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raven_morgan's review
4.0
A eARC of this book was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
"The Memory of Death" is the fourth book in Australian author Trent Jamieson's Deathworks series, following on from the original urban fantasy trilogy.
Stephen de Selby is a Pomp (psychopomp), an individual who has the ability to usher a soul through into the afterlife. Originally apathetic about his job with Mortmax, the Australian company which governs pomping in Australia, the first three books saw de Selby deal with several apocalypses, betrayals, and love.
In "The Memory of Death", de Selby has to deal with perhaps the worst thing of all: himself. He sacrificed everything at the end of the last book, but now he finds himself back from death, and mightily confused.
This series is an extremely enjoyable one, with a distinctly Australian tone. Jamieson has a knack for making the magic of his altered Brisbane, at times, feel more real than the actual streets of the city. His characters all live and breathe on the page, de Selby especially, with his honest voice and self-depreciating humour.
This book, unfortunately, doesn't feel quite as fleshed out as the first three. At times, it feels too rushed - the last third, especially, feels like it should have been at least twice as long. The humour is still interlaced through moments of darkness, to the point where I actually laughed out loud at some of the clever turns of phrase. Humour is very, very difficult to write well, and Jamieson manages to make it look very easy.
I gave this book four stars instead of five only because of the rushed final third. I expect anyone who has enjoyed the first three books will find much to love about this book. And will look forward - as I am - to the next book in the series.
"The Memory of Death" is the fourth book in Australian author Trent Jamieson's Deathworks series, following on from the original urban fantasy trilogy.
Stephen de Selby is a Pomp (psychopomp), an individual who has the ability to usher a soul through into the afterlife. Originally apathetic about his job with Mortmax, the Australian company which governs pomping in Australia, the first three books saw de Selby deal with several apocalypses, betrayals, and love.
In "The Memory of Death", de Selby has to deal with perhaps the worst thing of all: himself. He sacrificed everything at the end of the last book, but now he finds himself back from death, and mightily confused.
This series is an extremely enjoyable one, with a distinctly Australian tone. Jamieson has a knack for making the magic of his altered Brisbane, at times, feel more real than the actual streets of the city. His characters all live and breathe on the page, de Selby especially, with his honest voice and self-depreciating humour.
This book, unfortunately, doesn't feel quite as fleshed out as the first three. At times, it feels too rushed - the last third, especially, feels like it should have been at least twice as long. The humour is still interlaced through moments of darkness, to the point where I actually laughed out loud at some of the clever turns of phrase. Humour is very, very difficult to write well, and Jamieson manages to make it look very easy.
I gave this book four stars instead of five only because of the rushed final third. I expect anyone who has enjoyed the first three books will find much to love about this book. And will look forward - as I am - to the next book in the series.
tommyob's review
4.0
It was good to finally read the next story (novella) in this series.
I really like the original Trilogy of books, and I found it offered a good story that was solid, kept a good pace, and made me laugh in parts, and finished off nicely.
Now this then makes me wary of the next part, because I would hate to see a story I really liked ruined for money or for the sake of it.
But if the next book (previewed at the end of this), is similar to this one, it is a promising outlook for the series. I found this was a good bridge from the end of the last to a new, if slightly skewed direction of the next book. I liked that it kept me guessing what was happening to our poor hero until right near the end.
And it has left me intrigued as to where these characters head next.
Well done Mr. Jamieson, this is great.
I really like the original Trilogy of books, and I found it offered a good story that was solid, kept a good pace, and made me laugh in parts, and finished off nicely.
Now this then makes me wary of the next part, because I would hate to see a story I really liked ruined for money or for the sake of it.
But if the next book (previewed at the end of this), is similar to this one, it is a promising outlook for the series. I found this was a good bridge from the end of the last to a new, if slightly skewed direction of the next book. I liked that it kept me guessing what was happening to our poor hero until right near the end.
And it has left me intrigued as to where these characters head next.
Well done Mr. Jamieson, this is great.
thiefofcamorr's review
Katharine is a judge for the Aurealis Awards. This entry is the personal opinion of Katharine herself, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.
To be safe, I won't be recording my thoughts (if I choose to) here until after the AA are over.
To be safe, I won't be recording my thoughts (if I choose to) here until after the AA are over.
tsana's review
5.0
The Memory of Death by Trent Jamieson is a sequel to the Death Works trilogy (beginning with Death Most Definite, published by Orbit) and — to my surprise when I opened it — it's also a novella. Furthermore, the premise is kind of a spoiler, in the sense that I think the story is more enjoyable if you don't know what to expect going in. Happily, the blurb does not give it away as I feared it might. And a final note, before I get on with the bulk of the review, this novella really should be read after the original trilogy. Although some backstory is given, I don't think it will make as much sense as a whole without the background provided in the trilogy. And, of course, it contains spoilers for the resolution of said trilogy. So does the blurb, to an extent. You've been warned.
I don't know much about the upcoming sequel — other than the title, The Carnival of Death — but The Memory of Death reads a bit like it might be a bridging novella between the trilogy and the next story. It has it's own story, of course, but it's mostly the story of How Steve Gets Out Of The Mess Of Book Three's Conclusion. It's the set-up for something more, which I look forward to reading and which I suspect won't make as much sense without the bridge that is The Memory of Death.
This novella opens with Steven waking up on a beach and thinking "what the hell?" and continues to build on that initial confusion throughout. By the end we do find out what the hell was going on and, to an extent, why. That plus some action and icky (/creepy) events along the way make up the entire novella (obviously I'm leaving out spoilers here; the spoiler bits are pretty good). As I said, although it's self contained, it definitely feels like its setting the stage for the next story.
I recommend The Memory of Death to fans of the Death Works series, but I'm not sure I'd necessarily recommend it to new readers. On the other hand, the latter part of that may change once The Carnival of Death is out, depending on how that goes. I enjoyed revisiting Steven, Lissa and Tim in the Death Works universe. It has certainly whetted my appetite for whatever comes next.
4.5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
I don't know much about the upcoming sequel — other than the title, The Carnival of Death — but The Memory of Death reads a bit like it might be a bridging novella between the trilogy and the next story. It has it's own story, of course, but it's mostly the story of How Steve Gets Out Of The Mess Of Book Three's Conclusion. It's the set-up for something more, which I look forward to reading and which I suspect won't make as much sense without the bridge that is The Memory of Death.
This novella opens with Steven waking up on a beach and thinking "what the hell?" and continues to build on that initial confusion throughout. By the end we do find out what the hell was going on and, to an extent, why. That plus some action and icky (/creepy) events along the way make up the entire novella (obviously I'm leaving out spoilers here; the spoiler bits are pretty good). As I said, although it's self contained, it definitely feels like its setting the stage for the next story.
I recommend The Memory of Death to fans of the Death Works series, but I'm not sure I'd necessarily recommend it to new readers. On the other hand, the latter part of that may change once The Carnival of Death is out, depending on how that goes. I enjoyed revisiting Steven, Lissa and Tim in the Death Works universe. It has certainly whetted my appetite for whatever comes next.
4.5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
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