Architects of Memory (The Memory War, #1)

by Karen Osborne

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Architects of Memory in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Architects of Memory is the latest novel by Karen Osborne, and it is a beautiful and intense science fiction adventure.

Ash Jackson lost everything thanks to the Vai – a technologically superior alien race. Now she's trying to rebuild it all, and find her way towards citizenship. Before the sickness hidden in her blood kills her – or outs her status to those that would turn her away.

Unfortunately, that is not going to be her biggest problem for long. Ash and the crew she's working on are about to find themselves in the center of a new conflict, and it's all thanks to the latest artifact salvaged.

“It isn't a symptom. I'm still too close to my exposure date for symptoms. Nobody's going to notice. I can still finish my indenture and make it to citizenship.”

Warnings: Architects of Memory contains several painful subjects. It covers a fatal disease, loss of loved ones, memory loss, genocide, indenture, and much more.

Architects of Memory is one of those novels that is not afraid to hit you straight in the feels. It's beautifully written, emotionally intense, and full of science fiction elements that make it all feel so much larger than life.

Honestly, it's almost hard to believe that everything I just read happened in only one book. It is one whirlwind of a read, throwing Ash from one event to the next, and giving her very little time to cope or consider her options.

Throw in Ash's backstory, the corporate backstabbing happening all over, and the aliens, and it really is no surprise that this book felt so full. There was a lot of ground to cover, and very little time to do so.

I'm going to be blunt here: after I finished Architects of Memory, I ended up sitting there for ten or fifteen minutes, just thinking. Just processing my feelings, actually. This book did a wonderful job of getting under my skin, and I was sad to see it come to completion. Thank goodness it's part of a series, so I don't really have to say goodbye. Not yet, at any rate.