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The Memory Chamber

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About this listen

The perfect afterlife or a never-ending nightmare?

Isobel has it all: a steady relationship, the immaculate home and her dream job. Life, and even death, is completely under her control. For Isobel's generation death no longer means oblivion, thanks to firms like her employer, Oakley Associates. Isobel is their top Heaven Architect, crafting perfect afterlives for her clients: artificial paradises of the mind built from the memories they treasure most.

Then Isobel meets handsome client Jarek. Her disciplined life gives way to something passionate and extreme, and Isobel jeopardises everything to embark on an affair with a terminally ill - and married - man. When Jarek posthumously becomes the prime suspect in a murder that took place just before his death, Isobel is forced to prove his innocence.

Jarek's afterlife faces termination if the real culprit cannot be found. But as Isobel stumbles upon the darker side of the work she so passionately believes in, she can trust no-one with what she finds.

Set in the near future, this thrilling and original story vaults the listener into a world that is terrifyingly close to our own, where we can avoid everything we fear - even death itself. But can we ever escape the truth?

©2017 Holly Cave (P)2017 Audible, Ltd Contemporary Contemporary Romance Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Romance Romantic Suspense Science Fiction Technothrillers Thriller & Suspense Thriller Technology Exciting
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Written on the lines of something out of Charlie Booker's Black Mirror this story started out as fresh and interesting. I do however feel that it was about five hours too long the dialogue was really labored in places and I just wanted to story to move on. The start where the two main characters meet seemed to go on for hours whilst there were some really interesting aspects going on in the background which could have been explored and would have fleshed the overall story out. A war was mentioned but left hanging and we never really got to understand the overall context of the future in which the story took place. It was also difficult to engage with the characters, Isobel was very one dimensional and Don did not really exist. I always find it difficult to enjoy Imogen Church's narration she has a weird intonation and her voice grates after a while this listen was no different and I almost gave up but ended up persevering. The final two chapters were actually good and it's a shame that some of these aspects had not been explored earlier.

Interesting story but far to long

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I'm very perplexed by The Memory Chamber because it contains all the makings of a great book, but for me, didn't quite hit the spot. The story is highly unusual and unique and I thought that element of the book was well written. Have your own heaven specially created for you; if you're rich enough. The issues around single opt in were so huge and I would love to see that aspect of the story developed further. I think the trouble for me was that Isobel was a rather unpleasant character. I didn't take to her at all and she was so cold I didn't believe for one second that she could fall head over heels in love with Jarek. She was far too pious and up herself to react to someone like that. As the story moved on we saw Isobel being slightly more human. But if the twist had turned out to be that Isobel was a robot, I wouldn't have been surprised. With a different female lead I think the book would be perfect. As it is, quite frankly I didn't care if Isobel was arrested for murdering Henry VIII, Mother Theresa and Shergar and that's where the book failed for me.

Unusual concept

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A good basic idea spoiled by padding by being awash with emotion. Could have been half the length and twice as enjoyable. Narration echoed the mood!

A good basic story spoiled

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If you could sum up The Memory Chamber in three words, what would they be?

Thoughtful, well observed.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Memory Chamber?

Imagine being trapped in a collapsing heaven.

Which character – as performed by Imogen Church – was your favourite?

Daniel

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, but I don't want to give too much away. The end of act 1.

Any additional comments?

Brilliant narration. A tad slow in the middle, but well worth the payoff. Plays with intriguing ethical and even political ideas, but is primarily driven by emotions. The concept had me concerned that the book would muck around too much with temporal shifts and 'but what's really real' questions, like a bad time travel book, but it does not.

Introspective with surprising emotional weight.

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This is a original story which attracted me to buy it and although I thought it was well worth the listen at times I felt it dragged on. The leading character also irritated me rather than endearing me to her in this book

Interesting but drags on a bit

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