Anamnesis

I'm afraid of saying too much about this book, because I really don't want to spoil anything. As its name suggests, we follow our main characters, Loreu and her friends, as they try to survive in a seemingly destroyed, dying world, while piecing together their memories and recollections of the past, of what had happened that brought them to the present situation.

The prose is beautiful, the characters are very relatable and the story masterfully unfurls before our eyes. I very much loved it. Highly recommended.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, which didn't have much of a description, leaving me unsure of what to expect. The story follows two tracks. At first, it picks up with a humanoid group of about 30 who are picking through the ruins of a city, their numbers thinning as they struggle to survive. They suffer from a collective amnesia, with not enough bits of memory to piece together who they are, where they come from, or what happened to them. As they tour the ruined city, fleeting memories come back to them via dreams, seeing landmarks, or interaction with others.

The other track in the story is set in a gleaming city of opulence and splendor, where a charismatic but evil lord has usurped the throne and murdered the king, while successfully pinning the guilt on the king's only child, who escapes and flees the city.

This kind of post-apocalyptic story has seen many iterations, but what sets this apart is the skillful prose and well-written characters. The writing has a beautiful, lyrical quality to it, very moving in its treatment of the characters' emotions, and the ruined landscape. It has elements that remind me of an extended fairy tale. I can't say more without giving things away. The story is not a long read- maybe 150 to 200 pages- but perfect for this story. Again, quite an enjoyable read, and I look forward to hear more from this author.

Very, very interesting. With a quest to reclaim and learn about a ruined city, this book takes you on an incredible journey and does not let you go until the end.