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cyndin 's review for:
The Sudden Appearance of Hope
by Claire North
Imagine having the inability to store short-term memory (think Memento). You can carry on a conversation with someone new (or have you met?) but a minute or two after you turn away, all memory of the person is gone. Not just that you can't remember what she looked like, but you don't remember her existence, that you even had a dinner companion or overnight tryst. In this novel, everyone has this inability, but only with one person. That person is Hope, who acquired this "power" in high school. Her parents slowly forgot her, restaurants forget her orders, and cops tracking her thievery let her slip through their fingertips.
It's a fascinating premise, though not explored to its full potential. The author made some odd decisions about how the power works, and when it doesn't. There are scenes that don't make sense because they seem to violate the rules. But overall, the idea is worth reading about.
Then there is the other plot, the corporation that might destroy the world due to greed. Cause we never see that in books, right. That part's okay but also a bit short-changed. It might work as a serial, where the petty crime stuff is part of each episode and the big looming villain slowly works its way through the storyline. In fact, it might work nicely in an almost cartoonish format, like Agents of Shield.
Add to that some editing issues (several multiple page conversations that go nowhere) and sections that I had to make myself continue to read, and you get the 3 star rating. Overall though it's enough to make me glad I finished it and it might have potential in another format.
It's a fascinating premise, though not explored to its full potential. The author made some odd decisions about how the power works, and when it doesn't. There are scenes that don't make sense because they seem to violate the rules. But overall, the idea is worth reading about.
Then there is the other plot, the corporation that might destroy the world due to greed. Cause we never see that in books, right. That part's okay but also a bit short-changed. It might work as a serial, where the petty crime stuff is part of each episode and the big looming villain slowly works its way through the storyline. In fact, it might work nicely in an almost cartoonish format, like Agents of Shield.
Add to that some editing issues (several multiple page conversations that go nowhere) and sections that I had to make myself continue to read, and you get the 3 star rating. Overall though it's enough to make me glad I finished it and it might have potential in another format.