Article contributed by Zoë Leonarczyk
Last Memoria is a short book that packs an unbelievable amount of content within and it is amazing just how much of a story the author was able to get out of it. This is definitely one of those books that start off a little rocky, but gets better and better with each chapter. There was just so much thrown at you in the first few chapters with little explanation, but the more you read, the more everything comes together and aligns itself. Last Memoria primarily focuses on two main characters: Sarilla and Falon.
Sarilla is a memory thief, which is exactly what it sounds like. Through touch she can either “drain” or implant new memories into people. Because of this ability, the king of the land has kept her as his own personal pet to use as he wishes against anyone he deems an enemy. Sarilla’s character is probably the most flushed out of all of the characters, particularly in her personal struggle between right and wrong. The things that the king made her do haunt her every waking moment.
Falon is on the hunt for something that was stolen from him: his memories. He’s mad and he’s ready to take action. Willing to do whatever it takes to retrieve his memories, Falon fights between his hatred towards Sarilla and the unwanted feelings arising in him. Whereas Sarilla’s chapters have an underlying theme of her dealing with the monster she has become, Falon’s highlight the anger he feels over the invasion in his mind that led to the loss of his memories.
The point of view switches mid-way through the story from Sarilla to Falon, which is mildly jarring at first. Each of the two characters are vastly different in personality, which creates an almost different book mid-way through. In a way, the difference between the characters makes the switch easy to remember, but it still takes a little bit of time to adjust to the new point of view.
The one thing that this book excels in is its uniqueness. Fantasy books tend to play off of one another with similar elements and plots, but Last Memoria doesn’t fall into that trap. It is entirely fresh feeling and the grittiness of the story helps in highlighting the author’s distinctive take on fantasy. There is such a sense of loss and heartbreak throughout the book that assists in painting a bleak story. Morally grey characters abound and there are no true heroes, it is more of a dog eat dog type of world where in order to survive you will have to make questionable decisions.
One thing that is lacking, and why I personally struggled with this book, is a lack of worldbuilding. For me, fantasy is my favourite because of the amount of worldbuilding that goes into it. However, I didn’t notice it as much in this story and I feel as if this is where the length of the book worked as a disadvantage. There was never an opportunity for details and aspects of the world and magic to be fully hashed out and described. In one sense, this allowed for the author to maintain a sense of mystery and intrigue around the idea of memory stealing. However, for me, it left me wanting more to fully understand how everything worked and applied to the story.
Overall, this story was a really enthralling new take on fantasy. It is definitely one of those books that becomes more and more interesting the deeper you dive into the story. It is definitely a darker and grittier fantasy that delves into the moral dilemmas faced by humans. Last Memoria explores the morality behind what makes someone a monster and if there can ever be any redemption from that. Given the ending, it will be interesting to see where the story goes and how it develops in the next instalment.
Last Memoria is available from Amazon and other good book retailers as of May 10th 2020.
Will you be picking up Last Memoria? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
A heartbreaking dark fantasy thriller about flawed people making flawed decisions. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets Joe Abercrombie.
Sarilla has learnt one thing from stealing memories. Everybody lies.
There’s nothing Sarilla hates more than stealing memories, but the king forces her to take them to keep his subjects in line. She wants to escape to where nobody knows what she is or what she can do, but her plans go awry when she runs into Falon.
Falon has a six month void in his memories that he’s desperate to restore. He doesn’t know why they were taken or what they contained, nor why the man he loves is acting so cagily about what happened during that time. He hopes to use Sarilla to get back his stolen memories and doesn’t care what she wants or why she’s desperate to escape. She will help him get them back, whether she wants to or not.
