The Memory Chamber

Really enjoyed this book. Although it's science fiction, the story felt realistic, and you could imagine something like this happening in the not too distant future. Thought provoking on many levels, a definite page turner.

The Memory Chamber is set in the not-too-distant future. New technology has emerged which allows for the possibility of preserving people’s memories in perpetuity and playing them on a constant loop in their afterlife, in effect an artificial heaven. Their memories are carefully compiled before their death by a Heaven Architect and Isobel is one of the best. Her life is thrown into turmoil when she starts to fall in love with one of her clients. The Memory Chamber explores the philosophy of this radical new concept. There are ethical, political and religious implications to name but a few. Is it acceptable, for example, for an individual to feature in someone else’s heaven without their consent? This may sound like an innocuous enough proposition until you consider the possibility of a child molester wanting to incorporate his victims into his afterlife so that he can revisit his crimes over and over again. Is it acceptable to create an afterlife Utopia only for those who can afford it? And so on.

This book surprised me because I hadn’t expected to enjoy it – sci-fi and fantasy are really not my cup of tea. The reality could not have been more different. I loved it. It’s a great story, set in the future, but only a little way ahead so that all the technological innovations seem entirely plausible. The plot is both original and creative and the result is a love story set in unusual circumstances. It is very thought-provoking with plenty of philosophical dilemmas to tackle if you so wish – if not it works perfectly well as a good novel. There are also lessons to be learnt about first (or at least early) impressions. How wrong can they be – very, apparently.

So, was there a downside? Not really, although there were one or two slight niggles. I don’t know how realistic the science of the project really was and certainly found myself wondering occasionally how it really worked. In retrospect it also seems unlikely that the love affair between Isobel and her client would actually have started in the way that it did as it all seemed a little quick. However, neither of these things really matter in the great scheme of things and do not detract from the basic premise of the book.

Definitely worth a read, even if you are not a fan of science fiction. I will certainly be looking out for more by Holly Cave.

Well this is somewthing quite different - would be a great book for book clubs because of all the thought-provoking issues it raises - would you want your own artifical heaven? Plus it's a great read as a combination of science, murder-mystery and thriller set in an alternative world that's not that different from our own. I raced through The Memory Chamber. It kept me on the edge of my seat, with twists and turns, suspense and thrills, and some memorably tender moments too.