Architects of Memory

The Memory War #1

by Karen Osborne

Terminally ill salvage pilot Ash Jackson lost everything in the war with the alien Vai, but she'll be damned if she loses her future. Her plan: to buy, beg, or lie her way out of corporate indenture and find a cure.

When her crew salvages a genocidal weapon from a ravaged starship above a dead colony, Ash uncovers a conspiracy of corporate intrigue and betrayal that threatens to turn her into a living weapon.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, LGBT, Space Opera, Queer, Lesbian, Adult

336 pages, Paperback

First published September 8, 2020

About the author

Karen Osborne is the author of Architects of Memory and Engines of Oblivion, as well as a violinist, videographer and thereminist. Her short fiction appears in Uncanny, Fireside, Escape Pod, Robot Dinosaurs and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. She once won a major event filmmaking award for taping a Klingon wedding.

Karen lives in upstate New York with her family, too many instruments, and a bonkers orange cat.

Reviews

[Lex Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was super intense. I sometimes think the word ‘gripping’ can be overused when it comes to books and movies. It’s meant to draw us in but mostly I’m disappointed by its promise. Well, let’s just say that this book needs to have ‘gripping’ tattooed across the whole cover. I haven’t read a book that held my attention like this in a while. One of my Goodreads friends warned me that I would read this in one sitting. That was no joke. I read this in 6 hours straight and could not stop reading until the end. I have a sore neck because I hardly moved I was so engrossed in the story. This book starts and just takes off from there, and the pace is so quick that you almost can’t catch your breath.

I have not gotten to read much sci-fi this year, it’s my one disappointment for a year that has been really good for me book wise. I’m hoping to get some good sci-fi books in before the year ends so I was really happy to get my hands on this one. This looks to be Osborne’s full length debut unless I’m missing something. For me that just makes this book even more impressive. Osborne can write sci-fi and I can see her doing really well in the genre.

There is so much action and excitement in this story that I want to be careful not to spoiler anything. I do want to mention that there is plenty of violence in this book. This is about a world recovering from a war with aliens so things are rough. While there was some grossness and some gory bits, I didn’t feel like anything was overdone. I thought the types of death and violence fit the story if that makes sense.

The reason I gravitated to this book was because it was sci-fi with a WLW relationship. There is a romance and I enjoyed it, but it is a lighter romance. We come into things in the middle so we don’t see them fall in love. Getting to see how their relationship started is just one of multiple reasons why I would like to read a prequel. Anyway, the other issue is that the main characters are apart for most of the book so that also limits things, but what romance is there is sweet and I enjoyed it. I also like that sexuality is not an issue at all. I got the sense that both main characters were bisexual and they just loved who the loved and that was that.

The reason I can’t give this 5 stars is less about the writing quality and more just story choices I wasn’t big on. For instance, I wasn’t crazy about the ending. It was okay but I kept waiting for a certain something to happen for over half the book and when it didn’t happen, I was disappointed. Now that I read the blurb for book 2, I understand why Osborne didn’t do what she made me think she was going to do. As much as I really enjoyed this book, I’m about 50/50 if I will read the next installment. The main problem is I don’t really care for the new main character that will star in that book so I’m unsure. While this is a series, this book feels contained enough that I could stop here if I decide to.

If you are a sci-fi fan I would recommend this one. While it’s not perfect, it is extremely entertaining and completely gripping. This book will grab you and it won’t let go until you finish it. This is a memorable debut for Osborne.

A copy was given to me for a honest review.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

So! The good:

The pacing, a lot of the action, the core concept of the aliens, and the OTT blowout of the end.

The so/so:

The relatively generic space-opera feel with very little to make it stand out from most space-opera setups. Such as corporate indenture. Has no one read Cherryh? Scavenging is also so commonplace as to be a core fixture of these types of SF-lite novels. The originality is centered, but not very developed, on the (no spoiler) abilities of the aliens and how it relates to our MC. That being said, the whole tale feels mostly surfacy and I never got that invested in either the over-plot or the characters.

I don't think this was a bad novel by any stretch. My main complaint is that I've read way too many novels that behave almost exactly like this. It didn't kick my pants in the originality department. At all.

That being said, it does fill a number of checkboxes for those of you looking for it: Disabled. LGBTQ. However, these aspects never really felt core to the story even if we were meant to believe they were. (At least to me.)

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Architects of Memory
(The Memory War #1)
by Karen Osborne
I had the audio version from Chirp and it was awesome!!

When I get a science fiction book it better be good or I can't get far into it. This book was hard, fast, stunning in the descriptions, excellent in the world building, characters were rich with life, true corporate greed, and even though they were searching for alien artifacts, it felt real!
Ash is an indentured servant, every one starts that way unless you are born to a citizen. You have to work hard to buy your way into citizenship. Ash works aboard a ship that does dangerous missions to seek out crash sites to find things, hopefully alien artifacts from the war with the aliens the Via.
They do find an artifact and everyone wants it and tries to take it. Ash has many secrets that gets exposed along the way. One she didn't even know herself! It's full of action, emotion, twists, hope, disappointment, and it is so awesome! The suspense, fights, world, missions are incredibly! I really loved this book! I want to read the next book as soon as the price comes down! Lol!

[The Captain · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

Super awesome title and cover made me pick up this sci-fi.  This ended up being a quick, engaging read where I ultimately ended up being both confused and conflicted.

I did not know this was the first book of a series so that could have contributed but really this book made me feel like either nothing was explained or I just blatantly missed things.  I did very much like the idea of the corporate indenture based society.  I loved the beginning of the book and how the terminally ill main character, Ash, goes into a salvage operation with unexpected consequences.  I absolutely loved the idea of the mysterious alien artifact.  But sadly this book wasn't what I wanted.

I don't normally mind being thrown into the middle of things.  In this book the conflict with the alien Vai has been ongoing for a while.  The action is basically non-stop.  What was missing was any real insight into what the characters were thinking or their relationships with each other.  Ash was a fun person to root for but I didn't really get to see any of the "found family" moments that were hinted at.  Ash and her love interest are in a very nebulous relationship where we are told they are in love but the reader doesn't get to see this either.  All the romances were surface level and felt more like plot-devices.  Even the interactions of the major players and overall world politics of the society did not seem to have nuance.  Unusually, I actually wanted the backstory of both the war and Ash's life.

Then there is the aliens and the technology.  I felt that neither aspect made any sense.  I liked the idea of how the alien society supposedly functioned but the practical aspects of how the aliens and their tech worked felt more like magic without any clear rules.  In fact in many scenes, I felt that the tech contradicted itself in terms of the problems it caused and the circumstances required to make it work.  There is a lot of discussion of how the alien tech distorts or changes memory but I couldn't tell you how or why.  All the memory related problems made no real sense and confused me even more.

And then the ending.  I actually thought the book could have been a standalone based on what happened.  The ending was depressing which I was cool with.  I did not enjoy that I am still not sure exactly what the plot or message of the book was besides corporations are evil and humans suck.  I thought it was weird that while I found reading the book to be enjoyable, the problems and inconsistencies ended up making me like the book a lot less after-the-fact.  So much so that I don't feel like I will read any more of the series.

Strange reading times indeed.  Arrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank you Macmillian-Tor/Forge!

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

The main character of this book is a space salvage operator. She had been indentured to a mega-corporation as a miner, but the planet she was working on was attacked by aliens, the company holding her indenture went under, and now she’s indentured to *another* mega-corp hoping to earn enough to pay off her debts, become a corporate citizen, and get needed medical treatment.

That is a truly horrible premise for a book. And one that doesn’t sound relevant to contemporary American society in any way at all. Certainly not.

Anyway, on reading the premise, I would’ve told Karen Osborne and Tor to shut up and take my money, but they were nice enough to give me an ARC in exchange for a review.

The main character is named Ash. She has a chronic medical condition, one with very expensive treatment. She needs to keep her condition hidden until she becomes a citizen and is entitled to treatment - if the Aurora corporation finds out about it before then, her hopes of earning her citizenship will disappear. This is complicated by the fact that her condition has the potential to greatly impair her on-the-job performance, which could be putting her and her shipmates in terrible danger given the nature of the work. Also complicating things is that Ash has a serious thing for the ship’s citizen-captain, who in turn herself has a serious thing for Ash. Things are tense but on track when Ash & company luck into a great find while stripping a damaged warship: an intact alien weapon with the potential to give Aurora absolutely dominant market share. Unsurprisingly, things get complicated.

What follows is an excellent science fiction story of bridging the gap to a very, very alien species. Ash makes discoveries about the nature of their alien enemies that put the war into an entirely new light. Meanwhile, Aurora, other companies, and some revolutionary factions are all scrambling to be the one to possess this strange alien artifact.

This entire book takes place over the course of a couple very tense days (which I’m discovering is something I really love when done well). There is a gradual reveal of what’s going on, and it’s layers within layers within layers that kept me wondering and turning one more page. It’s a real nail-biter in many ways.

This is listed on Goodreads as “The Memory War #1” which I find very interesting, because the ending (while excellent, and powerful, and heartbreaking) ties itself up in such a way that there’s no real *need* for a sequel. But I’m super curious to read one, because this was excellent.

Comes out on August 25.

[Sonja Arlow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a world two hundred years into the future where human life is managed by competing corporations, not governments. You are either born a full citizen or need to earn it and life revolves around capitalism gone wild.

Ashland and her entire family were indentured mine workers, trying to earn citizenship when war with the alien Via destroyed their world. Ash is left terminally ill as a by-product from her mining days but finds work in a salvage ship, hiding her illness in a race to get full citizenship and a cure.

I like a good sci-fi story but this one resembled a bowl of spaghetti at times and I had a hell of a time trying to make sense of it.

This is so chock full of action and twists it made the story feel condensed, as if I was reading the abridged version of a longer novel.

And although we are told that the crew on the salvage ship “Twenty-Five” are like family, time and again we are shown that they turn on each other at the drop of a hat.

However, I REALLY liked the way the aliens were explained and how First Contact was made, that part was what made me stick with the story. I may even read book 2 because of that.

[R.J. Theodore · Rating 5 out of 5]

With badass, nuanced characters indentured to fight a war no one can win, Architects of Memory is a thoughtful, heartbreaking story that takes the surreal dread of VanderMeer's ANNIHILATION and rockets it to the stars.

[Hsinju Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Indenture Ash knows if Aurora found out about her celestium sickness, she will never become citizen. But priorities change when she stumbles upon a huge corporate conspiracy that contradicts everything she used to know.

"They didn't know we could die." – Ash

I love how this quote is on the cover of the book. It pretty much sums up the ongoing conflicts yet gives up none of the plot. The overall concept of Vai was both beautiful and terrifying to read. And when Ash and Kate started to learn more about the alien species as well as the truths about the corporates, we did as well. That heightened the sense of participation for the readers.

As much as a science fiction Architects of Memory is, I also read it as a political work. With Ash and the other indentures working to lower the years in their citizenship accounts while birthright citizens have higher default ranks, it is a story on the hardships and unfairness of immigration. Since the equivalent of countries in our world is the corporates, do we know if those in power are working toward a better future or prioritizing profits?

The corporates' conspiracies also prompts us to ask ourselves what the truths are if authorities cannot be trusted. Could we, like Ash and Kate and their friends, know how to react when everything we have ever known turned out to be lies? And what does it mean to trust a person when it comes to that? What is loyalty? How fast can misunderstandings, fights for domination, and violence escalate on a global scale?

There were a lot of "bloody" scenes and murders and massacres in the story. And all are necessary evil for the plot, almost logical. While the whole book happened within an estimated two days, it was intense and I felt myself invested in the story. However, the last chapter felt a little rushed since it covered the time span of about a week, but it left me wondering what happens next.

Architects of Memory is a look on humanity through the world of science fiction and the perspectives of Vai, and what it means to be truly alone. There is no doubt I will be looking forward to its sequel.

I received an e-ARC from Tor Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Judy Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting. That's really all I need to say about this book. Well, that and a few more things to convince you that you simply have to read it.

Ashland Jackson and her entire family were indentures working in a mine, trying to earn citizenship when war with the alien Via destroyed that world and left Ash terminally ill from the product she had been mining. Luckily for her a crew from a salvage vessel and the corporation they work for has taken her on board to let her earn her way toward citizenship with them - hopefully before the sickness kills her.

Don't ever allow yourself to think you have figured out exactly where this novel is headed because every time I did that I was proven wrong with a twist that I never saw coming. Superb plotting, unbelievably vivid descriptions, such intense emotion it sometimes had me holding my breath. Deception is everywhere; don't trust anybody or anything. There is a weapon that can wipe out entire civilizations. How will it be controlled and who will use it first?

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan - Tor/Forge for an e-galley of this novel.

[Beth Cato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Architects of Memory is solid scifi with awesome character development, deep worldbuilding, and moral complexity. It's escapism that also makes you think.

Ash is an indenture with a big goal: gaining citizenship, and maybe proper medical treatment, before her terminal illness does her in. She already almost died in an attack by mysterious aliens that did kill her fiance. Now, she's working to salvage tech off of space debris caused by those same aliens, the Vai. When she has an odd reaction to some strange tech, she finds herself caught in a vicious tug-of-war between the corporations who run and ruin the worlds.

The dialogue is witty, the action intense. I found this to be an incredibly quick read. It was great to read about a character whose bisexuality is presented and accepted without question. All of the characters are great, though, portrayed with genuine human nuance. The aliens are unique, too. Really, everything about the book takes old tropes and gives them a deft turn. Normally I can predict a lot of upcoming action, but this novel surprised me all the way through.

[Laura (crofteereader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are only two things that kept this book from being five stars: pronoun-antecedent agreement and soliloquy. Those may seem like small things (and they are) but they're two small things that drive me absolutely crazy. Pronoun-antecedent agreement, for those who don't know, is when a pronoun can be easily mapped to the noun it's standing in for. What happens when you have three characters with she/her pronouns and any one of them could, feasibly, be the "she" being referenced? You use her name. You don't make the reader guess. The number of times I had to stop and be like "was that Ash or Kate or Nat?" was absolutely unreal. And then soliloquy: usually used by cartoon villains when they wax poetic about everything they know and all of their plans just before the hero swoops in to crush their dreams. Here, it was used kind of like an info-dump. One character would just start spewing all the things she knew at another character in an effort to stall for time or just try to inform that second character. It was a lot. It took up a lot of real estate. Drove me a little crazy (especially when it started getting repetitive).

HOWEVER, this was still a damn good book. Chronic illness, LGBTQ+ rep, PTSD, classism... All had their place here. The relationship between Ash and Natalie over the course of the book (allies, almost-enemies, mutual survivors) was the absolute highlight. Because these are two people with the same status who have entirely different experiences and their worldviews clash over and over. And that was fascinating and real. Plus there's the relationship between Ash and Kate, whose love for each other is the hinge on which the plot rotates. The scifi elements are cool as hell and I love how the aliens end up being explained. Plus... The take on war and profit and genocide... This book isn't just a fun romp in space; it gets heavy and desperate and difficult and I loved that.

Honestly, I cannot wait for book two in this series. I'm ready.

{Thank you Tor Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy of Architects of Memory - all opinions are my own}

[Alexander Páez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me ha encantado. Ha tocado todas mis teclas. Es de esos libros que piensas ojalá lo hubiera escrito yo, porque tantas de estas ideas me rondan desde hace tiempo.
En resumen: Ash tiene un contrato de por vida y una deuda que saldar. Hasta entonces está literalmente esclavizada por una empresa espacial. Además tiene una enfermedad terminal que tiene que ocultar, ya que si la descubren la echarán (debido a los riesgos de su trabajo, recuperar tecnología de naves a la deriva en el espacio), y si la echan no puede pagar la deuda. Es decir, no será nunca una persona libre. Me ha recordado a temas que trata Autonomous pero tratados con una nueva perspectiva. En un momento dado encuentran tecnología alienígena que podría ser su vía de escape para liberarse de este contrato de por vida, y ahí se lía tremendo cipostio.
Excelente. Además tiene un sentido de la aventura tremendo. Muy recomendable.

[Heron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Architects of Memory is one of those books where I don’t quite know where to start with my review. It explores many themes that I’ve been reading a lot of in sci-fi lately—space opera, political espionage, enigmatic alien societies, the pervasive intergalatic war machine that is humanity, and intriguing tech and setting descriptions—but does so in a way that feels fresh and without an ounce of excess. In fact, while the sci-fi elements are expertly executed, Architects of Memory’s true strength lies in its characters and human-centered conflict.

The novel follows pilot Ashlan Jackson, an indentured woman aboard the salvage ship matter-of-factly named Twenty-Five. Ashlan was rescued from her former mining colony home by a corporation known as Aurora, after an accident which claimed many lives, including her husband Christopher’s. Ashlan seeks to earn citizenship, but in a society where every living expense incurs heavy debt to the company she’s indentured to, she’ll take every advantage she can get. Complicating matters further, Ashlan has a terminal illness which would disqualify her from citizenship and other aid.

Saying much more would take us into heavy spoiler territory; suffice to say, Architects of Memory starts out at a heart pounding, breakneck pace, and only lets up for the purpose of building more tension in the story. We get to know other characters—captain Kate Keller, engineer Len, and war veteran Natalie—throughout the story, and I deeply appreciate the complexity with which they are presented. There were several times throughout the novel where I had to pause and take a breather because the SUSPENSE of it all. On top of solid pacing and robust characters, Osborne’s prose itself shines in the novel, all precise phrases and gorgeous metaphors. If I provided all my highlighted lines for this novel, I’d easily double the review size.

Also, it’s sapphic, y’all. Ashlan is a canonically bi protagonist with referenced relationships on page to both men and women, and Keller is also attracted to women. Other small notes that made my queer heart happy include an indication that ey/em/eir pronouns are acceptable in this universe and corporate executives of all genders wearing skirts and heels as a symbol of their status.

It’s rare for me to love an ending to a novel, no matter how good the book is, but Architects of Memory sticks the landing with an ending that provides the triple threat: resolving the story, punching the reader in the mouth with Emotions, and setting the stage for a follow up book while leaving some mystery in tact. I can honestly say I have no freaking idea what’s in store for the next installment of The Memory War as much as I can say I’m eagerly anticipating reading it. At times brutal, and others so, so tender, and still at others a wild adrenaline rush, Architects of Memory is a debut I won’t soon forget. Tackling staple themes of the genre with a political bent that feels more relevant now than ever, this is a debut that fans of science fiction should make time for.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Lata · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, I tried, but just could not get much past the second chapter as I kept bumping up against awkward phrasing, which kept dropping me out of the narrative. I did not feel compelled to push past these.

[Adah Udechukwu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Architects of Memory did not meet my expectations

[Mogsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2020/11/23/...

The protagonist of Architects of Memory, Ashlan “Ash” Jackson, is a feisty and determined salvage pilot with a lot of secrets. For one thing, she’s carrying on a complicated relationship with her boss Captain Kate Keller that she would like to keep under wraps. For another, she’s secretly dying of a degenerative neural disease that could jeopardize her chances of buying her way out of corporate indenture if anyone ever found out, and then gone would be her only shot at finding a cure.

But then one day Captain Keller and her crew are tasked to clean up an old battlefield above a dead colony, and they come across a mysterious piece of tech that turns out to be a weapon of Vai origin. An alien race bent on committing genocide, the Vai other are brutal and aggressive, slaughtering everything they come across. That no one alive actually knows much about the Vai or have even seen them is perhaps a testament to the thoroughness of their destructive behavior. Their attacks always seem to happen out nowhere, descending upon human colonies to wipe them out, then leaving as quickly and suddenly as they had come.

For Ash, the discovery of the weapon is both traumatic and hopeful. Not only did a Vai ambush on her home world kill everyone she had ever loved and landed her in indenturehood in the first place, first contact with the aliens would throw a wrench in all her carefully laid plans. And yet, every member of their salvage crew now stands to become richer beyond their wildest dreams—if they can somehow manage to survive the coming onslaught.

For an adventurous space romp, Architects of Memory certainly delivers the goods, but will it be enough to stand out and satisfy the most avid of sci-fi fan? Hmm, maybe. Or maybe not. The story definitely has a great premise going for it, and speaking as someone who loves a good space opera, the addition of alien intrigue and conspiracy is always a welcome element. I also enjoyed the action and the world-building. While there’s nothing too new here with regards to how this future is run by mega-corporations, or how individual human beings are but assets to be bought and sold, I liked how Karen Osborne took familiar ideas and built upon them rather than seek to reinvent the wheel. When it comes to debut novels where excessive ambition can actually work against you, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with playing it safe.

That being said, there are some signs pointing to Architects of Memory being written by a newer author. The pacing is swift for the most part, but uneven and bloated in places, making it hard to keep my attention focused on the story at times. The world-building, while vivid and imaginative, also lacks detail when viewed from a wider perspective. The characters are perhaps the weakest aspect. Ash is well-written and fleshed out, so thankfully that was enough to keep me reading, but sadly everyone else was completely forgettable because they never quite manage to become fully realized as more than human props. It truly felt like as if only purpose of the supporting cast was to create endless drama, which I found difficult to care about when I could hardly even be bothered about the people involved.

The good news though, is that the overall plot is powerful and engrossing, and that might be enough to fuel the interest of even the most demanding sci-fi fans. I only wish the world-building and character development had been stronger, though I have to say the second-half ramp up to the ending and the climax itself was probably worth the price of admission alone. Until then, I was still on the fence on whether or not I would want to continue the series, but the questions and fascination left by the conclusion made me feel hopeful to discover more about the setting and people of The Memory War universe. Ash’s story wrapped up quite nicely here, which makes sense since the next book appears to be about Natalie Chan. Nat was one of the side characters in Architects of Memory whom I would have liked to know better, and the sequel sounds like it’ll be the perfect opportunity to see her in action.

[Bonnie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Seems like a light action-y space opera story with female protagonists and some First Contact with the alien Vai. But a number of writing problems keep it from being enjoyable.

Characters:
Ash Jackson - pilot (indentured)
Natalie Chan - ordnance engineer, veteran (indentured)
Len Downey - engineer (indentured)
Kate Keller - ship captain, citizen (Aurora Company)
Alison Ramsay - XO
plus doctors and company execs, villainous to various degrees

Hundreds of years in the future, mostly out in space with moons, planetoids, space stations. We don't see how it got to be that way, but corporations, not national governments, now provide citizenship and services. Some people contract themselves for years of servitude in an effort to become citizens, and some privileged call those "Indentureds" as a noun and treat them as having less value than citizens.

After the death of her fiance on a mining colony, Ash signed a multi-year contract to work on salvage operation. She's hoping to make it through alive and keep the Aurora Company from finding out she has a disease called Celestium Madness before she earns her citizenship, but her symptoms become harder to cover up.

Problems:
- Sophomoric relationship troubles.
- Power differential of romantic relationship between captain of ship who is also a citizen, and a crew member who is not a citizen, barely addressed.
- Story seemed more like a screenplay than a book: pretty flat, indistiguishable characters.
- Strange positioning in scenes? You couldn't always follow where the people were... and they weren't even in very many places. On a ship, in transit, a space station or on the surface.
- A few things happened out of the blue. Like suddenly a pilot guy kills a pretty main character. I'm like, who is this guy, John Doe? and why did he kill this person? Unclear.
- Once Ash and Kel were both infected with the alien nanotech, why couldn't they communicate with each other and find out the other's true feelings? Unclear.
- A good deal of "body horror" type description of corpses and so on, to the point I lost sympathy for the characters and instead told them "You work on a salvage ship, surely you come across dead bodies all the time in this line of work? You need to toughen up."
- Stuff like that.

Read for Berlin SF Book Club. Many had the same thoughts as me plus, lots of "yawning objects," inaccurate description of what would happen to human eyes exploding in space, and too many chapter ending on a mini-cliffhanger like, Kel blacked out.
It was a group fun discussion though, a lot of Why didn't this book work?

[Landice (Manic Femme) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not quite sure how to describe my experience of reading Architects of Memory. I started to say it was “a delight” to read, but that’s not even close to accurate, because this is an incredibly heavy book. That being said, it was well written and engaging, so much so that I binged most of it in one day, which I generally avoid doing with books that are heavy or likely to leave me emotionally exhausted.

I won’t go into much detail about the plot so as to avoid spoilers, but I did want to note that both of our main characters are sapphic women! Ash is canonically bisexual with relationships with both men and women referenced in the story, and our second POV character, Kate, is also into women. The two of them are - surprise - in love with each other, but feel as though they cannot or should not act on their impulses for the time being. This conflict added an extra layer of tension onto an already stressful plot, but in the best way.

Architects of Memory's pacing is relentless from the very start, and you will likely not want to put it down for anything. I was initially disappointed in how abrupt the ending felt, but then I realized this is the first in a series, so knowing there will be more negated any of those issues. I can’t wait to read Engines of Oblivion (Book 2), and if the Goodreads release date of Feb 2021 is accurate, we won’t have to wait too long to find out what’s next for Kate & Ash!

TL;DR: Y’all know I love a good sapphic sci-fi novel, and Architects of Memory knocks it out of the park!

ARC Note: Thank you to NetGalley & Tor Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Content Warnings: Graphic violence, death of a loved one, nonconsensual medical procedures, gore/body horror type stuff. I'm probably forgetting a lot of things. Read, but read with care!

Let's be friends! Bookstagram | Book Blog | Twitter

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay Karen Osborne, you've got my attention.

Gripping, exciting, fun, and couldn't put it down. There were questions of humanity, of human value, ethics, and interesting science, like any good sci fi. 4 stars instead of 5 owing to a few confusing turns of phrase/difficulty discerning who was speaking and villain monologuing (like Mr. Incredible and Frozone, I am not a fan of this). But otherwise? One hell of a ride. I loved the pacing of this novel. I am not often fond of back and forth chapters between characters because I inevitably end up more invested in one than the other, but that was not the case with this book. I was right there with Keller and right there with Ash, loving the building suspense and intrigue in both parallel storylines as well as the interweaving of them. The fact that both women were hallucinating each other was not only powerful but thrilling - a f/f romantic plot inside of the well written science fiction whole where the characters are separated nearly the entire time, and yet their love is palpable and real throughout.

That ending! Set aside some time when you start this because you're going to have difficulty pulling yourself away. I'm hooked and looking forward to book 2.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This and more reviews at superstardrifter.com

This is the story of Ash, who is an indentured salvage pilot. In this world, companies rule everything, and those who are indentured to one of the companies can work their way into citizenship… eventually. Ash is in somewhat a hurry to find her way to citizenship, because she’s got a terminal illness and only citizens can afford the cure. When Ash and her crew find what could be a very powerful alien weapon on a salvage job, suddenly everyone from every company is very interested in both it… and Ash.

This was a well written and fast paced space opera in a world of corporations. Humanity is still rocking from a recent war with the alien Vai, an enemy that is as brutal as they are mysterious, because despite the body count they left in their wake, nobody has ever seen one.

I really liked the world that this book described. This isn’t the first time that I’ve read a space opera that took place in a future world of corporations and not countries, but this one was well described, and the idea of these indentured servants (or un-citizens as they are also known) was an addition to the setting that was totally plausible, and thus easy to imagine.

I liked Ash, though I have to admit that I never really latched onto her as I suppose I was meant to. She is terminally ill, and while I did want her to get citizenship and find her cure, I don’t think I would have lost sleep if it had gone a different way. Ash’s relationship with Kate was quite sweet at times, and I liked how Ash’s previous relationship was included here as well. Kate is very important to Ash, but Christopher, the fiance that she lost in a Vai attack, is also still very important to Ash, and his memory sticks with her as much as Kate does. That was a nice detail.

All told, this was a fast-paced space opera with an interesting premise that was well presented. I’m interested to see where it’ll go in the next volume.

Thanks to the author, as well as Tor via NetGalley for the review copy.

[York · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one..solid 4 stars(*)...
An exciting space opera that kept my interest throughout.. The universe Ms. Osborne creates is an interesting one, but I wouldn't want to live in it...the ending felt a bit rushed and abrupt, although when I read it I wasn't aware if there was to be a sequel...

[Delara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi. I’m not even gonna be shy about it. I’m serious about my sci-fi and I’m happy to report that I loved ARCHITECTS OF MEMORY by Karen Osborne, and it has become one of my favorite sci-fis of the year.
⁣
Here are a few of its badass attributes:

* space opera + mystery + corporate shenanigans⁣
* classism and power dynamics = conflict!⁣
* dare I say, there’s some slow burn vengeance?⁣
* bisexual rep (I mean, the colors on the cover. Coincidence?)⁣
* mind-fuckery™ (my favorite!)⁣
* gorgeously written (how dare these sentences be this good)⁣
* aliens who are ⁣
* first in a new series⁣
⁣
A last mention is that Ash is terminally ill, and her condition is getting worse every day; it makes her tough and relatable. I found myself instantly invested in her journey. The personal stakes for Ash are compounded by the high stakes of the plot, and make for a tense, fast-paced read. Loved it!
⁣
Huge thanks to @torbooks for sending me this advanced copy.⁣
⁣

[USOM · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

What I really loved about Architects of Memory was the way it balancing being this action packed SF with social commentary. It's one of those books that has a fantastic premise, and then once you figure that out, it keeps delivering shocks that will leave you gasping. But what I loved was how it brought privilege into the realm of SF because not only does Ash have a terminal illness which is incredibly expensive, but she comes from a very poor mining company. Amidst the corporations, which are these giant mega corps which fight over property AND aliens, there are layers of privilege which Ash keeps coming up against.

full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/revi...

[J.S. Dewes]

Wow, what a read!

Architects of Memory is a non-stop, incredibly thoughtful novel that sticks with with you long after you put the book down. It has the pacing and scope of a blockbuster sci-fi, bolstered by the warmth and emotional intimacy of the characters and relationships.

I think I was most impressed by the worldbuilding and (dark) history, which builds up eerily in the periphery, then sneaks up from behind and hits you when you least expect it.

The intricately developed and terrifying political landscape will have you brainwashed right along with the characters, who are constantly bombarded by morally gray, impossible choices that will have you scrambling to turn the page.

Saying anything more specific feels like a spoiler, so I’ll just say, if you love sci-fi, definitely check this one out!!

I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel!

[Natalie aka Tannat · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging book that I can't rate any higher due to the muddled and disappointing ending. I'm probably even being generous, but it was quite interesting.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Desperately trying to earn citizenship so she can get treatment for her fatal condition, a salvage pilot and her crew stumbles across an alien artifact that everyone wants and the situation is full of intrigue. I had to read this exciting debut sci-fi that made good on the action and more.

Architects of Memory opens with pilot Ash Jackson, working off her indenturehood aboard a salvage ship owned by Aurora Corporation after the alien Vai attack the world where she and her family had been working for a mining corporation. The attack left Ash without family and fiance, but sickening from an illness she got in the mine destruction. She was lucky Aurora corporation picked her up, but she's in a race to earn her citizenship and gain the payment for her illness before she dies from it. Ash is still grieving, but learning to see the Twenty-Five crew as her new family and the citizen captain as something much more.
But, then on a salvage job she comes across the Vai alien artifact that can be used as a weapon. Aurora isn't the only corporation after it when it can mean defeating the Vai and being the top corporation. And, that is just the surface because that artifact affects Ash and she has just become interesting to several.

Architects of Memory is an action-packed space opera set in the future when corporations rule and citizenship is earned unless one is born into that prized upper class. It's a dark future for most and the heroine is no exception. She has a tough row to hoe and it gets to her like it would most of us. I did want her and the crew to find a way through it all and to see her get a slice of happy with Kate.

I found this to be one of those books that just dives right into the middle of a situation and then explains things in chunks along the way. And, just like I look for when I reach for sci-fi, the author added some unique ingredients like her take on the aliens.

There is an assumption that the reader is somewhat familiar with sci-fi futuristic world in space and specifically when corporations rule. At least, that is how I felt since there was some general description that my mind filled in.

Unfortunately, this was also somewhat how the characters were developed, too. I was told things about them, but didn't see much evidence of this. Like Ash and Kate's love or Ash's relationship with the rest of the crew. Much of the time, Ash and Kate were not together so I was glad at the outcome, but not extremely vested. Ash was still getting over her fiance and this new pair from opposite sides of the track are attracted and I will grant the fact that this book took place over the span of a few days so, again, it heavily relied on the fact that things were already in the middle and not just beginning.

The strength of the story was the hard-hitting and well-paced action scenes and intrigues that left one flipping pages to see how things were going to come out. There were some good surprises and the book ended with Ash's story wrapped up, but left room for more. Luckily, Nat's story is next. I do want to see how it goes now that Nat and Ash are on the same page.

All in all, this was a fab debut book. It was an exciting read and I liked this introduction to a new series. I think space opera and sci-fi fans should definitely give it a go.

I rec'd this book from Net Galley to read in exchange for an honest review.

[Lukasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-paced but generic space-opera.

[Dr. Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is gonna be a mess, just a warning.

Architects of Memory is why I fucking love sci-fi. The technology, the world-building, the aliens! Also there are Space Gays. Ash Jackson is a pilot serving her indenture so that she can become a full citizen. But lately she's been having increasing attacks of hallucinations or having her vision failing. She knows she's sick, but she shouldn't be this far along in the disease progression. She has to risk putting her life and her crewmates lives on the line or admitting that she is sick and can never become a full citizen.

But then Ash finds out something about the alien race the humans were fighting and the weapon that has been found. A betrayal on the crew leaves Ash separated from everyone else and trying to put the pieces of the puzzle back together.

I was swept away by this space adventure. I did have something trouble imagining the spatial dynamics of some of the places Ash and the others were at, but besides that I was 200% invested. I loved that this was told in dual POV between Ash and Captain Kate Keller. Also the relationship between these two had my whole heart.

There were so many twists and every time I thought I had something completely figured out, a new piece of the puzzle was revealed. So many of the characters were morally gray that I could never pin down where loyalties would lie. It just made the story even more thrilling. The ending of this was absolutely wild and I cannot wait to see what happens next.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast fun read, not sure how I feel about the ending. I want more! Full review to come.

Architects of Memory by Karen Osborne. Published by Tor.com, this is Karen's debut science fiction novel. Think I'm starting to find my groove with science fiction. For a debut, there are a lot of things to like about this story. A quick summery. Architects is the story of Ash, an indentured who works as a salvage operator. She and the crew she's a part of go around salvaging what they can from giant space battles; old weapons and ammunition, anything they can sell. For in this far future, money makes the world go round.

Wait, how's that different to now.

In Architects, space is now run by mega-corporations, each of which can fund and maintain standing fleets of spaceships. If you work hard, some day you might be able to save up and become a Citizen, giving you freedoms abound.

Wait, this feels familiar...

Anywho, Ash holds a secret illness she can't tell anyone about, or else her hopes for Citizenship and a cure are shot. The issue with that is that the captain of her ship knows. And she has the feeeeels for her. Unrequited love much? Well, not quite, it's clear that it's more than a one way street. The rest of the rag tag crew include a mysterious doctor, an ex solider, and a engineer. They think of themselves as family, and while I liked the idea, it never really felt like they had those sorts of bonds. Maybe good friends, but family? Anyway, I digress. The basic jist, is that this crew has been asked to salvage some alien tech, and then everything starts to come undone.

As a whole, the story is fairly standard, with many of the tropings of sci-fi. Evil corporations, secret societies, mysterious aliens. And I'm not against it, it's fun, it's quick, there's lots of action. It keeps you on your toes, pulling you from one event to another. There's not a huge amount of downtime for the characters to catch their breath. And it does feel this means that there's not a huge amount of character development. There are deaths along the way, and I never really felt connected to anything. Which, overall doesn't detract from much.

As usual, the aliens are what drew me in. Strange entities that no one can understand, with technology that no one understands? Hell, yeah. And when we eventually get a few answers, I really like the twist Osborne gave us. As for the final ending, I'm reserving judgement. While a few things are tied up, there's so much left in flux that I'm curious to see where it goes. Thankfully the next novel is out early next year, apparently.

[Sean Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had Humanity, the confusion of war and a rather compelling set of leads. I felt as if I were hit over the head with sexual preference sooo early on, it's almost become de rigueur to have these strongly stated early on in modern sci-fiand that's more than a little sad.

I also found both the Suits and the lack of memory a little underused, but the series is wide open for more and the storytelling and idea are hugely exciting and very enjoyable.