The Memory Project

Unique, refreshing, and wow.

I read this in one sitting. I thoroughly LOVED the premise and in a way it reminded me a little of 'Behind Violet Eyes' in tone and pace.
The characterisation was spot on and the prose and dialogue smooth. The scene setting was wonderful and I felt as though I was in Bangkok - very visceral. Well done!

The nuances of the novel weren't lost on me, and I loved the LGBTQA overtness.

I won't spoil the story - but the twists and turns kept me guessing. Amazing

This is a brilliantly written mystery debut story by Andrew Youngson. I absolutely loved the idea of memory erasers and weavers.

What I enjoyed most about the book is the characters and the presentation of dialogues. Such an easy flow and because the chapters are fairly short was easy to read. At times I found myself there's too much description but as I read on, I realised the necessity.

Friendship and gay relationship was explored well. If I say more I will end up giving away too much. I thought I knew the ending but I was wrong. Looking forward to reading more of this author's work.

The Memory Project is an introspective, medium-paced and deeply speculative work of art. The universe of the Weavers – who live in complete secrecy, side-by-side with regular humans – that Youngson has dreamed up is fascinating.

The book takes its time getting to its conclusion – offering us tantalizing hints and clues along the way that show us the vague shape of the mystery, but not its full extent. The book is thus able to keep surprising the reader and provide a well-rounded conclusion that is satisfying and leaves no loose ends.

I found some of the language used in the book to be rather unfamiliar, but was able to gather their meaning from context. For example, ‘throwing shapes’ and ‘creasing’ (meaning dancing and laughing respectively) which are, I’m given to understand – British slang. I also found the use of italics rather inconsistent. The entire book is in first-person perspective, and a lot of it is in flashback – but the use of italics didn’t always provide a consistent way of distinguishing between these sections.

But aside from this, the writing style perfectly suits the subject matter. Angel lives primarily inside his own mind, going on long, introspective, mental journeys and slipping seamlessly into memories of the past. The book similarly shifts between the perspectives of various characters as the magic/ superpower flows between them. And at times their thoughts are less than coherent, disjointed, even filled with memory blanks that show up as redacted text.

Portraying all of this accurately requires a fluidity and flexibility of language that Youngson has mastered. The reader does not need to guess at the exact nature of a character’s mental process because of the unorthodox writing style used to perfectly express it at any point.

It’s not just the abilities of the characters that draw you in – it’s also their rich, layered personalities, and the relationships between them. Youngson writes with great care and empathy, making the reader fully invested in the characters and their well-being. He charts the history of difficult and complicated relationships between parents and children, the constantly renewed and reaffirming trust found in undying friendship, and the tender, beautiful pangs of new love.

The Memory Project is a wonderful story focused on healing, hope and love, with an excellent plot and tangible sense of mystery. It does not hurt that the two relationships centred in the book are both same sex.

I loved this book. I did not expect to, but I did. Five stars, and will re-read 💯.

The colour descriptions in the book make it feel lively and full. I like the awkward character interactions because they feel relatable, as most of the time the characters are strong and outgoing I found this refreshing. I really enjoyed the memory flashback idea, it was definitely well-done.

4.5 ⭐️

The book description immediately caught my attention. The concept of Memory Readers, Writers, and Erasers is brilliant and intriguing. I know I have to read this book and it's a good thing I did! It was enjoyable and so compelling that you want to finish it in one sitting. The world-building and the story were well-written, I loved the detailed descriptions of the characters, the setting, and the sceneries in Thailand.

I love the gay romance and how the author has represented it like any other normal love relationship. Angel is so lucky to have Dhaval. There were moments between them that gives you butterflies in your stomach feeling. I also the strong childhood friendship foundation that the main characters have. That even though they have separate independent lives after boarding school, they have this strong bond and support for each other.

It would have been more exciting if there were more details about the two top-secret organizations involved and how the main characters will be able to help other Weavers like them.

This book is so good that I look forward to reading more of the author's future works.

If you like reading sci-fi, mystery, friendship, and romance, I would recommend this book to you.

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this debut novel.

Brilliant and mind bending story! Would recommend this mystery sci-fi thriller to friends.

Thanks to the author, Books Go Social and Netgalley for letting me read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I LOVED this book. I was gripped from the very first page - a really compelling mystery unfolds and I couldn't put it down! It deftly weaves an intricate and vibrant portrait of a world that is at once both pleasingly familiar (set across two great cities - London and Bangkok) and intriguingly different (supernatural powers, the mysterious Mnemosyne Project). All of the characters felt really well developed, and so I cared about their stories and their journey. Perhaps more than anything it was the portrayal of the relationships between the characters that I loved the most - such rich depictions of friendship and love. I do like sci fi, and this book does the sci fi and mystery parts super well, but also the book is so much more than that and so I'd recommend it to anyone who likes an intriguing and beautifully written story.

I really enjoyed this book. It was nice and light with a dash of Sci-fi. I loved bringing the city of Bangkok in to my mind to hang out for a while. The premise is fascinating. What if there were people that were brought up incorrectly by an institution as governmental mind readers and mind alterers, how would it be handled by the first round of kids brought up by it and what would the after effects be to their mishandling of them and things they don't understand. Delightful.

I even loved how the story flowed and presumed to end. Unfortunately, I felt like the end should have occurred at chapter 30. Ending at that note right when 'the look' was given would have broken my heart. Instead, we get a few chapters setting up a possible second book and ruining a perfectly good moment for tragedy.

I still really enjoyed it.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I thought that the idea behind it was very intriguing and I simply couldn’t resist it. The idea that the weavers could see people’s memories and treat them for trauma using this gift was fascinating! The main plot was well thought out and executed brilliantly and I found the characters to be intriguing. I found there to be a lot of dialogue, however I didn’t mind so much because it advanced the action and showed how the characters developed throughout the book.
I was most definitely left satisfied at the end. I enjoyed the mystery element of the book and thought the end was surprising and exciting to read. I would highly recommend this book.

Good sci-fi book, solid 4 stars, refreshing that Angel’s sexual orientation isn’t critical to the storyline, yes he goes on a date and has a love interest, but the author could have changed the pronouns and the story would be the same. Personally I like this, his story isn’t about his sexuality, that’s just a given, and Angel he a lot of bigger concerns in this world were he can read peoples memories. In fact, his abilities make dating or even interacting normally with people a challenge, even an incidental touch can trigger a painful memory “pushed” into Angel. Of course, in a world were people like Angel exist there needs to be an organization that trains and protects them, that’s where The Mnemosyne Project comes in, part educational institution part consulting firm. Every secret institution has a bit of a hazy history and Angel is on a path to uncover the history of what the institution did to him and to confront his past, his abilities, and finally recall some memories of his own.

Please note: I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley, but that never has an impact on how I review a book.

This mystery with a dash of sci-fi was unique and gripping. I loved the concept of Weavers and the "powers" associated with memories, and I thought the author really brought to life the third culture/expat life of Angel and his friends in Bangkok. I also loved that Angel's sexuality wasn't a major plot point or plot device and I really appreciated both Angel and his love interest acknowledging that they were moving really fast in their relationship.

Overall, I thought the mystery was really compelling. The author did a great job of dropping hints here and there until the reader (and Angel) is able to see the full picture. I did, however, think the ending dragged a little. The last four or so chapters open the story up to wider consequences which is interesting but I think it negates some of the gut punch of emotion that happen in chapter 30.

I think this would be great for mystery/thriller readers who want to get into sci-fi or sci-fi readers who want to get into mystery/thrillers. The SFF elements were pretty light and felt to me in the same vein as John Marrs's The One, The Minders, etc.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the e-arc of The Memory Project.

By the time that I had picked this book up I had forgotten what had drawn me to it in the first place. After the first chapter, however, I was back in and hooked on what was being written. Dougie is a Weaver, he can access a persons memories through touch and something has gone wrong.

I really enjoyed this book and found it intriguing to the point where near the end I didn't want to put it down. I really appreciated the different ways that the characters were portrayed, and how each character was broken in their own way but had managed to heal, or begin their journey to healing, by the end. I will say I did find a few parts of this story a bit confusing and possibly in a physical copy the definition between different character perspectives would be more defined. As much as I was confused I also found this book intriguing and compelling.

Douglas ‘Angel’ Sermanni has lost his job as a therapist. His last client’s trauma is still affecting him. It affects him more than most therapists. Douglas is a Weaver. A Weaver is a human who has the ability to read and absorb people’s memories. When it came to his parents attention that he knew things about others without hearing it first, he scared his parents. Why? He ends up being sent to an experimental boarding school to learn how to use his special talent. He becomes friends with three classmates that have special skills. When they’re done with school they all go their separate ways. Douglas is gay and starts to have a relationship but then quits it without any warning to the other guy.When he receives a package from Thailand and no ther return address, he is puzzled. This causes him to decideto go back to the area where the school is/was and to see a classmate who lives nearby. It ends up being a reunion. They all got packages. Why? Who sent them?

The novel is a mystery with science fiction, a little romance, and a little paranormal. The story is written well with twists and turns due to secrets forgotten or never known. It did surprise me when I found out about an important character for Douglas that disappeared in his life. I enjoyed reading this novel immensely.

Wow. When I began reading The Memory Project I could not have anticipated how gripping the debut novel would be. You know how when you read a good book and bits of it pop into your mind throughout the day?--curiosity of where the plot will go or what will come next in the story? Well, that's what The Memory Project was for me.

Overall the pacing was just the right tempo, and I loved as the author kept the reader in the dark about most of the plot arc. It kept me hooked until the end. Speaking of which, I enjoyed that the novel did not end at a climax point, but rather left the ending open.

Additionally, the characters were overall diverse in their personas, and it was refreshing to read with queer representation.

4 stars for The Memory Project! Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

One of the absolute best books I've ever read! I was taken with the book from page one. From its beautiful writing, to its alluring characters and interesting and mysterious plot, it was masterful.

I loved being drawn into the world of the Weavers, intrigued with the various types, each with their own unique abilities of mind reading.

I look forward to seeing what else this author will have in the future!

This was such a unique premise for a scifi novel, I loved getting to know this world and the characters within it. It was a perfect scifi novel.