Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
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:
No
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
First, thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for the ARC. These opinions are my own given freely.
This book is not for me. That being said, it’s a great concept and definitely has an audience - it’s much more character driven and has a writing style that’s more literary than genre fiction, which is not what I was expecting.
I absolutely love the concept and the general overarching “plot”. I connected with some of the chapters more than others, but overall, I struggled to finish. I found the writing was too slow paced and far too much struggling to tell what was dialogue and what was a thought or an internal feeling. I also didn’t feel like I connected with any of the characters because it jumped around so much and didn’t always use names.
If you like speculative fiction with a heavy emphasis on character and writing style, this is for you.
This book is not for me. That being said, it’s a great concept and definitely has an audience - it’s much more character driven and has a writing style that’s more literary than genre fiction, which is not what I was expecting.
I absolutely love the concept and the general overarching “plot”. I connected with some of the chapters more than others, but overall, I struggled to finish. I found the writing was too slow paced and far too much struggling to tell what was dialogue and what was a thought or an internal feeling. I also didn’t feel like I connected with any of the characters because it jumped around so much and didn’t always use names.
If you like speculative fiction with a heavy emphasis on character and writing style, this is for you.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑺𝑬 𝑴𝑬𝑴𝑶𝑹𝑰𝑬𝑺 𝑫𝑶 𝑵𝑶𝑻 𝑩𝑬𝑳𝑶𝑵𝑮 𝑻𝑶 𝑼𝑺 𝒃𝒚 𝒀𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑴𝒂, #gifted to me by @marinerbooks to which I just yesterday added the audio thanks to @librofm & @harpercollins audio.
I just received this interconnected short story collection and immediately dove in. This is a subgenre that I was possibly introduced to with a huge favorite of mine, 𝑯𝑶𝑾 𝑯𝑰𝑮𝑯 𝑾𝑬 𝑮𝑶 𝑰𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑫𝑨𝑹𝑲 𝒃𝒚 𝑺𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒐𝒊𝒂 𝑵𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒔𝒖, and the with 𝑵𝑶𝑹𝑻𝑯 𝑾𝑶𝑶𝑫𝑺 𝒃𝒚 𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒍 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏. This book is just as unique as these favorites and will take its place alongside them on my shelf with similar adoration.
This is a future where one power rules, Qin, a renamed China. Everyone has what is called a Mindbank, a technological repository for memories and interconnectedness. Yet not without censure or capitalism. There is an overarching point to this collection as Memory Epics being shared in an illicit manner to show how it all began, what it was like before and after "the war" in an effort to keep the truth of the past from being erased or remade.
I couldn't stop reading this book. It was gripping, prescient, moving, and inspiring. This world is terrifying in its "perfection" and the rules imposed to create it. I couldn't look away. I am also not a little horrified to see glimpses of this happening today, but just as in fiction (and history), truth will not be repressed completely.
I read much before I added the audio, but as a full cast of impressive narrators, I had to hear it from the beginning. I now want to read it again.
I do find this topic of history and memory quite fascinating in its importance and in its flaws. How we deal with stories from those before matters in how we deal with stories of those now, and there is power inherent in these stories.
Coming out on August 12th, this debut is an outstanding book of powerful dystopian stories.
I just received this interconnected short story collection and immediately dove in. This is a subgenre that I was possibly introduced to with a huge favorite of mine, 𝑯𝑶𝑾 𝑯𝑰𝑮𝑯 𝑾𝑬 𝑮𝑶 𝑰𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑫𝑨𝑹𝑲 𝒃𝒚 𝑺𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒐𝒊𝒂 𝑵𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒔𝒖, and the with 𝑵𝑶𝑹𝑻𝑯 𝑾𝑶𝑶𝑫𝑺 𝒃𝒚 𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒍 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏. This book is just as unique as these favorites and will take its place alongside them on my shelf with similar adoration.
This is a future where one power rules, Qin, a renamed China. Everyone has what is called a Mindbank, a technological repository for memories and interconnectedness. Yet not without censure or capitalism. There is an overarching point to this collection as Memory Epics being shared in an illicit manner to show how it all began, what it was like before and after "the war" in an effort to keep the truth of the past from being erased or remade.
I couldn't stop reading this book. It was gripping, prescient, moving, and inspiring. This world is terrifying in its "perfection" and the rules imposed to create it. I couldn't look away. I am also not a little horrified to see glimpses of this happening today, but just as in fiction (and history), truth will not be repressed completely.
I read much before I added the audio, but as a full cast of impressive narrators, I had to hear it from the beginning. I now want to read it again.
I do find this topic of history and memory quite fascinating in its importance and in its flaws. How we deal with stories from those before matters in how we deal with stories of those now, and there is power inherent in these stories.
Coming out on August 12th, this debut is an outstanding book of powerful dystopian stories.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A short story collection with an overarching narrative and interconnection with what felt like “easter eggs” throughout each dystopian narrative.
Spanning over different time periods in a fictitious world where China, referred to as “The Party”, wins a future war against America and becomes a global superpower.
This book invites you to reflect on multiple themes, including status, immigration, gender roles, patriarchy, government power, race, education, and generational trauma. At just over 200 pages, this dystopian science fiction story is a fun time.
One of my favourite lines from my e-ARC reads: “Instead, I force my expression into a smile befitting a pleasant, well-mannered girl. Even if all I wanted to do was scream.”
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada (Adult) and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of These Memories Do Not Belong to Us by Yiming Ma.
Spanning over different time periods in a fictitious world where China, referred to as “The Party”, wins a future war against America and becomes a global superpower.
This book invites you to reflect on multiple themes, including status, immigration, gender roles, patriarchy, government power, race, education, and generational trauma. At just over 200 pages, this dystopian science fiction story is a fun time.
One of my favourite lines from my e-ARC reads: “Instead, I force my expression into a smile befitting a pleasant, well-mannered girl. Even if all I wanted to do was scream.”
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada (Adult) and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of These Memories Do Not Belong to Us by Yiming Ma.
In a future where memories can be recorded, sold, or stolen, one man inherits his mother’s Mindbank, her entire life stored in digital form. But in a world run by an authoritarian regime, he’s not sure what’s real, what’s been edited, or what the government wants erased. Still, he’s willing to risk everything to share her truth.
This book is eerie but in a good way, like a poetic Black Mirror episode. It’s not just about tech or control; it’s about identity, legacy, and what memories actually mean when they’re no longer just yours.
Beautiful, smart, and surprisingly emotional.
This book is eerie but in a good way, like a poetic Black Mirror episode. It’s not just about tech or control; it’s about identity, legacy, and what memories actually mean when they’re no longer just yours.
Beautiful, smart, and surprisingly emotional.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Oh, this book had some incredibly timely and interesting ideas, but ultimately the execution fell flat for me.
First of all, I was so intrigued by the concept of a memory-driven society powered by neural transplants. The technology aspect is entirely relevant to our current era and applicable to so many conversations about social media, AI consciousness, and internet surveillance. I was also interested in reading a dystopian critique on the colonization of memory, and how imperial governments rewrite history by literally manipulating the memory of its citizens via education and cultural programming.
What I didn't realize is that this book would be told in a series of vignettes with no real grounding force to tie them together. The premise is interesting, a storyteller sifting through inherited memories as a way to memorialize his mother, but the narrator makes few appearances. Instead, the reader is left to drift in what feels like a neverending loop, each story introducing new characters and settings but reinforcing the same idea.
Once you understand the "trick" in the memories, it becomes a game of "Spot the Difference", which I found repetitive and unengaging. I liked the idea of a kaleidoscopic narrative and have found it to work in books that have become my favorites (think Chain-Gang All-Stars) but this instead felt like reading a collection of parables to warn us about the dangers of technology and empire.
The writing often leaned on didactism instead of narrative to its detriment. I got the feeling that the author really wanted to get his message across and really wanted you to understand what he was trying to say. Instead of creating a world the reader can inhabit and reflect upon, it reads like a series of fables lacking emotional grounding or intrigue. I likely would have felt less bored if I knew this was basically an interlinked short story collection and not a full dystopian novel.
Despite my struggles, the book has inventive ideas. Fans of mosaic novels with speculative elements that explore society might enjoy it, though I wished the narrative had provided more emotional grounding.
First of all, I was so intrigued by the concept of a memory-driven society powered by neural transplants. The technology aspect is entirely relevant to our current era and applicable to so many conversations about social media, AI consciousness, and internet surveillance. I was also interested in reading a dystopian critique on the colonization of memory, and how imperial governments rewrite history by literally manipulating the memory of its citizens via education and cultural programming.
What I didn't realize is that this book would be told in a series of vignettes with no real grounding force to tie them together. The premise is interesting, a storyteller sifting through inherited memories as a way to memorialize his mother, but the narrator makes few appearances. Instead, the reader is left to drift in what feels like a neverending loop, each story introducing new characters and settings but reinforcing the same idea.
Once you understand the "trick" in the memories, it becomes a game of "Spot the Difference", which I found repetitive and unengaging. I liked the idea of a kaleidoscopic narrative and have found it to work in books that have become my favorites (think Chain-Gang All-Stars) but this instead felt like reading a collection of parables to warn us about the dangers of technology and empire.
The writing often leaned on didactism instead of narrative to its detriment. I got the feeling that the author really wanted to get his message across and really wanted you to understand what he was trying to say. Instead of creating a world the reader can inhabit and reflect upon, it reads like a series of fables lacking emotional grounding or intrigue. I likely would have felt less bored if I knew this was basically an interlinked short story collection and not a full dystopian novel.
Despite my struggles, the book has inventive ideas. Fans of mosaic novels with speculative elements that explore society might enjoy it, though I wished the narrative had provided more emotional grounding.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Colonisation
Minor: Violence, Blood, War, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This dystopian/sci-fi fiction is a collection of stories in a reimagined world where the Qin Empire (China) is the sole global power and residents can transfer/ store memories in Mindbanks. In short, memories are the new currency.
The book is about an unnamed young man, who has just inherited some memories from his deceased mom. In an age where memories can be accessed by the govt, he is wary about his ‘inheritance’.
The memories, in form of stories, can be read in any order. They are stories of real events, struggles, love and sacrifice. Some are chronological, others standalone but each tells a tale of resilience, self discovery, strength and rebellion.
The book explores the thin line between technology and power and control. It shows how history can be manipulated and distorted and how citizens sometimes rebel against this.
The writing style is immersive. You feel for the narrator as he groans under the burden of his inheritance. The words are thought provoking and also a warning of where the world might be headed.