Reviews

Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal

cfrerman's review

mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

sff_reads's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

sakeriver's review

There’s a lot packed into this story for how short it is. The central theme is, I think, about how technology affects the human experience, which is a big topic but this never feels didactic. The story hums along, the prose very well-crafted, with a lot of nice little touches that speak to another of its themes: authenticity. I liked it. Made me think a lot, afterwards.

routergirl's review

4.0

My biggest (only) complaint about this is that it was too short. Great story.

dors's review

adventurous mysterious reflective relaxing fast-paced

5.0

novella42's review

adventurous mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Confinement, Blood, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Vomit, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Dementia

adru's review

Alles lugesin ja ei olnud igav, aga juba läks meelest ära, mis seal tähtsat oli. Mingid hirved?

chikagi's review

adventurous mysterious reflective tense

4.0

I loved

the idea of offline deer. Implying online deer. Online signal jamming deer. Wild deer! Information about the larger world is revealed slowly and the world-building is subtle. I like that the story ended by refocusing on the reader of the story, the "client" who commissioned the letter and purchased the typewriter, who may have wanted to know about the deer; then the implication of a non-human employer (those responsible for taking the deer offline) who might want the client to know.

I didn't mind the typewriter writing style, but it really would have worked better with a typewriter font, and the "typos" didn't really add to the authenticity, they were mostly just distracting.  

ninj's review

4.0

When everyone is always connected, it can be profitable to sell a description of a memory that was never recorded. A woman interrupts a man performing a task at a deer crossing and then has to focus on staying alive, as the story explores themes of internet-connectedness, memory, motivation, reality. Peppered with typos etc as a 'true narration', that actually didn't bother me (I was worried it would), though I wasn't super fond of the over-explaining to the receiver of the document. But overall really enjoyed this.

ruminations_reverie's review

3.0

2.5 stars rounded up

I think there were some choices made in this book that didn't work for it. The way that the book is written as an unedited typewriter typed document actually does the opposite and makes it feel very much forced and diminishes the effect it was going for.

Also, the story itself had something going for a while but by the end I think it lost me. I just am not picking up on what the goal of this book is. There are some conversations around reliance on technology, our disconnection from nature, and the fallibility of the human mind, but the overall impact was lacking.

This is a new author for me so I will look for some other works.