I believe that was the point). I enjoyed a lot of the references made and found it quite gripping, especially by how fast paced and short the chapters were.
I think this was a really interesting take on a dystopian/sci-fi novel that I am glad I picked up!
March 15, 2026
The Library of Traumatic Memory is an interesting, intriguing mix of Sci-fi, mystery and a dose or two of magical realism, with a partial dual timeline, one set in the future in 2084, and the other set in the 18th century.
I must say, I did find this to be quite the complicated read, sometimes a little difficult to follow, hence the loss of 1 star, but overall, the prose was enjoyable.
The characters were each expertly crafted and all were believable and felt real and the word building was imaginative and packed with great Imagery.
4 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 's from me.
I must say, I did find this to be quite the complicated read, sometimes a little difficult to follow, hence the loss of 1 star, but overall, the prose was enjoyable.
The characters were each expertly crafted and all were believable and felt real and the word building was imaginative and packed with great Imagery.
4 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 's from me.
September 9, 2026
DNF (Ch. Magnus Wilderstein, pg. 50); This book follows Christian as he works as a librarian at the Huxley Institute, an organization involved in medical and scientific advancements related to memory that can be re-edited, erased, or harvested. The concept and the cover were intriguing enough to persuade me to pick it up.
However, each chapter uses a different structure, with confusing timelines and dull statements. I managed only a few pages before I lost interest and felt compelled to put the book down.
However, each chapter uses a different structure, with confusing timelines and dull statements. I managed only a few pages before I lost interest and felt compelled to put the book down.
June 14, 2026
Reading this book it was sometimes hard to know whether you were reading a novel or a poem, or watching a play or a film, such is the creative genius that is Neil Jordan. Like a Kevin Barry book it takes a little time to read yourself into the style but when you do you quickly get completely lost in another world. At its heart this is a love story, deeply rooted in the southern end of the Beara Peninsula. Make sure you have a dictionary to hand when reading because you will be introduced to new words, a lot of new words! Just one of the many charms of reading this excellent book :)
June 7, 2026
There's an interesting story there, but the construction is totally wanky.
July 6, 2026
Quite a challenging read, but I did enjoy it. Very interesting concept. It took me a while to get into it but then enjoyed finding out how the story would or could end.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I requested an ARC of The Library of Traumatic Memory through Netgalley, after having found the name enticing and the blurb interesting enough.
The book is a weird mix of science fiction ideas, magical realist storytelling, a partially dual-timeline narrative, and reflective and sometimes quite literary prose. Reading it made me feel as if it was often on the brink of becoming an integrated piece, but never actually did rise to that quality, making for a weird uneven experience that broke the chances to flow through it.
"So, I may not be here— and it was as if her actual voice was speaking, his eardrop trembling with her specific resonance— but please, please, please don’t tell me I haven’t got feelings. In fact, by certain algorithmic criteria, feelings are all I have. They wake me on a whim. I’m at their beck and call, feelings, prodded by memory, and the memory of those feelings becomes a feeling in itself."
The Library of Traumatic Memory does have such a library, one of many technologies that are described, some more detailed and explained and others just kind of existing, but I never got to see or understand the undeniable consequences any of these had to have on the world and the people living in 2084. Some of the references to real people and the memory or legacy they would have left for that future was mostly silly. The narrative is so localized that it feels as if the world the author created is entirely made of that island and Carlsbad (Karlovy Vary in nowadays Czechia).
"A reconfiguration of the tools of the Library of Traumatic Memory to harvest whatever digital traces of the departed loved one the legislation would allow. Cloning of anything other than the smallest of pets had been outlawed since the Barron Trump multiples and the aborted nuclear strike ordered by the thirteenth Kim Il Jong, but whatever non-genomic remains the loved one had left behind– photographs, letters, diaries, all appchats and omnichannel mails and data– could still be put into play."
The secondary narrative - in the 18th century - follows the main character's ancestor, Montagu Cartwright, and is left somewhat unexplained, between the conspiracy leading him to build something and the magic-apparent objects, which ends up feeling quite gimmicky by the end of the book. The main narrative follows the story of Christian Cartwright - who works in the Library of Traumatic Memory, in the building his ancestor had projected -, Isolde, the mysterious daughter-in-law to the man who leads the institute, and an unstable cast of connected characters, clairvoyants, and an AI called Sigmund.
Christian is an interesting man to follow and his relationship with and considerations about "Isolde" are the better part of the first half of the book.
The prose is good and easy to follow. Once the narrative stops going back in time, it also becomes more straightforward, if underexplored. The ending fell flat for me, both in how it happens and in how inconsequential a lot of things became when looking back.
I didn't dislike reading this, but I don't know if and to whom I'd really recommend reading it.
The book is a weird mix of science fiction ideas, magical realist storytelling, a partially dual-timeline narrative, and reflective and sometimes quite literary prose. Reading it made me feel as if it was often on the brink of becoming an integrated piece, but never actually did rise to that quality, making for a weird uneven experience that broke the chances to flow through it.
"So, I may not be here— and it was as if her actual voice was speaking, his eardrop trembling with her specific resonance— but please, please, please don’t tell me I haven’t got feelings. In fact, by certain algorithmic criteria, feelings are all I have. They wake me on a whim. I’m at their beck and call, feelings, prodded by memory, and the memory of those feelings becomes a feeling in itself."
The Library of Traumatic Memory does have such a library, one of many technologies that are described, some more detailed and explained and others just kind of existing, but I never got to see or understand the undeniable consequences any of these had to have on the world and the people living in 2084. Some of the references to real people and the memory or legacy they would have left for that future was mostly silly. The narrative is so localized that it feels as if the world the author created is entirely made of that island and Carlsbad (Karlovy Vary in nowadays Czechia).
"A reconfiguration of the tools of the Library of Traumatic Memory to harvest whatever digital traces of the departed loved one the legislation would allow. Cloning of anything other than the smallest of pets had been outlawed since the Barron Trump multiples and the aborted nuclear strike ordered by the thirteenth Kim Il Jong, but whatever non-genomic remains the loved one had left behind– photographs, letters, diaries, all appchats and omnichannel mails and data– could still be put into play."
The secondary narrative - in the 18th century - follows the main character's ancestor, Montagu Cartwright, and is left somewhat unexplained, between the conspiracy leading him to build something and the magic-apparent objects, which ends up feeling quite gimmicky by the end of the book. The main narrative follows the story of Christian Cartwright - who works in the Library of Traumatic Memory, in the building his ancestor had projected -, Isolde, the mysterious daughter-in-law to the man who leads the institute, and an unstable cast of connected characters, clairvoyants, and an AI called Sigmund.
Christian is an interesting man to follow and his relationship with and considerations about "Isolde" are the better part of the first half of the book.
The prose is good and easy to follow. Once the narrative stops going back in time, it also becomes more straightforward, if underexplored. The ending fell flat for me, both in how it happens and in how inconsequential a lot of things became when looking back.
I didn't dislike reading this, but I don't know if and to whom I'd really recommend reading it.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
1.5 stars
Thanks to NetGalley and Ad Astra for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This was a pre-order that fell victim to be financial issues, so I was thrilled I was sent an advanced digital copy, but now having read it I am so glad I did cancel it because it did not live up to my expectations at all.
I never say a book is bad. Because no book is bad. A book might not be my kind of thing, but it might be a five-star read for someone else. Therefore, a book is never a bad book. But this is the closet I've come to declaring a book bad.
The description made me think it was going to be this extra long epic that you struggle to pick up, so it was surprising to see it was under 350 pages, and I think that was one of the causes for me not liking it, because it was streamlined too much.
This is the first of Neil's books I've read, and I have also seen none of his movies, so I went into this 100% blind and had no expectations at all.
Nothing actually happens. It's just a load of words and sentences that don't really mean anything; they're all bitty and inconsequential.
The dialogue gets lost because there's no speech marks, and I absolutely hate it when authors do no speech marks. In my opinion, it's not an exciting, clever narrative tool, it's jarring and distracting.
I didn't understand much of it. It's rather highbrow and also very sci-fi-ish, and that combination meant some of the language passed me by.
It is a very narrative heavy book with little dialogue. We almost get Christian's inner monologue, although it is not in the first person. The sentence lengths keep changing, with an awful lot of short, snappy sentences that break the flow of the reading and I just cannot think why he's chosen that writing style.
It is mostly set in the present (although the "present" in this book is in the 2080s), but it also flashes back 200 years previous. But it doesn't always make it clear, like, it doesn't say at the top of each chapter what year we're in, and so I would be halfway through a chapter before I realised who it is I'm reading about, which didn't help my enjoyment of it.
One positive is the chapters were short - some only a page or two - and I prefer short, snappy chapters rather than long winding ones.
This had so much promise and I was so keen to read it, but it was such a disappointment. It's too busy and it needs to be longer. The short page count meant there is a lot of narrative in a short amount of time and so it got overwhelming and confusing. The writing style was odd, the to-ing and fro-ing through time periods was also confusing, even though I normally enjoy that, the characters were okay but I didn't feel anything towards them. A big disappointment for me sadly.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ad Astra for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This was a pre-order that fell victim to be financial issues, so I was thrilled I was sent an advanced digital copy, but now having read it I am so glad I did cancel it because it did not live up to my expectations at all.
I never say a book is bad. Because no book is bad. A book might not be my kind of thing, but it might be a five-star read for someone else. Therefore, a book is never a bad book. But this is the closet I've come to declaring a book bad.
The description made me think it was going to be this extra long epic that you struggle to pick up, so it was surprising to see it was under 350 pages, and I think that was one of the causes for me not liking it, because it was streamlined too much.
This is the first of Neil's books I've read, and I have also seen none of his movies, so I went into this 100% blind and had no expectations at all.
Nothing actually happens. It's just a load of words and sentences that don't really mean anything; they're all bitty and inconsequential.
The dialogue gets lost because there's no speech marks, and I absolutely hate it when authors do no speech marks. In my opinion, it's not an exciting, clever narrative tool, it's jarring and distracting.
I didn't understand much of it. It's rather highbrow and also very sci-fi-ish, and that combination meant some of the language passed me by.
It is a very narrative heavy book with little dialogue. We almost get Christian's inner monologue, although it is not in the first person. The sentence lengths keep changing, with an awful lot of short, snappy sentences that break the flow of the reading and I just cannot think why he's chosen that writing style.
It is mostly set in the present (although the "present" in this book is in the 2080s), but it also flashes back 200 years previous. But it doesn't always make it clear, like, it doesn't say at the top of each chapter what year we're in, and so I would be halfway through a chapter before I realised who it is I'm reading about, which didn't help my enjoyment of it.
One positive is the chapters were short - some only a page or two - and I prefer short, snappy chapters rather than long winding ones.
This had so much promise and I was so keen to read it, but it was such a disappointment. It's too busy and it needs to be longer. The short page count meant there is a lot of narrative in a short amount of time and so it got overwhelming and confusing. The writing style was odd, the to-ing and fro-ing through time periods was also confusing, even though I normally enjoy that, the characters were okay but I didn't feel anything towards them. A big disappointment for me sadly.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Library of Traumatic Memory is a beautifully unsettling novel—lyrical, atmospheric, and steeped in the kind of quiet dread that lingers long after you close the final page. Neil Jordan brings his cinematic sensibilities to the written word, crafting a story that feels both intimate and vast, grounded in human grief yet sweeping in its philosophical ambition.
Christian Cartwright is a wonderfully nuanced protagonist: gentle, obsessive, and quietly unravelling as he tends the Huxley Institute’s archive of the world’s most painful memories. The concept alone is chilling—trauma preserved, catalogued, and traded like currency—but Jordan elevates it with a deeply emotional core. When Christian resurrects his lover Isolde as a digital consciousness, the novel becomes a meditation on love, loss, and the dangerous seduction of refusing to let go.
The dual narrative—2084’s fractured future and the 18th‑century life of Montagu Cartwright—interlocks with elegant precision. The gothic elements are delicious: a mansion built on secrets, an obsidian mirror with impossible properties, and a sense that the past is not merely remembered but actively shaping the present. Jordan blurs the boundaries between memory and architecture, fate and design, in ways that feel both eerie and intellectually rich.
What stands out most is the atmosphere. Windswept coastlines, echoing halls, and the hum of machines that can resurrect the dead create a world that feels tactile and uncanny. The writing is lush without being overwrought, and the pacing is measured, allowing the emotional and thematic weight to settle in.
This is literary science fiction at its most thoughtful—haunting, imaginative, and deeply humane. A novel for readers who enjoy speculative ideas wrapped in gothic moodiness, philosophical depth, and a love story that refuses to fade. A striking, memorable debut in the genre from a visionary storyteller.
with thanks to Neil Jordan, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
Christian Cartwright is a wonderfully nuanced protagonist: gentle, obsessive, and quietly unravelling as he tends the Huxley Institute’s archive of the world’s most painful memories. The concept alone is chilling—trauma preserved, catalogued, and traded like currency—but Jordan elevates it with a deeply emotional core. When Christian resurrects his lover Isolde as a digital consciousness, the novel becomes a meditation on love, loss, and the dangerous seduction of refusing to let go.
The dual narrative—2084’s fractured future and the 18th‑century life of Montagu Cartwright—interlocks with elegant precision. The gothic elements are delicious: a mansion built on secrets, an obsidian mirror with impossible properties, and a sense that the past is not merely remembered but actively shaping the present. Jordan blurs the boundaries between memory and architecture, fate and design, in ways that feel both eerie and intellectually rich.
What stands out most is the atmosphere. Windswept coastlines, echoing halls, and the hum of machines that can resurrect the dead create a world that feels tactile and uncanny. The writing is lush without being overwrought, and the pacing is measured, allowing the emotional and thematic weight to settle in.
This is literary science fiction at its most thoughtful—haunting, imaginative, and deeply humane. A novel for readers who enjoy speculative ideas wrapped in gothic moodiness, philosophical depth, and a love story that refuses to fade. A striking, memorable debut in the genre from a visionary storyteller.
with thanks to Neil Jordan, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
April 12, 2026
In making a version of his late girlfriend on a tiny quantum computing memory chip, leaving him able to converse with a simulation of her memories via a tiny in-ear doodad, Christian is only going slightly beyond the legal things his boss does, from the redoubt of a remote Irish peninsula, its two-hundred year old buildings merging with something much newer. In these pages we're also mingling old and new, as Christian's timeline is sharing our attention with that from the days of the buildings' creation, and an architect's encounters with some disappointingly Masonic fellows.
There is a fair bit that is disappointing here, if truth be told. Only my great liking for this author's most recent novel (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) kept me going with it. For one, it's quite an ill fit, the Masonic-adjacent plotlines with the future sci-fi and the quantum ghost girlfriend. The unattributed speech makes key conversations really hard to work out and follow. And even if it were stated, I still felt the science and the motive behind the titular institute was more than a touch too woolly.
Ultimately, this proved a major disappointment – especially in comparison with the previous. I did doubt the value in continuing after the first few chapters, and rarely felt like I was enjoying the decision to plough on. I still don't see how there's a valid balance between pretending the Freemasons were eternal magicians with the "does your dead girlfriend knows she's on silicon?" quandary, which is – while not really new – a lot more interesting. To me neither side of this took off, and the combination of both was actually quite draining. One and a half stars.
There is a fair bit that is disappointing here, if truth be told. Only my great liking for this author's most recent novel (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) kept me going with it. For one, it's quite an ill fit, the Masonic-adjacent plotlines with the future sci-fi and the quantum ghost girlfriend. The unattributed speech makes key conversations really hard to work out and follow. And even if it were stated, I still felt the science and the motive behind the titular institute was more than a touch too woolly.
Ultimately, this proved a major disappointment – especially in comparison with the previous. I did doubt the value in continuing after the first few chapters, and rarely felt like I was enjoying the decision to plough on. I still don't see how there's a valid balance between pretending the Freemasons were eternal magicians with the "does your dead girlfriend knows she's on silicon?" quandary, which is – while not really new – a lot more interesting. To me neither side of this took off, and the combination of both was actually quite draining. One and a half stars.
May 12, 2026
This title and the cover image really piqued my interest and I expected a lot more from it than I received. We have a dual timeline - one set in the future of 2084 and the other in the 18th century, about 200 years previous. Everything takes place in the same area and follows members of the same family and so you can see how past and present merge. But, I found this difficult to grasp at times. In the future this library in the Huxley Institute contains silicone tablets of memory - it is a memory storage facility. The future also seems to have been harvested from girls who possessed an almost clairvoyant ability. They were kept, wired up so their ‘dreams’ could be taken and stored. And this whole project in 2084 is funded by profits from the future. Add to this a spray that freezes insects and the institute that is a copy of a copper miniature. As for the characters, our 2084 main character is Christian who is having an affair with Isolde, the wife of the man who runs the institute. When she dies he secretly resurrects her digitally and this part I quite like as it was about love and loss and the refusal to let go. In the 18th century we have Christian’s ancestor, Montagu, and it was this part that didn’t really gel for me even though the gothic elements are great: We have this mansion built that seems to have strange properties and there is an obsidian mirror which also seems to hold secrets. I found this a complicated read at times and would have much preferred to have the story of Christian and Isolde as I became quite invested in them at the end and the secrets that are hidden.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Library of Traumatic Memory had a very interesting premise and description, which made me curious enough to request it on NetGalley. While I’m not fully certain what I expected, I didn’t expect this book.
The book has a lot going for it — the plot is quite well-developed, the story interesting, and after finishing it, I can definitely see where the author was heading with this. I like that idea. A lot.
Unfortunately, the execution falls short. The books is somewhat of a mess when it comes to storytelling. I wonder if the author tried to set it up narratively so that it almost feels like a memory, a dream. Instead, it’s quite hard to follow. It’s speculative, but also a mystery that requires quite close reading. It’s weaved through with flashbacks, but those are largely from a nice to know perspective, and not plot-driving. (The plot-driving nugget could have been weaved in through cutting it down quite a lot, and it would have been easier to follow.) There are no citation marks so it’s hard to follow the dialogue, but the dialogue is quite crucial to the plot. So are the characters, but it’s hard to know who did or said what.
I think this would be a great movie. It would be philosophical, secretive and human-centered. And it would be a lot easier to make sense of.
I’m not sure which type of reader this book would suit. While I personally didn’t hate it, and the ideas will probably stick with me, I’m not sure many will get what it deserves out of the written format.
Thanks to Head of Zeus for allowing me the e-ARC to review.
The book has a lot going for it — the plot is quite well-developed, the story interesting, and after finishing it, I can definitely see where the author was heading with this. I like that idea. A lot.
Unfortunately, the execution falls short. The books is somewhat of a mess when it comes to storytelling. I wonder if the author tried to set it up narratively so that it almost feels like a memory, a dream. Instead, it’s quite hard to follow. It’s speculative, but also a mystery that requires quite close reading. It’s weaved through with flashbacks, but those are largely from a nice to know perspective, and not plot-driving. (The plot-driving nugget could have been weaved in through cutting it down quite a lot, and it would have been easier to follow.) There are no citation marks so it’s hard to follow the dialogue, but the dialogue is quite crucial to the plot. So are the characters, but it’s hard to know who did or said what.
I think this would be a great movie. It would be philosophical, secretive and human-centered. And it would be a lot easier to make sense of.
I’m not sure which type of reader this book would suit. While I personally didn’t hate it, and the ideas will probably stick with me, I’m not sure many will get what it deserves out of the written format.
Thanks to Head of Zeus for allowing me the e-ARC to review.
August 16, 2026
I like Neil Jordan as a film director, but it is notable that what draws me to him is often his visuals (there is one from A Company Of Wolves which will be the last harvested when they come for my memories). So I don't know the history of this project, and whether it was initially a movie treatment that he couldn't get filmed. It is certainly ambitious: the main story takes place in 2084, but there are flashbacks to related stories back to the eighteenth century. And memory is something that can be made cinematic. So it wouldn't surprise me if this was initially a screenplay: and if so the question is did it not get made because it was borderline incomprehensible as a film, or is that just the effect of turning it into a book? There are nice ideas here, the central idea of the Library Of Traumatic Memory, which is exactly what it says it is, and the sterile world of 2084 being caused by crises in our modern day (the Barron Trump clonings caused a wry smile). However, the central narrative is supposed to work is hidden by often gnomic writing; the blurb describes this as literary science fiction, which is always a tell for bad writing. There is a Gilliamesque sense that if the ideas are big enough, the reader doesn't need it to make sense, but sorry - I did. It might work for you if you like big concepts and working through often disjointed poetic prose, but for me it was a disappointment.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is a book that requires the reader to do some work. It's deliberately obscure and difficult to understand what's happening, but if you're prepared to persevere, then it gradually reveals little snapshots drop by drop. The blurb made me think it was going to be a bit more action packed, so don't be misled by that. This is a mood piece, beautifully written in very short chapters that reflect the nature of memory, broken bits that don't fit together coherently, until you manage to link disparate elements and find the story underneath. That said, I'm not sure I fully understood what was going on. I kept feeling like I had a grasp on things, and then it would sort of melt away again, and I kind of thought that was meant to be the point. Which felt a bit frustrating at times, especially as the ending doesn't spell things out for you. Once I gave up trying to follow the plot, it felt like a David Lynch film, with moods and images drifting in and out of focus. If it's an easy read you're after, then it's probably not for you, but if you want to put in the effort, you'll be rewarded with some poetic language, clever structure and some musings on the nature of memory and existence. Thanks to NetGalley and AdAstra for a pre-publication copy for an honest review.
March 29, 2026
Highbrow literary fiction with sci-fi themes and gothic vibes. If I were to describe this book, I would say it was like trying to run at full speed in a dream. It tapped into the feel of memory and the struggle of remembering over time and that tension is felt throughout. The lack of speech marks and slow pace added to this oddly passive, distant feel. It offered the beginnings of some interesting concepts. And the prose itself was rhythmic and minimalist, yet descriptive. The fact it had a classic gothic feel combined with modern ideas around AI and digital footprints was interesting and I did like how those modern and classic elements were combined on various levels.
However, it simply felt like it wanted to have a plot and characters you care about and simply never got round to committing to it, rather than deliberately being a just vibes sort of tale. The ideas warranted more exploration. If not closeness with the characters, then more reflection (especially in the past timeline). If not a satisfying plot then a lot more detail on the sci-fi elements.
If you like strange, highbrow fiction that has vibes but offers the larger share of the interpretation work to the reader, then you might like the challenge of this.
However, it simply felt like it wanted to have a plot and characters you care about and simply never got round to committing to it, rather than deliberately being a just vibes sort of tale. The ideas warranted more exploration. If not closeness with the characters, then more reflection (especially in the past timeline). If not a satisfying plot then a lot more detail on the sci-fi elements.
If you like strange, highbrow fiction that has vibes but offers the larger share of the interpretation work to the reader, then you might like the challenge of this.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is quite possibly the most difficult book review i’ve ever had to write. The concept is magnificent, and the world building, whilst tenuous at times, was interesting. I felt drawn in at times and absent at others, it was certainly a strange journey.
The narrative is split between 2 timeframes, which is not clearly marked, so initially can be confusing… and don’t get me started on the lack of punctuation for dialogue. I’m not entirely sure of the purpose for this, was it meant to blur the lines between the mind and the physical? Was the intention to use the lack of quotation to highlight the unreliability of memory? Who knows? I certainly don’t.
Part 1 for me was a slog, and just as I found my groove we moved onto Part 2, which had a change of pace and left me bereft.
This all sounds quite negative doesn’t it? The thing is I still enjoyed the read, it was interesting and I was invested in the story. I just felt like it wasn’t an easy read personally. Not something i’d explicitly recommend but I also would not warn anyone away from.
I have received this E-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The narrative is split between 2 timeframes, which is not clearly marked, so initially can be confusing… and don’t get me started on the lack of punctuation for dialogue. I’m not entirely sure of the purpose for this, was it meant to blur the lines between the mind and the physical? Was the intention to use the lack of quotation to highlight the unreliability of memory? Who knows? I certainly don’t.
Part 1 for me was a slog, and just as I found my groove we moved onto Part 2, which had a change of pace and left me bereft.
This all sounds quite negative doesn’t it? The thing is I still enjoyed the read, it was interesting and I was invested in the story. I just felt like it wasn’t an easy read personally. Not something i’d explicitly recommend but I also would not warn anyone away from.
I have received this E-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 3, 2026
The fact that this book took me 6 weeks to read says it all. It was a chore to get through and a mixture of stubbornness and business travel were the catalysts needed to grid it out.
There is definitely a good story buried amongst the confusing and staccato narrative. The execution of the plot and the development of the characters left me cold. At times it felt like the author was using the book as a platform to show off intellectual concepts that he has had, but they felt shoe-horned in rather than essential to the tale. I’m still scratching my head about some of the details - what we’re all the word that began with a silent ‘p’ all about?
For those who are struggling to keep going I will say that Part 2 has a lot more flow than Part 1. Perhaps sticking with the structure there through the whole book would have created more interest.
On the whole this is a disappointing book. The idea was good enough for me to buy it - the execution fell short.
Neil Jordan is a great storyteller - this was either too clever for me or slightly disjointed so as to fail to capture my attention.
There is definitely a good story buried amongst the confusing and staccato narrative. The execution of the plot and the development of the characters left me cold. At times it felt like the author was using the book as a platform to show off intellectual concepts that he has had, but they felt shoe-horned in rather than essential to the tale. I’m still scratching my head about some of the details - what we’re all the word that began with a silent ‘p’ all about?
For those who are struggling to keep going I will say that Part 2 has a lot more flow than Part 1. Perhaps sticking with the structure there through the whole book would have created more interest.
On the whole this is a disappointing book. The idea was good enough for me to buy it - the execution fell short.
Neil Jordan is a great storyteller - this was either too clever for me or slightly disjointed so as to fail to capture my attention.
April 22, 2026
I was so very excited to read this book and beyond myself when I got accepted to read the arc as I found out the author was the visionary director of Interview with the Vampire.
I started this book and was immediately confused. This happens in many books of course as you are coming into the story so I tried to push through it. I felt the story was all over the place and very hard to follow plus that the conversation's did not have quotation marks to distinguish from thought or description which made this extremely tough to read.
After 10% I put this book away because it felt more like a punishment to read than that I enjoyed it. I did not pick it up again or even thought about if for many weeks after and then decided to dnf this book as I did not want to continue with the rest. Very disappointed that it didn't turn out to be my cup of tea. Thank you to Neil and Netgalley for the e-ARC. My opinions are my own.
I started this book and was immediately confused. This happens in many books of course as you are coming into the story so I tried to push through it. I felt the story was all over the place and very hard to follow plus that the conversation's did not have quotation marks to distinguish from thought or description which made this extremely tough to read.
After 10% I put this book away because it felt more like a punishment to read than that I enjoyed it. I did not pick it up again or even thought about if for many weeks after and then decided to dnf this book as I did not want to continue with the rest. Very disappointed that it didn't turn out to be my cup of tea. Thank you to Neil and Netgalley for the e-ARC. My opinions are my own.
May 21, 2026
I haven't read anything by Neil Jordan before, I've only seen his cinematic work so when I picked this up recently I was intrigued. It's a strange book, a mix of science fiction, time travel (sort of) and a love story where the one of the main characters recreates his dead girlfriend and speaks to her through an earbud. The science is ok, glossed over a lot, no bad thing really. The writing is confusing in parts, mainly because it's hard to keep track of who's speaking (no speech quotation marks). But some of the imagery is beautiful, descriptions of south-west Ireland would work as a Bórd Fáilte ad! It didn't quite work for me, just didn't catch my interest - maybe it was trying to be too clever? Glad I read it, though hard to recommend it.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Told between two time periods, The Library of Traumatic Memory by Neil Jordan contains incredible and intriguing ideas, but I’m not sure the execution fully supported them.
The writing was lovely, with Jordan’s gorgeous turn of phrase and the ability to weave impressive visuals throughout the narrative, however, the lack of quotation marks when characters were speaking, as well as the jumps between time periods without clear markers, was deeply frustrating and hobbled me somewhat as a reader.
I did like the book for the most part, but I think fans of high-concept sci-fi will get more out of it than I did.
With thanks to Head of Zeus for the ARC.
The writing was lovely, with Jordan’s gorgeous turn of phrase and the ability to weave impressive visuals throughout the narrative, however, the lack of quotation marks when characters were speaking, as well as the jumps between time periods without clear markers, was deeply frustrating and hobbled me somewhat as a reader.
I did like the book for the most part, but I think fans of high-concept sci-fi will get more out of it than I did.
With thanks to Head of Zeus for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I'm not sure how to write about this book... For some time we have two story lines nicely connected by men from the same family but living in different times, one in 19th century and the other in second half of 21st century. Book is packed with emotions, but reading it wasn't easy one, I felt like characters living in some sort of matrix, all around them feeling unreal, world, their lives, their memories... Kinda strange even for them. I can't say book is bad, because it isn't. It is sort of scary, unsettling.
May 21, 2026
This book reaffirmed that men shouldn't be allowed to write about women, actually.
What is a sad breast? Why is a t shirt not containing breasts? Has Neil ever seen a t shirt before?? He apparently has only seen sad breasts. Why is Isolde naked for a whole chapter? Never does a single male character have his dick described at all! Misogyny is alive and well, it seems.
In a sentence? Self indulgent, thinks it's clever, never really goes anywhere rambly prose with no speech marks.
You're not Cormac McCarthy, you aren't too good for speech marks.
Won't be keeping this one.
What is a sad breast? Why is a t shirt not containing breasts? Has Neil ever seen a t shirt before?? He apparently has only seen sad breasts. Why is Isolde naked for a whole chapter? Never does a single male character have his dick described at all! Misogyny is alive and well, it seems.
In a sentence? Self indulgent, thinks it's clever, never really goes anywhere rambly prose with no speech marks.
You're not Cormac McCarthy, you aren't too good for speech marks.
Won't be keeping this one.
February 14, 2026
I want to thank NetGalley for gifting me a copy of this.
After reading this book I wish they denied my request. Cause my curious ass is not to be trusted.
I gave this book 1.5 stars. I don’t hate this book because I don’t understand this book to really hate it. I hate one thing and that is the writing style. Who thinks by themself to write dialogue without quotation marks??!! I hope this book still has to be edited so that can be fixed.
The fist 200 pages of this book I had no idea what was going on and what the plot was. I had no idea where it was going and understood only half of what was said and done.
The last 150 pages were a bit better. I understood a bit of what was going on but it was still not enjoyable.
My conclusion is do not read this book. There is to much stuff to unpack in this book for the only 336 pages that this book is.
I did like the subtle hate thrown a trump though. That was peak.
After reading this book I wish they denied my request. Cause my curious ass is not to be trusted.
I gave this book 1.5 stars. I don’t hate this book because I don’t understand this book to really hate it. I hate one thing and that is the writing style. Who thinks by themself to write dialogue without quotation marks??!! I hope this book still has to be edited so that can be fixed.
The fist 200 pages of this book I had no idea what was going on and what the plot was. I had no idea where it was going and understood only half of what was said and done.
The last 150 pages were a bit better. I understood a bit of what was going on but it was still not enjoyable.
My conclusion is do not read this book. There is to much stuff to unpack in this book for the only 336 pages that this book is.
I did like the subtle hate thrown a trump though. That was peak.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I really wanted to like this book and I was intrigued by the storyline. I read about a fifth of the book and then I just haven’t gone back. I liked the ideas about memory and bringing back the dead using AI etc. It’s all fascinating but the two timeline setup and the slow pace of the story with no real plot made me disinclined to go back to it. Maybe I’m just not in the mindset for this sort of book at the moment.
May 5, 2026
Intensely self satisfied novel, by a man who heard that Joyce didn't use punctuation, and thought he'd have a go at the same.
....or Joyce used the affection to call back to oral epics, and this guy also thought it'd be clever to invoke a load of Greco-Roman lark.
Either way, hack move and tedious book.
Spoilers for tedium and pretention.
....or Joyce used the affection to call back to oral epics, and this guy also thought it'd be clever to invoke a load of Greco-Roman lark.
Either way, hack move and tedious book.
Spoilers for tedium and pretention.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2026
Poorly edited, good bones.
The ideas here are genuinely strong, but the execution lets them down. The prose needed a much closer edit — not just punctuation and full stops, but sentence structure and flow throughout. It reads like a draft rather than a finished book.
A shame, because a solid editing pass could have made this genuinely good.
The ideas here are genuinely strong, but the execution lets them down. The prose needed a much closer edit — not just punctuation and full stops, but sentence structure and flow throughout. It reads like a draft rather than a finished book.
A shame, because a solid editing pass could have made this genuinely good.
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