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Memory Aether
Earth is at war, and a secret mission depends on Alexia modifying her boyfriend Michael's memory, erasing herself completely from his mind. She holds onto his memories in the hope that someday she can reinstate them. But something goes wrong and Michael is captured as a prisoner of war, held on a distant moon. Alexia must work with old friends to decode the memories she extracted. A government agent with his own agenda shows up at just the right time, equipping them with what they need. Alexia doesn't trust him, but working with him is the only way she can save Michael.
248 pages, Paperback
Published June 13, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 19, 2019
Lose (or Find?) Yourself in the Memory Aether...for longer than just one book!
I gave this 5 stars, but my caveat is that the story MUST continue in the subsequent books. There is hardly an end to the story, but rather a race to a semicolon; ...[see?]
That aside (since more books ARE coming), the concept itself is fantastic, and the world-building is executed quite well. The bio-technology is believable (indeed, almost natural to us, like scrolling through our "slow-coms" as we zone out), and well-integrated into both the story and the character's daily lives, in spite of its rather unlikely future existence. In 20 or 30 years, this may take a little away, since we will have either confirmed or disproved (probably the latter) the possibility of such memory technologies, and the operation of the human brain like a computer. Research is already diverging from that concept, Matrix and Memory-Aether worlds notwithstanding. But plausibility doesn't usually matter much to good sci-fi, and that's certainly the case here.
The biggest strength, though, isn't even the tech part of this sci-fi. The main character, Alexia, is a fascinating lead, and her habits, gifts, and aspirations are ones that most of us can relate to. She is a full and fantastic protagonist. Her arc in the story is, therefore, also quite engaging, and I look forward to seeing where it takes us. It's not as dynamic or complete an arc as, say, Ender's Game, so I hope that it materializes that way eventually. We are never estranged from her complex thoughts and feelings, and I'm predicting we'll continue to see her grow as the story progresses.
If there is something I didn't enjoy as much, it was probably the tension of the "friend or foe" character, which we hold for most of the story. I won't spoil which way he breaks, but I felt partway through that either way might end up being a disappointment, since I could predict what would happen in either case. This leaves us without a strong antagonist. If anything, Alexia's insecurities and decisions (about this character or other things) are her own antagonist, which is perhaps not quite as strong as it could be. Earth's enemies, the aliens they go to confront on their rescue mission, never really enter into the story much at all, so I hope they play a more major role in the continuation. I'd love to know more backstory with the war, also, as we explore how humans have reacted to it.
The main revelation at the end of the story give it a power that I didn't know it really had. I was waiting for such a power to come out, in a book about editable and delete-able memory, and by the end I was glad it arrived, though it opened up a huge set of possible directions without fully tying up the previous tensions. As the first in a series, it doesn't really have a denouement, instead hoping you'll come back quickly to find out where that last twist takes you. That's a fair strategy (I will almost certainly read the others when they come out), but it may be hard to judge this story on this chapter alone.
If you liked the Matrix, Blade Runner, Ender's Game, Vanilla Sky, Total Recall, and the like, but you want a realistic and fantastic female lead, by an up-and-coming female author (and avowed sci-fi and fantasy geek), get yourself into the Memory Aether!
Finally, a full disclosure: I have known the author for many years. She published this independently, and although there were a few typos or stylistic mishaps along the way (which, as an English teacher, I'm bound to notice), I'm very proud to have shared her story!
***NOTE: I also posted this review on the separate GR page for this book that is not listed as "Memory Aether Series Book 1," which is not yet cross-listed here on GR. They are the same work, not distinct ones.***
I gave this 5 stars, but my caveat is that the story MUST continue in the subsequent books. There is hardly an end to the story, but rather a race to a semicolon; ...[see?]
That aside (since more books ARE coming), the concept itself is fantastic, and the world-building is executed quite well. The bio-technology is believable (indeed, almost natural to us, like scrolling through our "slow-coms" as we zone out), and well-integrated into both the story and the character's daily lives, in spite of its rather unlikely future existence. In 20 or 30 years, this may take a little away, since we will have either confirmed or disproved (probably the latter) the possibility of such memory technologies, and the operation of the human brain like a computer. Research is already diverging from that concept, Matrix and Memory-Aether worlds notwithstanding. But plausibility doesn't usually matter much to good sci-fi, and that's certainly the case here.
The biggest strength, though, isn't even the tech part of this sci-fi. The main character, Alexia, is a fascinating lead, and her habits, gifts, and aspirations are ones that most of us can relate to. She is a full and fantastic protagonist. Her arc in the story is, therefore, also quite engaging, and I look forward to seeing where it takes us. It's not as dynamic or complete an arc as, say, Ender's Game, so I hope that it materializes that way eventually. We are never estranged from her complex thoughts and feelings, and I'm predicting we'll continue to see her grow as the story progresses.
If there is something I didn't enjoy as much, it was probably the tension of the "friend or foe" character, which we hold for most of the story. I won't spoil which way he breaks, but I felt partway through that either way might end up being a disappointment, since I could predict what would happen in either case. This leaves us without a strong antagonist. If anything, Alexia's insecurities and decisions (about this character or other things) are her own antagonist, which is perhaps not quite as strong as it could be. Earth's enemies, the aliens they go to confront on their rescue mission, never really enter into the story much at all, so I hope they play a more major role in the continuation. I'd love to know more backstory with the war, also, as we explore how humans have reacted to it.
The main revelation at the end of the story give it a power that I didn't know it really had. I was waiting for such a power to come out, in a book about editable and delete-able memory, and by the end I was glad it arrived, though it opened up a huge set of possible directions without fully tying up the previous tensions. As the first in a series, it doesn't really have a denouement, instead hoping you'll come back quickly to find out where that last twist takes you. That's a fair strategy (I will almost certainly read the others when they come out), but it may be hard to judge this story on this chapter alone.
If you liked the Matrix, Blade Runner, Ender's Game, Vanilla Sky, Total Recall, and the like, but you want a realistic and fantastic female lead, by an up-and-coming female author (and avowed sci-fi and fantasy geek), get yourself into the Memory Aether!
Finally, a full disclosure: I have known the author for many years. She published this independently, and although there were a few typos or stylistic mishaps along the way (which, as an English teacher, I'm bound to notice), I'm very proud to have shared her story!
***NOTE: I also posted this review on the separate GR page for this book that is not listed as "Memory Aether Series Book 1," which is not yet cross-listed here on GR. They are the same work, not distinct ones.***
September 19, 2019
Lose (or Find?) Yourself in the Memory Aether...for longer than just one book!
I gave this 5 stars, but my caveat is that the story MUST continue in the subsequent books. There is hardly an end to the story, but rather a race to a semicolon; ...[see?]
That aside (since more books ARE coming), the concept itself is fantastic, and the world-building is executed quite well. The bio-technology is believable (indeed, almost natural to us, like scrolling through our "slow-coms" as we zone out), and well-integrated into both the story and the character's daily lives, in spite of its rather unlikely future existence. In 20 or 30 years, this may take a little away, since we will have either confirmed or disproved (probably the latter) the possibility of such memory technologies, and the operation of the human brain like a computer. Research is already diverging from that concept, Matrix and Memory-Aether worlds notwithstanding. But plausibility doesn't usually matter much to good sci-fi, and that's certainly the case here.
The biggest strength, though, isn't even the tech part of this sci-fi. The main character, Alexia, is a fascinating lead, and her habits, gifts, and aspirations are ones that most of us can relate to. She is a full and fantastic protagonist. Her arc in the story is, therefore, also quite engaging, and I look forward to seeing where it takes us. It's not as dynamic or complete an arc as, say, Ender's Game, so I hope that it materializes that way eventually. We are never estranged from her complex thoughts and feelings, and I'm predicting we'll continue to see her grow as the story progresses.
If there is something I didn't enjoy as much, it was probably the tension of the "friend or foe" character, which we hold for most of the story. I won't spoil which way he breaks, but I felt partway through that either way might end up being a disappointment, since I could predict what would happen in either case. This leaves us without a strong antagonist. If anything, Alexia's insecurities and decisions (about this character or other things) are her own antagonist, which is perhaps not quite as strong as it could be. Earth's enemies, the aliens they go to confront on their rescue mission, never really enter into the story much at all, so I hope they play a more major role in the continuation. I'd love to know more backstory with the war, also, as we explore how humans have reacted to it.
The main revelation at the end of the story give it a power that I didn't know it really had. I was waiting for such a power to come out, in a book about editable and delete-able memory, and by the end I was glad it arrived, though it opened up a huge set of possible directions without fully tying up the previous tensions. As the first in a series, it doesn't really have a denouement, instead hoping you'll come back quickly to find out where that last twist takes you. That's a fair strategy (I will almost certainly read the others when they come out), but it may be hard to judge this story on this chapter alone.
If you liked the Matrix, Blade Runner, Ender's Game, Vanilla Sky, Total Recall, and the like, but you want a realistic and fantastic female lead, by an up-and-coming female author (and avowed sci-fi and fantasy geek), get yourself into the Memory Aether!
Finally, a full disclosure: I have known the author for many years. She published this independently, and although there were a few typos or stylistic mishaps along the way (which, as an English teacher, I'm bound to notice), I'm very proud to have shared her story!
I gave this 5 stars, but my caveat is that the story MUST continue in the subsequent books. There is hardly an end to the story, but rather a race to a semicolon; ...[see?]
That aside (since more books ARE coming), the concept itself is fantastic, and the world-building is executed quite well. The bio-technology is believable (indeed, almost natural to us, like scrolling through our "slow-coms" as we zone out), and well-integrated into both the story and the character's daily lives, in spite of its rather unlikely future existence. In 20 or 30 years, this may take a little away, since we will have either confirmed or disproved (probably the latter) the possibility of such memory technologies, and the operation of the human brain like a computer. Research is already diverging from that concept, Matrix and Memory-Aether worlds notwithstanding. But plausibility doesn't usually matter much to good sci-fi, and that's certainly the case here.
The biggest strength, though, isn't even the tech part of this sci-fi. The main character, Alexia, is a fascinating lead, and her habits, gifts, and aspirations are ones that most of us can relate to. She is a full and fantastic protagonist. Her arc in the story is, therefore, also quite engaging, and I look forward to seeing where it takes us. It's not as dynamic or complete an arc as, say, Ender's Game, so I hope that it materializes that way eventually. We are never estranged from her complex thoughts and feelings, and I'm predicting we'll continue to see her grow as the story progresses.
If there is something I didn't enjoy as much, it was probably the tension of the "friend or foe" character, which we hold for most of the story. I won't spoil which way he breaks, but I felt partway through that either way might end up being a disappointment, since I could predict what would happen in either case. This leaves us without a strong antagonist. If anything, Alexia's insecurities and decisions (about this character or other things) are her own antagonist, which is perhaps not quite as strong as it could be. Earth's enemies, the aliens they go to confront on their rescue mission, never really enter into the story much at all, so I hope they play a more major role in the continuation. I'd love to know more backstory with the war, also, as we explore how humans have reacted to it.
The main revelation at the end of the story give it a power that I didn't know it really had. I was waiting for such a power to come out, in a book about editable and delete-able memory, and by the end I was glad it arrived, though it opened up a huge set of possible directions without fully tying up the previous tensions. As the first in a series, it doesn't really have a denouement, instead hoping you'll come back quickly to find out where that last twist takes you. That's a fair strategy (I will almost certainly read the others when they come out), but it may be hard to judge this story on this chapter alone.
If you liked the Matrix, Blade Runner, Ender's Game, Vanilla Sky, Total Recall, and the like, but you want a realistic and fantastic female lead, by an up-and-coming female author (and avowed sci-fi and fantasy geek), get yourself into the Memory Aether!
Finally, a full disclosure: I have known the author for many years. She published this independently, and although there were a few typos or stylistic mishaps along the way (which, as an English teacher, I'm bound to notice), I'm very proud to have shared her story!
June 22, 2019
This book is entertaining and toys with some fun ideas like a society that has embedded hardware and treats them as our current society treats tattoos. RJ Rugroden melds some classic characters and sci-fi elements with a couple surprising story twists. All together, a good read.
Cons: The book has a tiny bit of swearing. While this doesn’t bother most people, I have a 5yr old reading over my shoulder. I don’t like explaining swear words to someone that young.
The main reason for the 3 stars is that it reads like half a book. Like seriously, it’s 243 pages and stops in the middle of the story. There is no resolution. So, while I find the story exciting and can’t wait to finish it, I detest loose ends enough to not be able to give more than 3 stars at this point. When I finish the story, I hope to give more stars.
Cons: The book has a tiny bit of swearing. While this doesn’t bother most people, I have a 5yr old reading over my shoulder. I don’t like explaining swear words to someone that young.
The main reason for the 3 stars is that it reads like half a book. Like seriously, it’s 243 pages and stops in the middle of the story. There is no resolution. So, while I find the story exciting and can’t wait to finish it, I detest loose ends enough to not be able to give more than 3 stars at this point. When I finish the story, I hope to give more stars.
June 27, 2019
This isn't my typical genre, but I was hooked from the start. Excited for the story to continue in book two.
November 10, 2019
I had never read science fiction before and I became completely engrossed in this story. So many very clever situations, I kept wondering how the author came up with the names of technology and the scenarios but perhaps if you're into Sci-Fi, it is obvious. I didn't expect the ending and can't wait to read on in her 2nd book.
October 13, 2019
Memory Aether is full of great cyberpunk tech, cool world building, a rollicking space adventure! Plus an awesome cover. :]
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews