Memory

by Bennett Davlin

If your memories aren't your own, then whose are they? One man is about to find out, as he accidentally ingests a mysterious drug that throws him into a hallucination so vivid that is seems real.

Because it is...

Now Dr. Taylor Briggs will embark on a journey to unlock the mysteries of his own mind - and to find the killer of the innocent victims whose last moments are being played out in his head - in a stunning psychological thriller that explores memory, its crucial role in our consciousness, and its power to deceive...

Genres: Mystery, Thriller

248 pages, Trade Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Rowan MacBean · Rating 2 out of 5]

After the first twenty pages of this book, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to finish it. I already had three major complaints. First, there were typos. Second, there were other major editing errors, like when a patient was admitted to a hospital with his eyes gouged out and then a paragraph later the doctor was making note of the patient's "blond hair and green eyes." And third, there were exclamation points. Lots of them. And I don't mean in speech or thought. The author used them in narration. "Thunder rumbled high above as he sprang to his feet!" Thank you, sir. Without your enthusiastic punctuation, I might have missed the fact that this was meant to be a tense/exciting moment.

These problems didn't go away. The writing was mediocre at best and juvenile at worst. The whole book was riddled with exclamation points and incomplete sentences. Whoever edited it should be at least fired and possibly shot. Off the top of my head, some of the errors that jarred me out of my reading:

- "previous" instead of "precious"
- "site" instead of "sight"
- "teamed" instead of "teemed"
- "chord" instead of "cord"
- a character named Ella suddenly being called Etta
- incorrect pronouns

So while poor writing and absolutely horrendous editing kept shaking me out of my cozy little reading bubble, the story itself and one character in particular (Steph) kept me struggling through. I'm almost tempted to watch the movie but the author wrote the screenplay and directed it, so I doubt it's any better than the book...

[Tressa Mounsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t put it down

This is the page-turner I’ve been looking for. Finally a book I couldn’t put down. It’s been awhile since I have become so engrossed in a book. Highly recommend.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oy vey, where to start. This book had so many problems, the most glaring was the worst editing I've ever seen. Using the word previous instead of precious, mentioned a patients empty eye sockets (where his eyes have been gorged out) and then 2 paragraphs later talking about the same patients blond hair and green eyes. There were others but those 2 were in the first 7 pages. I almost gave up then. What kept me going was the story. It was actually fairly interesting but with a very poor execution. Ignoring the bad editing and proofreading (which was a struggle), the story was choppy. One minute the main characters walk out to the back yard to get some fresh air. They have a 2 second conversation and suddenly are pacing the library floor. It didn't feel like an adequate amount of time had passed between different settings or ideas. It felt like they could have skipped the breath of fresh air altogether, it added nothing to the story. There were also weird product mentions throughout the book - Yahoo! (always spelled with the exclamation point), Google, Lucky Charms, Marvin the Martin... things that didn't contribute to the story and felt like product placement. Finally, my last issue with this book is there were so many aspects of the story that just didn't make sense or further the storyline. At first these random tidbits seemed like they must be a clue to solving the mystery but nope, they were just random tidbits that left me confused. By the time the ending came around, I just didn't care anymore.

[Shanna’s Shelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

So yes there are some editing type errors and such in this book, but it is still a five star read for me. The story is amazing. I had read it when it came out years ago and now after a reread I remember why I loved it so much. I definitely recommend reading this, and don’t just DNF it at the beginning. Because once the story gets going, you can’t stop… I also remember watching the movie and enjoying that as well. Time for a rewatch if that too! I’m using this book for our next book club.

[Lena Frey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved it. I read it in one day because I just could not put it down. 6 hours of my life (give or take) and I just couldn't believe all the twists and turns.

If you are a fan of psychological thrillers, this book is for you!

[Фъстъчко · Rating 5 out of 5]

Корица убийствено привлекателна!
Книгата е с провокативен замисъл.Сюжета е интересен,леко приключенски и в същото време те впуска в преплитане на емоции,защото съзнателно или не стане ли въпрос за сънища изпадаме в размисъл дали е било истинско всичко онова,което разсъдъка ни е проявил някъде в пространството.
Дежавю на ума!
И още нещо!
В йерархията на видовете човека е над животните,но задавали ли сте си въпроса,ако Ви се поднесе чаша водата от,която Ви подканят да пиете,а в нея има отрова,която няма цвят / мирис / вкус дали бихте отказали да я опитате? Може би не,защото дори няма да предположите с какво са Ви почерпили.Но тук идва въпроса от къде животните винаги знаят от коя вода да не пият? Съзнателно ли е?Съзнанието може ли да Ви говори и чувате ли го? А животните какво чуват? И кой или какво им говори?
Книгата е яка! Хареса ми ... И в случай,че питате не съм гледала филма!

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a strange one.

[Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5. Story was good but all comments about editing issues are totally spot on. Frequent disconnects and contradicting info

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this having seen the movie a couple of years ago, and I have to say that the movie really doesn't do this book justice. I remember liking the movie, though it lingered in B-movie territory, and felt that it could have benefited from a bit more explanation here and there. That's where this book comes in :)

The plight of the poor abducted girls is much more horrifying in this novel, and the experiences with the powder much more vivid - you actually get inside the killer's mind, instead of just watching them from afar. I also really liked the random addition of the story about the angel Kafziel or whatever, things like that make the killer seem more twisted.

I dont really know what to say about this, apart from the fact that I really liked it. The only negative thing I have to say about it is really an issue of formatting and editing - the edition I read had a couple of spelling and grammatical errors, and occasionally the use of capslock was a bit off. Hopefully they've fixed the errors in more recent versions.

[Leola · Rating 4 out of 5]

For this to be a book I just picked up because it was $4 turned out to be a great $4!! I really enjoyed it...it did get a little nutty (?) at times and you had to be on your toes in a since to pick up some clues because you could just tell something was going to come up about certain people that kept being mentioned.

I'm not writing this review after immediately reading it so somethings I may want to point out I have forgotten a bit at the moment to recall them, but I think this was a very enjoyable book if you like the out there kind of thing and can enjoy it for what it is.

[Zhana · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book follows the story of Taylor Briggs and his experience with a "drug" which causes him to "see the memories" of a killer.

The story line is not very sensational but it was portrayed in a very captivating way so it kept me reading. Full of twist - some of them predictable, some of them shocking. The characters were complexed and very well built.

I don't recommend this book for people who don't like to read about violence against children but if you don't have a problem with that I highly recommend you reading this book.

[Мая · Rating 4 out of 5]

Интригуваща книга, трябва да призная. В началото не ми беше особено "хващаща", но постепенно историята се развива и започва да придобива форма и загадката става все по-интересна. Третира се тематиката за паметта и спомените, дали и доколко те са генетично заложени в нас, като биологични същества. Определено дълбока тема, по която не е размишлявано в нужната дълбочина, нито пък има някакви научно обосновани факти, върху които да се разположи историята, но пък идеята е сама по себе си интересна и замисляща.

Бърз трилър, с обрати и напрягащи обстановката разкрития. Приятна книжка ! :)

[Akeiisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this novel did include some interesting ideas about memory, genetic inheritance, and the possibility of passing memories from one generation to the next, it ultimately reads like just another thriller. The ending and finale are predictable and fall fairly flat after the vivid memories that are glimpsed along the way.

[Ariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went looking for a crazy book, and I found it. I could hardly put this book down. In fact, I really didn't want to. I didn't auctually know there was a movie until half-way through reading the book. And the ending was a huge shocker. I thought for sure I'd figured it out, and I was wrong!

[Courtney]

A little slow in the beginning, but I like it so far!

[Curly Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book, great insite on mind and dreams.

[Jen Egan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Movie was better.

[Bethany]

Terrible.

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little hard to follow so I ordered the movie as a supplement...I like the movie ending better!