Memories

by Mike McQuay

David Wolf is an embittered psychiatrist on the verge of an unimaginable journey. From one hundred decades in the future a woman called Silv arrives to seek David's help. One of Silv's murderous soldiers has traveled to the distant past of Napoleon's era and now has the power to manipulate the future. David and Silv must embark on an awesome quest to bring this man under control - before the very fabric of reality is torn to shreds.
Memories is a sweeping, multi-layered odyssey filled with stunning imagery, breathtaking intensity and high drama.

Genres: Science Fiction, Time Travel, Fiction

400 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Michael Dennis McQuay was an American science fiction writer. He wrote for several different series. His work in that field includes Mathew Swain, Ramon and Morgan, The Executioner, and SuperBolan. The Book of Justice series he wrote as Jack Arnett. He also wrote the second of the Isaac Asimov's Robot City novels. His non-series novel Memories was nominated for a Philip K. Dick Award for 1987.

McQuay taught creative writing at the University of Central Oklahoma for more than ten years, and died of a heart attack at the age of 45 in 1995.

Reviews

[Carlos de Arquer · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favourites Sci Fi novels. I found it absolutely mesmerizing. You completely get lost in time and in the magic of its characters and thoughts.

At first is a little bit ponderous. Many people may leave it in the first 1/4 or 1/3; but once you pass through that "barrier" and you're inside, you really can't stop reading.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really neat time travel novel, very well written. It's been a long time since I read it so I won't try to explain it. I do remember it being fascinating and a very enjoyable read. Keep an eye open for this one.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a classic in science fiction, but not a super well known book due to, as I understand it, estate issues and only one or two editions. It is, however, the number one recommended book in my entire family, because it has an impact on how you think about the power of the mind, and what it means to travel and explore your own limitations. It's the number one book I look for in used book stores, because I've given away my last copy so many times I can never remember if I have a copy for myself to re-read, and I never seem to get it back from others.

The magic of this book is not just in the time travel which is so very well done, but also in the psychological growth that all of the characters go through from the beginning of the book to the end, and how it parallels the actual story line, regardless of where the time travel is occurring depending on the individual's time lines, (because, like any good time travel, everyone's chronological time and personal time varies, so characters are meeting at different times. This is important, and plays a huge part when you go back and re-read it the second or third time, and begin to see the underlayment of the story.)

To be honest, I never actually think of this book as being science fiction, I think of it as being a book about personal growth, the difference between what our past dictates we become, (on both a personal and a world-view level,) and how much our actions actually do matter, (there's that time travel again.)

That being said, don't bother with McQuay's other books. Seriously.

[Greg Tatum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this many, many years ago, but I still think it is one of the best time travel stories I have read. It was one of the first times travel books I read and I loved the idea of traveling back in time, not in your own body, but through the lives of ancestors. That whole concept was totally new to me at the time, but I was thrilled with the idea.. The first part of the book was a little slow, but once I got into the time travels, it was fantastic! Very well written. I wish he wrote more books of this kind.

[Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's the core of a good idea and a good potboiler of a sci-fi time travel novel here, but it gets bogged down in awkward sex scenes and a shallow recreation of Napoleonic-era politics. (Didn't help that I read this directly after a Patrick O'Brian novel.) There's also at least one maddening loose end: David clearly realises his psych patient from the start of the book is a fellow time skipper, and I presumed this was where he'd eventually find Silv in the final act, but instead she just... never gets mentioned again? Where did she come from?

[Judith A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is my favorite book ever. While reading this book, I had to look up historical events that were challenging in the 90s. I can't wait for someone to pick this up for a movie~its got all the best elements on the silver screen.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cool concept, very good book.

[Eric Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing novel that ranks as one of the most enjoyable time travel novels I have ever read. The idea of traveling back through time by inhabiting the bodies of ancestors was fun.

[Itamar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not finish this book. It's a rare thing for me, but I just couldn't be bothered. Maybe it's the fact that I've been reading it in short bursts for so many months, maybe it's the wonky premise of time-travel-via-ancestral-memories or maybe it's just that I couldn't get to like any of the characters.
After about 170 pages, I felt the plot was running in circles, I didn't care what would happen next and simply decided to call it quits.

[Tina · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book did not hold my attention at all. First of all, I did not like the main character. The storyline was not compelling and did not generate any interest for me. I stopped reading it at about 1/4 of the way through.

[Abe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the time-travelling scenes but I figure out that it's hard to relate on Napoleon Bonaparte's era. The story is good, I just get bored on the halfway. But what I really love about this book is its ending. It just blew me up how the characters are related(as in super related) to each other.

[Gilles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hersh, un soldat du futur, remonte le temps grâce à une drogue et finit par se retrouver dans le corps de Napoléon Bonaparte. Silv, la chimiste qui a inventé la drogue, veut l'empêcher de modifier la trame temporelle et demande l'aide de David Wolf, un psychiatre du présent, pour l'aider. La drogue, découverte par Silv, un peu par hasard, permet à un individu de remonter sa lignée génétique et d'occuper n'importe quel corps de ses ancêtres. Mais, quand on parle de Napoléon et de son impact sur l'histoire, on se doute que les danger d'altération du temps sont grands, sans compter que Hersh est quasiment fou.

Bon, ceci étant dit, qu'est-ce que cela donne ? Déjà, en partant, une drogue qui permet de voyager dans le temps et de modifier les événements passés, cela relève plutôt de la pensée magique (wishful thinking) pour moi. Donc, j'ai eu de la misère à embarquer dans le livre, car cela me paraissait trop gros pour pouvoir être vrai. Qu'est-ce qui reste ? Une partie de l'histoire de Napoléon, un aperçu de l'humanité future, quelques analyses psychologiques, un peu d'amour et de philosophie. Donc, pour moi, le vernis de science-fiction est assez mince.

J'ai assez aimé, car le livre est assez intéressant, mais il s'agit aussi d'un livre que je vais oublier assez vite. Pas tout à fait ma tasse de thé.

[Fra Kraps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inoubliable !

Ce roman, qui aurait pu passer inaperçu tant il est désormais oublié de l’édition française - si ce n’est l’obstination du Culte d’Apophis à remettre au devant de la scène des livres d’anthologie (je me prosterne devant toi, ô pourvoyeur de belle littérature) - est un CHEF D’OEUVRE !

Passée la suspension de crédulité sur le concept de passage dans le temps, on se retrouve, et ce dès les premiers chapitres, complètement happé par ce livre qui, loin de céder à la facilité, nous fait vibrer sur plusieurs périodes de l’Histoire autour de Napoléon, mais aussi de période contemporaine et d’un futur dystopique, sans jamais nous perdre, et avec beaucoup de subtilité dans la gestion des différents personnages à la psychologie détaillée avec finesse.

L’auteur gère admirablement le rythme de son roman, insérant régulièrement des accélérations dans la narration (les révélations du futur m’ont scotché notamment), des révélations sur l’enfance de David, sans oublier une magnifique histoire d’amour intemporelle (ce qui n’est pourtant pas du tout ma came habituelle…).

En résumé, ce type est un génie, ce livre une lecture impérative !
A bon entendeur…

[Darío Anzalone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sentimientos encontrados...creo que la premisa es buena, y la trama esta bien llevada, sobre todo al final. Pero se alarga mucho y creo que daba mas para novela corta que para la extensión que tiene. Hubo momentos que se me hizo larga, sobre todo porque no acaba de decidirse entre acción, reflexión sobre la madre, el seguimiento del paciente, etc... Me parece que el final, ademas, es demasiado buen rollero, pero es cierto que tiene algun apunte interesante sobre el libre albedrio y los efectos del viaje en el tiempo. Peca, tal vez, de ciertas tendencias en el momento de su publicación, como ser algo 'eterea' sobre las consecuencias de su premisa, además de variarla levemente en el tiempo segun le interesa al autor. Por ejemplo, me parece mucho mas entretenida o consecuente las 15 Primeras Vidas De Harry August.
A pesar de todo...si que hubo momentos que disfrute. Agridulce. No la recomendaria abiertamente, pero no es un mal libro.

[Hugo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Time travel through ancestral memories sounds like a great idea, but this suffers from a wholly lamentable protagonist who is impossible to like in any way, and ponderous chapters of literally nothing happening, as characters stand around and discuss things in the Napoleonic era; halfway through, the main character has to prevent his own death, and even this is protracted, dull and anticlimactic, so I've moved on.

[Albert_Camus_lives]

David Wolf es un amargado psiquiatra que de repente se ve envuelto en un viaje inimaginable. Porque, procedente de un centenar de décadas en el futuro, una mujer llamada Silv aparece reclamando su ayuda: uno de los soldados asesinos de Silv ha viajado hasta el distante pasado, a la época de Napoleón, y ahora tiene el poder de manipular el futuro

[Angel B.A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muy entretenido, pero con grave incoherencia interna respecto al modo de "viajar" en el tiempo.

[Ariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

More around a 3.5ish. I think it could have been significantly shorter and there seemed to be a lot of plot holes. I liked the overall message

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was a great premise, but didn't run with it as much as I'd hoped they would.

[baison_nous · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of best time travel romances ever