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willrefuge's review against another edition
4.0
4.3 / 5 ✪
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2021/11/29/memoria-by-kristyn-merbeth-review/
While I usually try to avoid language in my reviews, look out for that here. But if excessive language is a deal-breaker for you, you probably shouldn’t read Memoria anyway;)
After the Kaiser family helped avoid a catastrophic multi-world war that their mother helped orchestrate in the first place, they crash land on Nibiru where they are welcomed as heroes, and granted asylum. With no ship, and no way off-world, the Kaisers decide to stay, at least for a little while. Nibiru—a water planet composed of a few small archipelagos—represents an opportunity, though no two siblings seem to agree on just what that opportunity is.
Scorpia will do anything to fly again. A former criminal that just can’t bring herself to go straight, she longs for space even more than for Shey, the long-haired political exile she fell for years prior. But while neither of these seems that likely at first, it seems both may be in the cards, should she play them right.
Corvus cares little for his sister’s plans. Working as a fisherman, he attempts to leave his violent past behind all the while haunted by the nightmares from his time on Titan. The quiet, lonely days on the ocean help drown out the voices, but he remains skeptical that they will ever really fade.
When fate conspires to fling them back into space—on a mission from the Nibiru Council to explore some anomalies on the recently evacuated Gaia—the family’s opinions are divided. But when they stumble upon the truth of the destruction of Titan and Gaia, one question eclipses all others. Do they trust Nibiru’s Council with this information, or is it just something that they take to their graves?
The entire system of Nova Vita hinges on their decision.
The dueling 1st person POVs from Fortuna return in Book #2, with alternating chapters from Scorpia and Corvus. While it’s something that worked after a fashion in Book #1, Kristyn Merbeth admitted that it was something she did on the advice of her editor after the story was completed. Here in Memoria it fits together and flows much better, though if it’s the kinda thing that bothers you you still might notice some issues with it. But while I had issues differentiating the two POVs in the first installment, the siblings’ personalities and approaches are so much different in this sequel that it’s hard to confuse them; Scorpia remains hot-headed and impulsive, while Corvus is much more thoughtful and stoic.
The love-triangle isn’t very believable, particularly after the way things pan out in the first book, you can start to see something similar coming in the second. Still, it creates a believable tension that actually affects the plot in interesting ways, even after the romance is resolved.
I say “romance”, but Memoria isn’t anything approaching a romantic book. Yeah, there is some romance in it, even hints at something more in future installments, but it always plays second fiddle to the story itself. Speaking of the relationships between characters, it’s very interesting how they play out and alter the way the story wends. The love-triangle—again, if you’d call it that—has very obvious connotations for the later stages of the book, even the future of the series itself. But it’s more the subtle, non-romantic relationships that dominate the text. The familial bond between the Kaisers is one of the selling points in Fortuna, and continues throughout its sequel, with very realistic bonds being tested, explored, and strained. The Kaisers are far from the perfect family; they fight a lot—often physically, sometimes violently—but always move past it when one of their own is threatened. They have drastically different notions of what is best for the family, something that they usually don’t discuss but often work towards independently, often in direct opposition to their siblings desires. It was very interesting to see how each member is still dealing with their mother’s betrayal, and how it affects their interfamilial relationships here in Memoria.
While I was admittedly on the fence about the plot of Memoria, I have to admit it works quite well, despite a few stumbles approaching the end. There are some obvious holes in the plot—mostly after the 3/4 mark—story devices that were a bit glaring to my eye, but none of them are particularly relevant in the end. But while it took me a little to get into the story, I got quite invested before the halfway mark, to the point that these devices (an alarm that should’ve been triggered much earlier coming late and at a very opportune time, reasoning that really didn’t hold up to any kind of scrutiny) really didn’t bother me too much. At the end of it all, I was enjoying the tale too much to care.
“These political fuckers are up to some political fuckery.”
There’s definitely some “political fuckery” in Memoria. I don’t really remember this coming up at all in Fortuna. While the Book #1’s style was a lot more in-your-face, Memoria seems to have gone for a more subtle approach; more politicking, dropped hints and clues that I caught only when reading them for the second time. It’s an interesting transition that actually works quite well since the overall content doesn’t change that much, just how it’s relayed does. There’s still a heavy does of action, tension and a thorough focus on character interaction, especially the familial bonds.
TL;DR
An overall improvement on its predecessor, Memoria is a very different adventure from the science fiction thriller that came before, instead focusing on character interactions, familial relationships, and political fuckery. While there’s still more than enough action and excitement and thrill to go around, it sets a much more subtle, tense tone than Fortuna. Possessed of a much slower build than the original, Memoria took some getting used to, took me longer to buy in to the story. But once I did, wow was it good! The plot and setting and interactions sucked me in so much that not even the few missteps towards the end could slow it. I’d definitely recommend this one, and look forward to the conclusion of the Nova Vita Protocol—Discordia.
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2021/11/29/memoria-by-kristyn-merbeth-review/
While I usually try to avoid language in my reviews, look out for that here. But if excessive language is a deal-breaker for you, you probably shouldn’t read Memoria anyway;)
After the Kaiser family helped avoid a catastrophic multi-world war that their mother helped orchestrate in the first place, they crash land on Nibiru where they are welcomed as heroes, and granted asylum. With no ship, and no way off-world, the Kaisers decide to stay, at least for a little while. Nibiru—a water planet composed of a few small archipelagos—represents an opportunity, though no two siblings seem to agree on just what that opportunity is.
Scorpia will do anything to fly again. A former criminal that just can’t bring herself to go straight, she longs for space even more than for Shey, the long-haired political exile she fell for years prior. But while neither of these seems that likely at first, it seems both may be in the cards, should she play them right.
Corvus cares little for his sister’s plans. Working as a fisherman, he attempts to leave his violent past behind all the while haunted by the nightmares from his time on Titan. The quiet, lonely days on the ocean help drown out the voices, but he remains skeptical that they will ever really fade.
When fate conspires to fling them back into space—on a mission from the Nibiru Council to explore some anomalies on the recently evacuated Gaia—the family’s opinions are divided. But when they stumble upon the truth of the destruction of Titan and Gaia, one question eclipses all others. Do they trust Nibiru’s Council with this information, or is it just something that they take to their graves?
The entire system of Nova Vita hinges on their decision.
The dueling 1st person POVs from Fortuna return in Book #2, with alternating chapters from Scorpia and Corvus. While it’s something that worked after a fashion in Book #1, Kristyn Merbeth admitted that it was something she did on the advice of her editor after the story was completed. Here in Memoria it fits together and flows much better, though if it’s the kinda thing that bothers you you still might notice some issues with it. But while I had issues differentiating the two POVs in the first installment, the siblings’ personalities and approaches are so much different in this sequel that it’s hard to confuse them; Scorpia remains hot-headed and impulsive, while Corvus is much more thoughtful and stoic.
The love-triangle isn’t very believable, particularly after the way things pan out in the first book, you can start to see something similar coming in the second. Still, it creates a believable tension that actually affects the plot in interesting ways, even after the romance is resolved.
I say “romance”, but Memoria isn’t anything approaching a romantic book. Yeah, there is some romance in it, even hints at something more in future installments, but it always plays second fiddle to the story itself. Speaking of the relationships between characters, it’s very interesting how they play out and alter the way the story wends. The love-triangle—again, if you’d call it that—has very obvious connotations for the later stages of the book, even the future of the series itself. But it’s more the subtle, non-romantic relationships that dominate the text. The familial bond between the Kaisers is one of the selling points in Fortuna, and continues throughout its sequel, with very realistic bonds being tested, explored, and strained. The Kaisers are far from the perfect family; they fight a lot—often physically, sometimes violently—but always move past it when one of their own is threatened. They have drastically different notions of what is best for the family, something that they usually don’t discuss but often work towards independently, often in direct opposition to their siblings desires. It was very interesting to see how each member is still dealing with their mother’s betrayal, and how it affects their interfamilial relationships here in Memoria.
While I was admittedly on the fence about the plot of Memoria, I have to admit it works quite well, despite a few stumbles approaching the end. There are some obvious holes in the plot—mostly after the 3/4 mark—story devices that were a bit glaring to my eye, but none of them are particularly relevant in the end. But while it took me a little to get into the story, I got quite invested before the halfway mark, to the point that these devices (an alarm that should’ve been triggered much earlier coming late and at a very opportune time, reasoning that really didn’t hold up to any kind of scrutiny) really didn’t bother me too much. At the end of it all, I was enjoying the tale too much to care.
“These political fuckers are up to some political fuckery.”
There’s definitely some “political fuckery” in Memoria. I don’t really remember this coming up at all in Fortuna. While the Book #1’s style was a lot more in-your-face, Memoria seems to have gone for a more subtle approach; more politicking, dropped hints and clues that I caught only when reading them for the second time. It’s an interesting transition that actually works quite well since the overall content doesn’t change that much, just how it’s relayed does. There’s still a heavy does of action, tension and a thorough focus on character interaction, especially the familial bonds.
TL;DR
An overall improvement on its predecessor, Memoria is a very different adventure from the science fiction thriller that came before, instead focusing on character interactions, familial relationships, and political fuckery. While there’s still more than enough action and excitement and thrill to go around, it sets a much more subtle, tense tone than Fortuna. Possessed of a much slower build than the original, Memoria took some getting used to, took me longer to buy in to the story. But once I did, wow was it good! The plot and setting and interactions sucked me in so much that not even the few missteps towards the end could slow it. I’d definitely recommend this one, and look forward to the conclusion of the Nova Vita Protocol—Discordia.
bethtabler's review against another edition
4.0
Memoria, Kristyn Merbeth's second book of the Nova Protocol series, is another fun dive into the world of the dysfunctional Corvis family. In the first novel, Fortuna, Kristyn Merbeth introduced us to the Corvis family led by the reincarnation of Momma Fratelli from Goonies as the Momma. Momma reigned over here brood of thieves, swindlers, and smugglers with an iron fist. She was sparing of praise and love, no more so than with Scorpia Kaiser. In the first novel, Scorpia is the pilot of the family ship, Fortuna. She suffers from Middle child syndrome, where she feels not as good as her older and disappeared brother Corvus, nor does she get a pass on her actions like her younger siblings do. She spends a good part of the first novel drinking her problems away.
Corvus, on the other hand, was newly returned from the war in the first book. He left, against Momma's wishes, breaking cardinal family rules by disobeying her. The dynamics between the Kaiser family's siblings told through Scorpia and Corvus's eyes is spectacularly chaotic but changes as they grow, learn, and come into their own. Memoria, the second book of the Nova Vita Protocol series, is releasing this month. It is a continuation of the drama from the first book, again told through Scorpia and Corvus's eyes.
In the first novel, Fortuna came off as a character study of sibling dynamics and how people fold or grow under pressure. Memoria is a continuation of these developing characters coming into themselves set against the backdrop of war and vengeance, much out of their control, but they get swept up in it.
When I reviewed the first story, the main issue I had was that I did not empathize or care about the two dueling narratives. The worldbuilding was interesting and well done, the action was fast-paced, but when it came to reading about Corvus and Scropia, it held me back from falling into the story. In the first book, Scorpia was a mouthy caricature. She almost got her entire family killed twice, and none of it felt balanced by the other family members. I wanted to like her, and I wanted to cheer for her. But most of all, I wanted to slap some sense into her.
We have come a long way in Memoria.
Memoria's Scorpia and Corvus had many of the same issues that plagued them in the first series. Scorpia is a mouthy alcoholic that makes stupid impetuous choices. But this time around, the gravitas of their situation as a family and how her choices directly affect her family is changing. She is becoming a wiser leader and the Captain she has always wanted to be. Scorpia is someone I can see and understand more, and throughout the book, she comes more and more into her own. I loved that, I wanted and needed a wiser Scorpia.
Much the same can be said about Corvus. Corvus had his own set of issues to deal with in Memoria. I think much of that is Corvus is learning to stand on his own. He knows what is right, even if he has to stand against those he revered and loved. It is a great thing to see, as I have liked Corvus from the start of the series, but I like him even more now.
The plot and pacing were excellent in Memoria. The action has lulls, but those pauses give the story a more realistic feel. The action scenes are well crafted; you can tell that Merbeth appreciates tight and well-done action. One of the most exciting is a prison break out scene near the beginning of the story that is breathless with excitement.
Many of the problems I had with the first book have disappeared. The idea of the dysfunctional band of smugglers is still there. A very Firefly vibe, but Merbeth is coming into her own with these characters. It felt like a fuller and rounder story. The siblings outside of Corvus and Scorpia are not flat anymore, they have more definition, and the dynamic of how they fit into this band of misfits is more apparent.
I mentioned that I did not think I would be continuing with the series in my original review for Fortuna, but I am so glad I did continue. Memoria was a treat. A solid space fantasy with fun characters and a great plot. I think that if you hadn't read Fortuna, you could start with Memoria if you wanted to. You will miss some of the subtleties and character growth, though. So if you are interested in the Nova Vita Protocol, start with Fortuna, get introduced to Corvus and Scorpia. It will take you into Memoria, where you will have a solid foundation, and you can start loving these characters and this crazy dysfunctional family.
Corvus, on the other hand, was newly returned from the war in the first book. He left, against Momma's wishes, breaking cardinal family rules by disobeying her. The dynamics between the Kaiser family's siblings told through Scorpia and Corvus's eyes is spectacularly chaotic but changes as they grow, learn, and come into their own. Memoria, the second book of the Nova Vita Protocol series, is releasing this month. It is a continuation of the drama from the first book, again told through Scorpia and Corvus's eyes.
In the first novel, Fortuna came off as a character study of sibling dynamics and how people fold or grow under pressure. Memoria is a continuation of these developing characters coming into themselves set against the backdrop of war and vengeance, much out of their control, but they get swept up in it.
When I reviewed the first story, the main issue I had was that I did not empathize or care about the two dueling narratives. The worldbuilding was interesting and well done, the action was fast-paced, but when it came to reading about Corvus and Scropia, it held me back from falling into the story. In the first book, Scorpia was a mouthy caricature. She almost got her entire family killed twice, and none of it felt balanced by the other family members. I wanted to like her, and I wanted to cheer for her. But most of all, I wanted to slap some sense into her.
We have come a long way in Memoria.
Memoria's Scorpia and Corvus had many of the same issues that plagued them in the first series. Scorpia is a mouthy alcoholic that makes stupid impetuous choices. But this time around, the gravitas of their situation as a family and how her choices directly affect her family is changing. She is becoming a wiser leader and the Captain she has always wanted to be. Scorpia is someone I can see and understand more, and throughout the book, she comes more and more into her own. I loved that, I wanted and needed a wiser Scorpia.
Much the same can be said about Corvus. Corvus had his own set of issues to deal with in Memoria. I think much of that is Corvus is learning to stand on his own. He knows what is right, even if he has to stand against those he revered and loved. It is a great thing to see, as I have liked Corvus from the start of the series, but I like him even more now.
The plot and pacing were excellent in Memoria. The action has lulls, but those pauses give the story a more realistic feel. The action scenes are well crafted; you can tell that Merbeth appreciates tight and well-done action. One of the most exciting is a prison break out scene near the beginning of the story that is breathless with excitement.
Many of the problems I had with the first book have disappeared. The idea of the dysfunctional band of smugglers is still there. A very Firefly vibe, but Merbeth is coming into her own with these characters. It felt like a fuller and rounder story. The siblings outside of Corvus and Scorpia are not flat anymore, they have more definition, and the dynamic of how they fit into this band of misfits is more apparent.
I mentioned that I did not think I would be continuing with the series in my original review for Fortuna, but I am so glad I did continue. Memoria was a treat. A solid space fantasy with fun characters and a great plot. I think that if you hadn't read Fortuna, you could start with Memoria if you wanted to. You will miss some of the subtleties and character growth, though. So if you are interested in the Nova Vita Protocol, start with Fortuna, get introduced to Corvus and Scorpia. It will take you into Memoria, where you will have a solid foundation, and you can start loving these characters and this crazy dysfunctional family.
skylar2's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Body horror
livia_jewel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
nicofeula's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
guerrichache's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
teaxmillions's review against another edition
2.0
Think of my review as more of a 2.5-3. But I feel that my opinons on this book are the most exemplified by the "it was ok" tag that comes up when rating books on goodreads, so 2 it is. I really liked the first book, Fortuna, because of the characters. I still think that the characters are the biggest draw for these books. It gets a little fuzzy when plot stuff doesn't make that much sense? Or trying to make me care about the Titans when they were the ones to declare war on a planet that is just harboring refugees? (*insert that Steve Rogers meme* Titan, you CHOSE to do that.) Those are the book's week points, as well as I think a change in the writing style that I didn't particularly enjoy.
I think that the first book is worth a read, this one less so. If the next book seems like more of a adventurous romp with the characters rather than a space politics book, I might continue the series, but if it seems that space politics have won, I think I'm going to have to give book 3 a pass.
I think that the first book is worth a read, this one less so. If the next book seems like more of a adventurous romp with the characters rather than a space politics book, I might continue the series, but if it seems that space politics have won, I think I'm going to have to give book 3 a pass.
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