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nullpointerintime's review against another edition
3.0
This has some interesting ideas about memory in a world where the norm is for everything to be recorded, but it just doesn't really come together for me.
katemarieslibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
alextblue's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
veramint's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
otter_pop's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent novella. Found it entertains, gripping, and just the right level of world building. Honestly, only subtracted a star because I have so many questions and so few answers
susansomeone's review against another edition
4.0
This novella is a quick read, but still packs a story of intrigue. Set in a future so close it could be now, this story forces you to think about memories - including your own - in a critical light.
coboshimself_'s review against another edition
4.0
"That's got you wondering, I expect... Think of it as a bonus with your purchase. I've given you the gift of uncertainty."
A novella on the shorter side of the spectrum centered around our memories. Who would we become if we could accurately remember every action we've ever done? Every conversation we've ever had? Every sensation we've ever felt? And what if they took that ability away from us? What would the world around us feel like?
That is the question that Katya faces. She lives in a futuristic world where the advances in A.I. technology have made it possible to fully remember everything. So when her connection to this world wide net is severed by a mysterious man, she's without the resources she had taken for granted her whole life.
This is a story about remembrance and the fundamentals of recollection. Without her A.I., Katya isn't able to fully remember everything that happened to her. This, leaves us with an uncertainty akin to that we face whenever we try to remember something. Her memories are no different that those we experience but seeing her refer to them as vague or incomplete is a nice contrast to understand the differences between her world an ours.
Overall, I enjoyed the read but I am heartbroken because it is not expanded even more. Kowal's prose could be called simple; and yet, I can't find other word to describe it than elegant.
A novella on the shorter side of the spectrum centered around our memories. Who would we become if we could accurately remember every action we've ever done? Every conversation we've ever had? Every sensation we've ever felt? And what if they took that ability away from us? What would the world around us feel like?
That is the question that Katya faces. She lives in a futuristic world where the advances in A.I. technology have made it possible to fully remember everything. So when her connection to this world wide net is severed by a mysterious man, she's without the resources she had taken for granted her whole life.
This is a story about remembrance and the fundamentals of recollection. Without her A.I., Katya isn't able to fully remember everything that happened to her. This, leaves us with an uncertainty akin to that we face whenever we try to remember something. Her memories are no different that those we experience but seeing her refer to them as vague or incomplete is a nice contrast to understand the differences between her world an ours.
Overall, I enjoyed the read but I am heartbroken because it is not expanded even more. Kowal's prose could be called simple; and yet, I can't find other word to describe it than elegant.
powder_and_page's review against another edition
3.0
Have you ever bought a book that you thought was a full length novel, but ended up being a novella? Well, this girl officially has! I didn’t think about checking the page count, I just knew that I liked the cover and wanted to read it, so when I actually got it I was a bit surprised. It was so wee and cute and when it arrived, I could have practically used it as a slightly too large bookmark for the other books I got in the same box.
Anyways, it took a grand total of about two hours to read it. It was weird, but I liked the story and I wished it were longer so more details could have been squished in. I haven’t read much in the way of novellas, so am not really sure how to judge this numerically. Forest of Memory was unusual from the very beginning, and then it was unusual until the very end. While I liked it, I kept wanting context or to know why or what something was. Yes, I know that novellas are short and often give us the barest glimpse into a fictional world, but seriously, YOU CAN’T JUST TEASE ME LIKE THAT! I will say that I definitely want to read more of Mary Robinette Kowal’s books now, so I guess it was a success in that respect.
Anyways, it took a grand total of about two hours to read it. It was weird, but I liked the story and I wished it were longer so more details could have been squished in. I haven’t read much in the way of novellas, so am not really sure how to judge this numerically. Forest of Memory was unusual from the very beginning, and then it was unusual until the very end. While I liked it, I kept wanting context or to know why or what something was. Yes, I know that novellas are short and often give us the barest glimpse into a fictional world, but seriously, YOU CAN’T JUST TEASE ME LIKE THAT! I will say that I definitely want to read more of Mary Robinette Kowal’s books now, so I guess it was a success in that respect.
mousie_books's review against another edition
4.0
Slow start, but interesting ending.
Katya stumbles onto a man tranquilizing and injecting nanoprobes into deer. He kidnaps her, so that she will not interfere until he finishes task. While she is in his presence, her connection to the network is dampened. He mentions her client list is valuable to his boss, but does not explain how/why. He implies he has planted a tracker on her.
One day, he comes back from his hunt injured and covered in blood. He lets her go to get help, but when she returns, he is gone as are all traces of the camp and his work. On examination, the blood on Katya is deer blood, and no tracker is found in/on her.
So... now the question is... why fake all of that. Also, what was he doing with the deer? It's hinted that the deer were implanted with something that dampens connects to the net, and that like a virus, it infects the 'smart dust' which is used to track people. Katya speculates that perhaps she is similarly infected, and perhaps even targeted. Perhaps, her client, the buyer of this record (and the dusty typewriter that was in her possession when she was kidnapped) is also a target.
Spoiler
Everything is monitored and recorded. People have implants that connect them to the network 24/7 and depend on them the way we depend on cell phones now. There is a market for 'authentic' experiences and traceable provenance even though digital manipulation doesn't hurt the perceivable end product. (NFT's anyone?)Katya stumbles onto a man tranquilizing and injecting nanoprobes into deer. He kidnaps her, so that she will not interfere until he finishes task. While she is in his presence, her connection to the network is dampened. He mentions her client list is valuable to his boss, but does not explain how/why. He implies he has planted a tracker on her.
One day, he comes back from his hunt injured and covered in blood. He lets her go to get help, but when she returns, he is gone as are all traces of the camp and his work. On examination, the blood on Katya is deer blood, and no tracker is found in/on her.
So... now the question is... why fake all of that. Also, what was he doing with the deer? It's hinted that the deer were implanted with something that dampens connects to the net, and that like a virus, it infects the 'smart dust' which is used to track people. Katya speculates that perhaps she is similarly infected, and perhaps even targeted. Perhaps, her client, the buyer of this record (and the dusty typewriter that was in her possession when she was kidnapped) is also a target.